2009 Chamber Founders Award Honors John Oxendine, Insurance and Safety Fire Commissioner State of Georgia on May 27

At this year's Eagle Star Awards Gala, the American-Israel Chamber of Commerce will
honor Georgia's Insurance and Safety Fire Comissioner John Oxendine with the Chamber Founders Award at the organization's community flagship event held to honor the people and companies who have made outstanding contributions to the Southeast-Israel business relationship.

For his support and leadership on behalf of the Chamber, John is highly deserving
of this recognition. As the honorary chairman of the US-Israel Telehealth Business
Exchange, he was largely responsible for the enormous success of this matchmaker
event last February that brought innovative Israeli companies to Georgia to meet potential strategic partners and investors.

Wednesday, May 27, 2009
6:00-9:00 PM at Georgia Power's headquarters.

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Coweta County Welcomes Nationally Known Economist October 22

The Coweta County Economic Summit is a "must attend" for business owners, business professionals, elected officials, candidates for office, and all citizens interested in the future of Coweta's local economy.

Nationally known economist William H. "Bill" Fruth will conduct Coweta County's first-ever Economic Summit, Wednesday, October 22, 8:30 a.m. - 12:00 noon, at the Centre for Performing and Visual Arts of Coweta County, 1523 Lower Fayetteville Road, Newnan. Coffee, Danishes, and networking will be available at 8:00 a.m. Admission is free.

Bill Fruth is certainly not considered a typical "run-of-the-mill" economist. Unlike many of his colleagues who spend much of their lives in an academic setting, Fruth has mostly "walked the walk" in both the private and public sectors.

After earning his Bachelor and Master degrees from Bowling Green State University in Ohio, Bill Fruth began his economic journey in 1980, when he was elected to serve as the full-time Mayor of Tiffin, Ohio. It was quite a challenge, as manufacturing companies / jobs were leaving town, the nation was in the grip of a deep recession, and the city's economy and finances had
reached crisis level.

Facing the unthinkable, a relatively young Mayor Fruth had no other choice but to become heavily involved in economic and community development, in order to save his city from financial collapse. His hard work and accomplishments drew accolades from across the State, and Fruth was named one of "Five Outstanding Young Men of Ohio" before finishing his term in
office.

Bill Fruth's rise to notoriety in the economic development field soon led him to Palm Beach County, Florida, where he served as president of the Business Development Board. Once again, Fruth earned statewide recognition, and was named Florida Economic Development Professional of the Year in 1987.

It wasn't long before private industry took notice of Bill Fruth's accomplishments. He embraced the opportunity and served as Vice President of a major industrial land development company from 1988-1995. Fruth's responsibilities included directing the development and marketing of a
500-acre corporate park in West Palm Beach, Florida.

In 1996, Bill Fruth founded POLICOM Corporation, an independent economics research firm, located in Palm City, Florida. For the past twelve years, he has specialized in studying the dynamics of local economies, whether they are growing or declining, and what may be causing this to happen.

Fruth has personally evaluated more than 600 economies across the Nation. He has created more than 150 community studies, and since 1998, has provided presentations and workshops for state associations and communities in 32 states.

Bill Fruth is recognized by the Florida Administrative Court as an expert witness regarding local economies. He is the author of Where the Money Is ... America's Strongest Local Economies, along with numerous economic articles for newspapers and trade magazines.

Bill Fruth's presentation style may come as a surprise to those who have suffered through dry, often uninspiring economics lectures. To the contrary, he provides a fast-paced, entertaining, but mostly thought provoking analysis. Fruth's numbers are based on reality, rather than theory, and his purpose is to generate discussion of what makes an economy strong, and what each community must do to improve its economic condition and quality of life.

As a segment of the Coweta County Economic Summit, Fruth will first present examples of some of the strongest and weakest economies in the Nation. He'll then examine Coweta County's own economic strengths and weaknesses, and further compare them to those of Fayette County, Cobb County, Gainesville, GA, Auburn-Opelika, AL, the Atlanta area, and Georgia.

As Bill Fruth explained, "The purpose of this summit goes beyond presenting Coweta's economic strengths and weaknesses. I'd like to encourage discussion of what your community must do to further improve its economy during these difficult times, while motivating community leaders to work as one toward a common goal of long-term economic prosperity and a better standard of living for all citizens."

The Coweta County Economic Summit is sponsored by AT&T, Atlanta Gas Light, Coweta-Fayette EMC, Georgia Power, and Newnan Utilities. For reservations and further information, contact the Newnan-Coweta Chamber of Commerce at 770-253-2270.

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News to Use in Fayetteville, Newnan, Atlanta, Gainesville, Peachtree City and all of Georgia

Georgia Chamber Kicks Off Statewide Membership Campaign

The Georgia Chamber of Commerce is set to grow again. With the help of more than 500 volunteers, representing 35 companies and organizations, the state business organization has begun canvassing the state for new members and additional resources. The goal of this year’s campaign is $1.8 million and 800 new members.

The drive officially started on Wednesday, June 11th, at a luncheon at the Sheraton Atlanta Hotel. Headlining the luncheon was keynote speaker, David Nour, Founder - Relationship Economics® and CEO of BeOne Now, Inc. David is a social networking strategist and one of the foremost thought leaders on the quantifiable value of business relationships.

The Kick Off Luncheon also featured remarks by 2008 Campaign Chair Mike Garrett (Georgia Power), who is also the Incoming 2009 Chair of the Georgia Chamber. He was joined by 2008 Membership Co-Chairs Chris Hatcher (Dotcomments, Albany); Mylle Mangum (IBT Enterprises, LLC, Norcross); and Steve Smith (Turner Broadcasting System, Atlanta).

The growth of the state chamber over the past ten years clearly indicates that business takes its role in the formulating public policy seriously. Since 1997, the Georgia Chamber has increased it membership 140% and currently has 4,000 members in 156 counties. Last year's drive raised $1.76 million and brought in 819 new members.

According to George Israel, President & CEO, Georgia Chamber, this year’s effort is crucial. “The 2008 session of the Georgia General Assembly produced legislation that will help make our state stronger, attract new business and generate jobs. This happened only because the business community was involved in the process and remained unified. It is important that this participation continue,” he added.

The Georgia Chamber is the grassroots voice of business, vigorously representing its diverse membership in the public policy arena. As it constantly works to protect Georgia’s enviable pro-business environment, the Georgia Chamber remains mindful of its mission to keep the state economically prosperous, educationally competitive and environmentally responsible.