Dougherty County officials graduate from economic development class

ALBANY — The board of the Georgia Academy for Economic Development has recognized Dougherty County graduates from the academy’s 2016 Region 10 multiday training program. Class participants represented a number of professional and non-professional economic development fields, including elected officials, public servants, business leaders, educators and social service providers from nine counties in Southwest Georgia.

The academy provided each of the graduates an opportunity to gain a better understanding of the complexities of economic and community development on the local, regional and state levels.

Dougherty County graduates at the Nov. 17 ceremony included Sherrell Byrd, Les Charles, Megan Fowler, Anthony Jones, Chesessa Morgan, W. Nathaniel Norman, Anthony Parker, Heather Sharpe and Nicole Williams.

“One of the things I learned is that there were around 350 jobs in our region left on the table last year because of a lack of training in our labor force,” Jones, a Dougherty County commissioner, said. “I took this course to help alleviate that kind of situation in the future. I want to be able t0 talk intelligently about economic development, to know the challenges that our community faces.”

Created in 1993, the academy assembles a cross-section of economic development professionals and resources to provide training in all 12 service delivery regions in Georgia. The board of directors of the academy represent public and private economic development organizations and agencies from across Georgia.

Since its organization, the academy has provided training for thousands of professional and non-professional economic developers around the state, and since 1998 the academy has been offered annually in all 12 regions of the state. Georgia EMC and Georgia Power provide facilitators for the program, and the Georgia Department of Community Affairs provides staff support to the program.

The academy’s multiday program, taught one day a month over a four-month period, includes training in the basics of economic and community development plus specialized segments on business recruitment and retention, tourism product development, downtown development, planning and other essentials for community success.

“I think the classes were very beneficial to someone who is interested in the way economic development works and what these economic developers do to try and bring new industry to South Georgia,” Williams, the executive director of the Albany Area Arts Council, said. “I think it’s a good thing that we’re educating people in our region about things like using tax abatements to bring industry to town, and how to balance the money you lose against how much you stand to gain if a company chooses to locate here. I absolutely believe that is helpful info. It helped me have a better understanding of the role economic development plays.”

The academy curriculum also featured specific leadership skills such as consensus building, ethics in public service, collaborative leadership and other segments needed for effective community leadership in economic development.