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The Savannah Tribune • Wednesday, July 05,2023 11
Leadership Southeast Georgia Session Four
Focused on Economic Development in Bryan
and Effingham Counties
The professional development and leadership program reviewed current economic development
efforts, and interconnected factors that impact it.
There’s Always Someone Just a Little
Bit Smarter
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204 West Hill I Street I Savannah, GA 31401
912-233-2175 i 912-233-2176 ! Fax 912-234-9343
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Leadership Southeast
Georgia, a professional devel
opment and leadership pro
gram serving 10 coastal coun
ties, held the fourth session of
2023 programming in Bryan
and Effingham counties. LSE-
GA is a five-month course of
ongoing personal and profes
sional growth to build connec
tions and learn collaboration
skills that empower the partic
ipants to improve the region.
This session explored eco
nomic development in the two
counties, specifically looking
at various government devel
opment authorities, infrastruc
ture projects, nonprofits in the
region, and workforce develop
ment. Additionally, the session
sought to identify best practic
es in performance management
strategies and enhance partic
ipants’ awareness of personal
leadership styles.
“There are a lot of
moving parts in a regional
economy, so reviewing how
federal, state and local eco
nomic development authorities
operate and interact with busi
nesses and nonprofits is vitally
important,” said Suzanne Kirk,
LSEGA facilitator. “The speak
ers and tours in this session
were particularly interesting,
and they offered a way to see
how connected we all are.”
Day one of the ses
sion began with a presentation
from Effingham County Indus
trial Development Authority
CEO Brandt Herndon. Titled
“Winning the Largest Eco
nomic Development Project in
Georgia’s History,” he spoke
about the region’s successful
campaign to lure the massive
Hyundai electric vehicle as
sembly plant. The $5.5B proj
ect sits on a 1,744-acre site
and is expected to create 8,100
jobs.
After lunch, the
group heard from Alyce Thorn
hill of the Georgia Department
of Economic Development;
Maria Whitfield, of the Sa
vannah Joint Development
Authority; and Sharon Curran
and Jason Hong, of Hyundai,
to further discuss the Hyundai
plant’s expected impact. This
was followed by a tour of the
construction site of the plant,
led by Eric Johnson, Local
Project Director. The group
then toured Daniel Defense, a
firearms manufacturer in Black
Creek, led by Sean Polwort, the
Director of Health, Safety and
Training.
Day two began with
a tour of Effingham College
and Career Academy. Attend
ees were greeted by CEO Todd
Wall before settling into a pre
sentation titled “Best Practices
in Performance and Leader
ship,” given by Suzanne Kirk,
Employee Development Strate
gies, Inc. After lunch, the group
took a windshield tour of the
Sewon America construction
site. The auto body parts suppli
er is building a manufacturing
facility in Effingham county
slated to produce 740 new jobs.
They also viewed the Georgia
International Trade Center, a
1,150-acre, rail-served light in
dustrial manufacturing park in
Rincon.
After lunch, a pan
el discussion on non-profits
was held to review workforce
development and community
investment. Panelists includ
ed Isai Castrejon of Junior
Achievement Georgia, Jay
LAND BANK
AUTHORITY
Chatham County/
City of Savannah
LAND BANK
AUTHORITY, INC.
Contact the Land Bank Authority if you
would like to:
* Acquire property for the renovation or new
construction of housing affordable to persons with
modest incomes.*
* Donate or sell your vacant, blighted, residential
property in Savannah to the Land Bank.*
Visit our website:
www-savartnahga-gmyiflndliank
or
CALL: 912-G52-3S46
for more information about the Land Bank,
available properties, and requirements for
acquiring property.*
Certain restrictions apply.
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Thompson of Xcel Strategies,
and Tal Loos, Vice President
of Economic Development of
Savannah Technical College.
“The economic
growth of the coastal region is
the result of the generational ef
forts of economic development
professionals, volunteers, and
elected officials,” says Dorie
Bacon. “Sharing their success
story with the next generation
of leaders was an honor.”
Session sponsors for
the Bryan and Effingham coun
ties program include Coastal
Electric Cooperative, Devel
opment Authority of Bryan
County, Planters Broadband
Cooperative, Effingham Coun
ty Industrial Development Au
thority, Hussey Gay Bell and
Gray Pannell & Woodward.
LSEGA 2023 pro
gram sponsors include Evans
General Contractors, Georgia
Power, Savannah/Hilton Head
International Airport, Geor
gia Southern University, M.E.
Sack Engineering, Gulfst-
ream, HARCO Construction,
The Sack Company, Sterling
Seacrest Partners, Thomas &
Hutton, International Paper,
Hunter Maclean, Colony Bank,
Hussey Gay Bell, Comcast,
Savannah Economic Develop
ment Authority, Visit Savan
nah, Chick-fil-A Hinesville,
Southeastern Bank, and Rhowe
Design + Build.
