Horizons August 2012 by Forsyth County News

Horizons August 2012

A publication of the Cumming-Forsyth County Chamber of Commerce

Prestige Members Northside Hospital-Forsyth Premier Corporate Sponsor

Forsyth County Government

jTech Networks

DeKalb Office

Children’s Healthcare of Atlanta

The City of Cumming

Georgia Power

Taubman

St. Joseph’s Hospital of Atlanta

Anchor Home Mortgage

Business Expo coming up T

he Cumming-Forsyth Chamber of Commerce is pleased to announce the 2012 Business Expo, presented by Forsyth County News. This is a unique opportunity for businesses to gain exposure for their products and services while enhancing their customer base. Exhibitors will have the opportunity to learn from Georgia’s driving business leaders and identify the latest products and services available to meet their competitive challenges. “The 2012 Business Expo is beneficial to all types of businesses.” said Jason Mock, director of Small Business Services at the Cumming-Forsyth County Chamber of Commerce. “It allows exhibitors to showcase their products and goods to a large group of people at one time. I encourage everyone to participate in this event and to network with business owners, community leaders and residents of Forsyth County.” The expo continually produces positive results for its participants. “We had an overwhelming response to our booth — and we have several new clients and lots of prospects that we met at the

expo. I can’t wait for the 2012 expo,” said Jay Ryerse of JTECH Networks. Features will include a full day of speakers, awards, prizes, networking and promotional opportunities. “Two aspects we are excited to include this year are a working lunch prior to the expo and the chamber’s largest Business After Hours event of the year,” Mock added. More information on the working lunch can be found on page 11. The 2012 Business Expo will take place Thursday, Aug. 16, at the Lanier Technical College Forsyth Conference Center. Booth registration is now open at $600 for chamber members and $700 for non- members. Registrations include access to all workshops, the entire expo floor, the working lunch

with guest speaker Christian Nahas of NCR Silver and the after-hours networking social. To register or for more information visit www.CumingForsythExpo.com. For questions contact Jason Mock at (770) 887-6461, Ext. 15, or via e-mail at jmock@cummingforsythchamber. org.

Member Spotlight

Forsyth County News an integral part of covering local information T

he Forsyth County N ew s h a s b e e n bringing high-quality journalism and advertising to the Forsyth County community for more than 100 years. The paper began in 1908 with a sole focus on Forsyth County and continues to maintain that focus today. “We’re very proud of the fact that our publication contains only local news and information,” said Publisher John Hall. “Our professional newsroom staff members work diligently to report facts from Forsyth County without any assistance from a news wire service.” Hall said he’s proud of the accomplishments of the newspaper, especially in recent years when print publications across the country have seen some difficulties. “While there has been a shift away from some print products throughout the country, we have been able to successfully navigate the new tide of journalism by offering a well-balanced range of products,” he said. Hall noted that among those is the daily Forsyth County News print publication, which is distributed to subscribers every Wednesday, Thursday, Friday and Sunday, as well as the South Forsyth News, a free paper that is distributed every Sunday in the southern portion of the county. “Each Sunday morning almost 25,000 house-

HORIZONS August 2012

holds in our county receive our print products,” he said. In addition, the newspaper’s Web site, www. forsythnews.com, reaches many readers throughout the week.

“Our Web site is certainly a growth point of our business,” Hall said. “We’re now reaching about 80,000 unique readers online each month.” The site also offers readers the chance to engage with a number of interactive features such as community calendars, blogs and photo galleries. T h e F C N ’s electronic presence also includes breaking news alerts delivered to subscribers’ e-mail inboxes or their cellular phones through text messages. The FCN is well-respected among Georgia newspapers and, Hall noted, has received numerous awards over the years from the Georgia Press Association. “We annually receive a number of awards for both news coverage and advertising in association contests,” he said. “For three years in a row, we earned first place in our size category’s General Excellence award. This is the highest honor a newspaper can achieve.” The newspaper has earned numerous other recognitions in areas such as news story writing, headline writing, layout and design and advertising design. “We truly feel we are Forsyth County’s most trusted and strongest news outlet, and we are happy to continue to be an ongoing and vibrant part of this community,” Hall said. — Crystal Ledford, Forsyth County News staff writer

