4A | FORSYTH COUNTY NEWS | ForsythNews.com
FRIDAY, MAY 27, 2016
Horizons
A publication of the Cumming-Forsyth County Chamber of Commerce
Prestige Members
COMMUNITY Foster Forsyth — Planning Your Future What will Forsyth County be like in 20 years? How will we get there? What is important about future land use? These important questions can best be answered by the people who live, work and play in our community. Foster Forsyth is Forsyth County’s comprehensive plan update process. This process provides an opportunity for the community as a whole to have a meaningful dialogue about its vision for the county as it relates to housing, quality of life, employment opportunities and the policies and programs that
will support plan implementation. Foster Forsyth exists to address the topics that are now on the minds of Forsyth County residents. This includes topics like: Employment, Housing, Density, Growth, Etc.
The county’s comprehensive plan is the umbrella document for Forsyth County’s future growth and development. It plays an important role in rezoning and development decisions and also establishes community goals and priorities for the county’s future. You can be a part of the process by providing your input through surveys, map development and visioning workshops. To get involved and learn more, visit www.fosterforsyth. com.
ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT
Premier Corporate Sponsor
Forsyth County Government
Children’s Healthcare of Atlanta
The City of Cumming
Kubicek Technologies
Georgia Power
DeKalb Office
Business Accounting & Tax Services LLC
Alpharetta Children’s Dentistry
Taubman
Community Commitment Before Business Beaver Toyota broke ground on its newest dealership in Cumming, GA on May 11, 2016. To many, this may appear as the first step in building a business, Beaver Toyota’s journey to Cumming first began in Spring of 2014. This was when Mike Beaver and Matt Calavan first met with Cumming-Forsyth County Chamber staff to help them in their Toyota bid process. Chamber staff brought Forsyth County representatives to the table to develop Beaver Toyota’s pitch to Toyota. Once the company had been awarded the opportunity to open a Toyota dealership in Forsyth County, Chamber staff continued to help them navigate the zoning process. All of these steps culminated in their groundbreaking ceremony at 1875 Buford Highway. “Cumming’s recent developments make this an ideal avenue to expand our business in this market and we look forward to stimulating additional growth as an economic catalyst for the area,” Commented Mike Beaver of Beaver Toyota.
Northside Hospital-Forsyth
Kaiser Permanente Lou Sobh Kia Lou Sobh Honda
Atlanta Landscape Group
Month in Review
Beaver Toyota of Cumming broke ground on May 11, 2016. The dealership is scheduled to open in Spring of 2017.
Beaver Toyota’s status as an economic catalyst seems likely as the dealership projects it will add 300 jobs to Forsyth County and approximately $728,000 in new LOST and SPLOST revenue. Additionally, the dealership displayed a commitment to Forsyth County Schools before even opening its doors for business. On behalf of the Forsyth County Schools Foundation, Superintendent Dr. Jeff Bearden accepted a $100,000 check from the dealership
Boulder Dash
at the groundbreaking ceremony. “We truly do care about our customers and the community we serve, which is why we are so driven to providing assistance to local organizations and schools,” said Matt Calavan of Beaver Toyota. Beaver Toyota of Cumming is scheduled to open in Spring 2017 and will mark the first new Toyota dealership built in the southeast in more than five years.
COMMUNITY
Summer is Prime Time for Forsyth Tourism Visitors to Cumming and Forsyth County are a lucrative and often overlooked part of our local economy. The Cumming-Forsyth County Chamber of Commerce’s focused strategy for visitor development continues to grow this significant investment for our community. Since the beginning of the year, the Tourism Development Department of the Chamber has generated leads for 3,918 hotel night stays. Eighty percent of these leads are generated from marketing efforts targeting national and regional amateur sporting events. Participants in sports tournaments and their families stay in local hotels, dine in local restaurants and shop in local stores. The most recent data from the Georgia Department of Economic Development indicated that visitors spend $156.3 million, support more
than 1,660 jobs and contribute $4.6 million to the local tax base annually. Anna Barlow, Director of Tourism Development for the Chamber represents Cumming and Forsyth County at national amateur sports trade shows, targeting tournament organizers in a variety of sports to recruit their events to the community. Tournaments are often planned years in advance. For example, the Chamber recently announced that the “Triple Crown Softball’s National Tournament” will be held in Forsyth County in July, 2018. This is a significant “win” for the community. This one tournament will bring nearly 200 teams and generate 7,500 hotel room nights for the community. The careful and focused effort of the Chamber’s work now is yielding long term results for the future. Summer is prime time for the
amateur sports industry. The community will host several key tournaments including the “Fishers of Men” fishing tournament on Lake Lanier and the “Georgia Recreation and Parks Association 2016 Swim Meet” at the Cumming Aquatics Center. The Chamber’s Chairman of t h e To u r i s m D ev e l o p m e n t Committee and owner of the Hampton Inn, Nelish Patel noted that, “The amateur sports market is a significant component of our business. The work Anna Barlow and the Chamber is doing has a meaningful and lasting impact on our local economy.” For more information about Cumming and Forsyth County’s tourism industry, please contact Anna Barlow at abarlow@cummingforsythchamber.org / 770.887.6461 / www.cummingforsythchamber.org
Runners await to hear the results of the 2016 Boulder Dash.
Post-Legislative Session Breakfast
Paul Chambers of AT&T moderates Q&A during the Post-Legislative Session Breakfast.
Celebrating 20 years in Dawsonville
In Business Since 1996
MEMORIAL WEEKEND BLOWOUT SALE starting 5-27 thru 6-4 SELECTED ITEMS
$5/ FLAT sold by flat only
GREAT PRICES ON OTHER FLATS (excluding perennials) 884 Thompson Rd., Dawsonville, GA 30534 706-265-1607 www.abbottcreeknursery.com
Open Seasonally Mid-April thru May & October thru November Mon-Sat 9-3 • Sun 10-2 • Closed Sundays in Nov.
ForsythNews.com | FORSYTH COUNTY NEWS | 5A
FRIDAY, MAY 27, 2016
Horizons
Presented by
A publication of the Cumming-Forsyth County Chamber of Commerce
Upcoming Events June 7 Women Who Mean Business 7:30 a.m. Dream Dinners
June 7 Power Networking Lunch 11:30 a.m. Atlanta Bread
June 7 Tri-Chamber Lake & Luau Networking Event 5 p.m. Lake Lanier Islands Resort – Legacy Pointe
June 8 International Engagement Breakfast 7 a.m. Keller Williams
June 14 Power Networking Lunch 11:30 a.m. Wild Flower Eatery
June 20 Food Trucks ‘N Forsyth 5 p.m. Forsyth Conference Center
June 21 Power Networking Lunch 11:30 a.m. Thai Basil Kitchen
June 28 Power Networking Lunch 11:30 a.m. Mellow Mushroom
Key to the events Member Power Networking Lunch — Meets every Tuesday at 11:30 a.m. 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. • Please visit our Event’s Calendar at www.cummingforsythchamber.org to see a full list of events, more information and registration.
We’re honored to serve you It’s an honor to be recognized as the nation’s leading hospital for maternity and newborn care. Look a little closer and you’ll discover that Northside performs more surgeries and diagnoses and treats more breast and gynecologic cancer than any other hospital in Georgia. While people chooseNorthside for our expertise, they also know us for our exceptional compassionate care. Visit us online at www.northside.com