2014 Gwinnett Chamber Business Expo & Job Fair Beginning with the General Membership Meeting, intermingled with top notch educational seminars and concluding with a Business After Hours networking event, the schedule of events for the 2014 Business Expo & Job Fair is packed with opportunities to market your organization, learn more about surrounding companies and make connections! Plan to spend the majority of your day with us on Thursday, August 21 at the Gwinnett Center! The day will begin with the Chamber’s monthly General Membership Meeting, presented by Rocket IT, featuring an update on the Atlanta Media Campus & Studios that will soon be calling Gwinnett home. Featuring keynote speaker Scott Condra – president of Jacoby Development – the master plan includes higher education and research facilities, media production studios, multi-family and student housing, an onsite hotel, office space and supportive retail establishments. “This mixed-use development, anchored by the largest film and television media complex outside of California, will become a significant economic driver for not only Gwinnett County but also the region and state,” said Dr. Daniel Kaufman, Gwinnett Chamber of Commerce President & CEO. As Milton Berle once said, “If opportunity doesn’t knock, build a door.” The Business Expo & Job Fair is the Chamber’s door to allow the Gwinnett business community greater opportunity to grow, thrive and succeed. From 1-5 p.m., the Expo & Job Fair – presented by Gwinnett Medical Center – will showcase more than 150 of the area’s leading companies. This complimentary come-and-go event also provides educational seminars that focus on corporate responsibility, email marketing, human resources, media relations, networking, sales and social media, to name just a few. “The Business Expo & Job Fair does a fantastic job of highlighting the collaboration of business, education, and government along with Gwinnett’s
solid reputation for job creation and business growth,” said Carla Carraway, president of Precision Planning, Inc. and 2014 Gwinnett Chamber Board Chair. “The business activity demonstrated is second to none and a fine example of Gwinnett’s thriving business and economic environment.” The Job Fair is the place to be for those looking for a career change, providing seekers an
opportunity to meet with human resource professionals from Gwinnett’s leading companies that are hiring now. Concluding the Expo & Job Fair will be the largest Business After Hours event of the year. Featuring fare, entertainment and providing the ideal platform to make those necessary professional connections, it’s no wonder it was voted “2014 Best in Gwinnett” by the readers of
Gwinnett Magazine! Like the Gwinnett Chamber, the Expo focuses on growing businesses throughout Gwinnett County and metro Atlanta. Programs such as the Expo help to create a pro-business environment for companies looking to grow and expand in Gwinnett resulting in more quality jobs and a better community. It is truly THE business event of the year!
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Schedule of Events
Attend Free Business Seminars!
General Membership Meeting, Location: Gwinnett Center – Exhibit on-boarding and retention, sales Let’s Work the Room! Traditional tactics and today’s savvy and social media. Halls A, B & C presented by Rocket IT prospects combine to sabotage selling efforts. Time: 1 – 5 p.m. Cost: Complimentary PRESENTER: Al Simon, President – Discover a new system used by Lights...Camera...ACTION! Scott Sandler Training by Simon, Inc. contemporary top performers that will Location: Gwinnett Center – Condra, president of Jacoby convert leads into business – on your terms! Meeting Rooms 4A & 4B Job Fair, presented by Development, will speak about the _______________________________ TIME: 1:15 – 2 p.m. Cost: Complimentary - space is The Davis Companies Atlanta Media Campus, which is LOCATION: Room 4A, How to Attract Top Talent limited using a television and movie studio Looking for a career change and/or Gwinnett Center employment? The Job Fair is the as the catalyst for a full-scale PRESENTER: Brendon Davis, Business After Hours, place to meet with professionals mixed-use re-development. Director of Business Operations – The There is a strategic approach to from Gwinnett’s leading companies presented by Country Financial Time: 11:30 a.m. – 1 p.m. networking and creating solid Davis Companies Explore Gwinnett, Gwinnett that are hiring NOW! Location: