Dalton-Whitfield Citizens Collaborate with UGA College of Environment and Design Students on the Future of Lakeshore Park

On Saturday, December 10, College of Environment and Design Students Rachel Johnson and Justin Crighton teamed up with City-County Planner Kevin Herrit to host a planning event for Lakeshore Park. Prior to the event, Rachel and Justin prepared three different concepts for the park. Community members had an opportunity to view these proposals and then make comments about what they would like to see in the park. Comments ranged from protecting the habitats of wildlife that call the park home to ensuring that the park is friendly to pedestrians, fishermen, and those interested in recreational sports.

Rachel and Justin will use the citizen’s comments from the event to assist Dalton and Whitfield County in preparing plans for the park’s future development.



UGA student Rachel Johnson works with area residents to plan for the future of Lakeshore Park.



UGA student Justin Crighton discusses possible alterations to Lakeshore Park with citizens.

Students Rachel Johnson and Justin Crighton display one of the designs they prepared for the Lakeshore Park event.

Joint Development Authority, Chamber of Commerce, Public Schools, and Industry Host First Explore Week for Area Students

A common theme in many of 2011 Archway Education Work Group discussions has been the need to expose students to potential career paths in a meaningful way before they exit the K-12 system. As a result of these discussions, the Dalton-Whitfield County Joint Development Authority and the Greater Dalton Chamber of Commerce teamed up with area schools and industry to host the first pilot Explore Week. During this inaugural explore week, 14 juniors from the two local school systems had the opportunity to job shadow with someone in a field of interest. Student and employer reviews of the week were overwhelmingly positive and can be reviewed in more detail at http://daltondailycitizen.com/local/x229375656/Students-learn-about-chosen-fields-during-Explore-Week.
Based on the success of this pilot project, a second Explore Week is planned for Spring 2012.

Educators & Experts Discuss Feasibility of Bringing Free Wireless Access to City, County

On November 18, key representatives from Dalton Public Schools, Whitfield County Schools, Windstream, and Dalton Utilities gathered to talk about the logistics of making free wireless Internet access available to all city and county residents. The conversation arose after numerous parents and teachers articulated the importance of technology and Internet access to student engagement and learning.

At this preliminary meeting, representatives identified possibilities for further exploration. To highlight the importance of the conversation, Brookwood Elementary Principal Will Esthers shared several links from his school’s website showing how students are using technology to enhance their learning.

Meeting participants agreed that the general public is not aware of how critical technology is to a 21st Century education. Accordingly, they agreed to brainstorm about how disseminate that message. In addition, group members agreed to research how the Georgia Technology Authority helped other Georgia communities achieve community-wide wireless.

Birth to Work Education Steering Committee Strategizes About Next Steps

Over the past month, leaders from the Prenatal to Pre-K, K-12, and Higher Education Work Groups have strategized about how the conversations in each of their work groups can lead to education transformation in Whitfield County. These steering committee members summarized the recommendations from each of the work groups into a list of potential initiatives to undertake in 2012. The steering committee is currently working with faculty and students at the University of Georgia to demonstrate why each of the proposed initiatives is important to the future of the community and to develop efficient, effective solutions.

In early 2012, the education steering committee hopes to share their presentation with local leaders to discuss feasibility and funding.

The proposed initiatives are as follows:

Initiative 1: Educate our community on nutrition and healthy lifestyles and their impact on learning.

Initiative 2: Provide universal Pre-K in the face of state budget cuts.

Initiative 3: Make the community the classroom by:

o Making free wireless internet available throughout the city and county; and

o Making portable, internet-accessible technology available to all students.

Initiative 4: Further develop relationships and articulation agreements between high schools, GNTC, and DSC so that students can move seamlessly between the systems.

Initiative 5: Encourage the Board of Regents to phase in an MBA program at DSC in place of the KSU program.

Initiative 6: Focus on Career and College Readiness in 5th – 12th grade by:

• Offering programs like Design, Engineering & Manufacturing (DEM) Camp, EXPLORE WEEK, and DREAM WEEK;

• Showing students real opportunities available to them in the community; and

• Forming partnerships with innovators and entrepreneurs that allow students to develop skills.

Initiative 7:  Form an on-going, community-wide education consortium so that we can keep the community involved in education and continue to discuss long-range/emerging issues.