Partners in Education

Students learn at law enforcement academy T

his summer, Otwell Middle School and Forsyth County Schools were proud to host the third annual Junior Law Enforcement Academy, facilitated by the Forsyth County Sheriff ’s Office. Sixty-six rising sixth-graders spent the week of June 11-15 gaining a better knowledge of the work that law enforcement officers do every day. During the week the topics included search and seizure, firearms with airsoft rifles,

emergency vehicle operations course with golf carts, court proceedings, defensive tactics, crime scene processing and demonstrations from other units within the Forsyth County Sheriff ’s Office and other public safety agencies. The week was proudly sponsored by Publix, North Georgia P r o m o t i o n s , B a c k Ya r d Burgers, Lenny’s, Castleberry Ale House, Mellow Mushroom and Cici’s Pizza.

Students selected to participate in the JLEA class of 2012, Forsyth County Sheriff deputies, Chris Grimes, Forsyth County Schools Safety Manager, and Bruce Longmore, owner of Lenny’s in Cumming.

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Economic Development

Tourism

Holiday Inn Express Workforce development serves many guests D resources T

h e C u m m i n g - Fo r s y t h County Chamber of Commerce is pleased to announce that several of our region’s premiere workforce development resource providers have announced that they will participate in the 2012 Business Expo. Wo r k f o r c e d e v e l o p m e n t resources serve as a primary need for both large and small employers. Resources such as employee recruitment services and training programs can play a critical role in growing local businesses. During the 2012 Business Expo, economic development partners such as Express Employment Professionals will be on site to assist local companies with gaining access to work-

HORIZONS August 2012

force development resources. “The chamber’s business expo has always given us a great opportunity to meet new clients and prospective vendors,” said Rodney Moore, president of Express Employment Professionals. “It is also a great way to give back to the chamber and our community.” “We never walk into the event and try to sell ourselves,” Moore said. “When people visit our booth we listen to their needs to determine how we can potentially assist them.” The 2012 Business Expo will take place Aug. 16, at the Lanier Technical College Forsyth Conference Center. For more information about the event, please visit http://www.cummingforsythexpo.com.

riving along Ga. 400, the Hospitality Highway, our beautiful community encompasses Exits 12 through 17 and beyond. Exit 14 is located right in the heart of our Hospitality Highway and home to many of the hotels servicing our out-of-town guests. This month we would like to highlight The Holiday Inn Express and Suites of Cumming. The hotel opened in October 2008 with four floors and 88 appointed rooms consisting of king rooms, queen standard rooms and executive and king suites. All rooms are equipped with a microwave, refrigerator, flat screen TV and much more. Nightly rates include a complimentary hot breakfast every morning, above and beyond a typical continental offering. Hotel amenities include an indoor pool, fitness center, business center and an area for guests to catch up on laundry. Holiday Inn Express and Suites is able to accommodate all types of corporate gatherings. They have spacious meeting accommodations for up to 45 people. The hotel’s meeting space comes equipped with an LCD projector, flip charts, a DVD player and wireless internet. For the leisure traveler the hotel’s location puts guests within driving distance of the best outdoor adventures in the area such as watersports at Lake Lanier and trout fishing on the Chattahoochee River. Guests can also easily enjoy shopping at

the Marketplace, North Georgia Premium Outlets and The Avenue-Forsyth. Whether visitors are here for business or pleasure this Cumming hotel’s outstanding staff is ready to meet their every need. Another aspect that sets the Holiday Inn Express and Suites apart from others is their continued participation in the CummingForsyth County Chamber of Commerce Business Expo. When asked about her previous experience hotel General Manager, Amanda Anderson responded, “The Expo is always a fun opportunity to network, give away fun company logo items and continue in our efforts to get our name and location out there to new individuals and companies in the area. We participated in both the 2009 and 2011 Expo and had a blast meeting new people as well as learning about new [companies] and well-established companies we were not already aware of. The expo is a great opportunity to further our outreach into the community.” If you would like more information regarding exhibiting at or attending the Business Expo please call Jason Mock, Director of Small Business Services, at 770887-6461, ext. 15.

