Latest Chamber Blog News

Jr. Entrepreneur Winner Announced at PIE Breakfast

Wednesday, March 14th, 2012

Building Future Business Leaders in Fayette County

The Fayette Chamber Jr. Entrepreneur Competition was created to encourage Fayette County public school students to nurture their dreams of starting a business someday.  The competition will challenge participating students to express their ideas, formulate a business plan  and learn how to begin the process of starting a new enterprise.  The students are asked to dream big and think outside the box to create a business model that would thrive in the year 2030.  Judging will take place in April and the winning team will be announced at the Partners in Education Recognition Breakfast on April 26, 2012.

Thank You, Sponsors!
Huntington Learning Center; The Southern Federal Credit Union; Gallopade International; Club Z! In-Home Tutoring; ServPro of Fayette/S.Fulton; Mallory Aviation

Judges:
Panel 1 – Dr. Bill Lightfoot, Dean of the College of Business at Brenau University; Alisa Kirk, Area Director of the SBDC at Clayton State University; Jan Krzykwa, Marketing Manager at TCIS-The Complete Insurance Source

Panel 2 – Dr. Alphonso Ogbuehi, Dean of the College of Business at Clayton State University; Doug Bates, President/Owner of CMIT Solutions of Fayette/Coweta; Heather Chaney, Program Coordinator of the SBDC at Clayton State University

Special Thanks to:  Holiday Inn Express, Fayetteville; Clayton State University; YP Fayette

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Chamber Hosts Community Conversation

Thursday, March 8th, 2012

Community Conversation: How Do We Prepare Students for Jobs That Don’t Exist…Yet?

“This conversation is important on multiple levels. The world is changing, the way students are communicating and learning is transforming, and the need to have a well-trained workforce for our employers has never been more essential to our community. The chamber is bringing people together to talk about the challenges we must address if we are to continue to be successful in the future.”
~Virginia Gibbs, Chamber President & CEO

Sponsor:  Rotary Club of PTC

Video Provided by Studio 25 Productions

Recently, the chamber hosted a community conversation on changing education trends and how to prepare tomorrow’s workforce for careers that are not even on the radar. Panelists included Fayette County School Superintendent Dr. Jeff Bearden; Clayton State University President Dr. Tim Hynes; Southern Crescent Tech President Dr. Randall Peters; The Citizen Staff Editor Mr. Michael Boylan and Takeda Pharmaceuticals NA Vice President Mr. Ron Smith. The video is approximately 45 minutes long, but if you are interested in education and how its quality affects our community, you’ll be fascinated by it.

Join in the conversation about this important topic in our Linked In Discussion.


www.FayetteChamber.org

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Dr. Tony Wagner to Speak at PIE Breakfast

Tuesday, March 6th, 2012

Thursday, April 26, 7:30 am
Peachtree City United Methodist Church

Advance Ticket Price $15; At the Door $20

Don’t miss this opportunity to hear from Dr. Tony Wagner, best-selling author of 5 books, including The Global Achievement Gap: Why Even Our Best Schools Don’t Teach the New Survival Skills Our Children Need – and What We Can Do About It. Dr. Wagner consults widely to schools, districts and foundations around the country and internationally. Special awards will be presented at the breakfast as we recognize the Partner of the Year, School of the Year and the winner of the chamber’s Jr. Entrepreneur Competition.

More Information

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Encourage Your YP’s To Have Lunch With A Leader

Tuesday, February 21st, 2012

Chamber Members:

Thursday, March 15, 2012, 11:45 am
Aventure Aviation, Peachtree City – Mr. Zaheer Faruqi
REGISTER

Lunch with a Leader, presented by Kaiser Permanente, provides young professionals with the opportunity to share lunch with influential local business leaders.  Leaders will share career insights and advice and will lead a tour of their facility.

Space is limited to only 20 Young Professional members, and the event is free for members.  The cost is $25 for non-members.

Encourage your Young Professionals to take advantage of this great leadership development opportunity!

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OSHA 30 Hour Course at Southern Crescent Technical College

Thursday, February 16th, 2012

There will be an OSHA 30 Hour Course on March 14th, 15th, 21st, and 22nd from 8am-4pm at the Griffin Campus (501 Varsity Road – Building 100) of Southern Crescent Technical College.  The cost is $400.00 per person.  

For more information, please contact:

 Mark Andrews, CEDT Vice President at mandrews@sctech.edu.

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Six Sigma Black Belt Course

Thursday, February 16th, 2012

Six Sigma Black Belt Course

 We will conduct a Six Sigma Black Belt Course(160 hours) in Thomaston at the Southern Crescent Technical College Community Development Center (115 East Main Street). 

 The course will be taught one week per month for four months from 8am-4pm.  Cost for the class is $2200.00 per student.  For more information, please visit http://www.sctech.edu/

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Matt Forshee Gives Update From Development Authority

Wednesday, February 15th, 2012

President & CEO of the Fayette Co. Development Authority Matt Forshee gave an update at the chamber’s February B2B Luncheon, giving a brief overview of the mission of the Development Authority and how Fayette is faring on the economic development front.  The Development Authority works hard to bring new business into the county and to help existing businesses grow and expand.  Recruiting businesses to locate here means more jobs, helps keep our property taxes lower  and plays an important role in keeping our communities strong and vibrant.  The Development Authority is particularly interested in recruiting corporate headquarters and has succeeded in bringing several headquarters to our county, including Cooper Lighting, Rinnai, and World Airways.  Businesses are often interested in locating here because of the close proximity to the airport; therefore the transportation issue is critical to the business community.  Matt stated that the medical and R&D segment is growing rapidly in Fayette, and there is more interest from engineering and technology companies.  We  are seeing some positive signs of improvement in the economy…over the last 3 years, approximately 1400 new positions have been created in Fayette County.  This year, the Development Authority is placing a lot of emphasis on helping  existing businesses.  Since the economic downturn, they have been doing more with less, but have reached the tipping point and it’s anticipated that they will soon begin expanding.  Another avenue that is showing promise is the entertainment industry as Georgia now allows a larger tax credit for them which has created big potential.

To stay up to date on economic development in Fayette County, subscribe to Matt’s  NEWSLETTER .  Learn more about why Fayette County is a great place for businesses to locate by watching this VIDEO.

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Registration Deadline for CERT

Tuesday, February 14th, 2012

Wednesday, February 15 – Basic Community Emergency Response Team (CERT) class begins February 23, 6:30 – 9:00 p.m., for 10 Thursdays, concluding April 26. Class is free, but class size is limited. Applications and more information at www.peachtree-city.org/cert.

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Citizens Police Academy Registration

Tuesday, February 14th, 2012

Register until March 1:  The PTC Department will host a Citizens’ Police Academy beginning March 13, on Tuesdays, for 10 weeks, concluding on May 15.  The classes will be held from 6:30 pm to 9:00 pm.  The Citizen Police Academy provides insight into the law enforcement profession here in Peachtree City.  Applicants must be at least 18 years old and City residents, local business owners, or employees of the City. There is no charge to attend, but class size will be limited to 30 participants. For more information, go to www.peachtree-city.org/police or call 770-487-8866.  Application deadline is March 1.

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Member Survey – 5 Questions

Monday, February 13th, 2012

The chamber’s 1st quarter theme is “Moving Fayette Forward,” and there are many initiatives in the works to help keep our community strong and vibrant as we move into the future.  You can help us carry out our mission by taking a minute to give us your feedback.  The survey is only 5 questions and we’ll publish the results.  Thanks so much for your help – we appreciate your support!  http://tiny.cc/c5cfs

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