JUNE 18-JULY 15, 2015 • THE CSRA’S MONTHLY BUSINESS MAGAZINE
Work force tsunami
Heavenly Hot Sauce
Retiring workers leave job holes but area lacks skilled replacements
By Gary Kauffman The good news is that the CSRA could see 37,000 or more job openings in the next five years. The bad news is that the CSRA may not have a work force with the skills to fill those jobs. Two members of the Savannah River Site Community Reuse Organization (SRSCRO) presented the findings of a work force study to the Columbia County Chamber of Commerce on June 4. The study was for the five counties it serves – Richmond and Columbia counties in Georgia and Aiken, Barnwell and Allendale counties in South Carolina. Rick McLeod, executive director of SRSCRO, said a large factor in the job openings is replacing jobs that will be lost to retirement. He noted that the average age of workers at the Savannah River Site, for example, is 54. “As a region, we have a high replacement job tsunami coming at us that we need to be prepared for,” he said. “The aging work force will be a challenge for this area.” Not surprisingly, about 80 percent of new jobs in the South Carolina counties will relate to the nuclear field, while about 80 percent in the Georgia counties will stem from See WORK FORCE, page 4
Mark Alison grills chicken glazed with his own brand of hot sauce called Help Me Jesus. Photo by Gary Kauffman
Local ad man markets his own hot sauce By Gary Kauffman Long before hot sauces were trendy, Mark Alison was brewing his own for his family’s use. It proved so popular among his friends that the president of The Alison Group marketing firm in Augusta is now marketing his own product under the label Help Me Jesus Hot Sauce. “My dad was from the West and he’d
make tacos for us,” Alison said. “I’ve always liked spicy foods.” Like grew into love when he studied at the Technological Institute of Monterrey, Mexico. “I fell in love with the serrano pepper,” he said. He got some seeds and for the past 30 See HELP ME, page 2