$13 million in Downtown Tifton

MAY 8, 2018

Tifton, Georgia

478-227-7126

tiftongrapevine.com

$13 MILLION

INVESTMENT

IN DOWNTOWN TIFTON DURING 2017

Private and public investment in Downtown Tifton last year totaled more than $13 million, Tifton City Council was told Monday night.

A 2017 Community Impact Report, which the Ga. Department of Community Affairs (DCA) compiled based upon information from Tifton Main Street, shows total downtown investment at $13,472,994, and a total of 104 jobs created .

The previous year's report showed downtown investment at $4,884,129, said Lequrica Gaskins, downtown development director. She said the increase is significant for a downtown of Tifton's size.

Councilman Jack Folk pointed out that Downtown Tifton's growth has an economic impact on both the City of Tifton and Tift County.

There were a total of 22 new businesses opening or expanding downtown last year, the report shows; there were also 15 public improvement projects. A total of 37 new housing units were created downtown.

A total of 91 promotional events were held downtown, which includes such activities as sidewalk sales and Tifton's Hometown Holidays Christmas Celebration.

It's estimated that 88,587 people attended the events.

Downtown Tifton previously received a 2017 Exceptional Main Street designation -- one of only eight this year -- from the DCA.

SEN. HARPER TO SPEAK AT ABAC COMMENCEMENT MAY 10

State Sen. Tyler Harper, R-Ocilla, will be the featured speaker at the Abraham Baldwin Agricultural College spring commencement ceremony on May 10.

ABAC President David Bridges said a record number of more than 300 graduates are expected to participate in the ceremony, which begins at 10 a.m. in Gressette Gymnasium.


	HARPER

Officials will present the George P. Donaldson Award, which goes to the top associate degree graduate participating in the ceremony, and the ABAC Alumni Association Award, which goes to the top bachelor's degree graduate.

A 2008 ABAC graduate, Harper was first elected as a Republican from District 7 to the Georgia Senate in 2012 and ran unopposed for his second and third terms in 2014 and 2016. He chairs the Natural Resources and the Environment Committee and is the vice chair of the Public Safety Committee.

Harper, who received a bachelor's degree in agricultural engineering from the University of Georgia, is also a member of the Appropriations Committee and the Agriculture and Consumer Affairs Committee.

Named Legislator of the Year by the Council of Probate Court Judges of Georgia and the Georgia State Firefighters Association/Georgia Association of Fire Chiefs, Harper is a lifelong resident of Irwin County, where he is a farmer and a businessman.

TRHS HOLDS FREE SPORTS PHYSICALS FOR STUDENTS

Coordinated by WorkSmart Occupational Health, Tift Regional Health System conducted nearly 150 free sports physicals recently for students with Tift County Schools and Tiftarea Academy. The exams took place at Tift Regional's Outpatient Therapy Services building on Madison Avenue in Tifton. Pictured from left are physiatrist Dr. Langston Cleveland, orthopedist Dr. David Banks and physician assistants Landis Gordon and Francis Wisham.

GEORGIA TRUST HONORS RECENT

KING HALL RENOVATION

ABAC President David Bridges accepts the "Excellence in Rehabilitation" award from The Georgia Trust for Historic Preservation at a recent ceremony in Columbus. The college was recognized for its renovation of King Hall. Others at the presentation include, from left, Charlie Garbutt, vice president of marketing for Garbutt Construction; Bridges; Georgia Schley Ritchie, chair of The Georgia Trust for Historic Preservation; Mark C. McDonald, president and CEO of The Georgia Trust for Historic Preservation, and Melvin Merrill, ABAC capital planning director.