Arts & Culture Issue Work Group Discusses Forming an Arts Consortium

At an October 24, 2011, meeting, members of the Dalton-Whitfield Arts & Culture Issue Work Group discussed the possibility of forming an arts and culture consortium.  To assist with the discussion, University of Georgia Masters in Public Administration student Megan Miller was present.  Megan recently moved to Georgia with her family from Detroit, Michigan where she served as the Director of Programs at Mosaic Youth Theatre of Detroit.  Mosaic is an internationally acclaimed youth development organization that has performed with artists such as Maya Angelou, Aretha Franklin, Al Green, Sweet Honey in the Rock, and the Temptations for audiences in North America, Europe, Asia, Africa and the Kennedy Center.  While at Mosaic, Megan grew satellite program participation from 230 to more than 1000 youth served each year, and represented Mosaic in an inter-agency collaboration recognized as a model for collaborative youth arts programming.

At the meeting, community members discussed hopes and concerns they have regarding the formation of an arts consortium.  The participants noted that they need a better understanding of how an arts and culture consortium could function.  The group members stated that they want to understand how a consortium can assist individual entities with funding, marketing, and sharing of information.  In addition, group members are interested in learning about the resources needed to establish and maintain a consortium.

Going forward, Megan will work under the direction of the work group to develop a report and presentation that discusses the key benefits of establishing an arts consortium, expectations of individual members of the consortium, and successful operating models.

Archway Partnership Supports Regional Growth Initiative

On October 28, 2011, community leaders, including members of the Archway Partnership Executive Committee, met at the Colonnade in Ringgold, Georgia, to discuss how 15 counties in Alabama, Tennessee, and Georgia might work together to develop a 40 year regional plan. Archway Executive Committee member and Greater Dalton Chamber of Commerce CEO Brian Anderson has been a key leader in this initiative and describes it as follows:

This initiative follows an effort in 2010 to receive Sustainable Planning Grant funding from the US Dept. of Housing and Urban Development for regional planning. Although we were unsuccessful in 2010, we were identified as a preferred applicant and encouraged to re-apply in 2011 with suggested modifications to our grant application. Through the Community Foundations of Chattanooga pledge of $1 million, pledged support from Hamilton County and the City of Chattanooga for another $1 million, and the potential for $1 million more from the private sector, we have the opportunity to leverage $3 million in local funding against an additional $2.5-$3 million from HUD for a three year regional business planning initiative. Even if unsuccessful in receiving HUD funding, we can execute a significant planning initiative with local funding.

At the October 28 meeting, community leaders had an opportunity to network with those in surrounding communities, brainstorm about shared needs, and ask and answer questions.

Joint Development Authority Promotes Market Street Designs

In response to Dalton-Whitfield residents’ desire for an inviting interstate presence, an Archway issue work group chaired by Executive Committee alumnus David Gregg spent the last several months interfacing with local property owners and University System of Georgia resources to develop a plan to revitalize the area directly off of I-75's Exit 333. Over the summer, Samuel Kelleher, a graduate student in the UGA College of Environment and Design, put the group’s ideas to paper and developed a three phase design that ultimately renovates, revitalizes and connects the Market Street area, the old Kroger shopping center located behind the Walnut Avenue Chick-fil-A, and Dug Gap Road.

Samuel’s work was presented to the Dalton-Whitfield Archway Executive Committee in September. The group is unanimously supportive of the plan and authorized the Dalton-Whitfield Joint Development Authority to promote and seek public and private support for it.

In October, Joint Development Authority Director Elyse Cochran shared the Market Street plan with both the Dalton City Council and the Whitfield County Commission.  That presentation is described in more detail here.  

College of Environment & Design Students Begin Work on Lakeshore Park, Threadmill Lake, and Prater’s Mill

In the Communit-E3 visioning process, Dalton-Whitfield residents of all ages emphasized the importance of greenways, parks, and trails to their quality of life. In furtherance of that work, over the past two years 10 students from the University of Georgia’s College of Environment and Design have developed concepts for the development of downtown Varnell; a community rain garden; recreation facilities; urban and rural farmers markets; the Crown Mill Village and Park; Market Street; the beautification of local interstate exits; stormwater management and streambank restoration; and Dalton State College trails. 

