Georgia Magazine - February 2018 - 32

Rural Prosperity Council promotes rural Georgia
BY DENNIS CHASTAIN

MORGAN LAW

ural. The word "rural" represents
home for many of us and is a part
of the fabric of our culture both
as a state and as a nation. For some,
it's simply a place of quiet beauty. For
others, it's a way of life. For the electric membership cooperatives across
Georgia, rural communities are our
heritage and home to many of our
customers. These communities are
the heart and soul of this nation, and,
sadly, today many of these places are
struggling. However, after years of
neglect, I believe there is now hope
for our rural towns and cities here in
Georgia.
For the past year, I have had the
opportunity to work closely with the
Georgia Chamber of Commerce on a
new program that is focused exclusively on rural Georgia. The chamber's Rural Prosperity Council (RPC)
was developed to craft recommendations to encourage business and
community development in these
parts of the state. With more than
one-third of Georgia's 159 counties
slated to lose population by 2030 and
85 counties projected to lose jobs,* it is
time for us to roll up
our sleeves to help.
The RPC is helping shape the discussion about how
best to assist rural Georgia. As chairman of the council, I am amazed that
nearly 200 chamber members from
around the state have signed up to
participate. After several meetings,
we identified four critical areas that
must be addressed if we are to revitalize these communities in our
state. These are empowering leadership, strengthening economic drivers,
improving quality of life and recruiting, retaining and training talent. This

Georgia EMC President/CEO Dennis Chastain, who chairs the Rural Prosperity Council,
speaks to attendees of the Rural Prosperity Summit, held at the University of Georgia
Conference Center in Tifton Nov. 29-30.

year, the council will work with Georgia Chamber staff and other partners
to propose steps that can be taken in
each of these necessary areas.
Another effort of the RPC is to
promote rural Georgia while encouraging greater attention to the challenges faced by these parts of the
state. To achieve
this, we established
the Rural Prosperity Summit. The first
summit was held in
Tifton Nov. 29-30
and was a solid step
toward this goal. More than 300 business and community leaders, elected
officials, economic developers and
others came together to share ideas,
make connections and focus attention on the challenges faced by rural
Georgia.
Entrepreneurs shared stories of
partnering with state agencies to overcome obstacles to getting products to
market and creating jobs. Education
and workforce development partners
told the audience about creative programs being developed to encourage
today's students to explore manufac-

The RPC is helping shape
the discussion about how
best to assist rural Georgia.

*According to JobsEQ, which uses data from
American Community Survey and the U.S. Bureau
of Labor Statistics.
32

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turing jobs and to rekindle interest in
agricultural careers.
Honest conversations were led by
elected officials and nonprofit social
service providers about how communities can work to overcome poverty
and facilitate affordable housing solutions for all residents. Throughout the
program, I was pleased to see rural
Georgia being placed in the spotlight
by our speakers, attendees and partners. Based on the positive response
in 2017, we are already planning Rural Prosperity Summit 2018.
I am proud to continue Georgia EMC's long tradition of supporting economic development through
these efforts with the Rural Prosperity
Council and the Georgia Chamber of
Commerce. There is much work yet
to be done, but I am optimistic that
we are making headway. To learn
more about the Georgia Chamber's
rural efforts, visit gachamber.com/
rural-georgia-home.
Dennis Chastain is the president
CEO of Tucker-based Georgia EMC
and serves as chairman of the Georgia Chamber of Commerce's Rural
Prosperity Council.
GEORGIA MAGAZINE

http://www.gachamber.com/rural-georgia-home http://www.gachamber.com/rural-georgia-home http://www.georgiamagazine.org

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Georgia Magazine - February 2018