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Month in Review

Business After Hours at Marriott Guests enjoyed the chef-attended food stations.

Mike and Susan Stewart, Crystal Johnson and Kristina Lott

Shawn LaFave and Darren Carter enjoying the Wii station.

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Chuck Fusco, Mike Vandura, Andreas Droege, Andrea Grebenstein and Rolf Krey

Month in Review

Member Power Networking Lunches Member Power Networking Lunches often meet at restaurants across the county. Here are scenes from two recent lunches, one at Mellow Mushroom and the other at Tedâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Montana Grill.

HORIZONS August 2012

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HORIZONS August 2012

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In-Depth

A look at the real estate market By Scott Hutchison

Wilson Hutchison Realty

“Strength…but lacking confidence” is the statement that I repeat countless times a week to clients and friends when asked about the state of the commercial real estate market in Atlanta. We continue to see impressive growth indicators and hopes of emergence from the past four years of dismay, but Wall Street stories, political theories, and catastrophes plague the national scene and undermine our local financial successes. The commercial real estate economy of Forsyth County appears to be one of the more positive sectors of the region with dropping vacancy rates and stabilizing building prices. It is hard to break down the entire real estate market in one column, but a few key factors constantly seem to elevate to the top of all our commercial real estate discussions: strength of the banking system, hindered/restrained growth of companies, and the non-existence of construction. Although these three topics are not the only elements affecting the real estate market, they have been some of the most influential. The good news is: all three of these signs have had positive reports in our market. The banking industry is a long, drawn-out discussion on its own, but the good news is the local banking sector has loosened its purse strings. For the first time in years, we’re seeing local banks finance “investment” deals and other creative ventures for their clients. And for the traditional “owner occupied” loans, we have seen rates as low

HORIZONS August 2012

as 3.99 percent fixed for 15 years. The main point is that the local banks are beginning to gain confidence in smaller businesses and are lending money for future growth. One of the statements that I fear the most, “I’m waiting to see what happens…” has also become less heard over the past several months. As companies of all sizes sat on the sidelines and waited for the economy to make a turn, several of them failed to capitalize on incredible opportunities within the current market. Those companies that had visions of potential long-term growth took advantage of the depressed commercial real estate market and either purchased property or locked-in historically low rental rates. An example is Enervex, Inc., which recently purchased a 79,088 square foot industrial facility off of Bluegrass Lakes Parkway for an aggressive $34.14 per square foot. By moving from Fulton County to Forsyth County, the company

was able to take advantage of the impressive tax incentives for each new job created in the county. There are also countless smaller leases that have been executed. Landlords are willing to work with the terms and rates of leases as long as tenants can refrain from requesting for large amounts of tenant improvement money. The lack of construction over the past several years has had one positive affect in the recent market: supply has diminished as demand has continued to slowly grow. As written in the latest Costar Industrial Report, the Industrial Vacancy Rate in the Atlanta market area dropped to 12.3 percent at the end of the second quarter of 2012 with a positive net absorption of 1,540,267 square feet. This rate is down from 12.5 percent, 12.7 percent and 13.1 percent from the previous three quarters respectively. The reduction in vacancy rate can be contributed to two main factors: lack of building deliveries for the past several years