In September, graduate students Mario Cambardella and Rachel Johnson joined the ranks of landscape architecture students designing Dalton-Whitfield’s future. Mario and Rachel made their first trip to Dalton to meet with City-County Planner Kevin Herrit, Prater’s Mill Foundation Director Judy Alderman, and Dalton Utilities’ Vice President for Wastewater Engineering Mark Marlowe to discuss potential projects that will benefit the community. During this visit, Mario and Rachel visited Threadmill Lake, Lakeshore Park, and Prater’s Mill and discussed how their work might further community efforts at these locations. Mario and Rachel are currently working with Kevin, Judy, and Mark to assess the scope of the projects at these locations.

University of Georgia Archway Partnership Co-Sponsors Rebecca Ryan: Strategies for Attracting and Retaining Young Professionals

On October 14, nationally acclaimed speaker, economist, and author Rebecca Ryan spoke to hundreds of Dalton-Whitfield citizens about the importance of attracting and retaining the next generation of workers. In her presentation, Ryan challenged both old and young generations to find ways to interact so that the baton of local leadership can be passed, not dropped. Following her keynote address, Ryan facilitated a breakout session of approximately 100 area young professionals. In this session, Ryan challenged young professionals to become involved and make transformations happen. In an article reporting the event, the Dalton Daily Citizen noted that Ryan’s visit

coincides with local leaders’ efforts to revitalize the community through the Archway Partnership, a program through the University of Georgia that helps individuals plan for the recreational, lifestyle and business opportunities they want their cities to offer.

As part of its ongoing efforts to assist Georgia communities in developing future leaders and encouraging community engagement, the University of Georgia Archway Partnership co-sponsored the event. More information about Ryan’s presentation to the Dalton-Whitfield Community can be found in the following news articles, editorials, and letters to the editor:

• http://www.timesfreepress.com/news/2011/oct/14/cool-community-will-be-magnet-city-told
• http://daltondailycitizen.com/opinion/x350484559/Tim-Rogers-Making-Dalton-desirable
• http://daltondailycitizen.com/opinion/x1372399483/Letter-Community-conversation-just-the-beginning/print.

Redevelopment Powers Law Critical Economic Development Issue on November 8 Ballot

At the October Archway Executive Committee meeting, Joint Development Authority Director Elyse Cochran shared with the group that the November 8 ballot will contain a question about whether our local governments should be authorized to exercise redevelopment powers under the 'Redevelopment Powers Law.'  Elyse explained to the committee that authority to exercise redevelopment powers is an economic development tool that our community is currently missing.  She explained that it will help the community attract new businesses, stop sales tax leakage, and create secondary jobs.

Elyse's powerpoint presentation about the Redevelopment Powers Law can be viewed here (look for "Redevelopment Powers Law" under the Whitfield County Resources tab).  More local information can also be found at http://www.redevelopmentpowers.com/.

UGA MBA Graduate Counsels Community on How to Attract Students to High Need Career Areas

Over the summer, University of Georgia Masters in Business Administration graduate Jeffrey Fletcher worked under the direction of the Dalton-Whitfield Archway Partnership Higher Education Issue Work Group to examine how the community can interest students in technical education and careers. As part of his research, Jeff interviewed many key stakeholders in the community. He drew from these interviews, his education, and his personal experience as a small business owner and classroom teacher to assist the community in addressing this issue.  On August 21, 2011, Jeff presented his work to a room full of community, industry, and education leaders.  Jeff's presentation is available in video format here. 

Prenatal to Pre-K Issue Work Group Explores Solution to Nutrition Education Problem

On September 1, 2011, University of Georgia Expanded Food and Nutrition Education Program (EFNEP) Coordinator Gail Hanula visited Dalton-Whitfield to speak to the Archway Prenatal to Pre-K Issue Work Group about EFNEP and its applicability in the community. EFNEP is a federally funded program that is delivered at the state level through Cooperative Extension. Traditionally, the program places an EFNEP paraprofessional in the community under the direction of a Cooperative Extension Family and Consumer Sciences Agent. The EFNEP paraprofessional then teaches classes to low income families with small children centered on healthy eating. The program emphasizes cheap, easy meals that take 15 minutes or less to prepare. The paraprofessional works with existing organizations to deliver the classes/lessons at social service sites.

