Newspaper Page Text
JL
PERKY
This Is What The Perry
Chamber Will Do For You!
I’m your 2008 chair
man and this year you
will hear the word
chamber more than
you havg ever heard
it before. So the first
question is have you
visited our website
lately to see exactly
what the chamber is
doing, can your busi
ness contribute or
host one of the events?
Sure this would mean
that you will need to
step out of your com
fort zone and ask if
you can help better
the community that
we live in, see this
is one of the many
activities that the
chamber does on a
daily basis, if you look
around our great city
and ask how we got
some well known res
taurants or the indus
tries that creative the
jobs and grow our city
the chamber played a
part in it. Our Cham
ber is the best mar
keting tool for the
money that you will
spend this year. I’m
Daniel Brown the bro
ker/owner of Progres
sive Real Estate and
marketing real estate
is my livelihood. So
this year our chamber
will step into the spot
light to receive the
Perry Board
of Directors
officers
Chairman
Daniel Brown
Past Chairman
Kelly Mullins
Chair-Elect
Michael Chalmers
Secretary/
Treasurer
Wilbur Rumph
Legal Counsel
Bob Lawson
DIRECTORS
2008
Julie Evans
Dr. Matt Dixon
Rob Brooks
2009
Mia Geiger
Julia Nell Shaw
Kenna Scragg
Karen Thompson
2010
Jose Gonzalez
Rob Jones
Matt Marshall
Kim Sheridon
A City Prospers By Community-Wide Cooperation
There is a place for every business and
professional person in the Chamber of
Commerce. The Chamber provides the
necessary channel through which action
can be taken to improve the area, build
the community and develop constructive
leadership.
Top 10 Reasons to
Invest in your Chamber:
10. YOUR INVESTMENT gives you
another pair of eyes. Eyes of specialized
observers who maintain a watch on leg
islation which affects every citizen of the
community, and watching to be sure the
quality of life in the area is maintained.
9. YOUR INVESTMENT gives you a
number of one time discounts on every
thing from advertising to catering events.
8. YOUR INVESTMENT gives you a
front office. All Chamber members can
display their business cards and/or bro
chures at the Chamber office. The Cham
ber is a place where visitors gain their
first impressions of the soundness and the
hospitality of the community. It is also the
first place many new residence come to, to
ask for referrals.
7. YOUR INVESTMENT helps the
Chamber carry out its yearly Program-of-
Work
6. YOUR INVESTMENT means you
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Daniel Brown
Chairman
recognition for help
ing build the com
munity of Perry. Your
membership invest
ment is what keeps
our chamber running
so this is the thought
I want to leave you
with, we voted iast
year to keep our
chamber as the Perry
Area Chamber and
the difference from
the yea and nays was
about 40 membership
votes. One individual
citizen membership
cost seventy five dol
lars so our chamber
could have been lost
for about three thou
sand dollars. So this
is what I/m asking
you if you love the city
we live in and want to
help better the quali
ty of life become a cit
izen member today.
EX-OfFICIO
Houston County
Development
Authority
Morgan Law
Perry Area
Convention &
Visitor’s Bureau
Sheila Jones
Perry
Downtown
Development
Authority
Tish Chase
Warner Robins
Area Chamber
of Commerce
Ed Rodriguez
STAFF
President/CEO
Megan Smith
Events &
Fundraising
Coordinator
Maggie Jenkins
Administrative
Assistant
Bonnie Giles
M 7 Unm fgtattw Hijniighte
As I complete my term as
Chairman for the Perry Area
Chamber of Commerce and
look back over the last twelve
months, there are many mile
stone which were realized
along the journey. First of
all, let me say it was both an
honor and privilege to serve
the Perry business communi
ty and to work along side fel
low board members and the
chamber staff to fulfill the in
tended purpose of the cham
ber which is first and foremost
to promote and support the
businesses in our community.
There were several milestones
reached in 2007 to include:
• We saw an increase in our
fundraising revenue. The Dog
wood Festival, Fall Challenge
- Taste of Perry, Professional
Woman’s Day Lunch, were all
successful and well attended
events.
• We began a Diplomat Pro
gram as part of our Program of
Work. The Diplomat Program
was started as a means of re
cruiting, retaining and mentor
ing new chamber members. Its
also a program which allows
us to touch base with exist
ing members by way of a visit,
phone call or card.
• Our Resource Room for En
trepreneur’s was opened with a
SIO,OOO grant we received from
the Georgia Department of Eco
nomic Development. Many are
visiting the Chamber to take
advantage of this resource.
