Chamber News News Georgia Chamber president, Chris Clark, speaks at Spring Membership Breakfast...

The Award Winning Monthly E-Newsletter of the Carroll County Chamber of Commerce

May 2012

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Georgia Chamber president, Chris Clark, speaks at Spring Membership Breakfast

CARROLL COUNTY CHAMBER 2012 Executive Committee

Chairman Leonard Woolsey Times-Georgian

Chairman-Elect Gary Leftwich Southwire

Vice Chairman Kathy Yates Georgia Power

Treasurer Ben Butler Carrollton Orthopaedic Clinic Past Chairman Robie York

Prater & York LLC

Amy Brown State Farm Insurance Kirby Butler United Community Bank Casey Coleman City of Carrollton Jay Collins City of Villa Rica Ann Fazio Garrett, Stephens, Thomas & Fazio PC Rick Ford City of Temple Merrell Folsom AgSouth Farm Credit Mark Foster Walker Cadillac-Buick-GMC Lucy Gamble City of Whitesburg Chris Gammon Printpack Tom Hall Southern Sales & Marketing Jason Harden Carroll County Animal Hospital April Harris The Squire Shop Lisa Herndon Associated Credit Union Mark Herring Addison Smith Mechanical Contractors Gary Hewitt Southland Insurance Agency Tammy Hughes BB&T Bank Chip Jakins Carroll EMC Wayne Johnson ESW Investment Company Jimmy Meigs City of Bowdon Alicia Michael Carrollton Collision Center Ann Newman Bank of North Georgia Jason Newman Die-Tech Trent North Carroll County Commission Sam Price Price, Pyles, Dangle, Parmer & Rooks Ryan Roenigk Roenigk Digital Craft Randy Sims City of Mt. Zion Dr. Skip Sullivan West Georgia Technical College Tim Warren United Community Bank Matt Windom Carroll County Water Authority

2012 Board of Directors

Carroll Chamber News Next Ad Deadline

May 24th !!

Promote your business with a full color promotion in the Chamber News:

Business card 2x3” - $20.00 1/4 page 4x5” - $30.00 1/2 page 5x8” - $40.00

Full-page portrait 8x10” - $50.00

Submissions must be camera-ready (300 dpi+ Jpeg or PDF). Email to [email protected] For more information, please call

(678)890-2332.

Find us at:

The Carroll Chamber of Commerce Chamber News is

distributed online on the first business day of each month to over 1,200 Chamber members and area leaders.

CARROLL COUNTY CHAMBER OF COMMERCE

200 Northside Drive, Carrollton, Georgia 30117 Phone: 770-832-2446 Fax: (770) 832-1300

[email protected] www.carroll-ga.org

Carroll County Chamber of Commerce—

fostering a dynamic business and community environment .

2 May 2012 www.carroll-ga.org

Daniel Jackson ♦ President & CEO [email protected] Donna Armstrong Lackey ♦ Vice President, Business Development & Community Relations [email protected] Brian Dill ♦ Vice President, Economic Development & Global Commerce [email protected] Suzy Montalto ♦ Director, Accounting & Administrative Services [email protected] Suzy McCorkel ♦ Director, Programs & Events [email protected] Cara Welch ♦ Membership Recruitment & Sales Associate [email protected] Joan Finch ♦ Information Specialist & Drugs Don’t Work Coordinator [email protected] Kathy Walker Rupp ♦ Administrative Assistant, The Burson Center [email protected]

Chamber News May 2012 3

Your Chamber Staff

Advantage Carroll’s Q1, 2012 is productive

Carroll Tomorrow reports a productive first quarter of 2012 under the Advantage Carroll strategic plan. The following highlights many accomplishments for the county. • 41 Projects in process - 23 Active & 5 pending

final announcement decision. • 5 new company announcements totaling $87.5

million in new capital investment. • $10,594,480 in new payroll additions . • 305 new jobs, of which 15 are ITC jobs. • Automotive, Aerospace, Technology and Food

Processing made up primary industrial prospect activity.