and expansion of national retailers into large distributions centers. There were no buildings completed in the second quarter of 2012 and only six buildings in the past three quarters. The two largest leases signed so far this year were the 1,044,288 square foot lease signed to Owens Corning and the 612,070 square foot deal signed by Georgia Pacific. Thus, two large empty buildings that have been plaguing the market are now occupied. On a more local level, there are currently 1,116 industrial and flex buildings in the North Fulton/Forsyth Submarket for a total of 29,287,167 square feet with a 12.6 percent vacancy rate at the end of the second quarter of 2012. There has been a year-to-date net absorption of approximately 98,271 square feet at an average quoted asking rate of $6.53 per square foot annually. Based on these numbers and the fact that the market has restricted building for the past several years, the vacancy rates continue to decrease thus slowly forcing the rental rates back to a more favorable number for the landlords. These statistics reflect the data for industrial and flex buildings in Atlanta and the north Fulton/Forsyth submarkets; however, these trends have been observed as improving across all sectors of the economy including retail, office and residential. As investors and business owners continue to recognize the potential profits of converting their liquid accounts into production capital and real estate expansions, the economy will strengthen with every passing quarter and progressively stabilize what has been a shaky past half decade.

Small Business Services Center

Working lunch a great opportunity

or seven years the Business Expo has been a staple opportunity for local businesses. After many years of quality expo events the CummingForsyth County Chamber of Commerce is excited to add a new aspect that is sure to enhance the 2012 Business Expo even further than in years past. Thanks to Business Expo Silver Sponsor NCR Silver, the chamber is pleased to announce the addition of a working lunch to this year’s event. “Adding a working lunch to this year’s expo activities has taken our business expo and our chamber to another level. The goal for this event is to provide business owners with real information that can help them grow and take their business to the next level,” said Jason Mock, director of Small Business Services at the Chamber. The topic of the lunch is

Christian Nahas “Anytime Business” and will focus on the changing format of small business POS systems. Attendees will hear from guest speaker Christian Nahas. Nahas is the small business team vice president for NCR Silver. He is an expert in retail technology, providing solutions to businesses in the retail, entertainment, hospitality and petroleum fields.

NCR Silver is a cloudbased POS system that allows businesses to manage financial information and complete sales transactions on mobile devices. This product is especially beneficial for businesses without a traditional storefront. However, the advances in POS technology are stream-lining the way businesses interact with their

customers across the board. The chamber hosts many luncheons throughout the year, but this is the only lunch event that both members and non-members can attend for free. The working lunch will take place prior to the Business Expo on Thursday, Aug. 16, from 11:30 a.m. to 1 p.m. Preregistration is available

through the chamber Web site or by bringing in the ticket below. All lunch registrations include free admission to the expo. For any questions or to get further information on the event contact Jason Mock, director of Small Business Service at (770) 887-6461, Ext. 15, or via e-mail at jmock@cummingforsythchamber.org.

FREE ADMISSION! Want to get your finger on the pulse of business in Cumming and Forsyth County? Consider attending the 2012 Business Expo, Aug. 16 at the Forsyth Conference Center. As an added bonus, bring this ticket and receive free admission.

HORIZONS August 2012

August 16th

Get the Personal Banking Service You Deserve.

1:00 to 7:00 pm At the

Forsyth ConFerenCe Center

Free Admission Connect, Collaborate, and Communicate at the LARGEST and most profitable Business Expo in North Georgia! Don’t miss the Chamber’s largest and most interactive networking event of the year – Business After Hours Social. This grand-scale, high-energy event provides you with the best opportunity of the year to make multiple business connections.

