Horizons January 2015
A publication of the Cumming-Forsyth County Chamber of Commerce
Prestige Members
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Northside Hospital-Forsyth Premier Corporate Sponsor
Forsyth County Government
DeKalb Office
The City of Cumming
Georgia Power
Children’s Healthcare of Atlanta
Inspiring Smiles
Lou Sobh Honda
2015: Letter from the Chairman
jTech Networks
Taubman
Alpharetta Children’s Dentistry
Kaiser Permanente
Atlanta Landscape Group
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s 2014 comes to a close we can see the signs of economic recovery continue to grow into a strengthening economy. In Forsyth County, our unemployment rate has decreased to 5.4 percent. We saw 23 new and existing companies create 1,047 new jobs and invest nearly $104 million dollars in new capital investment. With the economy in a steady upward turn, now is the time to seize the opportunities that recovery will bring. With your support, we will expand the reach of our economic development efforts. We will provide additional support to the fastest growing industry in our community – healthcare. Now is the time to make additional investments in resources to encourage more visitors to our community by targeting the lucrative amateur sports market. We have made important strides in this area, but there is more work to do and expanding those efforts will yield real economic opportunity for our retail and
hospitality industries. Economies are built on relationships and leadership. We are blessed to have both of these in Mark Bond, Cumming and Chairman, Forsyth County. Chamber Bd. of Dir. The Chamber is an integral part of facilitating those relationships and fostering strong leaders. Your Chamber is the sole economic development entity in our community. This streamlined approach to serving the needs of business clients gives us a competitive advantage. The partnership with the City, County and School System make us a strong player on a global stage. The Chamber will continue to work with leaders in Cumming and Forsyth County to concenter the process of business interaction with our local government to ensure it is clear to the region and the nation we have the most business-
friendly community in the country. Cumming and Forsyth County have already taken strong steps in that direction and I thank them for their continued support. We have opportunities for growth in 2015. While the Chamber is on sound financial footing, the new services will require greater resources. While our membership numbers have recovered from the impact of the recession, we still have opportunities for growth and increasing our market share, especially in healthcare, international business and small business. The Chamber is our venue to channel the incredible collective resources of great business people to create economic opportunity for everyone. The opportunity is what makes us remarkable and sets us apart from so many places around the world. As incoming Chairman, I look forward to working with each of you to expand that opportunity for everyone in our community to reach their potential and achieve more than we could imagine.