ATLANTA – The Georgia Chamber of Commerce is pulling together local chambers from cities across Georgia outside of metro Atlanta to focus on issues of interest to those communities.
The new Hub Chamber Council will advocate on behalf of chambers of commerce in Albany, Athens, Augusta, Brunswick, Columbus, Dalton, Macon, Rome, Savannah, Valdosta, and Warner Robins.
“This new council will help coordinate federal, state and local policy in these dynamic and growing economic centers,” said Chris Clark, president and CEO of the Georgia Chamber. “Our hope is that by galvanizing these communities together in one direction it will produce outcomes greater than if their efforts were individualized.”
The Hub Chamber Council is modeled after the Georgia Chamber Center for Rural Prosperity, which opened in Tifton five years ago to help raise the profiles of rural communities and improve coordination of efforts to boost their economies.
The new council will work to increase the influence of the member chambers at the Georgia Capitol and in Washington, D.C., and improve the economic prosperity of the larger cities and counties outside of metro Atlanta. Specifically, it will focus on workforce housing, recruiting talent and building the infrastructure needed to foster economic development in those areas.
David Bradley, president and CEO of the Athens Area Chamber of Commerce, will serve as the council’s inaugural chairman.
“I look forward to all this council will be able to achieve towards a better understanding of how these communities, like ours in Athens, can have their needs met through a coordinated statewide effort,” he said. “The Georgia Chamber is uniquely positioned to host this newly formed Hub Chamber Council, which will have lasting impact for our Georgia metro communities.”
This story is available through a news partnership with Capitol Beat News Service, a project of the Georgia Press Educational Foundation.