June 2022 Features

• SGMC Announces $3.5M Gift from the Harley Langdale, Jr. Foundation for SGMC Main Campus Expansion Project

  June 30, 2022

  South Georgia Medical Center, a not-for-profit medical system serving 15 counties and nearly 400,000 patients annually, recently received a $3.5 million gift commitment from the Harley Langdale, Jr. Foundation for SGMC’s main campus building project. The $125 million project includes a new Women and Infant’s Center, Emergency Department, and main campus redesign. The impact that this generous gift will have on the lives of the patients SGMC serves is remarkable.

• Georgia Power to Launch Single Largest Beneficial Use Project for Coal Ash in U.S.

  June 30, 2022

  Georgia Power has announced a landmark coal ash beneficial use project at Plant Bowen near Cartersville, where millions of tons of stored ash will be excavated for use in concrete to construct bridges, roads, and buildings in Georgia – and throughout the Southeast. The project will be the single largest beneficial use project of its kind in the U.S.

• goBeyondProfit CEO Interview: Long-term Sustainability of Love as a Business Strategy

  June 30, 2022

  Herschend Enterprises and their CEO, Andrew Wexler, were recently nominated and selected as the first 2022 goBeyondProfit Champion. We sat down with Andrew and learned how he views the long-term return on investment of love as a business strategy.

• Honorary Commander Program Returns to Moody

  June 28, 2022

  Moody Air Force Base reestablished the 23rd Wing’s Honorary Commander Program with an orientation event on June 24th. The long-standing program returns after a nearly two-year hiatus due to Covid-19 and is set to include several opportunities each month for community members and commanders to meet and gain awareness of one another’s environments.

• University System of Georgia’s Economic Impact Grows to $19.3B

  June 28, 2022

  The University System of Georgia contributed a total of $19.3 billion to Georgia’s economy between July 1, 2020, and June 30, 2021, a $700 million or 3.8% increase over the previous year as the university system continued to make a significant economic impact across the state, a new study shows.

• Cost of July 4th Cookout 17% Higher Compared to Year Ago

  June 28, 2022

  U.S. consumers will pay $69.68 for their favorite Independence Day cookout foods, including cheeseburgers, pork chops, chicken breasts, homemade potato salad, strawberries and ice cream, based on a new American Farm Bureau Federation marketbasket survey.

• goBeyondProfit CEO Interview: Love Made Real in Communities & with Employees

  June 24, 2022

  Herschend Enterprises and their CEO, Andrew Wexler, were recently nominated and selected as the first 2022 goBeyondProfit Champion. We sat down with Andrew to learn how they operationalize love within each of their 26 business units across the US and British Columbia and positively impact the experience of 11,000+ employees as well as their guests and broader communities.

• Voting Opened for Valdosta's People Choice Photo Contest

  June 23, 2022

  This year more than 50 photos were submitted to the Valdosta People's Choice Photo Contest and are now on display at the Annette Howell Turner Center for the Arts in the Tillman Gallery.

• Oakwood Capital Completes $8.5M Acquisition of Apartment Complex in Valdosta

  June 22, 2022

  Oakwood Capital announces its purchase of Latitude 30 Apartments, a multifamily property in Valdosta for $8.5 million.

• Georgia Bankers Association Elects & Installs Officers & Directors to its Board

  June 22, 2022

  Members of the Georgia Bankers Association have elected and installed officers for the 2022-2023 fiscal year and added seven members to its board of directors.

• Georgia Historical Society Names New Board Leadership

  June 21, 2022

  The Georgia Historical Society has announced that Shan Cooper and David Abney have been elected to serve as Board Chair and Vice Chair, respectively, of the GHS Board of Curators. GHS also announced that Dan Cathy, Beatriz Perez, Venessa Harrison, and Jeff Kole have been elected to serve as board members.

• Georgia Unemployment Rate Drops to All-Time Low of Three Percent

  June 17, 2022

  Georgia Labor Commissioner Mark Butler announced on Thursday that Georgia’s May unemployment rate hit an all-time low of 3 percent while Georgia's number of jobs continued to climb to an all-time high of 4,782,400.

