Deadline for Industry Awards nominees nears

ALBANY — The Albany-Dougherty Economic Development Commission will accept nominations for its 2019 Albany-Dougherty Industry Awards, recognizing outstanding industries in the areas of global commerce, excellence in innovation, economic impact and corporate community citizenship, through Friday.

The naming of the Albany-Dougherty Industry Awards winners, now in their 10th year, is a part of Industry Celebration Week, a weeklong celebration of the community’s existing industries that highlights their successes throughout the last year. Deadline for nominations is Friday.

“One of the primary points of emphasis of the #MadeInAlbanyGA campaign is to bring information about our industries to the community, EDC Director of Marketing and Research Reedi Hawkins said Tuesday. “Industry Celebration Week, and the naming of the Industry Award winners, helps feed the enthusiasm as people in the community become more aware — and often amazed — at the products that in many cases are made only here in Albany and Dougherty County.

“We always love doing this; it’s one of the best ways to tell the stories of our existing industries and create for the community a better sense of the things they are doing every day.”

Industry Celebration Week will be conducted the week of April 8-12. The first big event of the week is April 9, when Albany Mayor Dorothy Hubbard and Dougherty County Commission Chairman Chris Cohilas will issue a joint proclamation designating the special week in the community. That event will be held at 1 p.m., and later that afternoon, at 5 p.m., the Albany Area Chamber of Commerce will host a Business After Hours gathering on the lawn at the Merry Acres Complex.

The Albany-Dougherty Industry Awards luncheon will be held April 10 starting at 11:30 a.m. at the downtown Hilton Garden Inn.

“We typically handed out the awards at a Rise n Shine Breakfast,” Hawkins said, “but we wanted to make it more of a celebration so we moved the time up a little bit starting last year. The response to the luncheon was very favorable, so we decided to stick with that format.”

Industry Celebration Week is one of many ways the Albany-Dougherty EDC works to promote and highlight local industries. This year’s celebration will echo and extend the “#MadeInAlbanyGA” campaign with the launch of the second phase of the campaign.

To nominate a deserving idustry, go online to the EDC’s choosealbany.com website and simply fill out, save and send the nomination form back to [email protected] by the deadline. Forms are also available on the EDC’s other social media sites. Nominations may also be emailed directly to Hawkins.

For additional information, call the EDC at (229) 434-0044.