Georgia County Government - October 2008 - (Page 18) SOUTH GEORGIA continued from page 17 and preserve the high-quality, and increasingly rare, rural way of life here. depend on the latter in terms of jobs for the communities here – but both are equally sought after, and welcomed. Tift County Chairman Grady Thompson, who is also chairman of the Tift County Development Authority and credited as an instrumental player in the county’s success diversifying economically in the past three years, offers an example of how the Development Authority and local industries work together to promote economic development. Thompson points out that the Authority is currently financing a $22 million expansion of Heatcraft 4931 Riverside Drive 4931 Riverside Drive Refrigeration Products’ 315,000-squareMacon, Georgia 31210 478-474-9092 foot facility in Tifton, as well as a new production and distribution facility slated to add more than 350 new jobs. Proudly Supplying Quality Asphalt Products Proudly Supplying Quality Asphalt Products Another expansion the community and Paveme t oluti and Pavement Solutions to Georgia t to Georgi helped facilitate over the summer was Counties Since 1955 the opening of Tifton Extrusions, a $5 million company the Development Visit www.reevescc.com for locations in your area. Authority is also financing, set to create 110 new jobs. 385057_Reeves.indd 1 6/23/08 8:52:28 AM Job availability is growing in the Providing Complete region, all officials report. “Within a 30-mile radius of Cook County,” notes Municipal Services for Waldron, for instance, there are 250,000 Large & Small Communities people available to fi ll jobs of all descriptions. An incoming fi lm processing disWilliams & Associates tribution center for Wal-Mart is on the Athens, GA 30606 horizon, probably owing a little some(706)310-0400 thing to the success of a Target distribution center here now, occupying some Engineering Consultants, 1.57 million-square-feet and employing Landscape Architects & Planners 1,400 people. Taking advantage of the www.gaplanning.com excellent “in-between” location right 18 GEORGIA 384630_Williams.indd 1COUNTY GOVERNMENT 5/29/08 8:55:15 AM Industrial and Business Growth, Workforce Development Rural economic development is defi nitely different from that in urban counties, officials here will tell you. The most defi nitive difference is any industry is appreciated, regardless of its size, Waldron points out. “Creating 25 jobs in a rural county like ours is just as important as an industry that creates 1,000 jobs in a larger county,” he asserts. “OneGeorgia Authority funding is crucial here, too. We need for the state to understand the major impact small businesses can have here.” RDC Planning Director Julia Shewchuk agrees. “Eighty percent of all businesses, in our region and elsewhere, create fewer than 20 jobs. We need to pay attention to the potential of small businesses.” The entire region, therefore, is as amenable to welcoming the incoming “mom and pop” shop that sells specialty items, as it is a supplier plant which exports its goods worldwide. More may The South Georgia peanut harvest is the world’s largest. Image courtesy of the Georgia Department of Economic Development While each county in the region, indeed, cleaves to its own unique identity, they’re all unified when it comes to their common goals. http://www.reevescc.com http://www.gaplanning.com
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