Loading...Membership Campaign Tops $1.5 Million; Sets All-Time Record
: David Ratcliffe; John Hall, Peachtree National Bank; Yowanda Knight, Citizen\'s Trust Bank; and Grace Sollar, Oral Surgery Associates. Not pictured is Bob Hayes, Georgia Power Company-Metro East. (Photo courtesy of Derek Bell Photography.)'); "Four volunteers in the '05 membership campaign each sold 25 or more new members and earned a trip for two to Aruba. Shown above, accepting their awards from David Ratcliffe, 2005 Chair of the Georgia Chamber, are (L to R): David Ratcliffe; John Hall, Peachtree National Bank; Yowanda Knight, Citizen's Trust Bank; and Grace Sollar, Oral Surgery Associates. Not pictured is Bob Hayes, Georgia Power Company-Metro East. (Photo courtesy of Derek Bell Photography.)")
Twenty weeks of hard work and fierce dedication on the part of more than 500 statewide volunteers paid off on Wednesday, Nov. 9, when David Ratcliffe, President & CEO, Southern Company, and 2005 Chair of the Georgia Chamber announced that the Team Georgia Chamber '05 Membership Campaign had hit and exceeded its target. Though the numbers were still being tabulated – and will continue to grow over the next few weeks – the drive reached its deadline with $1,504,636.
While the dollars were impressive, busting through last year's total of $1,481,062, the campaign has also produced 735 new members, boosting for the first time in history the total membership of the state chamber to more than 4,000.
The news came at a packed luncheon, held to celebrate what everyone hoped would be a victory. The early week deficit of $102,000 was wiped out in the hours leading up to the luncheon, thanks to the efforts of a cadre of mostly veteran volunteers.
Frank Boyd (Georgia Power Co.) got in just under the wire with sales of $30,080, to boost his total sales in the campaign to $133,595, which is a new all-time record for a volunteer in the campaign.
Frank was followed by Robert Steele (GEMC-Oglethorpe Power), with $10,000; Henry Teel (First Georgia Banking Co.) reporting $10,000; Tom Atwood (AGL Resources) adding $5,000 to his total; David Preston (Regions Bank), also turning in $5,000; and Tommy Graham (AGL Resources) reporting $2,200.
Wednesday's luncheon, held at the Hyatt Regency Hotel in Atlanta, was a spirited occasion. David Ratcliffe, who set reaching 4,000 members as one of his goals as Chair, told the group that they personified teamwork. "Our success in this campaign," he said, "resulted from the efforts, not of a few, but of many. People working together to build a better Georgia."
His words were echoed by George Israel, President & CEO of the Georgia Chamber. "We have come a long way in a short time," he commented, "Zero to $1.5 million and more than 700 new members. That is a remarkable feat of which you should all be very proud," he told the excited crowd.
Because dollars and new members were still being turned in at the luncheon, preliminary totals are still be tallied. But, there is no doubt that the campaign hit its goal, adding a new page in the record book.
The Top Producing Team in this year's drive, Georgia Power Company, became the all-time top producing team with its total sales in '05 of $314,535. The team, led for the ninth consecutive year by Art McClung, brought in 184 new members, almost all of whom are located outside the metro Atlanta area.
Also as a result of the campaign, the Georgia Chamber now has members in 154 of the state's 159 counties, also a new record.
For 24 of the campaign's top producers and their guests, their next stop is Aruba in January, for the annual post-campaign planning and evaluation session. This five-day excursion to the popular Caribbean island is a mix of relaxing and brainstorming about the 2006 campaign and ways to make it even better.
But, if you ask any of the volunteers about the campaign they just concluded, they'll tell you it doesn't get any better than this: a stunning, masterful victory that will make the voice of business in Georgia stronger and the state's business climate better.
