Floyd County leaders graduate from Georgia Academy for Economic Development

Media release: The Board of the Georgia Academy for Economic Development announces Floyd County graduates from the 2013 Region 1 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 twelve counties in Northwest Georgia.  The Academy provided each of the graduates an opportunity to gain a unique understanding of the complexities of economic and community development on the local, regional, and state levels.

 

Floyd County graduates at the May 7 ceremony included: Amanda Carter, DDA Assistant for the City of Rome; Bill Irmscher, Rome City Commissioner; Kathy Mathis, Deputy Director of the Greater Rome Convention & Visitors Bureau; Noah Simon, Assistant Floyd County Manager; Lisa Williams, Customer Service Manager for Georgia Power Company; and Ken Wright, Director of Business & Industry Services for the Greater Rome Chamber of Commerce.

 

Created in 1993 by then-Governor Zell Miller's Development Council, the Academy assembles a cross-section of economic development professionals and resources to provide this training in all twelve service delivery regions in Georgia.  The Board of Directors of the Academy consists of 22 members representing 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. Georgia EMC and Georgia Power provide facilitators for the program, and the Georgia Department of Community Affairs provides staff support to this important program.

 

"One of the goals for the multi-day regional Academies is to encourage multi-county cooperation," says Corinne Thornton, Director of the Georgia Academy for Economic Development.  "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."