Business This Week - Nov. 1

The news this week that Shaw Industries will be eliminating 200 jobs over the next month or so is a real blow to the local economy, especially when combined with previous job losses over the last year or two. We can only hope and pray that this is the last such announcement and that the stories about the recession ending are true.

It is easy to blame local officials when problems arise, but Tifton is certainly not the only community experiencing job losses — and turning on each other will not help. But it is also important not to deny reality or try to sugar-coat what is happening.

According to the press release sent out by Shaw, the company will make an effort to match employees with available jobs at other Shaw locations and is also contacting regional employers who might be able to help laid-off workers. The Tifton-Tift County Chamber of Commerce, Moultrie Tech, the Georgia Economic Development Council, the Tiftarea Human Resources Council and local temporary employment agencies are part of a “First Focus Crisis Team” that was slated to meet Friday.

As Chamber President and CEO Brad Day said, each of the jobs lost represents a family or individual who will be personally affected.

Congratulations to Bob Reinhardt, who received the John B. Prince III Distinguished Service Award from Tift Regional Medical Center this week.

Mr. Reinhardt has spent more than 35 years as legal counsel for the hospital and was also a hospital authority trustee for 12 years. The award, named for Tift County Hospital Authority Chairman John Prince, is given to “a longstanding associate of TRMC who is also an established leader in the community, using their influence to enhance the mission of the hospital,” and that description would certainly fit Mr. Reinhardt.

Chamber events and ribbons cuttings for November: Ribbon cutting and dedication of the newly renovated public library, 3 p.m. today at the front entrance on Love Avenue; ribbon cutting and grand re-opening, Wal-Mart, 7:30 a.m. Nov. 4; ribbon cutting and grand re-opening for Roberts and Co. Jewelers, 10:30 a.m. Nov. 4, 169 Love Ave.; Legislative Appreciation Breakfast, 8 a.m. Nov. 9, Chamber Conference Room; ribbon cutting for Transitions Hair Salon, 10:30 a.m. Nov. 12, 3317 Highway 82 West; ribbon cutting for Pearl Executive Shuttle, 10:30 a.m. Nov. 18, Chamber office; and Chamber monthly membership meeting, noon, Nov. 19.

Business this week

If you didn’t see our “Building a Better Community” special section in Saturday’s paper, you missed an encouraging look at what our civic leaders believe are the most positive developments in Tifton.

Just a few:

— Location of new business AL-KO Kober

— The new three-field football/soccer complex at E.B. Hamilton.

— A new morgue (OK, not cheerful, but needed.)

— Civic clubs that raise thousands for people in need.

— Multiple developments in education: Rising enrollment at Moultrie Tech, increased graduation rates for the Tift County School System, a partnership between Tift Regional Medical Center and Abraham Baldwin Agricultural College to provide nursing education, new buildings and programs at MTC, four-year degrees at ABAC, world-class research at the University of Georgia Tifton Campus.

— Cooperation between the city and county: This was cited by several of our writers as a development that will lead to increased efficiency and a bright future for this area.

— Leadership development programs sponsored by the Chamber of Commerce.

— Relocation of the Southwest Georgia headquarters of the Alzheimers Association to Tifton.

— Relay for Life’s impressive record — No. 1 nationwide per capita in 2006, 2007 and 2008 — and its programs to help local people.

— United Way and the services provided by its 17 partner agencies.

Printing this section was a pleasure for us at The Gazette as we focused on positive aspects of community life, and we hope you’ll check it out if you haven’t already.

Our thanks to everyone who responded to our question: Mayor Jamie Cater, Tift County Commission Chairman Grady Thompson, Tift County Board of Education Chairman Shawn Utley, Chamber President and CEO Brad Day, School Superintendent Patrick Atwater, MTC President Tina K. Anderson, Tift County Manager Jim Carter, Tifton City Manager Mike Vollmer, Chamber Chairman Dallas Hunt, Carol Johnson of United Way, Karen Kramer of Relay for Life and Chris Efaw of Tift Regional.

Is your business just opening, moving or remodeling? Call me at 382-4321, ext. 1903.

There’s lots of good news this week.

First, on Tuesday, the AL-KO Kober Corp. cut the ribbon on its new facility at 602 W. Second St. (the old R.C. Bottling plant, most recently occupied by Taylor-Made).

According to its Web site, AL-KO Kober is an axle and brake manufacturer with headquarters in Koetz, Germany and manufacturing facilities in Elkhart, Ind., Shawnee, Okla., Seminole, Okla., Ontario, Calif., and Baldwyn, Miss. The company was founded in 1931 as a small welding shop and has grown to employ 4,000 people worldwide.

While the local facility will reportedly employ just three people, this is another example of a building owned by the local development authority which is no longer sitting empty — and three people who have jobs who may not have before.

Then on Friday afternoon, I heard from Downtown Economic Development Director Laqurica Gaskins that the Downtown Development Authority had received a $99,000 grant to fund a signage program for downtown Tifton.

