Georgia Travel Association
The Georgia Travel Association (GATA) continues its work advocating for Georgia’s $59 billion tourism industry. New members, including the Marietta Visitors Bureau, Douglas County Tourism, and the Georgia Distillers Association, have joined GATA members from across the state to continue our positive momentum.

A current issue that GATA is working hard to shine a light on is kids having to end summer break earlier and earlier each year to head back to school. In fact, did you know that 14 school districts had students back in class in July this year? GATA is supporting the Save Georgia Summer’s campaign to encourage the state legislature to study and take a deeper look into school start back dates in Georgia. For more information on the campaign and how to get involved, click here. We also encourage you to take a moment to read an excellent opinion piece here from the AJC submitted a local Atlanta mom regarding the early school start dates this year.


Georgia Partnership for Excellence in Education
Last week, the Georgia Partnership for Excellence in Education (GPEE), held a Critical Issues Forum on Closing the Talent Gap. Georgia Chamber President & CEO, Chris Clark, kicked off the meeting by discussing Georgia’s jobs of the future. The information presented was encouraging for some areas of the state and discouraging for other parts, especially rural counties. Ultimately, the discussion focused on how Georgia can remain the number one state in which to do business. The short answer – location and talent. You can find Mr. Clark’s full presentation here.

The event also hosted a tremendous group of panelists who discussed the importance of students going on to some form of post-secondary education – as well as being engaged in Career, Technical, and Agricultural Education – in order to learn skills necessary for many of the high-paying jobs of today and the future. The overarching theme of the panel discussion was that if we want to close the talent gap, children must be equipped with the skills that business and industry are looking for, and they must further their education beyond high school.

If you would like to watch the Forum in its entirety, you can view it on GPEE’s YouTube page here.


Georgia Transportation Alliance
The Georgia Transportation Alliance (GTA) is hard at work preparing for their annual fall event, the 2017 Georgia Transportation Summit, being held on October 20, 2017, from 7:00 am to 4:30 pm. Hosted by GTA, the Georgia Chamber, and the American Council of Engineering Companies of Georgia (ACEC Georgia), this event includes Federal, State, and local-level transportation and infrastructure updates directly from key leaders. This year’s panel discussions will include a segment on the I-85 bridge emergency response and rebuild, along with an update on the Transportation Investment Act and what the future holds. To register for this informative event, click here.


Georgia Foreign-Trade Zone
Georgia Foreign-Trade Zone (GFTZ) is preparing for two exciting events. Register today for the National Association of Foreign-Trade Zones’ Annual Conference & Exhibition taking place in San Diego on October 22-25, 2017. Be a part of the conversation as industry professionals and partners challenge themselves to take trade to new heights. Attendees will leave this 4-day event with a lifetime of resources, relationships, and regulation updates. To learn more or to register for this event, click here.

Be sure to also save the date for World Free Zones Organization’s Annual International Conference & Exhibition taking place on May 15-18, 2018 in Dubai. While more information is forthcoming, you can check out pricing and the event webpage here.


The Council on Alcohol and Drugs
The Council on Alcohol and Drugs continues to fight for drug-free workplace programs for businesses of all size. According to the Center for Disease Control, the opioid epidemic is the worst drug crisis in U.S. History. Employers can work towards protecting their company and employees by becoming state-certified as a drug-free workplace. Additionally, state-certified drug-free workplaces receive a state-mandated discount on workers compensation insurance premiums. You can get started today by clicking here or calling 404.223.2486.


Georgia Employers’ Association
The Georgia Employers’ Association (GEA) has over 200 members statewide and provides resources to enable businesses to be better. Join GEA for their exciting upcoming seminars which include: Custom training programs designed to meet the specific need of your company, an HR Solutions hotline, employee engagement surveys and assessments, and the annual Wage and Benefit survey. To view a list of seminars taking place this fall, click here.


Georgia Workers’ Compensation Association
Georgia Workers’ Compensation Association (GWCA) is a member-driven association with more than 400 members, including large and small employers throughout the state. The objectives of GWCA are to represent employers before state government and the congressional delegation; Inform members of pending legislation, court cases, regulations, and other matters of interest; Educate members on public policy issues and the management of workers’ compensation; Promote workers’ compensation self insurance in Georgia.

GWCA has two Q&A events coming up on September 25 and October 20. For more information on GWCA and all of their upcoming events, click here.

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