Georgia Chamber President Chris Clark gives forecast at annual State of Industry

The Gordon County Chamber of Commerce breathed new life into its annual State of Industry event on Friday, July 27, by offering three sessions that concentrated on both local and state business conditions and forecasts for the future. The 2018 State of Industry was presented by Gordon Hospital.

The day began at the Gordon County College and Career Academy, where Mohawk Industries, a sponsor of the State of Industry, led the first session with their apprentice, Dylan Hill, explaining the apprenticeship program at GCCCA and taking questions from attendees.

The second session took place at Calhoun City Schools’ STEM Lab, where guests enjoyed a luncheon and a video presentation of the school system’s history and accomplishments.

The third session took place at the Calhoun Performing Arts Center where Georgia Chamber of Commerce President Chris Clark spoke to the audience on the business and economic climate of both the State of Georgia and Gordon County, discussing current issues within the job market and solutions for attracting talent and bringing business and industry to Gordon County.

Other topics covered included projections on population and job numbers by 2030, the importance of obtaining job talent in the community, the importance of local business mentoring students and working with the local school systems, housing needs and projections of upcoming changes in workforce makeup within the next 10 years.

The engaging presentation ended with an interactive Question and Answer session where participants used their smartphones to provide feedback to the Gordon County Chamber of Commerce on their views of what Gordon County lacks, needs and the direction they’d like to see Gordon County take in the future.

For more information on Clark’s presentation, see Saturday’s issue of the Calhoun Times.