Chair’s Column for GEDA November Newsletter
Congratulations to the Atlanta Braves, World Series Champions! It feels so good to have a national championship team in Georgia. Well, we are in the fourth quarter of the year when we experience the change of temperature, the change from Daylight Savings to regular time and nearly to the end of my term as GEDA Chair of the Board. Delicious autumn! I don’t know about you, but the time of fall makes takes my breath away.
We just returned from our Board Retreat in Rome last week. This is a planning session for Benjy Thompson, Chair-Elect, the board members and the new Committee and Shared Interest Group Chairs for 2022. With what I saw and heard; I know the future of GEDA will be in good hands. It was a great experience and I want to thank Elyse Davis and Mickey Daniell of Georgia Power, who facilitated the retreat for us. Also, thank you to Missy Kendrick and her leadership from Rome-Floyd County, who hosted us for a wonderful dinner in Rome on Thursday night.
I was glad to see that our members came out to support the October luncheon program, which featured Didi Caldwell, Founder & Principal of Global Location Strategies. Didi did a great job of informing our members of current trends in site location. Lonnie Smallwood, GEDA Chair of the Business Recruitment Committee, and Senior Project Manager, Georgia EMC, coordinated the program. We appreciate Wylly Harrison and Berkshire Hathaway Home Services – Georgia Properties for being our sponsor.
The upcoming November luncheon is our Annual Awards program on Monday, the 15th at the Georgia Tech Hotel. Come out and celebrate all that is good about the Georgia Economic Developers Association. As Randy Bachman said, “It's nice to get any awards, whether it's lifetime achievement or the Keith Richards award for being alive one more year.” There is still time to register, so do it today.
We just sent out our member dues renewal notices this week, so re-up and stay involved or re-engage as a member. There are lots of opportunities to get involved. Join a committee or Shared Interest Group (SIG). If you don’t know which one to join or where to get active, give me or the GEDA staff a call. We’ll be glad to help point you in the right direction. Thank you for your membership! Get out of doors and relish the fall!
Andrea Schruijer
2021 GEDA Chair