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Sumter County Chamber of Commerce
409 Elm Avenue
Americus, Georgia
229-924-2646
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Chamber Weekly Newsletter
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Nominations Open for Business & Industry Excellence
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The Sumter County Payroll Development Authority will host its annual Business and Industry Appreciation Reception on Tuesday, April 25, at 6pm at the Sumter County Spec Building in the Ted Baldwin Business & Technology Park in recognition of Georgia Manufacturers’ Week.
As we look to honor our local industry partners, we need your support in making sure Sumter County’s outstanding businesses are recognized for their innovation and commitment to Sumter County and our workforce. At the event, awards will be given in the following categories: Excellence in Exports, Industry Innovators, Sustainable Sumter, and Partners in Progress.
The 2016 Award Winners were: Agrium (Exellence in Exports), Triwood (Industry Innovators), PharmaCentra & Concentra Solutions (Sustainable Sumter), and IMERYS (Partners in Progress).
Please click here or on the image below to download the application. We encourage you to nominate your business or others in the community, who represent Sumter County both here at home and in the global marketplace.
Nominations are due to the Payroll Development Authority by Wednesday, April 19, at 5pm. For further questions about the Business and Industry Appreciation Reception, or the industry awards, please contact PDA Executive Director Barbara Grogan at 229.924.2646, or at bgrogan@sumtercountychamber.com.
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Input Needed for Leadership Survey!
Are you a graduate of Leadership Sumter, Advancing Sumter or one of the Chamber's youth programs? Then we would like for you to share your feedback with us! The Chamber's Leadership Development Division is in the process of re-engineering current leadership programs as well as developing new ones to engage our college students in an advanced, next level experience. In order to develop these programs, we need your input!
To help guide us in this process we have developed an interactive online survey to gather your perspectives on our current programs, what you might like to see in future programs and how you might leverage your own leadership skills in our community as a volunteer and engaged community member. To share your feedback, please fill out a quick survey that can be accessed by clicking
here
. The deadline for feedback submissions is Friday, April 14th.
Even if you haven't participated in our local leadership programs, you still have critical feedback for our efforts. Community success depends on its current and future leadership, so please help us as we design these new programs.
For more information, please contact the Chamber at 229-924-2646.
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State of the Community Leadership Forum
The Governmental Affairs Division of the Sumter County Chamber of Commerce announces a new event this year with the First Annual State of the Community Leadership Forum presented by the One Sumter Economic Development Foundation, Inc. This inaugural event will be held on Thursday, April 20, at 7:00am.
Hosted by Georgia Southwestern State University, this brand-new event will serve as a public forum for business and industry leaders to hear firsthand the demographic trends, economic development opportunities, and political influences that are shaping our state, region and community here in Sumter County.
The event opens at 7:00am with a Coffee & Networking Reception sponsored by AT&T, before the doors open to breakfast and the formal program at 7:30am. Guests will be joined by Georgia Chamber of Commerce President & CEO Chris Clark, who will share highlights of the Chamber's Georgia 2030 Initiative, and the findings that have direct implications and both policy and programming impacts for South Georgia.
Following Clark's remarks, Sumter County's key leadership will have the opportunity to address how they are engaging around critical issues of local importance in response to those trends happening statewide. Special guests include Sumter County Administrator Bill Twomey, Americus City Manager Steve Kennedy, and Sumter County Payroll Development Authority Executive Director Barbara Grogan. Through a moderated discussion, the breakfast will serve as the business community's first forum in which to better understand local challenges and growth opportunities from the perspective of our own leadership team. The floor will open to questions from the audience, following their remarks.
The First Annual State of the Community is sure to be an event you won't want to miss! Please contact the Sumter County Chamber of Commerce to reserve your seat today! Tickets are $20 each, and tables can be purchased on a limited, first come basis for a cost of $225 per table. Any business or organization wishing to purchase a table will be featured as a Gold Table Sponsor in the event program.
Please contact the Chamber for further information. Reservations and ticket purchases can be made by phone at (229) 924-2646, or by email at
chamber@sumtercountychamber.com
. For more information on table sponsorships, please contact One Sumter Executive Director Mary Beth Bass at (229) 815-1669, or at
marybeth@onesumter.org
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Save the Date!
One Sumter Marketing & Communications Team Launches Branding Initiative
April 17-21
After months of discussion, the One Sumter Marketing & Communications Strategy Team is excited to announce the launch of a new branding initiative and campaign for Sumter County! Partnering with industry experts in community branding, logo design, photography, videography, media relations and collateral development, Sumter County and its partnering entities will soon have a new “look,” and new brand to help share our story.