• Participated in international recruitment activi-ties generating 11 active projects currently.

• Continued aggressive outside marketing strat-egy promoting county economic development assets featured in Georgia Trend Magazine (April); updated website will be live in April, including advanced site and building promotion in cooperation with state databases; revised and rebranded new marketing materials for technol-ogy based clients.

• Created marketing platform for foreign trade zone status, immigration visa program and re-vised tax credit strategy for prospect develop-ment.

• Hosted Canadian company delegation on exist-ing industry visit.

• Participated in GDEcD International Office visitations and prospect identification. Hosted Japan Office Manager on site and Korean dele-gation in Atlanta.

• Completed and administering One Georgia grant application for Greenway expansion and construction project.

• Facilitating development of ChattaCreek Meats, Inc. processing plant in Bowdon.

• 6 of 41 development projects are existing in-dustry expansion opportunities.

• Assisted 13 existing businesses with direct as-sistance and support services.

• Met with two existing industries on potential tax credit options for expansion.

• Identified over 900 acres of potential industrial/corporate sites countywide.

• Finalized Master Planning Process with Villa Rica Development Authority and began new product identification process.

• Finalized marketing strategy for Buffalo Creek technology park and began target market event planning.

• Participated in strategic planning session with Temple City Council on Temple GRAD site.

• Completing City of Bowdon Enterprise Zone and Opportunity Zone designations for addi-tional tax credit status.

• 14 new start-ups in progress at Burson Center. • 1 Burson Center incubator graduate represent-

ing 3 jobs. • Negotiating with two prospects for Burson

Center space for research and development use. • 61 business enterprises received development

assistance, including training in government procurement, employee relations and opera-tions management.

Platinum

Thank you Forward Carroll Sponsors !!

Gold

Advantage Office Solutions AgSouth Farm Credit, ACA/AgSouth Mortgages

Carrollton Club Apartments Decostar Industries, Inc.

Foxhall Resort and Sporting Club MetroBank

Systems & Methods, Inc. West Georgia Technical College

Silver

Milestone Investment Management, LLC Prater & York, LLC

Bronze

Alternative Environmental Landscape Management Edward Jones Investments—Fred O'Neal

Fairfield Plantation Property Owners Assoc. First Baptist Church, Carrollton

Garrett, Stephens, Thomas & Fazio PC Grant $$$$ for You!


Upcoming Events

May 2 — 8:30am Ambassador Committee @ Chamber May 8 — 6:30pm Membership BBQ @ Burson Center May 9 — 8:30am Workforce Education Committee @ Chamber May 10 — 8:00am Chamber 101 @ Chamber May 14 — 11:00am Cookout 12:30pm Shot-gun Start Chamber Golf Tournament @ Sunset Hills Country Club May 16—11:30am Business Success Luncheon Alternatives to Business Lending @ Burson Center

May 22—8:30am Environmental Projects Comm. @ Chamber May 23—8:30am Business Development Committee @ Chamber May 30—11:30am Women’s Business Alliance The Art of Budgeting @ Plates on the Square


Literacy is for Today and Tomorrow

In support of a brighter future for the

residents of Carroll County!

Volunteer with LIFT Today (678)890-2357

[email protected]

Grand Night for CASA

presents Enrique Chia in concert

May 11 at 8 p.m. (pre concert reception 7 p.m.)

Townsend Center University of West Georgia

Call for more information: 770-838-1964

www.carrollcasa.com



Ribbon Cuttings

Culpepper Construction Co. celebrated the opening of their new Carrollton office at 102 Somerset Place, Suite 8, Carrollton.

Prater & York LLC held a ribbon cutting for their new offices at 106 Adamson Square, Carrollton.

Trey Rhodes State Farm Insurance held a ribbon cut-ting at their office at 928 South Park St., Carrollton.