Gwinnett Center – relationships. What do most people Center & Proof of the Pudding Time: 1 – 5 p.m. Salons 4, 5, 6 & 7 TIME: 2:15 – 3 p.m. love to talk about? Themselves! You LOCATION: Room 4B, differentiate yourself by being Concluding the Expo will be the Location: Gwinnett Center – Cost: $45 for Chamber members; Gwinnett Center interested AND interesting. This largest Business After Hours of the Exhibit Halls A, B & C $55 for non-members year! Don’t miss this opportunity session will equip you with the tools Cost: Complimentary Registration required – Visit to have people gravitate toward you, To compete in business you need the to network and make those GwinnettChamber.org/events to Please help us prepare our vendors right people with the right skills. looking for opportunities to necessary professional connections. while by registering at secure your seat. Attracting best-in-class colleagues is network and earn your business! Time: 5 – 7 p.m. GwinnettExpo.com. the key to long-term success. This _______________________________ Business Expo, presented by Location: Gwinnett Center – session will discuss places off the Paying it Forward and Your Triple Seminars, presented by Gwinnett Medical Center Welcome Area in Exhibit Halls A, B & C Bottom Line: The Benefits to Social beaten path to recruit, as well as hiring Country Financial More than 150 of the area’s Cost: Complimentary practices. Performance _______________________________ Best-in-class presenters will cover premier companies will be On-Boarding and Employee PRESENTER: Skip Vaughan, Sr. attracting top talent, corporate showcasing their products and Visit GwinnettExpo.com Retention: It Starts Marketing Director – Pepsi Bottling responsibility, email marketing, services! for more information. at the Very Beginning Group media relations, networking, Time: 1 – 5 p.m.
TIME: 3:15 – 4 p.m. LOCATION: Room 4B, Gwinnett Center Got a story, don’t know who to tell? The keys to the media relations kingdom don’t have to be a secret. This presentation will share insights on the importance of cohesive team communication, the strategies for building unified messaging and “go to” techniques for getting your company out there. _______________________________ Email Marketing - Simple Strategies for Success Presenter: Stephanie Sokenis, Director of Small Business Development – Gwinnett Chamber of Commerce TIME: 4:15 – 5 p.m. LOCATION: Room 4A, Gwinnett Center
Email is the most cost-effective, trackable, targeted and efficient way to build and maintain relationships in all PRESENTER: Layne Davlin, Founder types of business. Learn how to master TIME: 1:15 – 2 p.m. & CEO – Einstein HR; NAPEO LOCATION: Room 4B, communications with a Leadership Council Chair Gwinnett Center comprehensive look at approaches that lead to increased profits and TIME: 3:15 – 4 p.m. “Creating a strong business and captivation. LOCATION: Room 4A, building a better world are not _______________________________ Gwinnett Center conflicting goals – they are both Social Media Strategy: Developing essential ingredients for long-term Your Brand’s Online Presence Nearly 25 percent of the working success.” - William Ford Jr., Ford population experiences professional Motor Company. Attend and learn Presenter: Cliff Tillery, COO – transitions annually – costing an how investing in a Corporate Social Make It Loud, Inc. Responsibility Program is a positive for average of at least six months salary to the greater good, your company’s replace them. A proper on-boarding TIME: 4:15 – 5 p.m. plan is necessary to alleviate turnover; culture and your bottom line. LOCATION: Room 4B, find out how your business’ first _______________________________ Gwinnett Center Closing the Deal – A New impression speaks to new hires and how to keep them engaged. Way to Sell It’s no secret that a company’s positive _______________________________ social media presence is critical to its Relating to the Media: PRESENTER: Al Simon, President – sustainability. With so many platforms, Getting Your Story Told Sandler Training by Simon, Inc. with so many advances - how do you choose - how do you capitalize? By PRESENTER: Joé Lloyd, Account TIME: 2:15 – 3 p.m. implementing a strategic plan! This Manager & Retail Practice Lead – LOCATION: Room 4A, session will cover which avenues are Gwinnett Center Write2Market right for your target audience and how to reach them. COST FOR SEMINARS: Complimentary - Registration is not required, but space is limited.
