Friday, January 30, 2004

Chamber outlines goals for 2004

The South Fulton Chamber of Commerce’s board of directors held their 2004 planning retreat recently at the Sheraton Gateway Hotel to map direction of programs for the upcoming year. Heading the list was the continuation of the “Emerging South Fulton” project, reinstituting Leadership South Fulton and increasing efforts to improve education.

Chairman Bill Davenport (Georgia Power Co.) presided over his final meeting and assessed the achievements of the 2003 Program of Work. 

“The major goals in our Program of Work were addressed and significant progress was made toward completion. Some goals are ongoing, such as implementing and improving the chamber’s committee structure. I believe the board and staff have given a good start for Tim to work on.”

Tim Williams (GreyStone Power Corp.), incoming chair for 2004, will be in office as the much anticipated “Emerging South Fulton” comprehensive study will be completed by Ackerman & Co. and their partner, Jova Daniels Busby of Atlanta.

“The ‘Emerging South Fulton’ study has exceeded our expectations in knitting together the major studies, plans, grants and the like”, said Williams. “We are looking forward to sharing it with the participants who were interviewed, the community groups, the cities and others and plan to offer it to Fulton County as the first step for developing a comprehensive economic development plan. Bill Davenport did an outstanding job in initiating this major, major undertaking for the chamber.”

Other significant projects for 2004 include launching “Leadership South Fulton”, a curriculum for future leaders in South Fulton. This program has not been available in South Fulton in recent years and is important to building structure and relationships in the quickly changing community that South Fulton has become. Al Doeve (Loyalti), a member of the board of directors, will be chairing the Leadership South Fulton committee for the Chamber.

New director Mike Vanairsdale, Superintendent of Fulton County Schools, will be asked to give direction to education goals for the Chamber’s Education Committee. 

Jim Price (GMC Community College) has chaired that committee for the last two years. With the addition of Vanairsdale, the chamber board of directors wants to put a sharp focus on doing all it can do to continue to improve education for South Fulton students.

“We will continue to listen to our membership in introducing and improving Chamber programs”, said Williams. 

“Focusing on the core three ­ “Emerging South Fulton”, Leadership South Fulton, and Education ­ will be our goal. We as a board of directors displayed a lot of enthusiasm and we look forward to welcoming our new directors to make 2004 a banner year for our members and the South Fulton community.

The South Fulton Chamber of Commerce is located in Union City at 6400 Shannon Parkway. Information on membership or participation on committees can be obtained by calling 770-964-1984.