The grant, which Gaskins wrote, will help pay for signs to guide visitors and residents to attractions and downtown businesses in a signage program which is a partnership between the DDA and the City of Tifton. The two agencies will work with a consulting firm to integrate the signs into a multi-faceted program which includes new developments in the downtown business district.

And finally, this morning a story from the Associated Press reports that the peanut industry so important to the local economy has rebounded unexpectedly well from last year’s salmonella scare. The downturn in the economy actually helped peanut farmers because Americans turned to peanut butter as an economical source of protein, according to the story.

Sanford Miller, senior fellow at the Joint Institute for Food Safety and Applied Nutrition, told the AP that it typically takes much longer for an industry to rebound from a food scare and that “it shows you how important peanut butter is to the American diet.”

Is your business building, moving or opening? Call me at 382-4321, ext. 1903.

Business This Week - Oct. 11

Four new businesses have located or will be locating downtown, Main Street Economic Development Director Laqurica Gaskins announced this week. They are Encore, a boutique at 353 Main St.; Roberts & Co. Retailers LLC, 169 Love Ave., a jewelry store moving from Virginia Avenue; Mt BFF’s Closet, 332 Main St., a clothing store; and Annie’s Place, 1019 Love Ave., a gift shop moving from Second Street and Central Avenue.

Gaskins said all of the stores have either added new awnings to their store fronts or are waiting for installation of new awnings, “really adding a special touch to downtown.”

When I heard about Charles Kent’s death this week at the age of 83, I immediately thought of what he said as I interviewed him for a story when he retired as county commission chairman.

While I was growing up in Tifton, there were a handful of people who led our community to economic success through their hard work and true concern for this town. Mr. Kent was one of these, as shown by the dozens of accomplishments listed in his obituary in Saturday’s paper. Just a few: County commission chairman for 24 years, vice chairman for four years, on the Tifton-Tift County Chamber of Commerce’s board of director for 55 years, president of the Tifton Merchants Association, Tifton Rotary Club president, president of the Association of County Commissioners of Georgia.

The businesses he helped bring to town include Shaw Industries, Burlen Corp., Union Camp, Heatcraft, Kanebo Spinning, Queen Carpet, Mastercraft, Schwan’s, Prestolite, Target Distribution, Orgill, Chickasha, COI, Tifton Aluminum, Kelly Manufacturing, Georgia Ag Lab, Wal-Mart Photo Lab and Moultrie Technical College.

When he retired in 1996, I went to interview him at his real estate office on Fourth Street. I had been working as a reporter for about a year, having been the lifestyles editor at The Gazette before that, and I was a little intimidated by the thought of sitting down and talking to someone so distinguished.

But as the interview progressed, I felt comfortable enough to ask him something I really wanted to know. What makes a town grow? Is it the location, the infrastructure, the work force, or can people who live in a city really make a difference as far as attracting businesses?

I’d had a feeling as he answered my questions that he was politely going through the motions because it was appropriate for the newspaper to recognize his retirement, but this question caught his interest, too, and he told me that “you have to work and work and work,” but yes, the people in a town make all the difference.

I never forgot this, and I hope I don’t, because I think too often people look at situations in town, not necessarily business-related, and think there’s nothing they personally can do. I have known only a few people in my life who were real leaders, but that afternoon, balancing my notebook on my lap as I scribbled notes, I knew I had seen something worthy of respect.

Is your business moving, building or just opening? Call me at 382-4321, ext. 1903.

Something to BRAG about

Next week — Oct. 9-11 — Tifton will host the Bicycle Ride Across Georgia’s BikeFest 2009, with riders from all over the state staying in Tifton each night and traveling around the area during the day.

Riders will go on the “Ty Ty Tour de Tift,” a 50-mile ride through Ty Ty, Omega and Eldorado on Friday, head for Fitzgerald and Irwinville on the “Counting Chickens” ride Saturday and finish up on Sunday with the “Where’s Music Row” trip to Nashville, Adel, Sparks, Lenox and Eldorado.

At least 500 riders are expected to either camp at the Tift County Recreation Department’s Multi-Purpose Building, park an RV in the TCRD parking lot or stay at local hotels. Mayor Jamie Cater will ride with the group on Saturday, and the city has special events planned Saturday night in downtown Tifton.

BRAG’s bike tours have been described by USA Today as “the perfect family vacation” and “a well-organized party on wheels,” and it’s an honor for Tifton to host this fun, family-oriented event.

October Chamber events: 16th annual Chamber Golf Classic, Oct. 5; Verizon Wireless ribbon cutting, 11:30 a.m. Oct. 6; monthly membership meeting, noon, Oct. 15.

The Chamber will also host a town hall forum on consolidation at 7 p.m. Thursday, Oct. 8, at the Leroy Rogers Center. Guests will include former Columbus mayor Robert Poydasheff, who will discuss his experiences running the consolidated government of Columbus/Muscogee County from 2003 to 2006. Also attending the forum will be Harry Hayes, senior public service associate/local project director and Betty Hudson, public service associate, both from the Carl Vinson Institute of Government. More information on the forum is available from the Chamber’s Amanda Melton at 382-6200 or amelton@tiftonchamber.org.