At the meeting, Gail Hanula explained that there are some logistical hurdles to getting an EFNEP paraprofessional here, including the fact that Whitfield County no longer has a Family and Consumer Sciences agent due to state budget cuts. The state Cooperative Extension staff is currently considering alternatives to the traditional set-up and will be in touch with the community soon regarding this program.

The Dalton-Whitfield Archway Partnership Prenatal to Pre-K Issue Work Group previously identified lack of adequate nutrition as the biggest problem facing our youngest citizens.  2009 data released by the Whitfield County WIC program shows that 78% of all newborns and 67% of infants and children under the age of 4 in Whitfield County are on WIC.  A chart releasing this data can be viewed here.  Additional poverty information compiled by the Archway Partnership for Whitfield County can be accessed by clicking here.

Dalton-Whitfield County Joint Development Authority Utilizes Work of University of Georgia Student in Constructing Small Business Website

Over the past year, the Dalton-Whitfield Diverse, Forward Thinking Economy Work Group has discussed how our community can better assist area innovators and entrepreneurs. The group has discussed many options, including implementing both virtual and traditional incubators.

At the group’s August meeting, Dalton-Whitfield County Joint Development Authority (JDA) Senior Project Manager Alex Stall presented a website that the JDA is currently developing to support small business owners. Alex explained at the meeting that University of Georgia Non-Profit Administration Masters Student Jimbo Graves has assisted him with the development of the website. In addition, Alex noted that he has requested future help from the University of Georgia in the development of a logo for the website.

Group members made several suggestions on information that the website should include. Alex promised to incorporate many of those suggestions into future phases of the project.

K-12 Education Issue Work Group Seeks Your Input!

“We have a smart child that might benefit from going to another school district, but we haven’t pulled our child out of the school he is currently in because we are troubled by inequality. . . . A question we constantly face is how we get good, equal experiences for all kids --- regardless of what district they live in.”

“My non-ADHD/ADD son has lots of energy and does not sit still. His teacher lets him stand at his desk during class, get his hands dirty – and it works to keep him engaged. I guess the question is: how do we meet every child’s needs?”

“I use DVR because I don’t want to watch commercials. I don’t read the newspapers because I don’t want to wade through information that I am not interested in. With so much information out there, I want all of my content personalized. If that is the way I am, then think about how much further a 13-year-old is down that spectrum. We have to find new ways to communicate and to teach/learn.”

“My child has changed schools many times and is now at Morris Innovative High School. The technology is really helping her. Everything is online except for some classroom instruction on EOCT and graduation test preparation. My child watches lectures online and it is really benefiting her. She’s not a regular classroom learner.”

“In Whitfield County there is a 651 to 1 student to guidance counselor ratio. We’ve got to find another way to reach students with career messaging. Can we use social media?”

"For years, we talked about reforming our education system, but now we’re talking about transforming it --- starting from the ground floor and building it back up."

Over the past 8 months, over 150 citizens have contributed to Archway Education Issue Work Group discussions about how our community can make K-12 education relevant and responsive with comments like the ones highlighted above. Through conversation and study, the group quickly recognized that there are many weaknesses that our community cannot immediately impact, such as teacher tenure, teacher retention, and state funding. However, the group soon focused on four top priority weaknesses where local efforts can be impactful, including: (1) a recognition that we are conducting school in a tired, outdated manner in this digital age; (2) an understanding that our curriculum is not necessarily relevant to today’s society or – better yet – tomorrow’s society; (3) an understanding that we are underutilizing technology and not taking advantage of it as a learning tool; and (4) an awareness that our families are disconnected and are not acting as our partners in education.

Over the course of our community conversations, our parents, teachers, and volunteers provided valuable insight on their dreams for an ideal system. In particular, they repeatedly made the following points:

• We want equal opportunities for all students, but also want to be responsive to the needs and learning styles of individuals.
• We want something fresh and transformative --- not just reform. Key ideas include: (a) Following a learning model instead of a teaching model; (b) Finding opportunities for kids to teach each other and collaborate; (c) Focusing on critical thinking rather than rote memorization; (d) Personalizing education; (e) Making Education REAL; (f) Attracting the best and brightest teachers; and (g) Making our schools responsive to our community --- and even the individual variations in our communities.
• Technology is important, and we want our schools and students to take advantage of it.
• We want to help kids at an early age and “catch” them before they fall through the cracks.
• We want our students to learn and see at an early age what the possibilities are for them in the real world.
• We want schools where our parents can be involved.
• We want well-funded community educational institutions.
• To educate our students, we have to combat social obstacles, like hunger and poor nutrition, that make it hard for students to learn.

