Greater Columbus Georgia Chamber of Commerce’s 2008 Annual Stakeholder Meeting

Chamber Chair Russ Carreker, President and CEO, Bytewise Measurement Systems, Inc., talked about 2008 accomplishments and challenged the Chamber to meet the needs of 2009.

This Chamber gets a lot out of its employees and its money. We don't, however, always do a great job of telling folks what we do or how well we do it - the Chamber simply does not promote itself all that well - (but we are working on that)

For these sixteen-plus decades that our Chamber has existed, it has been involved in the majority of the issues that have helped to shape the Columbus Region into what it has become today and I want to thank all of you that have been a part of that legacy.

It takes many people working in many different positions to make this team successful. We have hundreds of members serving on committees and task forces. We have an active Board of Directors that guides the policy and direction of the Chamber for our members. And we have a great staff that works extremely hard to execute the initiatives and activities of this organization.

When you look back on the leadership of the Chamber it reads like a "who's who list" of top leaders in their industry, not only in Columbus but in the world. It takes bold, enlightened, and courageous leadership to sail through the uncharted waters of economic and community development.

We owe a great debt of gratitude to our Past Chairs who have paved the way for our future. Those men and women who have been unwilling to accept the status quo and who have not backed away from challenges have made our community a better place to live and do business.

Maj. Gen. Mike Barbero, Commanding General of Fort Benning provided insight on the growth at Fort Benning leading up to the move of the Armor School from Fort Knox.

Our Chamber has led the way in establishing and enhancing our public-private partnerships. . As the "voice of business" there are times when we must challenge the public sector when proposals or suggestions are being considered that would harm our "pro business environment". Thankfully, in this community, we have learned to sometimes disagree without being disagreeable and we thank our public partners for that professionalism.

We are blessed and excited to have Major General Mike Barberro leading Fort Benning over the next few years.

We are excited about what our Chamber is doing to bring about positive change. Through our Regional Growth Management Plan, we are developing growth plans for a 10 county area....7 in Georgia and 3 in Alabama.

And then there is the Young Professionals program which is led by volunteer John Pezold and staffed by Mary Johnson. Nine months after its creation, we have over 200 members representing 90 different businesses in the program.

This past year we have had several communities visit us to learn about the formation and success of our Valley Partnership. This bi-state regional economic development arm of our Chamber is becoming known as one of the best in the Southeast.

A lot of the Chamber's work does not get many headlines but is still very important in making a difference for businesses. Take for example the BOSS program. BOSS, short for Business One Stop Shop, was one of the take-aways from our inter-city trip to Jacksonville, Florida.

And what does the future hold? I'm certainly not one to guess, but the one thing that I can prognosticate is that shift is going to continue to happen and as your Chamber, we are ready to continue adjusting to it.

"So what does all of this mean?" I believe it means, for our Chamber, just like it means for your company and mine, that we must be prepared to adapt to an ever changing world and to do so at an ever increasing rate. .

We haven't been as aggressive in marketing our value to some businesses as we should and as a result they often don't understand that their dues are a great investment in their own business and in the economic and community development of the Region We need you to help spread the word about how valuable this Chamber is.

Your Chamber's track record for economic and community development is tremendous…helping to create thousands of jobs and hundreds of millions each year in capital investment. However, we must do a much better job in helping businesses understand what is in it for them when the Chamber works on legislative issues, or Tax Allocation Districts, or workman's comp issues, or workforce development, or on regional planning due to the growth of Fort Benning.

Our 35 committees must make sure that they are finely tuned to provide the services and add value to the members that they are designed to serve. .

We are going to remain focused. We are going to make sure that we remain relevant to our members. We are committed to ensuring that we earn the support of our members by being their voice and their partner in creating economic success for their business.

The Greater Columbus Georgia Chamber of Commerce Presented
"Hall of Fame of Columbus Leadership" to Paul Shelby Amos

Paul Shelby Amos received the Jim Woodruff, Jr., Award

Past recipients of the Jim Woodruff, Jr. Memorial Award include: D. A. Turner, Dr. Thomas Y. Whitley, Dr. William Henry Shaw, Maynard R. Ashworth, Charles S. Daley, Emily Woodruff, Sara Spano, J. W. (Bill) Feighner, Sr., L. Rollins Aldridge, Jr., John B. Amos, William B. Turner, Gunby Jordan, Jack Hughston, A. J. McClung, Judge Aaron Cohn, Harry C. Jackson, Bill Heard, Jr., John Barnett Woodruff, Rozier Dedwylder, George W. Ford, Jr., George Woodruff, James D. Yancey, Marvin R. Schuster, James Blanchard and Thomas B. Black.

