October 2014 Features

• 10 Ways to Keep Up With Your Professional Network Online

  October 31, 2014

  Cultivating a wide professional network is great for business. However, the real key is keeping these relationships alive beyond the first meeting and connecting on LinkedIn. But how do you keep track of everyone in your network when you’re busy with your business?

• Wynfield Plantation Gives Guests a Little Something Extra

  October 30, 2014

  The South Georgia plantation belt running from Albany to Thomasville is home to the long traditions of hospitality and hunting. At Wynfield Plantation in Albany quail hunting and gracious hospitality merge into the picture-perfect setting for formal corporate events and informal business strategizing. Leaders in Georgia’s and the nation’s agricultural, banking, oil and gas, medical, chemical, trucking and private equity industries, as well as others, reward their best salespeople and top clients with excellent accommodations and guided hunting experiences.

• What’s the Biggest Influencer in Consumer Purchase Decisions?

  October 29, 2014

  There’s a lot of discussion about the ever-changing evolution of sales strategy. This evolution is strongly driven by one important factor – the customer. Have you ever wanted to know why people buy? And what influences consumer purchase decisions?

• Supporters Phil and Jeanne Oneacre Commit $1 Million to Georgia State

  October 28, 2014

  The Phil and Jeanne Oneacre family has committed a $1 million planned gift to Georgia State University to support the Honors College, the Department of Athletics and J. Mack Robinson College of Business.

• Hannah Solar Ensures Georgia’s Place in the Sun

  October 27, 2014

  Georgia is one of the fastest growing solar markets in the country and Hannah Solar, winner of the 2014 Champion of Change Award, is accommodating commercial-industrial and agricultural demand for solar energy. We talk to CEO of Georgia-Based Hannah Solar Pete Marte about the growth of the industry in the state.

• Delta Volunteers Join KaBOOM! to Offer Gift of Play to Children at Atlanta Mission

  October 24, 2014

  More than 150 Delta Air Lines volunteers joined KaBOOM! organizers to build a playground in one day at Atlanta Mission – My Sister's House, a shelter for homeless women and children in midtown Atlanta. The event helped kick off the 25th anniversary year of Hands On Atlanta, a local organization that encourages volunteers to pitch in to help meet the pressing needs of the Atlanta community.

• Wells Fargo Supports Georgia Small Biz in Post-Recession Economy

  October 23, 2014

  Wells Fargo serves 2.9 million Georgians with deposits of $29.6 billion. The reach of Wells Fargo, however, extends far beyond the customers who use its 281 bank stores distributed across the state. The bank’s leaders and staff are committed to positively impacting the whole of Georgia’s economy through small business programs available both to customers and non-customers.

• University of Georgia- An Economic Engine for the State

  October 22, 2014

  In 2013, UGA was designated as an Innovation and Economic Prosperity University by the Association of Public and Land-grant Universities. UGA was one of only 16 universities in the nation to receive the inaugural designation, which acknowledges universities working with public and private sector partners in their states and regions to support economic development through a variety of activities, including innovation and entrepreneurship, technology transfer, talent and workforce development, and small business and community development.

• Customer Service Must be Part of Your Process

  October 20, 2014

  Imagine you’re sitting in the service department at a car dealership, waiting for a routine inspection. It should only take ‘a few minutes’. But you’ve been in this room for nearly two hours now. You’re becoming impatient…even angry. Because it’s clear the business has no process in place to see that your needs are met in a timely fashion.

• HeritageBank Names Brain Schmitt Atlanta Market CEO

  October 17, 2014

  Heritage Financial Group, Inc., the holding company for HeritageBank of the South, today announced that it has named Brian D. Schmitt as Executive Vice President, Atlanta Market CEO and Director of Mergers & Acquisitions.

• When to Give Business Gifts and Who to Give Them to

  October 16, 2014

  You don’t have to wait for the holidays to send out business gifts. There are several different groups of people that might warrant gift giving. But if you’re wondering when to give business gifts and who to give them to, a general rule of thumb is to send gifts to the people who help make your company great.

• Case Study: Reimagining Our Downtown, How Greenville SC is Building One of the Best in America

  October 15, 2014

  In Savannah, a Critical Issues presentation by HunterMaclean featured the successful and now famous revitalization efforts in Downtown Greenville, South Carolina, and its mayor, Knox White. White, the featured presenter at the seminar held at Savannah Technical College, said, “We’ve worked very intentionally with planners to create a great city.” And a great city they did make.

• Atlanta Center for Medical Research Announces Grand Opening Celebration for New Research Facility

  October 14, 2014

  The Atlanta Center for Medical Research (ACMR), a national leader in research studies since 1980, will hold a grand opening celebration at its newly renovated research facility in southwest Atlanta on Thursday, Oct. 23, from 4:00 p.m. to 6:30 p.m. The $25 million facility, which will go by the name of its anchor tenant, Atlanta Center for Medical Research, is located at the site of the former Southwest Atlanta Hospital building at 501 Fairburn Road, SW.

• Georgia's Credit Union Celebrate International Credit Union Month

  October 13, 2014

  Credit unions statewide are celebrating International Credit Union Month this October. In Atlanta, its no different, with Atlanta Postal Credit Union and Peach State Federal Credit Union branches joining in the celebration.

• Mike Leven Returns to Atlanta to Become Chairman & CEO of Georgia Aquarium

  October 10, 2014

  Georgia Aquarium announced today that hospitality guru Mike Leven will return to Atlanta January 1, 2015, to become the chairman and CEO of Georgia Aquarium. David Kimmel, who has served as president since 2010, and led all major construction of the facility for the past 12 years, has stepped down. The Aquarium also announced that Bernie Marcus, founder and chairman, will become chairman emeritus in 2015.

• How to Balance Leadership and Management

  October 09, 2014

  As people, we need leaders. Whether it’s the President of the United States, a religious leader or the “head” of your family – we look to leaders to guide us through difficult or uncertain times, to set an example, and to demand a high level of ethics from those around us.

• Brenau’s Business School Adopts Entrepreneurial Strategy

  October 08, 2014

  Education costs are rising and the skills demanded in the 21st-century workplace are changing at a rapid rate. Institutions of higher education are challenged with aligning academic programs with the tuition charged and the knowledge and skills desired by employers.

• Atlanta Tech Builds Skilled Workforce in the Workplace

  October 07, 2014

  Atlanta Technical College makes a $63 million impact on metro Atlanta. Though it is widely associated with certificate and associate degree programs that feed graduates into the workforce of area industries, Atlanta Tech also provides non-credit training for employees of businesses in Fulton County south of the Chattahoochee River and in Clayton County.

• University System of Georgia Studies Demand for Georgia Film Academy

  October 06, 2014

  The University System of Georgia trademarked the name Georgia Film Academy as a proactive measure in its process of determining whether the state of Georgia has need – and the exact nature of the need – for such an institution.

• Atlanta Tech Receives $2M Job-Training Grant to Advance Transportation Careers

  October 03, 2014

  Atlanta Technical College will receive $2 million in grant funding as part of the Southeastern Transportation Network, a four-state college consortium. Through the Network, community and technical colleges will develop Centers of Excellence that prepare participants for the 21st century transportation industry.

• Are You Making These Common Entrepreneurial Mistakes?

  October 01, 2014

  Today, the world seems to be filled with bright, creative people who want to make a name for themselves. If you are ready to branch out as an entrepreneur to bring your great idea to light, start on the right foot by learning from those who have gone before you.