Camilla group graduates from EDC program

CAMILLA — The Board of the Georgia Academy for Economic Development has announced Mitchell County graduates from the organization’s 2017 Region 10 Multi-Day 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 14 counties in Southwest Georgia.

Mitchell County graduates at a Nov. 15 recognition ceremony included Alyssa Blakley, Jennifer Burnum, Caitlyn Hatcher and Melody Pierce.

Created in 1993, the academy assembles a cross section of economic development professionals and resources to provide training in 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.

Georgia EMC’s Vice President for Community and Economic Development Pat B. Merritt, said, “Our Community Development team is proud to partner with and provide facilitation and presentation services on behalf of Georgia’s electric membership cooperatives. Involved since its inception, the team’s work with the academy graduates has enhanced levels of leadership capacity and community development preparedness for continued economic development progress throughout the region.”

In Region 10, CED cooperative members are Colquitt EMC, Diverse Power-Pataula District, Mitchell EMC and Sumter EMC.

“Georgia Power has historically played a major role in the state’s economic development,” Georgia Power Company Community Development Manager Johnna Robinson, chair of the Georgia Academy board, said. “The academy has formalized the opportunity to bring together stakeholders to share best practices, leverage expertise and build relationships among our communities with the same goal in mind: ensuring economic growth and prosperity for our state. We are proud of the strong partnership that delivers this program in each of our regions every year.”

“One of the goals for the multiday regional academies is to encourage multicounty cooperation,” Corinne Thornton, director of the Georgia Academy for Economic Development, said. “Many times the participants discover the issues facing their community are the same as those facing other communities in their region and can then combine limited resources to address the issue.”

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.

In addition, the curriculum features specific leadership skills such as consensus building, ethics in public service, collaborative leadership and other segments needed for effective community leadership in economic development. Local elected officials may receive certification training credits through the Association County Commissioners of Georgia and the Georgia Municipal Association for completion of this program.