By Jamie Gardner
Last Wednesday a large number of Appling County citizens attended the Georgia 2030 2.0 presentation delivered by Georgia Chamber of Commerce President and CEO Chris Clark. The meeting was hosted by the Baxley-Appling County Chamber of Commerce and a meal was provided by the Appling County Commissioners at Edwin I. Hatch Nuclear Power Plant’s education center. The event was well attended and was a diverse group citizens ranging from high school students to older adults who all seemed to share a common goal…to see Appling grow and prosper in the future.
Hatch Site Vice President David Vineyard welcomed everyone to the meeting and to Plant Hatch. Vineyard stated that Plant Hatch will have a lot of positions to fill in the coming years due to the plant’s aging workforce. Vineyard said that Hatch would like to hire local people, but they are struggling to find local qualified individuals to fill the positions. He stated that the site has hired 150 employees over the last year and estimated that only 50 people hired were local.
Appling County Commissioner Chairman Lewis Parker also welcomed everyone to the meeting and led the invocation.
Following a delicious meal, Baxley-Appling County Chamber of Commerce Keri Crosby introduced Clark. She also expressed her gratitude for the large turnout. Crosby stated that the attendance at this meeting was probably the largest attended meeting hosted by the chamber, outside of the annual banquet, since she has been director.
Clark opened his presentation by reporting that there is a new focus on rural Georgia across the state. He said that the Georgia Chamber has been working with the Georgia House of Representatives on issues facing rural Georgia communities......
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