On August 16, 2011, the K-12 work group met for its last open-ended community conversation. Moving forward, the group will begin to generate specific and well-vetted recommendations for how we address our top weaknesses and achieve the type of school systems that parents, community members, and educators all claim they value.

To jump start this process, issue work group leaders have begun to develop specific recommendations for transforming our school systems. These recommendations are as follow:

Recommendation 1: Make the community the classroom by:

• Making free wireless internet available throughout the city and county;
• Making portable, internet-accessible technology available to all students;
• Exposing all students, including elementary and middle grades students, to opportunities available to them in the technical realm by showing them real world examples in their community; and
• Forming an on-going, community-wide education consortium so that we can keep the community involved in education.

In work group discussions, it was clear that citizens want to make education real, relevant, and responsive to the community. In addition, citizens want to give students exposure to real world opportunities. Finally, engaged citizens want to involve disconnected parents and taxpayers.

One option for realizing these goals is to begin to think of expansively of school so that it is no longer a bricks and mortar building but is instead a learning process that can take place in both live and virtual settings across the community.

The case for making our community a virtual community: While we do not recommend replacing all printed materials with technology, we believe that students will not be prepared for the world beyond high school if they do not have mastery of technology. However, for technology to truly become a learning tool, it must be available to all students in and out of the classroom. If students have access to technology and the internet outside of school hours, they can collaborate on class projects away from the classroom, access tutorials and teaching aids 24/7, and do relevant homework away from the school house.

The case for exposing our students to opportunities in the community: In our discussions, it became clear that our students (and even our teachers!) are not aware of the opportunities available to them in the real world --- starting with our community! Through the work of University of Georgia graduate research students, we learned that our students are not opposed to many local opportunities --- they simply don’t know they exist. Without that knowledge and understanding, students cannot make informed decisions about courses of study and plans after high school. To assist our students in making better decisions, we have to engage them in our local community through apprenticeships, job shadowing, field trips, etc.

The case for an on-going, community-wide education consortium: We learned through our group discussions that, too frequently, our education institutions and the rest of the community operate separately. We need some on-going mechanism for keeping our community and educators in lock-step.

Recommendation 2: Ensure that Pre-K is available to all students on an on-going basis.

How a child performs in school at an early age impacts everything: likelihood of graduating, pursuing higher education, and even likelihood of staying out of prison. Community members have repeatedly voiced their concern about reaching children at an early age and have voiced many ideas for doing so. As state funding for Pre-K is redirected, it is clear that we need a Plan B to ensure that our residents can enroll their children in Pre-K programs. We need assistance in developing this Plan B and would like any well-founded ideas. An example of an idea is to turn students’ senior year into an off-campus apprenticeship year and use the saved funding for Pre-K programs.

Over the next month, work group leaders and volunteers will study and refine the recommendations together before presenting them back to the work group participants for further discussion on October 18 at 6:00 PM.

We need your help! This process will only be successful if you take the time to contribute. Please take a moment and reflect on your notes from our meetings. In addition, please take a moment to review some of the publications that we have discussed at our meetings (list with links is below). Once you have taken a moment to think through it, please email archway.education@gmail.com with your suggestions for how we should proceed with school system transformation. We will use your comments and thoughts as we work to finalize the recommendations.

Thanks so much for your participation!

Links to Articles Discussed/Studied in 2011 Archway K-12 Education Meetings:
“Vision for Public Education Equity and Excellence” (publication by the Georgia School Board Association and the Georgia School Superintendents' Association) ---http://www.visionforpubliced.org/LinkClick.aspx?fileticket=Mk8vLZ4DjzY%3d&tabid=39

“Waiting for Superman” --- trailer to movie located at http://www.bing.com/videos/watch/video/waiting-for-superman-trailer-1/17wecgr73?q=waiting+for+superman+trailer&FORM=VIRE2

“Race to Nowhere” --- trailer to movie located at http://www.racetonowhere.com/trailers-clips.