Industry Leaders Council convenes

The Chamber’s newly revamped Industry Leaders Council met for an industry appreciation luncheon on April 23 to recognize the unique assets our existing industries offer our community. As part of the Cham-ber’s ‘Made in Carroll County—Made Right...Here’ program representatives from various sectors shared latest updates and ILC chairman Gary Leftwich laid out goals for the new council for the year. Leftwich and Chamber president Daniel Jackson will be hitting the civic circuit in the next few weeks to bring awareness about the diverse industry base in the county.

Certus Bank Melanie Daniell 100 Tom Reeve Drive Carrollton, GA 30117 Phone: 770-830-1233 Email: [email protected] Website: www.certusbank.com Category: Bank Maid in America Vicky Bates 4648 Central Church Rd. Douglasville, GA 30135 Phone: 770-427-4448 Email: [email protected] Website: www.maidinamericaga.com Category: Cleaning Ser vice

Berkshire MHP, LLC Barbara Wilson 104 Smyrna Church Rd. Carrollton, GA 30117 Phone: 678-390-0032 Email: [email protected] Website: www.berkshirega.com Category: Real Estate Rental

Southeastern Sales & Specialties Sherri Eason 2152 Bankhead Hwy. Carrollton, GA 30117 Phone: 770-834-8588 Email: [email protected] Website: www.southeastsew.com Category: Embroidery

Moe’s Southwest Grill Lorna Parcels 1765 S. Hwy. Ste. A Carrollton, GA 30117 Phone: 770-830-7575 Email: [email protected] Category: Restaurant

LocoMex Federico Gimenez 412 Adamson Square Carrollton, GA 30117 Phone: 770-214-2099 Email: [email protected] Website: www.locomexrestaurant.com Category: Restaurant

J-Bo’s BBQ Jason May 420 Newnan Street Carrollton, GA 30117 Phone: 770-834-4540 Email: [email protected] Category: Restaurant

Security Finance Phil Bishop 511 Bankhead Hwy. Carrollton, GA 30117 Phone: 770-838-7884 Email: [email protected] Category: Financial & Investment Services

Cajun Corner Susan Culpepper 108 Adamson Square Carrollton, GA 30117 Phone: 334-355-2773 Email: [email protected] Category: Restaurant & Catering

Shatone David Griffith 59 Wellington Mill Rd. Whitesburg, GA 30185 Phone: 770-253-6500 Email: [email protected] Website: www.shatone.com Category: Manufacturing

Welcome New Members!



The Chamber appreciates your

patience in the next few weeks as we are transitioning to a

new member database and our new

website!

Networking after hours Thank you Renewing

Members!

American Document Securities, Inc. Appraisal Associates Atlanta Gas Light Bank of North Georgia BB&T - Dixie Street Border, The Bremen-Bowdon Investment Burson Seed & Feed Chick-fil-A at Carrollton Chick-fil-A at Villa Rica Craig Wire Products, LLC Don-Rich Ford Co., Inc. Five Star Floor Covering Gradick Communications, LLC Green Sense, LLC J. Besthair Co. Joe Stone John A. Harris Ken Adams State Farm Ins. Co. Merrell & Associates Inc. Mike Bell Chevrolet OFS, LLC Phil Wilkins Precision Roll Grinders Primerica Financial Services Rhyne Owenby Sam's Club SLM Recycling Smith Brothers Supply Co. State Farm Insurance/ Jill Duncan Steve Minor The Lodges at Banning Mills Wal-Mart/ Villa Rica West Georgia Electric Will Ozier

Jill Duncan and her staff at State Farm Insurance welcomed a great turnout for a recent Chamber Networking After Hours held at their offices on Maple Street.


Membership Breakfast features Georgia Chamber exec

Georgia Chamber of Commerce president, Chris Clark, presented an update on legislation passed during the most recent General Assembly impacting the state’s business community He shared that the two most significant pro-jects in the works to benefit business in Georgia are the deepening of the Savannah Port and the upcoming T-SPLOST transportation referendum.


