Loading...Confident Beginning For Georgia Chamber’s 11th Campaign
 are (L-R): Tony Willingham, Nancy Davis, Stan Sparks, Swann Seiler and Jeannice Watts.'); "The team from Georgia Power was represented at this year's luncheon by both new and veteran volunteers. Pictured above with Georgia Power President & CEO Mike Garrett (far right) are (L-R): Tony Willingham, Nancy Davis, Stan Sparks, Swann Seiler and Jeannice Watts.")
A large and enthusiastic crowd of Georgia Chamber members was on hand on Wednesday, June 20th, for the official kick off of the state chamber’s Team Georgia Chamber ’07 statewide membership campaign. Although the audience was a mix of Board members, business leaders and media, the VIP’s at this luncheon were campaign volunteers who will spend the next 21 weeks raising $1,750,000 and recruiting 700 new members for the statewide business organization.
2007 Campaign Chair Charles Tarbutton, Assistant Vice President, Sandersville Railroad in Sandersville, Georgia, told the group that their work over the next four months was pivotal to the growth and effectiveness of the state chamber. “We can never forget that we are, first and foremost, a lobbying organization for business and nothing is more important to our future as Georgians as maintaining a healthy pro-business environment,” Tarbutton said. “It determines how strong our job market is, how high our wages are, how viable our small towns are and our overall quality of life,” he added.
Echoing his words, 2007 Georgia Chamber Chair, Dr. David Allen, Founder & President, Dr. J. David Allen and Associates, Consultants to the Healthcare Industry, told the audience that a membership in the Georgia Chamber is one of the best investments a business can make. “Before they join us, a lot of businesses are frustrated by not knowing what happens in the Georgia Legislature and how laws affect them. By the time some of these laws pass, it’s too late for them to voice their opinion. That is our role and we do it well, “ Dr, Allen noted, adding that for most companies, a membership in the Georgia Chamber cost only a few dollars a day, money that is recouped many times by the pro-business legislation the Georgia Chamber helps pass.
The keynote speaker at this year’s luncheon was John Rice, Vice Chairman of General Electric. Rice, who had flown in earlier that day from South America, told the business group that Georgia’s competition is no longer Alabama or New York, but really anywhere in the world. “To compete globally, we must be competitive locally,” Rice said. “Citizens, and that includes business people, must make their voices heard when laws are passed to ensure that government does not put up barriers that impede or retard this competition. That’s why a strong state chamber is so essential,” he added.
Founded in 1915, the state chamber witnessed a period of enormous growth between 1997 and 2003, actually doubling its membership. Today, with more than 4,000 members in 155 of the state’s 159 counties, the Georgia Chamber is poised for growth, a point Dr. Allen made during his remarks at the luncheon. “There is no limit to the contributions the business community can make toward making our state a better place to live and work, but we must speak with one unified voice. And, the stronger that voice is, the more we can accomplish,” he said.
For more information on the Team Georgia Chamber ’07 campaign, please contact Tom King at 404.223.2278.