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Hope is Not a Method By: Dr. Daniel J. Kaufman, Gwinnett Chamber President & CEO During my first address as president & CEO of the Gwinnett Chamber at the 2013 Business Expo & Job Fair General Membership Meeting, I challenged fellow business and community leaders to join me in crafting a common vision for Gwinnett. Essentially, my message was that hope alone will not allow us to continue to be “the community of tomorrow, today,” but rather thoughtful and deliberate action from all segments of the community will be required if we are to continue on our path of success. You see, hope is not a method; we’ve got to work together to make it happen. I
learned that important lesson in my previous life as an Army officer. Since the Cold War ended, the United States Army has been downsized, restructured, and reengineered more extensively than almost any private business. In the early 1990s, Army Chief of Staff General Gordon R. Sullivan took the postCold War army into the new era. A global powerhouse with nearly 1.5 million employees, an annual budget of $56.3 billion, and strategic alliances in every part of the world, the Army is one of the world's most complex organizations. It also has decades’ worth of “standard operating procedures” and “that’s how we’ve always done it” mentality. Faced with a 40 percent reduction in people and funding, Sullivan focused on new
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peacetime missions, streamlined a cumbersome bureaucracy, reinvented structures and procedures, and set the guidelines for achieving a vast array of challenging new goals. General Sullivan wrote a book on strategy and restructuring, from which I took the title of this piece. Hope is not a method; wishes are not plans. It is easy to take Gwinnett’s good fortune for granted. Decades of growth, excellent schools, world class services, evolving transportation options, award-winning community parks, emerging live, work, play centers, and convenient shopping suggest that these good times will last forever. We are fortunate to live, learn, work, and play in a community with many assets that continue to propel us forward. First and foremost, Gwinnett has a diversified portfolio of industries setting a strong
foundation for growth. Another strategic asset is Gwinnett’s diversity in both population and business ownership. Gwinnett is in the top three percent of all U.S. counties in terms of minority business ownership, with over 40 percent of businesses within the County being minority-owned. In addition, Gwinnett is one of just eight counties in the nation where black, Asian and Hispanic business ownership rates exceed nine percent, and we are the only county outside of New York, Washington D.C., and Houston that meets such criteria. While our strengths are many, Gwinnett does face its share of challenges ahead, including ethnic incorporation, strategic investment and redevelopment. We must work together to ensure that all groups in our society have a seat at the table and that Gwinnett does not become
a fragmented community. Second, we must invest strategically in our community to ensure that our future is sound. We must also continue our revitalization efforts of targeted areas so that Gwinnett remains a community of choice. As the President & CEO of the Gwinnett Chamber, my commitment is for the Chamber to be a forum where business, government, education, healthcare, arts/ culture/entertainment, and the philanthropic and public service communities come together to craft a common vision for the Gwinnett community. On the road ahead, just as I challenged those in the room at my first address to the community, I challenge you to join me in the continual pursuit of ensuring that Gwinnett remains a vibrant community of choice in which to live, learn, work, and play.
