August 2018 Features

• Georgia Chamber of Commerce and Hispanic Chamber of Commerce Establish Partnership

  August 30, 2018

  On Tuesday, the Georgia Chamber and Georgia Hispanic Chamber of Commerce announced the launch of their strategic partnership as their newest initiative to promote inclusive economic growth and development.

• Georgia Tourism Industry Professionals Honored at Georgia Governor’s Tourism Conference

  August 30, 2018

  Several of the state’s top tourism professionals were recognized at the 2018 Georgia Governor’s Tourism Conference in Atlanta. Hosted by the Georgia Department of Economic Development and the Georgia Association of Convention & Visitors Bureaus, the annual industry event brought together more than 400 tourism industry professionals from across the state.

• Inspire Brands to Create More Than 1,100 Jobs in Sandy Springs

  August 29, 2018

  Gov. Nathan Deal announced that Inspire Brands will locate its new headquarters in Sandy Springs, creating more than 1,100 jobs and investing approximately $32 million in Fulton County over the next six years.

• GreyOrange Expands Its Global Footprint, Opens U.S. Headquarters in Atlanta

  August 29, 2018

  GreyOrange, the global leader in AI-powered robotics systems for flexible automation in distribution and fulfillment centers, is establishing its U.S. headquarters in Atlanta. To better serve local customers and meet market demands, the company has announced 50 new open positions across various departments.

• Harvey L. Neiman Health Policy Institute and Georgia Institute of Technology to Establish Health Economics and Analytics Lab

  August 28, 2018

  The American College of Radiology's Neiman Institute and the Georgia Institute of Technology announced a new five-year, $3 million research partnership to establish the Health Economics and Analytics Lab within Georgia Tech's Ivan Allen College of Liberal Arts. HEAL will focus on applying big data analytics and artificial intelligence to large-scale medical claims databases.

• LG Casey Cagle Names Georgia’s College & Career Academy of the Year, Business Partner of the Year

  August 28, 2018

  Lt. Governor Casey Cagle concluded his Eleventh Annual Business and Education Summit, uniting education and business leaders from across the state. Recognizing the successful partnership between the school system, local industry, and community leaders, Cagle named Golden Isles CCA as the 2018 College and Career Academy of the Year. In recognition of the company’s innovative partnerships with more than 20 College and Career Academies across our state, Lt. Governor Cagle named Georgia Power as Business Partner of the Year for 2018.

• Governor Deal Announces More Than $40M in Development Awards to 60 Communities

  August 27, 2018

  Gov. Nathan Deal announced that 60 Georgia communities will receive a total of more than $40 million in federal assistance to help grow their local economies. The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development allocated the funding to Georgia’s Community Development Block Grant program, which is administered by the Georgia Department of Community Affairs.

• Georgia Department of Transportation Holds Groundbreaking Ceremony for New Diverging Diamond Interchange

  August 24, 2018

  The Georgia Department of Transportation held a ceremonial groundbreaking for the I-285 at Camp Creek Parkway Diverging Diamond Interchange project, the seventh in Georgia, at the Aerotropolis Atlanta CIDs headquarters in Atlanta.

• CSU’s Leadership Institute to Bring 2018 Jim Blanchard Leadership Forum to Columbus August 27th-28th

  August 24, 2018

  For the 13th year, the Jim Blanchard Leadership Forum, hosted by the Leadership Institute at Columbus State University, will bring a lineup of the best and brightest minds in the world to Columbus. This year’s event, themed “Art of Leadership” features leaders in various sectors, including business, education, technology, art, music, film and military.

• Tropical Smoothie Cafe Opens 700th Location

  August 24, 2018

  Tropical Smoothie Café, LLC is proud to announce the opening of its 700th location in the system, which will open on August 24th in Hurst, Texas. This major milestone showcases Tropical Smoothie Cafe's rapid growth since launching in Destin, FL more than 20 years ago and gets the company closer to reaching its goal of opening 120 new cafes in 2018.

• Georgia Banks Earn $2.1B during First Half of 2018

  August 24, 2018

  The 175 banks based in Georgia earned $2.1 billion in the first six months of 2018, according to data released by the FDIC Thursday. Net income for the period was up 31 percent over the same time in 2017.

• Atlanta Super Bowl Host Committee Unveils $2M City Park Renovation

  August 23, 2018

  The Atlanta Super Bowl Host Committee, The Arthur M. Blank Family Foundation and NFL Foundation held a groundbreaking ceremony announcing details of a $2 million capital improvement project, part of the Host Committee’s Legacy 53 initiative.

• EdgeConneX Announces Second Atlanta Data Center, More Than Tripling Local Edge Capacity

  August 22, 2018

  EdgeConneX, specializing in global data center solutions at the edge of the network, announces the creation of an Edge Data Center campus in Atlanta, Georgia.

