May 2024 Chair's Column

What’s up?

I enjoyed seeing so many familiar faces on St. Simons and was very encouraged to meet so many new folks who have recently become a part of GEDA. To those of you who are new here, welcome! Also, thank you to Charlie Moseley and team for such a wonderful Spring Workshop!

The Spring Workshop reminded me of the importance of community. We all search for community in various ways. Through our personal interests, perhaps a sport or hobby, through our religious beliefs, our dining or location preferences and through our neighborhoods. Of course, to a certain degree, we all search for community through our work, too and that extends to our professional organizations.

There is no doubt we have a close-knit team at GEDA. Whether you’ve been here for a decade or just started last month, I like to think that our team feels like family and everyone knows they can rely on each other professionally as well as personally. What’s even greater is that I think we achieve that same close-knit feel throughout the State of Georgia even though our economic development teams vary greatly. From one-person teams to offices of more than 20, we are in some ways more different than we are alike. Yet we’re all working for the betterment of Georgia and the progress of our individual communities, and we do that as a team.

 I was a part of and overheard many conversations that go well beyond the “How are you” and “What have you been up to” standard topics. I heard colleagues catching up about family members and personal travels. Individuals choosing to catch up with other GEDA members rather than step out for work or retreat to their rooms.

It feels normal to those of us who have been a part of GEDA for awhile that we feel like a family (I even recall a past Spring Workshop themed “Family Reunion”), but I’ve seen other states and regions that don’t operate this way.

More than anything, I want to say thank you to all of our members. You are the ones who make this organization a special one to be a part of. And well done for creating an inviting space that makes colleagues feel more like friends. 

Trip Tollison