"Over the years, the Chamber has presented its Jim Woodruff, Jr. Memorial Award to some of the real icons of the business community," said Carreker. "These previous recipients have used their talents, their vision and their leadership to help shape our community to become what it is today. It has been said that a picture is worth a thousand words….please watch the following video which will introduce this year's Jim Woodruff, Jr. Award Recipient, Paul Shelby Amos."

Mr. Amos is one of the principal founders of Aflac and an original Director. During his long tenure at Aflac, Mr. Amos held numerous positions, including; State Manager for Alabama/West Florida, First Vice President/Director of Marketing, President, Vice Chairman followed by Chairman. He retired in 2001 and remains an important part of Aflac. He is credited with introducing the concept of "worksite marketing," where products are sold directly to employees at companies through payroll deduction. Today, policies sold through the worksite account for 97% of Aflac sales.

Aflac is a Fortune 500 company with more than $65 billion in assets and is the leading provider of supplemental insurance products that pays cash directly to policyholders to use as needed for everyday expenses not covered by their major medical coverage.

In addition to his role in building the world's largest supplemental insurance company, Mr. Amos has established a quiet history of philanthropy and community service. Through anonymous donations and the endowment of educational funds and scholarship programs, he and his wife, Jean, have touched thousands of lives with major financial commitments. Their efforts include the Paul and Jean Educational Fund at Asbury Theological Seminary, the Paul S. Amos Family Foundation at Columbus State University, the Scholarship Fund at Cumberland College in Williamsburg, Kentucky and unspoken contributions to those in need.

Mr. Amos received an Honorary Doctor of Law Degree from Cumberland College, May 2001. Columbus State University honored him with an Honorary Doctor of Humane Letters Degree, May 2002. In 2004, Mr. Amos received an Honorary Doctor of Humane Letters from Asbury Theological Seminary.

The Jim Woodruff, Jr., Memorial Award is given to a person who is so singularly meritorious as to clearly warrant the making of the award. The judges consider personal achievement and business or professional achievement, as well as areas of religious life and community service. A lifetime of accomplishments or contributions is considered. The recipient is selected based on their depth of contribution in leadership, innovation, imagination, involvement, commitment and unselfish humanitarian service-their total community experience.

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The Valley Partnership Joint Development Authority Annual Meeting held Jan. 15

(L-R)Past Chair, Drew Ferguson was presented a gift by Chair, Harry Lange and thanked for his service to the Valley Partnership.

One of the strategic initiatives from a 2007 Valley Partnership planning session, was to market the Valley Partnership in the region and beyond. To accomplish the initiative the Valley Partnership hired Ady International Company and Voltedge.

Through meetings between the Valley Partnership, Ady International Company and Voltedge, a new brand and logo was unveiled at the Annual Meeting along with a new web site designed with site selection consultant in mind.

The web site is easy to find with a simple design to make it easy to navigate while providing features like interactive maps and content based on the needs of site consultants. An example is the sites and buildings database to showcase available properties. This feature allows users to easily pinpoint and review available properties in the entire Valley Partnership region and is a critical way to differentiate the region from the competition.

During the Valley Partnership Annual meeting, they unveiled a new logo for the region and a new updated web site designed to meet the needs of site selection professionals. We invite to you take a look at www.thevalleypartnership.com

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The University of Georgia Small Business Development Center, and the Greater Columbus Georgia Chamber of Commerce, kicked off its third year of the nationally known entrepreneur development program FastTrac® GrowthVenture™ Jan. 30, at the Cunningham Conference Center. Along with statewide sponsor Georgia Power, Aflac has joined as a Champion Sponsor of the FastTrac® program in Columbus, promoting and supporting educational opportunities for its minority small business suppliers and vendors.

Among the guest speakers already scheduled for classroom interaction are U.S. Congressman Lynn Westmoreland, John McLemore, Masterbuilt Manufacturing, Scott Blackstock, Tidal Wave Car Wash and FastTrac graduate (2007), Greg Auten, Ed Sprouse, Ashley Hatcher, Lappers, and Bill Bell, Energy Savers. The keynote speaker for graduation on March 27th, is Jack Pezold, CEO of Pezold Management of Columbus.

Mark Lupo, consultant with the University of Georgia Small Business Development Center in Columbus, is a FastTrac® certified facilitator and has seen first-hand the impact FastTrac® has on local businesses. "As small businesses grow, they face increasingly tougher issues. FastTrac® provides a forum for them to share their challenges as well as best practices with other business owners. There's nothing quite like a room full of energized entrepreneurs who are discussing how they're growing their businesses!"

FastTrac® has trained thousands of successful entrepreneurs all over the U.S. More than 30,000 businesses in 36 states and three foreign countries have completed FastTrac® courses. FastTrac® is sponsored by the Kauffmann Foundation in Kansas City and is one of the few national not-for-profit organizations with significant resources devoted to accelerating entrepreneurship in America. It was established in 1992 by noted entrepreneur Ewing Marion Kauffman.