Who better to help tell our story than YOU, our community members??! To help guide this branding effort, we need as much input as possible from our local brand ambassadors across Sumter County—our residents, young people, college students, young professionals, retirees, business and industry leaders, non-profit and faith community, elected officials, and our creative, visionary leaders. We need all of you to help answer, “What is the Sumter County of your future, who are we, and who do we want to be? What is the message, the story, of our community that we want to tell to the world? We have a lot of incredible assets—how do we leverage them to tell the one, unique story that is truly, and inherently, Sumter County?”
Week-long charrette-style workshops and roundtable discussions will take place throughout Sumter County April 17-21. Held throughout the day and some into the evening, there is no reason your voice cannot be heard in driving and establishing this vision! Meeting times and locations will be announced soon. For now, please save the date to be a part of your community’s future!
For further information, please contact the One Sumter Economic Development Foundation at 229.815.1669, or at
marybeth@onesumter.org; or at
ioliver@sumtercountychamber.com.
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Feed My School Program Seeking Sponsors
Feed My School, an agriculture and nutrition program presented by the Education division of the Chamber, is coming back to schools in Sumter County this May and is seeking sponsors! Please contact the Chamber at (229) 924-2646 if you, your business, or organization is interested. Visit their website for more information about the Georgia Department of Agriculture's
Feed My School Week.
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Taking Care of Business
growing your business is our business
Take a look at these business resources!
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Mobile Marketing and
Online Strategies for Your Business
In Albany, GA
Thursday, April 13, 2017 – 9:00 AM – 11:00 AM
Key Takeaways will include:
- Learn how mobile marketing strategies change the way we do business.
- Learn Best Practices for Mobile Marketing to reach customers wherever they are
- Learn formulas for being found online and driving traffic to your website
- Learn how to build searchable content that improves your online presence.
- Build an online presence so customers will find you when they search
$49 for this session or sign up for entire Spring Marketing Series
Register
HERE.
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Many employers see Form I-9 as a simple and routine part of the hiring process- until they undergo a federal audit and are hit with major fines for unintentional mistakes. USCIS reports that 76% of paper I-9 Forms contain an error that could result in a fine. The introduction of a new Form I-9, and an anticipated increase in workplace inspections creates a situation that could have costly ramifications for employers.
The new version of the Form I-9, which went into effect January 22, 2017, contains many changes, including new features, instructions and requirements. Join
Yane P. McKenzie
, Associate at Troutman Sanders LLP, on April 18, 2017 as she discusses key changes and provides practical tips on completing the new Form I-9 so employers can minimize the number of technical and substantive I-9 violations.
We will also discuss the Trump administration's focus on immigration reform and anticipated changes in enforcement of I-9 and E-Verify compliance. This webinar will provide answers to common questions, such as: How does this impact employers? Will this administration increase the number of I-9 audits? What companies or industries might be at risk?
Registration includes the webinar and recording, a week of access to the Georgia HR Library and one hour of SHRM/HRCI credit.
You can also view the webinar series at participating local chambers. Event details vary by location, so please click on the Chamber name for more information, or contact your chamber directly if you have any questions.
Pricing:
Member Registration: $40
Federation* Registration: $55
Non-Member Registration: $85
*Check to see if your Local Chamber is a member of the Federation, making you a Federation Member,
here
.
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Calling All Chamber Members!
We have some great new website features coming up - and they're all for YOU and your business!
If you are a Chamber member business who has
- Employment availability
- Upcoming events
- Press releases
- Great sales
- And other promotional opportunities,
Then, look no further than the Chamber's
website
! As a benefit to our members, each Chamber member now has their own "members-only" portal with full access to their business' page on our website.
Already included in your membership benefits, you can now post about upcoming events, contact other Chamber members, advertise job opportunities, promote sales and promotions, and more through our website. Let us help you get the most out of your Chamber membership!
Email chamber@sumtercountychamber.com today to request your members-only access portal and start putting YOUR member benefits to work!
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Membership Division Meeting - April 10, 12pm, Rees Park
Payroll Development Authority Meeting - April 10, 4pm, Rees Park
Governmental Affairs Division Meeting - April 13, 9am, Georgia Power
Education Division Meeting - April 19, 12pm, Rees Park
State of the Community Leadership Forum - April 20, 9am, GSW
Business Development Division Meeting - April 26, 9am, Phoebe Sumter
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Click on the swoosh for a full listing of our calendar events.
To add an event to our calendar, Chamber members may submit requests to chamber@sumtercountychamber.com for full access to your members-only page. If you are not a Chamber member, you may submit your community events
here
.
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CLICK THE 2017 DISCOUNT CARD TO VIEW ALL DISCOUNTS
To purchase a discount card, stop by the Chamber or contact a Board Member.
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"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.
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