G.R.O.W. Georgia visits Carroll County

The Georgia Department of Economic Development recently hosted Georgia Reaching Out Worldwide (G.R.O.W.) in Carroll County bringing international buyers and trade representatives to meet one-on-one with local existing industries pursuing export opportunities. Representatives from China and Germany met with local leaders from automotive, wire and cable, technology, and food processing companies. Carroll To-morrow and The Burson Center hosted the international group to a variety of local cuisines while sharing lo-cal incentives for international recruitment to Carroll County.

Carroll County Chamber of Commerce, Purchasing Alliance Solutions and UnitedHealthcare Announce Expansion of Chamber Sponsored Em-

ployee Benefits Options Through Healthy Business Alliance™ We are pleased to announce our new initiative to reduce the increasing cost trend of health insur-ance through the introduction of healthy lifestyle tools for employees and their families, and to assist small business owners in improving the health and efficiency of their business operations by making available value-added services and business management tools through a program spon-sored by the Carroll Chamber of Commerce and distributed through brokers. The Healthy Business Alliance™ is in addition to the MemberCare AllianceTM program already of-fered. It is available to employer groups who are members of Carroll Chamber of Commerce or who commit to joining the Chamber upon enrollment in the health plan. The advantages of the UnitedHealthcare (UHC) insurance offering are:

Discounts off medical premium, subject to small group rating regulations, of up to 5% for new groups with 2-19 employees and up to 3% for new groups with 20-50 employees. Groups currently with UHC may enroll in this program at their annual renewal and receive up to a 2% renewal premium discount subject to small group rating regulations.

Up to a 5% discount on specialty products such as dental, vision, life and disability An attractive wellness program available only to program participants including

At-home biometric screening kits Wellness coaching Gym reimbursements

One bill and one application for medical and other coverages COBRA administration, at no additional cost Pre-tax Premium Only Plans and FSA plans for groups down to 2 employees, at no additional

cost Broad network access and low cost local and national coverage Administrative savings of up to $7.00 per employee per month when specialty products are

combined with medical We are all excited to be able to offer you expanded options as a benefit of your Chamber member-ship. For more information please call your local insurance broker, your local Chamber of Com-merce or Purchasing Alliance Solutions at (770) 579-1214 or www.purchasingalliance.com.



The following Georgia Legislative Report includes legislation passed this session affecting business and industry in the state as presented by the Georgia Department of Economic Devel-opment. Unless otherwise noted below, the items listed have been signed by the Governor.

HB 742 $111.8M additional discretionary deal closing funds. (Not yet signed by the Governor.) • FY2013 $78.5M REBA • FY2013 $44.8M OneGeorgia HB 386 Elimination of the sales and use tax on energy used in manufacturing • Exemption would apply to energy used directly or indirectly in the manufacture or processing, in a manufacturing plant • Does not include the generation of electricity • Phase-out over 4 year period • The Governor would have the ability to offer immediate phase-out of state sales and use tax for the expansion or location of a "competitive project." • "Competitive project of regional significance” means the location or expansion of some or all of a business enterprise's operations in this where the commissioner of economic de-velopment certifies that but for some or all of the tax incentives provided in this Code sec-tion, the business enterprise would have located or expanded outside this state. Locals have opportunity to impose a local excise tax on energy after exemption HB 386 Discretionary elimination of sales and use tax for construction materials used for certain projects • The Governor would have the ability to offer state sales and use tax exemption of con-struction materials used in the expansion or location of a "competitive project of regional significance" • "Competitive project of regional significance” means the location or expansion of some or all of a business enterprise's operations in this where the commissioner of economic de-velopment certifies that but for some or all of the tax incentives provided in this Code sec-tion, the business enterprise would have located or expanded outside this state. (similar to O.C.G.A. § 48-7-40 (a)(3)) ο GDEcD currently has the ability to apply payroll withholding benefits to job tax credits claimed by a "competitive project." ο Exemption would apply to state and local portion of sales and use tax Exemption could only be granted from Jan 1, 2012- June 30, 2014 HB 48 Freeport Expansion and the Elimination of the Local Inventory Tax Allows local governments to expand the current Freeport Exemption allowed under current