Highlights of the program include:

1. The facilitated training environment - provides participants with an environment to network, share problems, successes and best practices.
2. Prominent guest speakers - provides focused, practical insights on the topic of the day.
3. Small group workshops - participants work together to complete workbook exercises and develop strategies for their individual businesses.
4. One-on-one consulting - the SBDC staff works with all participants individually, providing management assistance and applying the class concepts to each business. This service starts during the class and will continue after completion of the class for as long as the participant needs.

Angela and Joe Wagenti own Vroooom Technology in Columbus and were in the first FastTrac® GrowthVenture™class held two years ago. "The program has not only changed how we do business, but also how we have grown as entrepreneurs, both personally and professionally" say the Wagentis.

Click here to view this years class roster.

• Columbus's First IMAX Projection System being installed
• Follow Me statue moved
• Dedication set for new parade field

Workers unload Columbus' first IMAX projector system into the National Infantry Museum and Soldier Center Jan. 13.

The IMAX Theatre located in the National Infantry Museum and Soldier Center received the state-of-the-art projectors and screen Jan. 13. When completed in March, the 292-seat theatre will house the third largest screen in Georgia - measuring five stories high by seventy feet wide.

The film projection system is capable of producing images up to nine times clearer and more detailed than any other theatre, digital or film, in the region, and more than twice that of the area's planetariums. Combined with proprietary theatre geometry that optimizes the viewing experience and 12,000 watts of true 6-channel surround sound, the new IMAX Theatre at Patriot Park will place viewers in the midst of the on-screen action.

"IMAX Theatre has been discussed on several of the Inter City Leadership Conference trips in Charlotte, NC. and St. Louis, MO., said Mike Gaymon, President and CEO, Greater Columbus Georgia Chamber of Commerce. "It is exciting to see a concept come into reality. This will become an additional attraction that people will come to see."

"Those that are familiar with IMAX theatres in other markets will be able to experience the same remarkable types of experiences for the first time in the Chattahoochee Valley," said Joe Kleiman, Director of the IMAX Theatre at Patriot Park. "For those that have never had an IMAX experience, what's in store for them is a film experience unlike any other." Kleiman, a thirteen-year veteran of the IMAX industry, recently relocated to Columbus from San Francisco to oversee operations and programming of the new theatre. According to Kleiman, "Our theatre will showcase the most immersive documentaries during the day and concerts and Hollywood blockbusters reimagined for the IMAX screen in the evenings."

Using a process called IMAX DMR®, filmmakers are able to digitally remaster Hollywood blockbusters into the IMAX format. Kleiman continued, "Not only do these films end up with images two to three times clearer and more detailed than at other digital and film-based theatres, but even when letterboxed to preserve the original aspect ratio of the film, the images will be larger on our screen than anywhere else in the region." Some Hollywood films, such as last year's blockbuster The Dark Knight and this summer's Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen, feature scenes shot with IMAX cameras. "When viewed in our theatre, these scenes not only take up the entire five-story high, seventy-foot wide screen, but the picture clarity takes full advantage of IMAX's high end resolution."
The IMAX Theatre at Patriot Park is scheduled to open in March.

The original Follow Me statue will be delivered to its new, permanent home at the new National Infantry Museum and Soldier Center at Patriot Park feb. 10. The 10-foot 6-inch statue will sit atop a granite covered base. The "dirt and rock" at the soldier's feet also will be made of granite. This tribute to the American combat Infantryman was created in 1960. An Officer Candidate School student posed for it, and two talented young enlisted men designed and sculpted the image.

Direct descendants of some of America's most famous Infantrymen will be the featured guests at the dedication of the new parade field at the National Infantry Museum and Soldier Center at Patriot Park set for March 19.

The descendants, representing Theodore Roosevelt, Alexander Hamilton, Alvin York and others, will spread sacred soil gathered from battlefields around the world on the parade field. A company of graduating Infantry soldiers will be the first to walk across the very soil their forefathers fought for.

Graduates, family members, guests and members of the public will then be invited to visit the Soldier Center, the portion of the new museum comprised of an IMAX Theater, restaurant, gift shop, lobby, 2nd Regiment gallery, classrooms and Ranger and Officer Candidate School Halls of Honor. The official opening of the remaining galleries will be in late spring or early summer.

"The entire project team is operating on overdrive to make sure members of the Greatest Generation and all visitors will have a world-class experience," explained Foundation Chair MG Jerry White. "But when you're working with artisans from around the world on a very complex project like this certain schedule adjustments become necessary. We owe those who have served and sacrificed nothing short of the very best."

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