• Gov. Kemp Announces Purchase of Middle Georgia Megasite in Peach County

  June 17, 2022

  Governor Brian Kemp announced the purchase of a more than 1,100-acre economic development site in partnership between the State of Georgia and the Development Authority of Peach County.

• goBeyondProfit CEO Interview: Love Tested: Navigating an Industry Crushing Pandemic

  June 17, 2022

  Herschend Enterprises and their CEO, Andrew Wexler, were recently nominated and selected as the first 2022 goBeyondProfit Champion. We sat down with Andrew and learned how “Leading with Love” helped the nation’s largest privately-held themed attractions company weather the COVID-19 pandemic.

• Pop Culture Legends to Perform Saturday at Wild Adventures

  June 16, 2022

  Wild Adventures Theme Park hosts its annual Season Passholder Appreciation Concert with pop culture legends Three Dog Night as part of the 2022 All-Star Concert Series, presented by Valdosta TKO Nissan.

• Georgia Ports Set All-time Trade Record in May

  June 16, 2022

  The Georgia Ports Authority moved an all-time high 519,390 twenty-foot equivalent container units in May, breaking the previous record of 504,350 TEUs set in October 2021.

• New Research Finds One in Three Georgia Workers Would Quit Job for Mental Health Reasons

  June 14, 2022

  Georgia employed adults say that burnout and mental health issues – not just compensation – are the top reason they would leave a job in 2022, according to a new report released today by goBeyondProfit and Georgia CEO.

• Georgia Secures AAA Bond Rating in 2022

  June 14, 2022

  Governor Brian Kemp announced Monday that Georgia has again secured the highest ratings of AAA with a stable outlook from each of the three main credit rating agencies: FitchRatings, Moody’s Investors Service, and S&P Global Ratings.

• Things You Need to Know About Georgia Life Sciences

  June 13, 2022

  Most people might not be aware that the state is home to over 2,000 life science companies including global industry leaders Alcon, Johnson & Johnson, Sanofi, and Takeda, as well as headquarters of American Cancer Society, Arthritis Foundation, and the CDC just to name a few.

• Lt. Governor Duncan, Mayor Dickens & Business Leaders Partner to Increase Tech Investment in Georgia

  June 10, 2022

  Lt. Governor Geoff Duncan and Atlanta Mayor Andre Dickens, along with key Georgia business leaders, traveled to California this week to promote Atlanta’s strong partnership with state leaders and attract potential investors to the Peach State. The trip coincided with the 2022 RSA Conference in San Francisco, the premier event for cybersecurity industry leaders.

• goBeyondProfit CEO Interview: Changing Love from a 4-Letter Word to a Core Business Strategy

  June 10, 2022

  Herschend Enterprises and their CEO, Andrew Wexler, were recently nominated and selected as the first 2022 goBeyondProfit Champion. We sat down with Andrew and learned how he credits seventy years of success to love as the core business strategy.

• Gov. Kemp, DNR Leaders Honor 2022 Forestry for Wildlife Partners

  June 09, 2022

  Gov. Brian Kemp recognized three corporate forest landowners Monday for their stewardship and land management practices benefiting wildlife across Georgia. Georgia Power, Weyerhaeuser and CatchMark Timber Trust are the agency’s 2022 Forestry for Wildlife partners.

• Two-Property Student Housing Community in Valdosta Sells for $18.5M

  June 08, 2022

  Marcus & Millichap announced the sale of The Gates at the Stadium and The Gates at Valdosta.

• Small Businesses Fight Back & Adopt New Strategies as Inflation Squeezes Profits

  June 08, 2022

  Most small business owners report lower profits than expected over the past six months due to declining sales and higher expenses as inflationary pressures rise, according to new survey data from SCORE, mentors to America's small businesses and a resource partner of the U.S. Small Business Administration.

• Georgia Legal Community Provides Over 3.5 Million Meals to State’s Regional Food Banks

  June 07, 2022

  Attorney General Chris Carr announced that attorneys across Georgia raised a total of $880,248.08 during the 11th Annual Georgia Legal Food Frenzy fundraising competition. This is the equivalent of 3,520,992 meals for the state’s regional food banks to then distribute to Georgia children, seniors and families in need.