Being Thankful
It’s that time of the year again, when the temperatures cool, the days get shorter, we’ve had Halloween, the elections have concluded (for the most part) and we begin to think about Thanksgiving. A uniquely American tradition, we enjoy a sumptuous feast, time with family and friends and a few days, or even minutes, to reflect on our lives and count our blessings. There are many things to be thankful for in my life and I’d like to share a few with you.
We have a great organization in the Georgia Economic Developers Association, which is celebrating 55 years of bringing hope to Georgians, through the fostering of new jobs and investments. At our Annual Awards Luncheon on the 26th, we’ll show our appreciation to the Deals of the Year in select communities, as well as recognize excellence with our Volunteer of the Year and Rip Wiley Award for Professional Excellence. We have invited our past leaders of GEDA to recognize and thank them for their efforts on our behalf. In my case, as is the case for most all our Past Chairs/Presidents, I am grateful to have been involved for about ten years on committees, the board and in the officer-ranks. Being involved is fulfilling, but more importantly, it makes you appreciate the great people we have as members of GEDA. I am also thankful that we have w Kevin and Kelly. In case you haven’t noticed, we have a new website at GEDA.org. Take a few minutes to check it out, update your profile and sign up for a Committee or Shared Interest Group.
Another thing that I am thankful for is the recent recognition of Georgia as the # 1 State for Business, by Site Selection magazine, for an unprecedented SIXTH Year in a Row!, under the same governor. We are very fortunate to have stable and enlightened leadership with Governor Nathan Deal, other constitutional officers and our legislators. Part of the reason that Georgia has done so well is our team of economic development professionals work so well together, from our local execs to the Georgia Department of Economic Development, to our utility partners, to our educational institutions (USG, TCSG, DOE/CTAE & Quick Start) and everyone else involved in this wonderful profession.
In America, we are one of the few political systems in the world that offer the right to vote and have a peaceful and seamless transition of governing. Whether your candidates won or not, we had the opportunity to express our opinion and make choices about who we want to represent us locally and at the State and Federal levels. I’d like to congratulate Brian Kemp, our apparent Governor-elect, as well as all those who ran and those who won their political contests. GEDA is fortunate to have a top-notch team representing us in the governmental affairs arena, Cornerstone Government Affairs. They have created a great analytical report on the recent election. A copy of this report and a list of the election results can be found here.
I am grateful for the opportunity to get together with you, our members, network, learn and get professional development. Last month, we had a fantastic Site Selection Consultants’ Panel at our October luncheon. Gregory Burkart of Duff & Phelps and Didi Caldwell of Global Location Strategies were both outstanding in their remarks and Walt Farrell of Georgia Power was masterful as the moderator. I heard several people comment that this was the best panel that we have ever had. Thank you to Pat Merritt of Georgia EMC, Al Nash of Development Authority of Fulton County, Charles Stallworth of Georgia Power and Tom Croteau of the Georgia Department of Economic Development for their assistance in creating this program.
This coming month we have our GEDA Annual Awards Luncheon on Monday, November 26th at the Georgia Tech Hotel. There is still time to register, if you haven’t already. I hope that you can join us. In the meantime, please accept my best wishes for a blessed Thanksgiving filled with family and friends, smiles and laughter and faith and gratefulness!
Missy Kendrick