GEDA Chair's Column for September 2021
Hello everyone! Welcome to the last month of the third quarter of 2021. September brings us cooler weather, football (back to in-person and full-attendance), shorter daylight hours and the Georgia Economic Developers Association (GEDA) 2021 Annual Conference (AC21), of course! Yes, the COVID Variant is still with us and trying to cause problems, but we are going to be in Savannah on September 15-17 for mostly in-person attendance. The Mayor of Savannah and the Hyatt Regency both are requiring that we wear masks indoors, unless actively eating or drinking. We want to make this experience as safe as we possibly can for everyone. We will also offer a virtual option for those who can’t or don’t want to be present in Savannah.
This COVID will probably be with us forever, so it is up to us to take precautions to keep ourselves and others safe. However, we should not be fearful of living our lives. Helen Keller has some great advice for us. Avoiding danger is no safer in the long run than outright exposure. The fearful are caught as often as the bold. So, be careful, but be bold.
GEDA had its Spring Workshop in May largely with in-person attendance, as well as our August non-traditional luncheon in Canton/Cherokee County, and we were able to have these meetings safely. We plan to do the same with the GEDA AC21. Dorie Bacon, Conference Chair, and her committee have organized a really good program for us in Savannah. The theme is Cirque du GEDA – Balancing Act and speakers will offer some timely advice and best practices for us to improve our day-to-day efforts. Be sure to be there on Friday morning for our keynote speaker, Nik Wallenda, King of the Highwire, who will inspire us to maintain our balance in life but continue to accept and overcome new challenges. Also, Bob Ganzak of Dale Carnegie Training will provide us with knowledge to enhance our communication and be more persuasive. Speaking of Dale Carnegie, he also had something to say about fear: Inaction breeds doubt and fear. Action breeds confidence and courage. If you want to conquer fear, do not sit home and think about it. Go out and get busy. If you haven’t done so already, there is still time to register to attend the AC21, either in-person or virtually.
Plan to join us for future GEDA events such as the October monthly luncheon on October 18th at the Georgia Tech Hotel to hear from a renowned site-selection consultant… more to come on this program soon. Also, a couple of our committees are offering webinars with great subjects in the next couple of months. The Professional Development Committee, chaired by Jason Dunn of the Fitzgerald-Ben Hill County Development Authority, is hosting Chata Spikes, Director of Public Affairs with the Atlanta Police Department, on Thursday, September 30th, when she will be addressing the topic of “Media Relations.” Then, on Thursday, October 28th, the Existing Industry and Workforce Development Committee, Chaired by Serra Hall of Covington-Newton County, in conjunction with Greg Wilson of the UGA Carl Vinson Institute of Government, will host the last of its four-part series on the subject of the “Workforce of the Future.”
Additionally, the International Economic Development Council (IEDC) is hosting its Annual Conference in Nashville on October 3-6. Lastly, the Georgia Chamber of Commerce is hosting its first American Rural Prosperity Summit in Athens on October 4-6. So, there are lots of educational and professional development opportunities to take advantage.
We appreciate your, our members, and thank you for your commitment to the Georgia Economic Developers Association! I look forward to seeing you and meeting many of you soon!
I leave you with one last quote, this from Theodore Roosevelt (long, but good):
It is not the critic who counts; not the man who points out how the strong man stumbles, or where the doer of deeds could have done them better. The credit belongs to the man who is actually in the arena, whose face is marred by dust and sweat and blood; who strives valiantly; who errs, who comes up short again and again, because there is no effort without error and shortcoming; but who does actually strive to do the deeds; who knows great enthusiasms, the great devotions; who spends himself in a worthy cause; who at the best knows in the end the triumph of high achievement, and who at the worst, if he fails, at least fails while daring greatly, so that his place shall never be with those cold and timid souls who neither know victory nor defeat.
Kind regards,
Andrea