Georgia Commerce Bank is now open in Cumming. 2555 Peachtree Parkway • 770-887-9220

Sponsors:

HORIZONS August 2012

Carrie Garmon Branch Manager

David Hogan Commercial Lender

Linda Bagwell Senior Mortgage Consultant

Membership Information Member Thank Yous

Welcome New Members • All-Star Kids Party DJs • Carabba’s Italian Grill • Chandler Insurance Group, Inc. • Colonial Life • CrossFit TriForce • Darrell Dinsmore Grading • Fidelity Bank • Fisheye Media Productions • Happy Dogs Play & Stay • Harry Norman RealtorsGarel D. Curry

• INP North America, Inc. • Keller Williams- Ken D’ademo • North Pointe OB/GYN Associates LLC • Office Pride Commercial Cleaning Services • Phoenix Benefits Management • The Villas at Canterfield • Value Place

• American Proteins, Inc. • Automation Direct • The Foster House • Hansgrohe • Jim ‘N Nicks Bar-B-Q • J’s Southern Smoke • JTECH • Kona Ice

• The Learning Experience • Marriott Alpharetta • Mellow Mushroom • Quanto Basta • Regus • Ted’s Montana Grill • United Community Bank

Member News

Carrabba’s at the Avenue

New hire at Scientific Games

cientific Games Corporation recently announced that Dr. Jerry Bowskill will be joining the company in the role of Chief Architect of Interactive Services. This newly created role will help to further Scientific Games’ mission to serve as a solution provider to the lottery and regulated gaming world. Enterprise Chief Technology Officer of Scientific Games, Steve Beason said of Bowskill, “We look forward to his added expertise on our iLottery team as we launch our new

he Cumming-Forsyth County Chamber of Commerce is excited to welcome Carrabba’s Italian Grill to our community. Join us at the restaurant ribbon-cutting ceremony on Monday, Aug. 20, 2012 at 3:45 p.m. Carrabba’s invites

all members of the community to stay for dinner that evening where a generous portion of the opening night proceeds will be donated to Children’s Healthcare of Atlanta. Carrabba’s is located at The AvenueForsyth.

offerings and build upon our unprecedented branded content capability.”

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Upcoming Events July 24

Member Power Networking Lunch — Noon, Quanto Basta

Member Power Networking Lunch — Noon, Tam’s Backstage

July 31

Aug. 16

Aug. 7

2012 Business Expo — 1 p.m., Forsyth Conference Center

Member Power Networking Lunch — Noon, J’s Southern Smoke

Women Who Mean Business, Empowerment Series — 11:30 a.m., Fowler Park Recreation Center Member Power Networking Lunch — Noon, Norman’s Landing

Aug. 9

Business After Hours — 5 p.m., Community & Southern Bank

HORIZONS August 2012

Key to the events

Aug. 14

2012 Business Expo Working Lunch — 11:30 a.m., Forsyth Conference Center

Aug. 21

Member Power Networking Lunch — Noon, Stars & Strikes

Aug. 28

Member Power Networking Lunch — Noon, Castleberry Ale House

• Please visit our Event’s Calendar at www.cummingforsythchamber.org to see a full list of events, more information and registration.

Member Power Networking Lunch — Meets every Tuesday at noon at a different location and includes casual networking for 20-35 other business professionals. Business After Hours — Meets the second Tuesday of every month from 5-7 p.m. at a different host location every month. The purpose is networking and to experience new businesses in the community. Women Who Mean Business — Meets the first Tuesday of every month at 7:30 a.m. This is a specialized networking group of over 50 female business professionals. Join them for breakfast.

