The Valdosta-Lowndes Chamber along with Coleman Talley hosted a VIP luncheon with Georgia Secretary of State, Brian Kemp, and local business leaders today. Kemp was in town to speak at the Georgia Association of Chamber of Commerce Executives Conference held at the Rainwater Conference Center.

“I ran for office to bring common sense business practices and a small business owner’s mentality to government,” Kemp said as he addressed GACCE conference attendees this morning. “Small businesses are what drive our local economies here in Georgia, and our Chambers really advocate on behalf of those businesses.”

Kemp spoke about the progress being made in streamlining processes in the Secretary of State’s office, work being done with the Invest Georgia Exemption and overall improvements being made in the election process including the GA Votes app. Kemp continued the conversation at a luncheon with twenty of Valdosta’s top business leaders, the Chairman’s Circle and President’s Partners members of the Valdosta-Lowndes Chamber.

Kemp’s visit comes at a time of positive momentum for job growth in the state. The Georgia Department of Labor announced today that the state’s seasonally adjusted unemployment rate for January fell to 6.4 percent, the lowest level since July 2008.