The 55th Annual Banquet of the Swainsboro/Emanuel County Chamber of Commerce was held Thursday night, Feb. 5th, in the Richard L. Brown Room at East Georgia College. With nearly 200 people in attendance, the event was a sold out affair.

The theme of this year's event was "SS EMANUEL: Full Steam Ahead" and came complete with passports, cruise ship entranceway, a 20-ft high life preserver arch and nautical icons. Members of the Chamber's executive committee welcomed attendees aboard dressed as crew members. Following a social, guests were treated to a wide selection of international flavors served buffet style.

Bill Rogers Jr., president of the chamber, welcomed the guests and recalled highlights and successes from the previous year.

Milton Gray, chairman of the board of directors, presented the chamber's agenda for 2009. Issues the chamber will address over the next two years are youth leadership, retail development, existing industry appreciation, and local governmental affairs.

In award presentations, Sanitary Market was named the "2008-2009 Small Business of the Year," while Swainsboro Technical College was named the "Large Business of the Year".

The highlight of the banquet was the naming of the "Person of the Year". This year's recipient was Harry Martin. The crowd enjoyed viewing videos from his children and grandchildren congratulating him on his selection. The award was given in recognition of his outstanding service to the community. His son, Will Martin, introduced the recipient.

In addition to the annual chamber awards, special recognition was given to this year's STAR students and teachers.

Swainsboro High School's Amy Marie Lee was named County STAR winner. Joyce Agress was named her STAR teacher.

At Emanuel County Institute, Derek Antonio Roberson was named STAR student with Glenn Turner named STAR teacher at the school.

JR Whetsell Jr. was the STAR student representing David Emanuel Academy. Mary Ann Beecher was named as her STAR teacher.

Special thanks go to Nordson Corporation and Jerry N. Cadle PC for sponsorship of this year chamber banquet. Nordson served as corporate sponsor of the event, while Cadle PC sponsored the STAR student and teacher awards program. Thanks to each!

The Swainsboro/Emanuel County Chamber of Commerce held meetings with members of the Emanuel County Hospital Authority and the local medical community to gain insight to the difficult economic situation now facing Emanuel Medical Center.

The hospital is currently experiencing a severe economic downturn due to changes in Medicaid billing procedures, a general slow down in the economy and a decrease in patient volume.

In a meeting held Thursday, Feb. 12th, Hospital Administrator Van Vanderveer acknowledged that a challenging environment was forcing the Authority and administration to make extremely difficult decisions, including a reduction in workforce. "With decreases in reimbursement from Medicare, Medicaid and insurances companies, we are looking at all areas," he stated.

The Chamber hosted the local medical community on Wednesday, February 18th, to hear proposals from them.

Board Chairman Milton Gray reiterated the Chamber's position that the hospital "is an integral part of our community's overall economic plan and that as citizens, we need to support the hospital whenever and however we can."

A bill introduced by Representative Butch Parrish limiting the authority of the board that oversees the state's technical colleges has passed the Georgia House 158-1.

House Bill 294 requires legislative approval before the creation, consolidation or discontinuation of a technical college. Currently, the state board of the Technical College System of Georgia has the authority to make those decisions.

Last September, the state board voted to consolidate 13 of the state's technical colleges into six colleges. Among them was Swainsboro Technical College, which was consolidated with Southeastern Technical College in Vidalia. The consolidation of the 13 schools was done to save the system $3.5 million.

In September following the announcement of the proposal, a delegation from Swainsboro traveled to Atlanta to voice their concerns which included losing local jobs and losing local integrity of the school. The local delegation stressed the proposal was a quick reaction to a short term problem and not in the best interest of local students or Swainsboro Technical College. The local group also reiterated its belief that similar savings could be achieved by leaving unfilled positions vacant and through cost savings initiatives. Attending the meeting were Representative Butch Parrish, State Senator Jack Hill, Chamber Board Chairman Milton Gray, Swainsboro Mayor Charles Schwabe, Emanuel County Commissioner Desse Davis, Chamber Board Member Ken Warnock and Chamber President Bill Rogers Jr.

"A lot of communities were not for this, but the board went ahead with this decision. My concern is that this was done, really, without careful study or planning," Rep. Parrish said.

The bill now goes to the Senate for consideration.

Note: Parts of this article attributed to the North Georgia/ Chattanooga Times Free Press, 2-18-09

The O'Neil Williams Outdoor Show has selected Flat Creek Lodge as a site for an upcoming show. The hunting show will arrive at Flat Creek in March to begin taping. Dates for the show have not been announced.

This year's Pine Tree Festival & Southeast Timber EXPO will offer something new to area foresters, logger and landowners. This year, certified forestry education classes will be offered for foresters, loggers and land owners.

Four courses will be presented by the Georgia Extension Service and by the Warnell School of Forest Resources at University of Georgia.

On Thursday May 7th, 5:30 P.M., two classes will be taught on "Ethics in Forestry" and "Pine Straw Production for Landowners." On Saturday, May 9th, at 1:00 P.M., "Using GPS in Timber Harvest" will be taught along with "Timber Management for Landowners."

Classes will be held at the Swainsboro/Emanuel County Recreational Complex on McLeod Bridge Road.

For more information call Georgia Extension Service at 478-237-1226.

The Pine Tree Festival & Southeast Timber EXPO is making state and regional news. In an article published by the Georgia Department of Economic Development and released to various media outlets, the Pine Tree Festival is listed among sixteen of Georgia's top "unique and popular spring festivals."

Among other listed are Atlanta Dogwood Festival, Cherry Blossom Festival, Mossy Creek Barnyard Festival, Scared Heart Garden Festival, St. Patrick's Festival and the Vidalia Onion Festival.

Four class member of Leadership Emanuel recently attended "Leadership Day" at the State Capitol.

On Monday, Feb. 9th, Russ Yeomans, Athen Walden, Will Donaldson and Bill Rogers Jr. attended the event which was held at the Georgia Freight Depot.

Among noted speakers were Lt. Governor Cagle, House Speaker Glenn Richardson and Senate Majority Leader Chip Rogers

The group was able to visit with Rep. Butch Parrish, Senator Jack Hill and Lt. Casey Cagle during the day.

The Swainsboro/ Emanuel County Joint Development Authority along with the Chamber will host 15 to 20 participants in this year's "Project Managers & Statewide Developers Tour" sponsored by Georgia Power Company.

The tour will visit the Joint Development's new industrial park located near I-16 on Wednesday, March 4th.

"We are very excited to have this year's tour visit our new industrial park near 1-16. Personal knowledge of the site by industrial developers will only enhance our location efforts," stated Andy Riley, President of the JDA.

Dale Ashworth of Dale Carnegie of Georgia has announced a 7-week course on "Leadership Training for Managers" will be offered locally.

The program is designed to develop skill sets in planning, delegation, communication, conflict resolution, defining performances, accountability, team building, motivational tools, relationship development, selling ideas and problem solving.

The leadership training courses will begin on Wednesday, March 11, 3:00 to 6:30 P.M.

The fee is $1395 per person with group discounts and individual payment plans available. For more information call Dale Ashworth at 912-223-4332.