Horizons 2012 Officers

Board of Directors

David Seago, Chair

Jerry Bowman

Tim Hopkins

John Kieffer, Past-Chair

Cris Burgum

Lynn Jackson

The Avenue-Forsyth

Northside Hospital-Forsyth

Conservation Resource Solutions

Drew Walker

Shawn LaFave

Royce Owens

Georgia Power - retired

Cumming Station LLC

Russ Wheeler, First Chair-Elect Hansgrohe

Linda Cole, Second Chair-Elect,

Cardinal Logistics Management

Keller Williams Community Partners

Alliance National Bank

North Georgia Promotions

Chuck Button

Scott Jordan

Tracy Moon

Scott Kuhn

Todd Moran

Bert Durand

Rep. Mike Dudgeon

Fran Forehand

Hon. Phil Smith

Sen. Jack Murphy

Alex Girrbach

Mimms Enterprises

Lipscomb, Johnson, Sleister, Dailey, & Smith LLP

Bruce Hagenau

Jim Boff

Stan Vangilder

Bobby Thomas

Sen. Steve Gooch

Laura Stewart

Rep. Amos Amerson

Jason Mock

Mike Caspar

Kevin Garmon

Walmart

Bank of North Georgia

Dekalb Office

Ann-Margaret Johnston, Secretary/Treasurer

John Deruki

Cindy Mills

Tim Perry

Billy Wells

Bruce Longmore Lenny’s Sub Shop

John Rasper

Citizen’s Bank

North Georgia College & State University

Randall Toussaint

Doug Derrer

Metcam

Rick O’Brien

James McCoy

Mary Transue

Children’s Healthcare of Atlanta

Johnston & Associates, Inc.

Rep. Mark Hamilton

Mary Helen McGruder

BB&T

Bryan Properties

Chamber Staff

Dr. Buster Evans

Fisher & Phillips LLP

Jacobs Engineering Group

Deruki Construction

Ex-Officio

Bob Russell

Russell Landscape

Terry Smith

A.C. Smith Poultry Co.

Wells Fargo

Superintendent, Forsyth County Schools

United Community Bank

Ethan Underwood

Chairman, Forsyth County Board of Commissioners

Gainesville State College

Georgia Power

Georgia Power Dept. of Economic Development

Sawnee Mountain Foundation

Forsyth County Manager

State Court Judge

Chair, Forsyth County Development Authority

Paul Chambers

H. Ford Gravitt

John Hall

Bill Cupp

Blake House

Dr. Joanne Tolleson

Tom Cleveland

Jon McDaniel

AT&T

Mayor, City of Cumming

AGL Resources

Sawnee EMC

Chair, Forsyth County Board of Education

Forsyth County News

Lanier Technical College

Forsyth County Public Library

President & CEO

Vice President of Economic Development

Director of Operations

Director of Communications & Events

Director of Small Business Services

Anna Brostrom

Director of Tourism Development

Jimmy Lane, Jeremiah Dickerson Sales Executives

Maggie Schmitz, Sherri Klug Administrative Assistants

Professional Training in Forsyth this Fall Your employees are the key to your organizations success and productivity. The Professional Development Program at North Georgia College offers a wide range of training solutions to benefit you or your organization. Management Courses: Managing Change in the Workplace Managing Conflict in the Workplace Managing Your Message Managing Priorities The Nuts and Bolts of Supervision Basics of Human Resources Financial Workshop for Retirees FISH! For Leaders Series Fundamentals of Leadership Leadership That Creates Followership

Computer Courses: Facebook & Twitter for Beginners Social Media for Small Business: Computer Basics Expanding Basic Computer Knowledge Building a Basic Web Page How to Troubleshoot Your PC A Basic Guide to Tune up Computers QuickBooks 2010 for Beginners Advanced Microsoft Word 2010 Intro/Advanced Microsoft Excel 2010 Inventory Management/Microsoft Access

Language Courses: German for Beginners Chinese for Beginners Spanish for Beginners English as a Second Language (ESOL)

Other Course Topics: Plumbing Recertification Workshop ServSafe ® Certification Training Filling the Gaps in Math Tutoring Photography Certificate

Healthcare Courses: Pharmacy Technician Program Phlebotomy Technician Program CPR/First Aid for the Community CPR for Healthcare Providers

Log on Now to Learn More and Register:

www.northgeorgia.edu/ce

HORIZONS August 2012

Georgia’s trusted leader in radiology In radiology, it’s one thing to see; it’s another to understand. Northside’s expert team of board-certified radiologists and sub-specialists are trained extensively to interpret general to specialized imaging—from pediatric MRI to digital mammography and interventional radiology of the spine. We combine exceptional care and the latest technologies, bringing our expertise to convenient locations throughout your community. Visit us online at www.northside.com.

HORIZONS August 2012