“Why I Changed My Mind About School Reform” (article by Diane Ravitch) --http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052748704869304575109443305343962.html

“The ‘Superman’ Approach: A Business Leader’s Guide to Successful School Reform (article publicized by the U.S. Chamber of Commerce) ---http://icw.uschamber.com/sites/default/files/Waiting%20for%20Superman%20Toolkit_2011.pdf

“Pathways to Prosperity” (a February 2011 report by Harvard’s Graduate School of Education) (short summary attached) http://www.gse.harvard.edu/news_events/features/2011/Pathways_to_Prosperity_Feb2011.pdf

Landscape Designs Created for Local Greenways, Parks , Trails and Farmers Markets

           The Archway Partnership placed landscape architecture student interns in the community this summer to work on designs for several community projects.  Two interns are working with the City of Dalton to design hiking and biking trails and another intern is working with Whitfield County to create rural and urban farmers market design concepts.

Jason Dazzo and Kristen Carroll are focusing on ways to link the Dalton "greenway" to a planned park that will be built on an abandoned railroad spur in the Crown Mill area.  The greenway will eventually connect downtown Dalton to Mount Rachel all the way over to Heritage Point Park. Plans for the park as well as other changes to the Crown Mill area to make it into an arts and cultural center were developed by previous UGA landscape architecture interns last summer.  

Chris Kelly created two concepts for parcels that could be used as farmers markets:  one suggests amenities that capitalize on an urban setting and another on a rural setting.  His designs will be shared with the City Council and County Commission during the first couple weeks of August. 

Higher Education Issue Work Group Promotes Technical Education

The Higher Education Work Group organized and sponsored a week-long summer camp for middle school students on June 13-17.  The Design, Technology and Manufacturing Camp reached almost 30 students with hands-on learning and career exploration.  Additionally, members of the Work Group and others from our community traveled to Newnan, GA, for a tour of the Central Education Center on May 4.  The Central Education Center is well-known for its strong partnership with local industry and for its exceptional technical/career readiness programs. 

Jeff Fletcher, a recent University of Georgia graduate with a Masters in Business Administration, is working with the Higher Education Work Group this summer to develop a plan for bolstering the image of technical jobs as an avenue for recruiting more students into technical education.

Diverse, Forward-Thinking Economy Work Group Identifies Innovators

“We could be called the cutting edge manufacturing capital… or the innovation and applied technology capital of the world.”  This statement echoes the sentiment from the Diverse Forward-Thinking Economy and Hub for Research-Based Innovation Work Group after hearing about the findings from an inventory of local business innovations. Examples from the innovations list include protective coating for wind turbines, industrial robotic equipment, advanced adhesives, lubricants for diesel engines, advanced testing laboratory, fiber optics network, green technologies, solar power, food industry additives and chemical processing components, and advanced medical technologies. 

The Work Group continues to explore possibilities for establishing a business incubator program, identifying existing resources that support business creation.

Archway Partnership Brings Students to the Community

During the summer months, several college students from the University of Georgia (UGA) and Dalton State College (DSC) have been working with the Archway Partnership to accomplish community-identified projects that support the Communit-E³ vision and goals.  

·         *Samuel Kelleher, a graduate student in the UGA College of Environment and Design, created concept designs for enhancing the Market Street area as well as making the interstate exchanges more inviting to visitors.

·         *Leah Graham Stewart, a recent graduate of the UGA College of Environment and Design, has designed a logo and prepared conceptual landscape designs for the City of Varnell.

·         * Jason Dazzo and Kristen Carroll, also from the UGA College of Environment and Design, added detail to planned public amenities that will serve and enhance the Dalton Greenway Project, connecting potential parks with Mt. Rachel.  And, Chris Kelly worked on concepts for parcels that could be used for farmers markets.

·         *Jennifer Taylor, graphic design student in the UGA Lamar Dodd School of Art, provided graphical assistance to the Prenatal to Pre-K Work Group’s initiative on healthy lifestyles for children. 

·         Four DSC students, Dawn Duncan, Olivia Cobb, Diego Espinoza and Sarah Crow, led educational sessions at the “We Can!” Summer Camp for youth, also to promote healthy lifestyles. 

·         *James (Jimbo) Graves, a graduate student in the UGA Institute for Non-Profit Organizations, has assisted with research and design of an online small business resource center.

·         *Patrick Lines, a graduate student in the UGA Department of Geography, assisted the county with updating its GIS for use by 911 professionals in fire response.