Houston County Economic
Development Record Year
Investment of more than $350 million and creation 0f230 new jobs
2007 was a banner year for
Houston County in terms of
new capital investment in the
economic development sector.
With three traditional indus
trial type projects and one tour
ism-related project announced
in 2007, Houston County en
joyed a very successful year.
According to the Houston
County Development Author
ity, the entity charged with
encouraging industrial growth
and investment in Houston
County, the year’s projects will
bring a combined $351 million
into the community’s economy.
“These projects are a testament
to the development authority’s
mission to bring enhanced
economic opportunity to all
residents of Houston County,”
said HCDA Chairman Neal
Rearden.
In March, 2007, Georgia
Governor Sonny Perdue and
community officials joined with
have the opportunity to meet the business
and community leaders through network
ing events such as Business After Hours,
Good morning Perry Breakfast, Leader
ship Perry, and our Annual Legislative
Delegation Appreciation Luncheon.
5. YOUR INVESTMENT gives YOU
the opportunity to let your feelings be
known and get involved. The Chamber is
active in many areas and your interests
will probably fall in one of these areas.
4. YOUR INVESTMENT is a way to
give back to the community in which you
live and earn a living, because everyone
owes a debt of personal service to the com
munity that cannot be paid-off in taxes.
3. YOUR INVESTMENT allows you to
apply for discounted insurance from Blue
Cross Blue Shield, which helps you reduce
your overhead.
2. YOUR INVESTMENT enables the
Chamber to be a central over-all voluntary
organization and play a vital and essen
tial role in the community’s progress.
And the #1 reason to
Invest in your Chamber:
1. YOUR INVESTMENT allows you
and the other members on the Chamber
of Commerce Team to make our commu
nity the kind of place you want live and do
business in.
• We also received an esti
mated S3OOO grant to help us
market the Dogwood Festival
state-wide.
• The first Sam Nunn Citi
zenship was awarded to a Per
ry Middle School Student and
a Perry High School Student.
This award will be given each
year.
• We hosted the GA Cham
ber Congressional Luncheon
for the 4th year with over 1400
Business Leaders in atten
dance as well as many of our
local service men and women.
This has proven to be an event
which has allowed us to “show
case” our community.
• We hosted a listening ses
sion for the GA Chamber’s to
help them set there legislative
agenda for 2008 session.
In addition to all the mile
stones noted above there was
also a considerable amount of
time invested on behalf of the
Board of Directors, Chamber
Staff and our membership, as
we considered the possibilities
of a county wide Chamber. A
team of people were assembled
to explore the pros and cons of
this initiative. This was not the
first time this issue has come
forward but history was made
when the issue was brought be
fore the membership.
The Houston County Coali
tion Committee worked tireless
ly to explore and put together a
plan by which we believed our
entire community would ben
1
m Mm
Morgan Law,
Houston County
Development Authority
Houston American Cement to
announce the company’s deci
sion to locate their S2OO mil
lion cement manufacturing
operation near Perry, Georgia.
According to the company, the
plant is slated for completion
by 2010 and will employ be
tween 80 and 100 personnel
with the production positions
having average annual salaries
of $41,000 with benefits. Hous
ton American Cement will join
Cemex, also located in Houston
County, as the only operational
cement manufacturing plants
in the state.
Two months later in May
2007, following months of as
sessment and discussions, Fri
to Lay announced their plans
to expand the existing plant
in Kathleen, GA. The 100,000
square foot bakery addition
will facilitate Frito Lay’s com
mitment to producing heart
healthy snack foods and is
slated to create approximately
80 new full time positions. The
development authority signed
an inducement resolution for
up to $125 million in support of
Frito Lay’s ongoing expansion
plans. The Houston County
facility is already the largest
in Frito Lay’s national network
of 32 plants and employs more
than 1,200.
A Jacksonville, Florida com
pany then announced in Oc-
efit. Our focus as a committee
was on how we could better col
laborate together as a county
rathor than competing as two
separate entities. While some
may have criticized our efforts
early on, in the end those same
individuals applauded the pro
cess the committee used to con
sider the possibilities. In the
end, Perry’s membership voted
against the idea of a county
wide Chamber. The reasons for
voting against the plan varied;
however, what the vote said to
the Board of Director’s was “we
like our Chamber.”