• The Atlanta Women's Foundation Awards $1 Million to Eight Local Nonprofit Organizations

  August 22, 2018

  The Atlanta Women’s Foundation announces the Breaking Barriers, Building Women: Economic Empowerment Program, which will award a total of $1 million over two years to eight local nonprofit organizations, focusing on higher education and asset building for low-income women in Clayton, Cobb, DeKalb, Fulton, and Gwinnett counties.

• Mayor Keisha Lance Bottoms Introduces Sweeping Transparency Reforms in Legislative Package

  August 21, 2018

  Mayor Keisha Lance Bottoms took another critical step in leading Atlanta to becoming one of the most transparent cities in the country, introducing a legislative package to the City Council that would amend the City Code to create a new Transparency Officer, restrict usage of City-issued credits cards, and establishing procedures for the registration of persons engaged in lobbying the City of Atlanta.

• IgniteHQ Launches Social Impact and Blockchain Labs

  August 21, 2018

  IgniteHQ, an ecosystem of startups, investors and enterprises, is pleased to announce the launch of two new labs. The first lab will be dedicated to social innovation and impact investing. The second lab will focus on the region’s participation in the global development of new blockchain and cryptoeconomic solutions.

• Brasfield & Gorrie Marks Construction Milestone on 725 Ponce

  August 20, 2018

  General contractor Brasfield & Gorrie recently joined the owner of the property, New City Properties, to mark a milestone in the construction of 725 Ponce, a new mixed-use office building situated along Ponce de Leon Avenue and the Atlanta BeltLine.

• Georgia State Transportation Board Elects New Leadership

  August 20, 2018

  The State Transportation Board elected its new executive leadership team during its monthly meeting on August 16th. Ann R. Purcell was elected unanimously as chairman; Tim Golden was elected vice chairman; and Rudy Bowen was elected secretary. The new positions are effective immediately. Board elections are held annually to ensure that all regions of the state are represented at the executive leadership level.

• Southern Automotive Conference Makes Georgia Debut, October 3rd–5th

  August 17, 2018

  The Georgia Automotive Manufacturers Association is proud to host the Southern Automotive Conference at the Cobb Galleria Centre in Atlanta, Oct. 3 – 5, 2018. The internationally-recognized event brings together thought leaders, Original Equipment Manufacturers, suppliers and service providers to discuss the latest innovations driving the industry forward.

• Peach Pass to Serve as Presenting Sponsor for the Atlanta Back 2 School Food Festival

  August 17, 2018

  In preparation for the opening of the Northwest Corridor Express Lanes later this year, the State Road and Tollway Authority and Peach Pass have partnered with the Atlanta Back 2 School Food Festival as the presenting sponsor, enhancing their free event with a Peach Pass Fun Zone.

• Atlanta United Foundation & City of Atlanta Collaborate with Soccer in the Streets & MARTA to Expand Station Soccer

  August 16, 2018

  The Atlanta United Foundation and the City of Atlanta, through its Department of Planning and Design, announced an official collaboration with Soccer in the Streets and MARTA to expand Station Soccer, the world's first network of soccer fields inside the perimeter of major transit stations.

• Georgia Commute Options Named 2018 National Award Winner By The Association For Commuter Transportation

  August 15, 2018

  Georgia Commute Options, a program managed by the Atlanta Regional Commission, has been named a 2018 national award winner in the Marketing and Outreach category for exceptional work in transportation demand management. The program received this honor, in partnership with Cobb County DOT, from The Association for Commuter Transportation.

• Speaker Ralston & House Rural Development Council Leadership Announce Creation of Center for Rural Prosperity and Innovation

  August 15, 2018

  House Speaker David Ralston and the leadership of the House Rural Development Council announced the creation of the Center for Rural Prosperity and Innovation. The RDC is co-chaired by State Representatives Terry England (R-Auburn) and Jay Powell (R-Camilla). State Representative Sam Watson (R-Moultrie) serves as vice chair of the council.

• Bloomberg Philanthropies Selects 45 Cultural Organizations in Atlanta to Participate in $43M Arts Innovation and Management Training Program

  August 14, 2018

  Bloomberg Philanthropies announced that 45 cultural organizations in Atlanta have been selected to participate in the Arts Innovation and Management program.

• Charlie Harper: Talk Of I-14 Grows – But Still Just Talk

  August 14, 2018

  Roughly 25 miles of Texas interstate highway has started making a stir in social media in Georgia and Alabama. Interstate 14 currently runs between Fort Hood and Belton Texas, just north of the Austin metro area. A few students from Georgia and Alabama operating at the “Youth Infrastructure Coalition” have dusted off old plans and are promoting a corridor that would run from Texas to Augusta Georgia, passing through Columbus and Macon along the way.