·         *Charles Simpson, graduate student in the Masters of Business Administration program through the UGA Terry College of Business, is assigned to the Archway Successful Sustainable Industries Work Group.  Charles is addressing efforts to rebrand the image of the flooring industry to attract a highly qualified workforce.

·         *Jeff Fletcher, recent graduate of the Terry College, is assigned to the Archway Higher Education Work Group.  His efforts focus on meeting the industrial and technical needs of the community by increasing the interest of related career paths to the next generation of workers.

·         *Maury Gortemiller, graduate of the UGA Lamar Dodd School of Art, has visited the community to capture images that will support the highly innovative nature of business and industry as well as technical education.

·         *Edward Joaquin, doctoral student in the UGA College of Education, has participated in K-12 Work Group meetings.  His role is to identify potential resources available through the College of Education to support local education efforts. 

 

Diverse, Forward-Thinking Economy Issue Work Group Explores Incubators, Investor Networks, and Innovation

Group Tours Chattanooga Incubator 

            Over the past several months, a combined group of professionals and citizen volunteers has been meeting under the leadership of Archway Executive Committee members Don Cope and Elyse Cochran to specifically address how we as a community can diversify and support our entrepreneurs and innovators.  As part of its work, this group has been exploring tools that may be useful to entrepreneurs and innovators, such as a business incubator.

            As a result, Issue Work Group members Larry Johnson, Associate Dean of the Dalton State College School of Business, and Donna Mayo, Dean of the Dalton State College School of Business, arranged for a local delegation to visit the Chattanooga/Hamilton County Business Development Center on March 25 to learn about how that incubator operates. 

            At the incubator, Dalton representatives were greeted by Kathryn Foster, Director of Small Business and Entrepreneurship at the Chattanooga Chamber of Commerce; Dan Saieed, Director of the Hamilton County Development Department; and Cheryl Millsaps, CFA of the Chattanooga Chamber of Commerce.  Kathryn, Dan and Cheryl were able to give our local representatives an overview of the incubator’s history, funding, and success rates.  In addition, the Chattanooga staff shared the benchmarks (available at http://www.chattanoogachamber.com/PDF_Files/bdc_lease_09_10_08.pdf) that incubator tenants are expected to meet for the 3-4 years that they participate in the program.

            At an April 4, 2011, issue work group meeting, tour participants reported on what they learned.  As a result of questions asked at that meeting, plans are underway to have a representative from Georgia Tech’s Enterprise Innovation Institute come speak at the May 9th meeting of the group about funding vehicles for incubators.

            If you would like to be a part of these discussions, mark your calendar for the Issue Work Group’s next meeting at the Dalton Utilities Auditorium on May 9 at 4:00 PM.

            Group Explores Possibility of a Local Investor Network

            In addition to exploring the possibility of a business incubator, the Diverse, Forward Thinking Economy Issue Work Group has also begun considering how to assist those innovators and potential start ups in need of unconventional financing.  Issue Work Group members Dawn Sanders, Community Banking Relationship Manager and City President for the Dalton market of Regions Bank; Robert Varner, Senior Vice President and Business Services Officer at BB&T; and Rand Riedrich Northwest Area Director for the University of Georgia Small Business Development Center, are currently working together to identify the criteria that potential investors might require of applicants.  As this group’s work progresses, the Small Business Development Center can assist candidates with developing a business plan, and provide information on financing.  

            Ultimately, this group will need the expertise of attorneys and CPAs as it attempts to work with due diligence issues.  If you are interested in this topic and have expertise to offer, please join us at our 4:00 PM meeting on May 9, 2011, at Dalton Utilities to learn more. 

            Group works to Spotlight Dalton-Whitfield as an Innovation Hot Spot

            In March and April, the Diverse, Forward-Thinking Economy Work Group continued to compile an inventory of “innovation” currently occurring in this community.  The group has a robust inventory but is always looking for more information to highlight.  If you are an innovator with something to share, please contact Melissa Lu (mdlu@uga.edu) or Sue Chapman (chapmans@uga.edu) so we can put you in touch with the right people.  The group hopes to use non-confidential information from the inventory to market our community to outsiders as an innovative place of business.  In addition, the information will be used in determining how our current initiatives can be a launching pad for diversification.