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Participants
* Denotes Job Fair Exhibitors ** Denotes Expo & Job Fair Exhibitors
Ackerman Security Services Advantage Resourcing Affincon/AFLAC Alzheimer’s Association- Georgia Chapter American Senior Benefits* American Water Services Apollo First Aid Arena Tavern Arrowhead Plumbing Assisted Choice, Senior Living Experts Atlanta Business Chronicle Atlanta Falcons Avion Energy Group Bath Fitter BIS Benefits BlueWave Computing BNI BrandBank Brenau University Business RadioX Business Wise CablesAndKits Carefree Boat Club CDI Managed Services Children’s Healthcare of Atlanta ChoicesToYou.com Civis Bank Compass Self Storage Constangy, Brooks & Smith, LLP Costco – Mall of Georgia Country Financial Crescent Business Report Dave & Buster’s Delta Community Credit Union** District 44 Toastmasters Dynasty Jewelry and Loan, LTD E2E Resources, Inc. ED Granite City, Inc. Einstein HR EMC Security Explore Gwinnett* Fidelity Bank Fifth Third Bank Friends of Gwinnett County Senior Services Gem Shopping Network, Inc.* Georgia Department of Community Affairs* GrandView Planning Group Gwinnett Center Gwinnett County Public Schools* Gwinnett County Public Schools Career & Technical Education* Gwinnett Daily Post Gwinnett Medical Center**
Gwinnett Online Campus Gwinnett Place Mall Gwinnett Public Library* Gwinnett Sports Commission Gwinnett Technical College Gwinnett YMCA Hire Dynamics* La Raza 102.3/100.1 Leadership Gwinnett LIFESouth Community Blood Centers Make It Loud, Inc. Martin Photography Medical Weight Loss by Healthogenics Mercer University Merry Maids Navy Federal Credit Union NeoLife – Clark Vitality** NeuroStudies.net New Leaf Landscape Services
Next Star Communications/Sprint Inc.** North Georgia Business Connection Northwest Exterminating Company, Inc. Olympus Worldwide Chauffeured Services Palmetto Grant Consulting Parker Young Construction Peach State Federal Credit Union Pre-Press to Printing, Inc. Primerica* PruittHealth Purchasing Alliance Solutions, Inc. Quantum National Bank Rainbow Village, Inc. Randstad* RD Direct Inc. Ricoh Electronics* Shane Company Jewelry* Signarama Buford Southeast Janitorial Supplies, Inc
Spherion Staffing Services – Gwinnett** Sutter, McLellan & Gilbreath, Inc. Suzanna’s Kitchen, Inc.* Synergy America, Inc.* The Davis Companies** The Family The Richard Young Agency – Farmers Insurance Toshiba Business Solutions TRC Staffing* Troy University University of Georgia - Gwinnett Campus University of Georgia Small Business Development Center University of Phoenix Waypoint Homes When Everyone Survives Foundation, Inc. Wholesale School Supply Inc.* Wilkinson Real Estate Advisors Wilson Lewis CPAs Woodward Property Group
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Gwinnett Chamber Small Business Programs Small Business Success Lives Here! “Entrepreneur” and “small business” are terms that describe how countless fledgling businesses began. They are also descriptors of the future economic growth and success of our community and our region. Small businesses are the engines that drive the economy: during the last 20 years, small businesses were responsible for creating 64 percent of net new jobs in the U.S. Of the 21,000 businesses in Gwinnett, 75 percent of them have 10 employees or fewer,
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and 98 percent have 50 employees or fewer. Successful small business leaders have learned how to recognize an opportunity and go after it, as the incredibly varied Gwinnett economy demonstrates every day. The Gwinnett Chamber is committed to creating the right business climate to help these companies and their visionary leaders succeed. In addition to our community’s pro-business environment, the Chamber provides a vast array of resources available to assist entrepreneurs and small
businesses in Gwinnett: • Small Business Essentials is a program developed by the Gwinnett Chamber to provide small business owners with the necessary information and resources to help navigate the best possible path to start or grow their business. Facilitated by industry experts who have the knowledge and experience to explain how to tackle the issues many small business owners face, these meetings are free and open to anyone, Chamber members and nonmembers alike. • Another Chamber program
series, Eat & Educate, provides small business owners with in-person, topic-specific opportunities to acquire the tools they need to be successful in business. Topics include surviving the first five years, finance and cash flow, legal and compliance issues, business plans, setting goals, minority assistance, networking, sales training, marketing, tradeshow tips, and more. • In November, the Chamber hosts its very first Small Business Summit, a day full of opportunities to tap into the experiences of successful local business experts who will share relevant and valuable tips, tricks
and tools to help small business owners grow their business and make money. The Summit features a dozen informative and content-rich 75-minute workshops on a variety of small business topics, as well as a Small Business Resource Fair. By offering small business owners access to the education and resources required to manage their businesses more effectively, there will be a positive ripple effect on the local economy and community. Entrepreneurs and small businesses will be able to learn the keys to thriving in today’s global economy and in the future.
Saturday October 11th
12:00 PM - 7:30 PM The Lawrenceville Lawn
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