Rest, Relaxation and Participation
Just returned from a very enjoyable family vacation at the beach, and it was very nice and enjoyable, as well as much-needed time off. I hope that you and your loved ones have been able to get away and recharge your batteries. The weather has finally turned cool, so we are now into the fall, and I am loving it!
Typically, at this time of year, we would have finished our Annual Conference in Savannah. Unfortunately, due to COVID, we weren’t able to gather in-person this year. However, Sean McMillan, GEDA Annual Conference Chair, has put together a great program of several calls for our members to join. There is still one more call to be held on Thursday, October 8th at 12:30 PM, featuring our Governor and several Georgia business leaders to share how they have fared during the pandemic. Then, Charley Moseley, GEDA Business Recruitment Chair, along with Sean McMillan, has invited Christopher Lloyd, Senior Vice President & Director, Infrastructure & Economic Development, McGuireWoods Consulting LLC, to be with us for our virtual October meeting on Monday, October 19th at 11:00 AM. Make plans to join us.
Also, while I was at the beach, we held our GEDA Annual Business Meeting on Monday, September 28th. Just so you’ll know, I participated in this meeting even though I was on vacation… at the beach! Should get bonus points for that right? Ha, fat chance! In any case, I was glad to do it. During that call we elected new officers and board members for GEDA in 2021. See who these members are in this newsletter under Member News. Andrea Schruijer, GEDA Chair-Elect, announced her Committee and Shared Interest Group Chairs for next year. We are a volunteer-driven organization and we need your participation. Please take some time to consider how you might become more involved in GEDA. A key way is to join and actively participate in one of these committees or SIGs. More often than not, board members and officers are considered because they have been active volunteers in our association. Yes, we have staff members (Kevin and Kelly) to conduct much of our business, but our effectiveness is measured more by how engaged we are as individual members of GEDA. It does take time and effort to participate, but you get so much out of these small investments. For myself, I have been involved for at least nine years on committees, the board and now the chairs, and I have benefitted much more than it has cost me. I encourage you to evaluate your involvement and consider giving GEDA some of your time. If I were a betting man, I would wager that it will pay off for you.
I hate that we are not getting together in-person for events and look forward to the time when we do return for our good ole GEDA networking. Stay safe and be well!