The Agrirama Foundation and the Save Our Steamtrain organization will rededicate the Agrirama’s vintage steam engine at 6 p.m. Saturday, Oct. 10, at the Peanut Museum/Tifton Welcome Center.

Organizers say the event is a thank-you to all the individuals, businesses and organizations that helped restore the engine and will also celebrate the success of efforts to keep the train running despite financial hardship. And as the invitation sent out by SOS says, “This effort shows the power of local citizens, working in partnership with local businesses, institutions and organizations, to make a difference in the face of a down economy.”

Is your business moving, building or changing? Call me at 382-4321, ext. 1903, or e-mail flo.rankin@gaflnews.com.

Earlier this week, we ran a story in The Gazette about plans to expand and renovate the E.B. Hamilton Softball Complex.

The Tift County Development Authority and the Tifton Tourism Association have each pledged $350,000 over the next 10 years toward the $2 million project and are hoping other government entities and community groups will step forward to help. The plans for the complex include six new baseball/softball fields, two new football/soccer fields, bathroom renovations, a new concessions area and parking improvements, and the goal is to make it possible for Tifton to attract major tournaments again.

As a longtime Tifton resident, I remember how much the entire community enjoyed hosting the tournaments 20 or 30 years ago and supporting the local teams playing in them. During the tournaments, all the local hotels and motels were full and restaurants were so packed it was hard to find a seat. People would park on the streets near the ballparks in town and stand at the fences watching games at night.

The enthusiasm for baseball and softball spilled over into the rest of the year and industrial, church and youth leagues were thriving. The tournaments were not only good business, they improved Tifton’s quality of life.

Although former Recreation Department head Bobby Simpson wasn’t mentioned in the article, he was a driving force in bringing the tournaments to town and should be acknowledged — and I want to mention that here.

But most of all, I want to encourage our local governments and anyone else in a position to support this project to help make it happen. It would be an excellent thing for our community.

Statistics released this week show Tift County’s unemployment figures down a full percent point, from 11.6 in July to 10.6 in August. While nobody can really say whether this is because of residents finding work or just reflects people who have given up the search because of long-term joblessness, it’s still an encouraging sign, one shared by most area counties. (Last year at the same time, the rate was only 7.4.)

Swimming, pageants and barbecue

What’s the connection between swimming and the local economy? If, like me, you never thought about the number of people who come into Tifton during the summers because of swim meets, consider this: More than 10,000 visitors were brought into Tifton last year to attend swimming competitions, according to Tifton Tourism Talk (a newsletter produced by the Tifton-Tift County Tourism Association and Tift Area Hospitality Association).

The GRPA District III meet was held yesterday at the Baldwin Drive Aquatic Center, and the Tift County Recreation Department and the YMCA will host the state GRPA meet July 24-25 in Tifton. Tyron Spearman of the Tourism Association said Friday that 1,000 swimmers are expected for the state meet — which has to be great for local restaurants, hotels and stores.

Another recent event with links to tourism was the Miss Georgia Forestry Pageant, a six-day event held over two weekends in June. The Tourism Association estimates that 5,000 people were in Tifton to attend the competitions at the Tift County High School Performing Arts Center. The contestants were honored with a reception and dinner at the Georgia Agrirama on the Thursday before Erica Moore of Vidalia was crowned Miss Georgia Forestry on Saturday, June 20.

Other meetings and events scheduled in Tifton include the Georgia District Lions Club Convention in June 2010, the Bicycle Riders Across America convention in October 2010 and Tifton’s first Memphis Barbecue Network sanctioned event this September.

The barbecue festival, to be hosted by the Main Street program, seems particularly appropriate for Tifton right now because of the Smithsonian Institute’s Key Ingredients exhibit, currently on display at the Agrirama. Key Ingredients focuses on the evolution of the American kitchen and features a segment on barbecue as a regional tradition rising from a mixture of national origins.

Cutting the ribbons

Chamber ribbon cuttings scheduled in July: Coconut Asian Bistro, 724 Second St., July 14; Girl Scouts of Historic Georgia, July 17; Mi Tierra Mexican Restaurant, 1657 Carpenter Road, July 21; and United Irrigation Supply Co., 1103 Highway 82 East, July 28. Mi Tierra is a Mexican restaurant and nightclub located in the old City Limits building. They specialize in foods made from fresh ingredients.

Market recovery

I spoke this week with longtime local real estate broker and salesperson Marianne Hill, who is now with ERA Coleman Overstreet. Mrs. Hill says she believes the Tiftarea market is not nearly as depressed as some think and that a review of recent sales would bear this out.

“I’ve been working in this market for 36 years, and I’ve seen downturns before,” Mrs. Hill said. “This was one of the worst, but I believe we’re already coming out of it and in a few more months it will be back up where it was.”

Mrs. Hill said higher-priced homes seem to be selling particularly well.