To learn more about
the LSEGA program, visit:
http://www.lsega.com/
■ifr. Erfuiird t). Mumjrow
Ruwnf [Hrcaor Anri fjub.ilntct
Newly promoted
fundraising professionals and
volunteer leaders can feel as
if they should have all the an
swers to everything. The pres
sure can feel overwhelming
and trying to hide the feelings
of overwhelm only adds to the
dizzying experience. Here’s a
secret: all of that is unneces
sary. The cure lies in not know
ing it all. Instead, surround
yourself with people who can
help you reach your goals.
Melvin’s mom would
say, “just remember, there’s
always someone just a little
bit smarter than you.” She
was trying to tell him that he
wouldn’t always have the an
swer. She was suggesting that
he humble himself and reach
out for advice from others. This
guidance continues to drive us
today and we share it with you.
Don’t let appearances, titles,
and experiences fool you. In
spite of where you think peo
ple are in life, they can usually
come up with a contribution or
solution because of their life
experience. Don’t underesti
mate how people can help you.
Melvin’s Uncle Rob
ert is a great example. He never
finished college, but he was a
brilliant man, religious leader,
businessman, and communi
ty leader. Same with Melvin’s
great grandmother. She might
have gone to the third grade,
but she turned into a business
woman, bought a farm, raised
eight or nine kids, and was
wealthy by the standards for
Black people of the day. You
just can’t judge a book by its
cover. This is true of life in
general, and in the nonprofit
arena as well. When you take
a moment to talk with people,
you will be surprised by who
they know, what their politics
are, what gets them excited,
and most importantly the rela
tionships they have across all
strata. Here are a few things to
keep in mind as you seek out
people to help you meet your
fundraising goals.
First, keep an open
mind and be a good listener.
We encourage casual conver
sation as an informal way to
gain information. Don’t be
quick to judge, for you never
know where a good idea will
originate from. At the same
time, you are seeking more
than ideas: you are looking
for solutions. As you listen,
acknowledge and recognize
the input that is being shared
with you. In all your activities
and conversations you want to
create a culture of open par
ticipation, for fundraising is a
team sport. You’ll want to talk
to donors, prospective donors,
and stakeholders, asking for
their insights and ideas. Where
possible, talk with people
one-on-one, in person, by vid
eo-conference, or on the phone.
You want to get to know peo
ple individually. That includes
your staff - if you have one
- and other people in the orga
nization, on the board, or who
are volunteering. Regardless
of who you are meeting with,
let people know that you are
looking for ideas and solutions.
And take notes. You want to
be able to follow up and put
suggestions into action where
possible, but first you’ll have
to remember what people share
with you!
Copyright 2023 - Mel
and Pearl Shaw of Saad&Shaw
- Comprehensive Fund Devel
opment Services. Video and
phone conferencing services
always available. Let us help
you grow your fundraising.
Call us at (901) 522-8727 or
visit www.saadandshaw.com.
Savannah Speech and Hearing Center Receives
Grant from the Savannah Community Foundation
Emerging Leaders Committee Fund
Savannah Speech
and Hearing Center has been
awarded a grant from the
Emerging Leaders Committee
of the Savannah Communi
ty Foundation to benefit our
Speech-Language Patholo
gy program, which provides
comprehensive services that
can improve nearly all aspects
of communication, as well as
cognition, feeding, oral-motor
development, and overall qual
ity of life for individuals of all
ages. This grant will help the
Savannah Speech and Hearing
Center (SSHC) to maintain
an adequate number of cur
rent assessments to serve our
Savannah, Pooler and school
locations. SSHC is a service
award-winning, non-profit
agency and the only one of its
kind in this part of the state to
provide services through schol
arships and a sliding fee scale
to individuals and families who
need financial assistance.
The Savannah Com
munity Foundation is an um
brella philanthropic organiza
tion through which individuals,
families, businesses, and char
ities support the wellbeing of
our community. Its Emerging
Leaders Committee is com
posed of about 35 young pro
fessionals sponsored by their
employers who meet twice a
year to learn about charitable
needs in our area. The ELC
evaluates responses to the
Foundation’s Request for ELC
Proposals issued in the Spring
and Fall of each year and dis
tributes approximately $12,000
each cycle to local charities.
'Georgia’s Best Weekly’
Cfje Cributte
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to support the advertisers who support
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There are more than 120,000 consumers
within the distribution and shopping area
of The Savannah Tribune. In addtion to
our special appeal to African-American
readers, an aggressive distribution
system enables the newspaper to reach
all sectors of our market area*
Email Us At
newsroom@savannahtribune.com &
tany am @ sa vannahtribune .com
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Card Directory or place your
Organizations Information & Activities on
our Community News Page.
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