law and authorize a call for a referendum to approve the creation of Level Two Freeport Ex-emption. Level Two Freeport Exemption would include the exemption of any business inven-tory or real property not covered in the current Freeport Exemption from local property tax. Counties could have chosen to implement Level Two Freeport Exemption at the 20%, 40%, 60%, 80%, or 100% level. HB 397 Strengthening Georgia open records laws pertaining to economic development • Documents maintained by GDEcD pertaining to projects over 50 jobs or $25M in invest-ment are not subject to open records • Documents shall be disclosed after a project is located, through a “binding commitment,” or terminated • If a project is located, public notice of the “binding agreement” and committed REBA or OneGeorgia funds must be posted on the GDEcD website and in the legal organ of each of the counties where the project is located • Locals not included in this ORR protection Effective upon signature of the Governor HB 868 Expansion and enhancements in Statutory Job Tax Credits, Research and Devel-opment Tax Credits, Port Tax Credits, and Quality Job Tax Credits. (Not yet signed by the Governor.) • Addition of additional eligible industries: ο Bio Medical Manufacturing ο Alternative energy products (solar, wind, biofuel, electric vehicle) • Expansion of the R&D Tax Credit to allow companies to take this credit against their State withholding liability • Expansion of Port Tax Credit Bonus to be used in Less Developed Census Tracts, Military Zones, and Opportunity Zones • Expands the Quality Job Tax Credit for use by companies with no pre-determined end date Important in recruitment of military contractors HB 1027 Changes to strengthen the film tax credit. (Not yet signed by the Governor.) • Allows a new provision to make sure all income to loan-out companies is captured and ap-propriately taxed by the state of Georgia ο Currently a production can pay a movie star through a loan-out company registered in an-other state that does not have an income tax ο Requires a production company claiming this credit to only pay companies registered here in Georgia ο Strengthens the method in which film production is distributed and stipulates that only paid commercial distribution qualifies. ο Clearly positions the placement of the Georgia logo and requires a Georgia web link in pro-motion of films that choose to use the 10% uplift ο Alternative marketing opportunities can be used instead of or in addition to the Peach logo


for the additional 10% credit ο Clearly states who can claim the credit in a work for hire situation and awards the credit to production companies making the decision to locate production in Georgia ο Places a $25M cap on credits taken by ‘Qualified Interactive Entertainment Production’ or Game Development Companies ο Interactive Entertainment companies only eligible for this credit if their gross income is less than $100M (credit will target smaller game development companies) ο After the $25M cap is reached only the interactive portion of the credit will expire ο New methods of distribution were added for the gaming industry There will be reporting required by the Department of Economic Development to the Legislature to evaluate effective-ness of the credit and evaluate Georgia’s return on investment. SB 402 Alternative Investments in State Pension Funds • SB 402 establishes the "Employees' Retirement System of Georgia Enhanced Investment Authority Act.” The bill allows the Employees‟ Retirement System to invest retirement assets in certain types of alternative investments, private placements, and other private investments. • The alternative investments by the retirement system shall not in the aggregate exceed 5 percent of the retirement system’s assets at any time. Yearly investments cannot exceed 1 per-cent of the retirement system’s assets Changes in Mega Tax Credit in HB 868 & HB 1027. (Not yet signed by the Governor.) • Affiliates and affiliated groups can qualify for the Mega Tax Credit • Clearly states that no company that takes this credit can count jobs by acquiring existing Georgia companies; only net new jobs to Georgia qualify • Extends the ‘ramp-up’ period for companies to create 1800 jobs ο Companies with $600M in qualified investment by year 6 are given 2 additional years to create 1800 jobs. ο Companies with $800M in qualified investment by year 8 are given 2 additional years to create 1800 jobs. ο The maximum number of jobs for the Mega Tax Credit is raised from 3300 to 4500 For additional information on these and other business-related pieces of legislation addressed during the 2012 General Assembly, or to see how your local delegation voted, members are encouraged to visit www.gachamber.com.


Chamber News News Georgia Chamber president, Chris Clark, speaks at Spring Membership Breakfast...

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