Year in Review – September

Continuing WNEG News’ look back at 2023, today we take a look at the top stories in September:

September was a month with a business focus in Stephens County. 

On Sept. 1, the Stephens County Chamber of Commerce announced the new Small Business Incubator Program and the Chamber Pop-up Shop in the Cornerstone Antique Market-Downtown Toccoa, where six local entrepreneurs made the leap from an online presence to a real-world, physical enterprise with the rent-free physical storefront location, a business plan brainstorm session with a team of Chamber members; concierge support, credit card processing, a customized business plan, GOAL analysis, and networking with Chamber members. Funding for the Chamber’s Small Business Incubator Program comes, in part, from a grant from the Georgia Association of Chamber of Commerce Executives. 

For more information on the Business Incubator Program and the Pop-Up Shops, visit the Chamber’s website at visittoccoa.com.

 

Mid-month, the SCDA was awarded $478,400 grant for sewer lift station near Bypass – a necessary component for the progress of the county’s first Planned Unit Development, a development by AK New Ventures, LLC on 42 acres of undeveloped property near the intersection of Mize Road and the Highway 17 Bypass. The Stephens County Commission approved the project’s rezoning application on Sept. 28.

 

During September, the SCDA also released the details of the Memorandum of Understanding with SungEel Recycling Park Georgia, LLC, the Korean-based lithium battery recycler that has purchased property in the Hayestone Brady Industrial Park to locate a new recycling facility. The MOU included incentives offered by the county in exchange for the company electing to locate the facility in the county. 

SCDA President and CEO Brittany Ivey explained that incentive packages to incite business into Georgia and into specific communities, are not the same as the aggressive incentives offered in years past.

Details of the MOU are available on wnegradio.com

 

On Sept. 28,  the Stephens County School System held the groundbreaking ceremony for the school’s new Stephens County Ag Center, and announced that the building would be named the Ferman Gregory Agriculture Center.

 

And at the end of September, the Stephens County Development Authority, working with Stephens County High School, arranged for a tour of several local industrial facilities for 39 eighth grade students from Megan Ivester’s Career class, and WNEG tagged along with the first three stops on the tour. 

One of the stops was NIFCO KTW America, with a staff of more than 525 employees, where students got to watch robotic arms complete intricate tasks and heard from company representatives about the products created at the plant.

Other stops on the tour included Sark Wire, ASI Southeast, Mark Wilkinson Lumber, and Patterson Pump. At each company, management and work team leaders took time to speak with the students, explaining the production processes undertaken within each factory, and talking about the career possibilities available to employees. 

While student attention to the details during each stop on the tour varied according to the specific topics being discussed, there was an overall high level of interest displayed by both boys and girls in the group. 

During discussions with some of the students, WNEG learned that many of the female students were surprised to learn how many females the companies employed in both floor and management positions, and many of the female students were extremely attentive during the presentations, asking insightful questions of the presenters. 

“I know someone who works here” was a frequent comment by students as the tour progressed, with students talking about parents, siblings, neighbors or acquaintances that worked at industrial jobs in Stephens County. 

Ivester spoke with WNEG News during the tour’s lunch break, provided by ASI Southeast, and she explained the structure and purpose of the Careers class.

She said that, by eighth grade, students are becoming more aware that they need to start thinking about career paths.

Ivey added that events like this tour help students realize the variety of careers available in Stephens County.

For more information about the Stephens County Development Authority, visit scda.biz.