CHECK OUT THIS WEEK'S CHAMBER WEEKLY!
CHAMBER & COMMUNITY HAPPENINGS
Click on the flyer to visit U.S. Screen Printing and Signs' Facebook Page!
Join us for the 97th Annual Meeting!
Presented by Phoebe Sumter Medical Center
Save the date for the 97th Annual Meeting of Members on Thursday evening, March 23rd, 2017 in the Pope Center at South Georgia Technical College. Reception starts at 6 PM with seated dinner to follow at 7 PM. Additional sponsorships and tables are available for purchase. Be on the lookout for more information!
TECHNOLOGY TRENDS FOR SMALL BUSINESSES
FEBRUARY 28 | 9:00 - 10:00 AM

The right technology solution should level the playing field for small business owners, helping to accelerate growth through more effective operations and an enhanced customer experience. But in a rapidly changing technology landscape, small business owners are often faced with options that can seem daunting, expensive, and time consuming.

Learn the tricks you need to increase efficiency, protect information, and remain competitive in today's digital landscape by attending our upcoming webinar,   Technology Trends for Small Businesses. Presented by technology expert and small business owner, Jeremy Anderson of Southern NetworX, will share insight into the most reliable and cost-effective tools of the trade.
Join us for an interactive and in-depth look at a variety of technology tools, and learn how small and mid-size businesses can implement these to support project management, customer satisfaction, and employee collaboration. All solutions discussed will be cloud based, affordable, and easy to acquire when it is time to start using them in your organization.

SBA Disaster Assistance for Businesses and Residents
 Expands to Additional South Georgia Counties
 
The U.S. Small Business Administration has added more counties to the disaster declaration in Georgia affected by severe storms, tornadoes, high winds and flooding on
Jan. 21-22, 2017.
 
The disaster declaration covers the counties of Berrien, Cook, Crisp, Dougherty, Thomas, Turner, Wilcox and Worth in Georgia which are eligible for both Physical and Economic Injury Disaster Loans from the SBA.  Small businesses and most private nonprofit organizations in the following adjacent counties are eligible to apply only for SBA Economic Injury Disaster Loans: Atkinson,  Baker, Ben Hill, Brooks, Calhoun, Coffee, Colquitt, Dodge, Dooly, Grady, Irwin, Lanier, Lee, Lowndes, Mitchell, Pulaski,
Sumter, Telfair, Terrell, and Tift in Georgia; Jefferson and Leon counties in Florida.
 
Businesses and private nonprofit organizations may borrow up to $2 million to repair or replace disaster damaged or destroyed real estate, machinery and equipment, inventory, and other business assets. 
 
For small businesses, small agricultural cooperatives, small businesses engaged in aquaculture and most private nonprofit organizations, the SBA offers Economic Injury Disaster Loans to help meet working capital needs caused by the disaster.  Economic Injury Disaster Loan assistance is available regardless of whether the business suffered any physical property damage.
 
Disaster loans up to $200,000 are available to homeowners to repair or replace disaster damaged or destroyed real estate.  Homeowners and renters are eligible up to $40,000 to repair or replace disaster damaged or destroyed personal property.
 
Interest rates are as low as 3.125 percent for businesses and 2.5 percent for nonprofit organizations, and 1.5 percent for homeowners and renters with terms up to 30 years.  Loan amounts and terms are set by the SBA and are based on each applicant's financial condition.
 
Applicants may be eligible for a loan amount increase up to 20 percent of their physical damages, as verified by the SBA for mitigation purposes.  Eligible mitigation improvements may now include a safe room or storm shelter to help protect property and occupants from future damage caused by a similar disaster.
 
Applicants may apply online using the Electronic Loan Application (ELA) via the SBA's secure website at https://disasterloan.sba.gov/ela .
 
To be considered for all forms of disaster assistance, applicants should register online at www.DisasterAssistance.gov or by mobile device at m.fema.gov.  If online or mobile access is unavailable, applicants should call the FEMA toll-free helpline at 800-621-3362. Those who use 711-Relay or Video Relay Services should call 800-621-3362.
 
Additional details on the locations of Disaster Recovery Centers and the loan application process can be obtained by calling the SBA Customer Service Center at 800-659-2955 (800-877-8339 for the deaf and hard-of-hearing) or by sending an email to disastercustomerservice@sba.gov. 
 
The filing deadline to return applications for physical property damage is March 27, 2017.  The deadline to return economic injury applications is Oct. 26, 2017.
 
For more information about the SBA's Disaster Loan Program, visit our website at  www.sba.gov /disaster

Jimmy Carter brings massive solar array to his hometown

Situated on 10 acres, the 1.3-megawatt project will provide more than half of the power needs of Plains, Georgia.

Former President Jimmy Carter generously leased 10 acres of farmland for the new array.

Building on a clean energy legacy that includes installing the first thermal solar panels on the roof of the White House, former President Jimmy Carter is bringing the renewable energy revolution to his hometown of Plains, Georgia.
The 92-year-old, who served as the 39th president from 1977 to 1981, recently leased 10 acres of farmland outside Plains for the construction of a 1.3-megawatt (MW) solar array. Developed by SolAmerica, the installation is projected to generate over 55 million kilowatt hours of clean energy in Plains - more than half the town's annual needs.
"Rosalynn and I are very pleased to be part of SolAmerica's exciting solar project in Plains," Carter said in a statement. "Distributed, clean energy generation is critical to meeting growing energy needs around the world while fighting the effects of climate change. I am encouraged by the tremendous progress that solar and other clean energy solutions have made in recent years and expect those trends to continue."

Back in June 1979, President Carter made history by installing 32 panels on the roof of the White House to heat water. In a speech that day, Carter signaled that it would only be a matter of time before such technology would compete for a piece of America's energy portfolio.
"In the year 2000 this solar water heater behind me, which is being dedicated today, will still be here supplying cheap, efficient energy.... A generation from now, this solar heater can either be a curiosity, a museum piece, an example of a road not taken or it can be just a small part of one of the greatest and most exciting adventures ever undertaken by the American people."
While Carter's panels never did make it to the dawn of the 21st century, having been removed 14 years earlier by the Reagan administration, President Obama did make good on a promise to reinstate a 6.3-kilowatt solar array on the White House roof in 2014. 


Click on the swoosh for a full listing of our calendar events.
To add an event to our calendar, please submit requests to chamber@sumtercountychamber.com. 

"ENGAGED BUSINESS, THRIVING COMMUNITY"
The mission of the Sumter County Chamber is providing opportunities and support for the growth and prosperity of local business and industry.
STAY CONNECTED