My thanks go to the mem
bers of the Houston County
Coalition Team for the sacri
fices they made to lead the way
and bring the issue of a county
wide Chamber to the forefront
of our membership. You are
each deserving of an award for
“courage and bravery.” We cast
a vision for the future when
many are reluctant to do so.
Thank you for allowing me to
work along side you to make
our mark on history. I believe
everything is subject to an ap
pointed time. The time for a
county-wide Chamber has not
yet arrived for Houston County
but I believe someday soon the
time will be right for our com
munity to consider this as a
means of •protecting the inter
est of our county vs. our indi
vidual cities.
So I leave the chairmanship
encouraged by the progress we
made along our journey this
tober 2007 that they would
relocate to Perry and bring ap
proximately 50 new jobs. Sy-
Klone International, a world
leader in the manufacture of
air-cleaning products for in
dustrial air filtration systems,
announced their decision to
purchase an available 35,000
square foot building in the
Perry Industrial Park. The
Houston County Development
Authority agreed to support
the issuance of $7 million in
industrial revenue bonds to fa
cilitate the project. Industrial
revenue bonds are based upon
the company’s credit and in no
way obligate the community
to any type of payback on the
company’s behalf. A Sy-Klone
spokesperson indicated that
their decision to locate in Perry
was based on the “hospitality
they received, availability of
quality manufacturing spaces
close to Interstate 75, and the
workforce in Middle Georgia.”
Houston County Commis
sion Chairman Ned Sanders
expressed his satisfaction with
the industrial project success
es in 2007. “The decisions to
invest by Frito Lay, Houston
American Cement, Sy-Klone
International, and the State
of Georgia are indicative of the
dynamic economy we enjoy in
Houston County.”
In late December, Governor
Perdue visited Perry to an
nounce the decision to locate
a s2l million Go Fish Georgia
Visitors Center on land being
provided by the Georgia Na
tional Fair and Agricenter. The
120-acre complex will boast a
visitors’ center with aquarium
and static displays, a state-of
the-art freshwater hatchery
operation, and a public fishing
area. The Georgia Department
of Natural Resources is target
ing between 60,000 to 100,000
visitors will enjoy the center
once it is complete in 2009.
Based on an economic impact
model used by the Perry Area
Conventions & Visitors Bu
reau and the Georgia National
Fair & Agricenter, the Go Fish
Center would have an esti-
L»J| w MI
Kelly Mullins,
2007 Chairman
year. It has been a pleasure to
serve on the Board of Directors
for the last four years. I ap
preciate my employer, Graphic
Packaging International who
supports and understands the
need for businesses to invest in
the communities in which they
are in to include monetary in
vestments and the investment
of time. A very special thank
you to Megan Smith, Presi
dent & CEO of the Perry Area
Chamber, our community as
benefited greatly from Megan’s
leadership. Last but certainly
not least to my husband, Ed
and children, Chris, Jackie and
Savannah - thank you for sup
port and understanding when
many of my responsibilities to
the Chamber took time away
from each of you.
mated $8.4 million impact with
100,000 visitors each year.
Perry Mayor Jim Worrall was
also pleased with the year’s
economic accomplishments.
“Our residents are the true
beneficiaries of these new jobs
and investment in the commu
nity. We are also very pleased
that Perry was chosen as the
site for the Go Fish Center. It
is a natural complement for the
tourism appeal of the Georgia
National Fairground & Agri
center.”
“Houston County’s busi
ness environment continues to
stimulate economic opportuni
ty,” said Sean McMillan, direc
tor of projects for the Georgia
Department of Economic De
velopment. "Two of our larg
est projects in 2007 in terms
of investment - the Frito-Lay
expansion and the Houston
American Cement location -
were in Houston County.”
One of the community’s eco
nomic development assets
continues to be the Specula
tive Building located in Perry.
This building, constructed in
mid-2001, has been submitted
to dozens of prospective com
panies in hopes of recruiting
one to locate in the community.
"While the building has tak
en longer to fill than hoped,”
Rearden stated that “having a
speculative building elevates
the community to the top of
the list as national and inter
national companies consider
locations for multi-million dol
lar projects.” As reported in
the fall of 2007, the building
remains a final candidate for a
sizeable manufacturing project
that is considering the area.
Community leaders are hope
ful that a favorable decision
will be reached sometime in
the first quarter of 2008.
Development Authority exec
utive director Morgan Law was
optimistic for the coming year,
“while we are pleased with the
projects we were able to facili
tate in 2007, we are working
hard to continue and increase
this level of success in years to
come.”