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Target workers focus on community
Midway center was 2011 business of year
Target vol
Bobbie Martin, outbound group leader for the Target Regional Distribution Center in Midway, gives temporary tattoos to young Scarecrow Stroll attendees during the downtown Hinesville event Oct. 25. - photo by Photo provided.

A nationwide retailer that cites philanthropic involvement as a cornerstone of its business is on track to double its impact this year within Coastal Georgia.
Team members at the Target Regional Distribution Center in Liberty County’s Tradeport East Business Center are on pace to exceed the facility’s community service goals, according to general manager Melinda Macdonald.
“We take pride in being a good neighbor in the community,” Macdonald said, repeating a company cornerstone. “Our focus is where our team members and guests live and work.”
The Midway distribution center has accumulated its service hours this year by supporting the Liberty and Bryan county school systems, the Boy Scouts of America, United Way of the Coastal Empire and Coastal Empire Habitat for Humanity.
Team members also recently participated in Hinesville Safe Kids Day and National Night Out.
Midway employees and those from the Target import warehouse in Savannah also are teaming up for a partnership with Coastal Empire Habitat for Humanity, where volunteers are dedicating several Saturdays this fall to build a home in Savannah. Together, the two facilities donated $3,000 to the organization.
Target’s commitment to communities encourages the Midway distribution center’s approximately 500 employees to engage in such projects.
The Midway distribution center employs warehouse workers and packers who receive support from teams dedicated to maintenance, logistics, assets protection and human resources.
Charitable donations are part of the company’s larger corporate responsibility efforts. Since 1946, Target has given 5 percent of its profits through community grants and programs. Today, that giving equals more than $4 million each week, Macdonald said, adding that the Minneapolis-headquartered retailer is committed to education and helping more U.S. children read proficiently by the end of the third grade — a critical milestone on the path to graduation. The Midway facility employees support this commitment by volunteering for events like Read Across Liberty.
In addition, this year the center is focusing its grant funds toward education projects through local school systems and extracurricular activities such as the Boy Scouts.
Each spring, the facility also conducts a campaign to raise funds for the United Way of the Coastal Empire’s Liberty County office. Midway team members have raised a significant amount for the 2013 campaign, which ended last week.
“When you get a chance to give and serve someone else, you take greater pride in what you have and what’s around you,” Macdonald said when asked how volunteerism impacts the center’s employees. “Volunteerism provides team members with an opportunity to make a lasting impact in the communities where they live and work.”
The contributions have not gone unnoticed. In 2011, Target was named the Liberty County Chamber of Commerce business of the year with more than 35 employees, following a nomination by the Liberty County Development Authority.
Employees at the distribution center operate with customers in mind, Macdonald said, to move general merchandise and dry grocery products as efficiently and effectively as possible to stores in Coastal Georgia and along Florida’s eastern coast. Another regional distribution center in Tifton serves western Florida.
“We’re a team-oriented organization, and we focus on delivering great results. Our team members are empowered and encouraged to contribute, innovate and lead,” she added, explaining that the work environment also requires self-starters.
“We have a very strong, diverse representation in this building, and I’m very proud of that because I think it really helps not only the things that we can do in this facility, but also in the community,” Macdonald said.  
Organizations interested in Target’s community outreach programs should go to www.target.com/corporateresponsibility.

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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.

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