By allowing ads to appear on this site, you support the local businesses who, in turn, support great journalism.
Chamber honors businesses, entrepreneurs
web Chamber 4
Outgoing chamber Chairman Kevin Thomas claps as incoming Chairwoman Susan McCorkle is introduced. - photo by Danielle Hipps

Chamber awards 2012

Businesses of the Year
• Self-employed: Karen Bell, Ardyss K. Bell
• 2-15 employees: Interstate Credit Union
• 16-35 employees: Liberty Chrysler
• Over 35 employees: Liberty Regional Medical Center

Ambassador of the Year: ShaQuawn Autery, Strategic Business Solutions

Civic Leader of the Year: Sheriff Steve Sikes

Business Leader of the Year: Barbara Martin VanDuser, GeoVista Credit Union

Dressed in denim and diamonds and with business on the brain, about 175 commerce and community leaders gathered Friday night for the Liberty County Chamber of Commerce’s annual meeting and banquet.

The event, held at Club Stewart, was a chance for the chamber to reward outstanding business leaders and induct 26 new members to its 2012 board of directors. 

“We’ve come here tonight to celebrate not just the successes of our chamber, but also those of you who are our fantastic and supportive membership,” chamber CEO Leah Poole said as the ceremony began.

Poole thanked the chamber staff and volunteers who made the event — and several ribbon-cuttings throughout the year — possible.

Event sponsors spoke about the state of business while guests dined on chicken and beef stroganoff.

Allan Anderson, senior vice president of sales for search-engine optimization and web design company Buzz My Biz, said times have changed, and business owners must keep up with technology to remain competitive.

“Today is a great time to be in business,” he said. “A small-business person has, now, one of the greatest tools at their disposal that a business can have ...”

He continued speaking about the Internet and how it fosters two-way communication between businesses and customers.
“The days are gone for all of us in here when you can print a business card, get a little Yellow Page ad and just wait for the business to pour in,” he said.

Dr. Thomas Danello of South Georgia Immediate Care Center spoke about changing health-care habits in America and how hospital overcrowding has prompted growth of urgent-care centers. He stressed that the intention is not to undercut hospitals, but to offer an alternative that can serve patients more quickly and lighten hospital loads.

“We see this area expanding in the next five years,” he said. “I think Liberty, just like Chatham, just like Effingham, are all just booming in population, and we need these advanced medical care clinics to see patients seven days a week.”

Next, incoming chamber Chairwoman Susan McCorkle joined Poole in awarding outgoing chamber Directors Robert Stokes, Toby Mahan, Virgil Jones and Kim Sachau for their service.

Then they welcomed outgoing Chairman Kevin Thomas, who reflected on the chamber’s successes in 2011.

“My theme for this year was ‘Getting Back to Business,’” he said. “I really felt that was the thing that we all needed to remember, because we’ve been through tough economic times, and it’s easy for business owners and entrepreneurs to bury their heads in the sand and say ‘I’ll just be glad when it’s all over.’”

He shared figures that outlined the chamber’s growth and commended Poole, Membership Director Kirsten Pratt and Operations Director Carrie McDowell.

The chamber hosted 44 ribbon-cuttings, 11 Progress Through People luncheons, 12 Business After Hours mixers and 11 special events, Thomas said.  The chamber recruited 159 new members, 289 renewed their memberships and 93 businesses participated in a member-to-member discount program.

Thomas introduced McCorkle as the incoming chairwoman. She pledged to continue moving the chamber in a positive direction and read testimonials from member businesses. They inducted the new directors before moving on to awards.

As she named business award winners, Poole offered background information and descriptions for each. Nominations were open to all chamber members, and a committee reviewed the nominees.

Sign up for our e-newsletters
GPA grows trade, market share
Intermodal volume up 20 percent
port photo
Rubber tired gantry cranes handle cargo at the Chatham Intermodal Container Transfer Facility at the Port of Savannah. The Georgia Ports Authority's Mason Mega Rail project will double rail lift capacity to 1 million containers per year by 2020 - photo by Provided

The Georgia Ports Authority achieved 14 percent growth in March container volumes, moving 355,208 20-foot equivalent unit (TEU) containers.

From July 2017 to March, TEU container trade grew by 9 percent, or 255,786 additional units for a total of 3.08 million, a new record for Savannah.

"Savannah's continued strength is a reflection of our customers' commitment, Georgia's leadership, and the many dedicated service providers, GPA employees and ILA members who come together every day to achieve great things," said GPA Executive Director Griff Lynch. "March marked our 17th consecutive month of business expansion thanks, in part, to a strong economy and growing market share."

Intermodal rail volumes jumped by 20 percent in March and 15.4 percent for the fiscal year to date, for a total of 318,454 containers handled over nine months – another record for the GPA.

"As the numbers show, our rail cargo is growing at a faster pace than our overall trade," GPA Chairman Jimmy Allgood said. "This is important because rail is playing a key role in our responsible growth strategy. We anticipate our rail infrastructure investments to take 250,000 trucks off the road each year by 2020."

The GPA recently broke ground on its Mason Mega Rail Terminal, on which the Port of Savannah will build 10,000-foot unit trains within its own footprint. From the expanded rail infrastructure at Garden City Terminal, Class I rail providers CSX and Norfolk Southern will provide direct rail service to major Southeast and Midwestern markets from Memphis to St. Louis, Chicago to Cincinnati.

An added benefit is that the Mason Mega Rail project will move all rail switching on terminal – improving vehicle traffic flow around the port.

In August, the GPA will open its Appalachian Regional Port in Murray County. Located in an industrial belt, including the production and export of carpet and flooring, automobiles and tires, the ARP will provide an alternative to all-truck transit to Northwest Georgia.

Each round-trip container moved via the Appalachian Regional Port will offset 710 truck miles on Georgia highways.

March was also a strong month for roll-on/roll-off auto and machinery units at the Port of Brunswick and Ocean Terminal in Savannah. Colonel's Island Terminal in Brunswick handled 66,144 cars, trucks and tractors, while Ocean Terminal added 4,050, for a total 70,194, a 17.2 percent increase.

"The global economy is thriving and our volumes are following suit," Lynch said. "As existing accounts grow their footprint in the expanding auto facility in Brunswick, Georgia's competitive logistical advantages are drawing additional business across all of our docks."

Lynch noted that for the fiscal year to date, Mayor's Point breakbulk terminal in Brunswick grew by 44 percent (34,515 tons) to reach 112,728 tons of forest products. At East River Terminal, bulk cargo expanded by 34 percent July-March (189,918 tons) for a total of 750,384 tons.

Latest Obituaries