Pictured (LtoR): Front Row - Pat Dixon and Anna Humphrey. Back Row - Mickey Daniell, Georgia Power, Steven McComas, Tonya Parker, Jency Jeffers, Araina Reaves, Georgia EMC and Saralyn Stafford, Georgia Academy Board Member
“Georgia Power continues to play a major role in the State’s economic development. The Academy participants build relationships, share best practices, and learn about important issues and challenges facing our communities. We’re proud to be a partner in this important effort, preparing our leaders for continued economic growth throughout the state,” says Georgia Power Company Community Development Manager Kristy Rachal.
“One of the goals for the multi-day regional Academies is to encourage multi-county cooperation,” says Corinne Thornton, Director of the Georgia Academy for Economic Development. “Many times the participants discover the issues facing their community are the same as those facing other communities in their region, and can then combine limited resources to address the issue.”
The Academy’s multi-day program, taught one day a month over a four-month period, includes training in the basics of economic and community development, plus specialized segments on business recruitment and retention, tourism product development, downtown development, planning, and other essentials for community success. In addition, the curriculum features specific leadership skills such as consensus building, ethics in public service, collaborative leadership and other segments needed for effective community leadership in economic development. Local elected officials may receive certification training credits through the Association County Commissioners of Georgia and the Georgia Municipal Association for completion of this program.
The next Region 9 Georgia Academy for Economic Development will begin in February 2020. For more information on this, please contact Lynn Ashcraft at 478-484-0321 or by email at lynn.ashcraft@dca.ga.gov.
