Chamber Celebrates 62nd Anniversary and Recognizes Four Local Businesses for Significant Economic Contributions

Pictured are Jan Alligood, 2009 Chamber Chair and Phil Aaron, 2008 Chamber Chair

Take a look around Coweta County and you will see signs of economic prosperity. For the past 62 years the Newnan-Coweta Chamber of Commerce has played a lead role in promoting an environment in which Chamber members and the community can realize economic prosperity.

On Tuesday, January 26, 2010 from 7:30 to 9:00am at the Central Educational Center, the Chamber will host its 62nd annual meeting. The theme Think Chamber Members First - Inspire & Thrive sets the stage for the member to member program that emphasizes the power of Chamber Members doing business with Chamber Members. "During these tightening economic times, it's a great way to help us all weather the storm successfully. By relying on one another and supporting one another, we'll be helping shore up the entire economy in Coweta County," says Chamber President, Candace Boothby.

Four local businesses and organizations will receive Economic Prosperity Awards from the Chamber. The award winners are recognized for their significant contributions to economic impact in Coweta County during 2009.

The winners are:

* Coweta County Schools, for outstanding achievements in test scores
and graduation rates that help support ongoing economic development efforts

* City of Senoia for their vision and supportive actions that are
helping redefine the future potential of their community through innovative
and creative developments

* D & H Distributing for the location of their new facility in the
Coweta Industrial Park which brought more than 145 new jobs to our community

* USDA National Detector Dog Training Center for their investment in
building their new facility in our community, which is recognized as the
number agricultural training facility in the world.

"To champion economic prosperity for our members and the Greater Coweta community" is the Chamber's mission. These companies represent the highest standard of support for that mission in Coweta County for 2009," said Jan Alligood, 2009 Chairman of the Chamber Board. "Each has demonstrated their ability to contribute for the overall community benefit. With their
achievements, new developments, and vision they're helping to improve quality of life and economic prosperity for the entire county."

In addition to the Economic Prosperity Awards, the Chamber will announce Volunteer of the Year, Ambassador of the Year, Chamber Member of the Year and the new Chairman's Award.

"We invite the entire community to join us in celebrating our Economic Prosperity Award winners for 2009 in addition to our Volunteer of the Year, Ambassador of the Year, and Chamber Member of the Year" said Boothby. "And we are excited to see how these and others continue to help boost our Coweta County's economic prosperity in 2010."

Seating is limited. Contact the Chamber for cost and availability:
770-253-2270 or email info@newnancowetachamber.org.

With approximately 600 members throughout Coweta County, the Newnan-Coweta Chamber of Commerce is an independent, nonprofit organization dedicated to increasing economic prosperity for all Coweta's citizens. As the county's largest business organization, the Chamber works to provide business leadership to foster an economic and cultural climate favorable to all
business, in order to create a higher quality of life for all residents.

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Newnan Downtown Awarded ‘Great Places in Georgia’ By the Georgia Planning Association (GPA)

Whether helping kids get to school safely, planning for inevitable growth or making a serious effort to “go green,” communities all over Georgia were recently recognized at the Georgia Planning Association’s awards ceremony. Newnan’s downtown was selected as the inaugural recipient of this year’s “Great Places in Georgia” award.

The 2009 GPA Chapter Awards were given to plans and projects that showed innovation, transferability, quality, effectiveness of implementation, public participation, technology, equity and sustainability. In addition to the basic planning awards, a new category was created to recognize “great places” in Georgia. The award was established to showcase communities that emphasize a live, work and play environment, safety, conservation, accessibility, and community involvement.

“This is a great honor for our City,” said Planning Director Tracy Dunnavant. “It shows that Newnan has managed to preserve its past while continuing to meet the needs of the future. It’s an award that could only be achieved through the efforts of the community as a whole.”

GPA citied several factors that contributed to downtown Newnan being selected as a “Great Place in Georgia”. Those factors included: Downtown being defined by its history, strong sense of place and engaged community; The antebellum architecture that remains intact in the downtown area; The wide variety of mixed uses in downtown including retail, restaurants, offices, industrial and public uses; The commitment of the City and County governments to keeping their administrative offices downtown; and Newnan’s selection as Georgia’s representative for This Old House’s Best Old House Neighborhoods for 2009.

Other winners of the 2009 GPA Chapter Awards were:

· Chattahoochee County Safe Routes to School, Outstanding Planning Process Small Community
· West Bay Street Hudson Hill Study, Outstanding Planning Process Large Community
· Oakwood 2030 The Shape of Life to Come, Outstanding Planning Document Small Community
· Gwinnett County 2030 Unified Plan, Outstanding Planning Document Large Community
· The Westobou Vision, Augusta, GA and North Augusta, SC Urban Area 2009 Master Plan, Outstanding Planning Document Large Community Honorable Mention
· Warm Springs Road Bicycle and Pedestrian Trail, Columbus, Outstanding Plan Implementation –
· Zoning Handbook, Columbus, Outstanding Educational Tool
· Regional Snapshots, Atlanta Regional Commission, Outstanding Educational Tool Honorable Mention
· Green Communities Program, Atlanta Regional Commission, Outstanding Initiatives/Special Projects
· Sustainable Fellwood, Savannah, Outstanding Initiatives/Special Projects
· Comprehensive Transportation Plan Program, Atlanta Regional Commission, Outstanding Initiatives/Special Projects Honorable Mention
· Georgia Tech Community Development Planning Studio on the English Avenue Neighborhood, Outstanding Student Project
· One Town, One Goal, Thomaston Mill Neighborhood, Griffin, Grassroots Initiative

The Georgia Planning Association (GPA) has provided resources and services to planners and communities for more than three decades, offering education, legislative support, the Community Planning Institute and other resources. Each year, GPA rewards local communities and regional commissions for their work to make Georgia a better place to live. The Georgia Planning Association presents its Chapter Awards at its fall conference.
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Special Olympics Georgia Coach Receives Jim Mora Coach Award

CC Note: Among those receiving Distinguished Service Awards were Outstanding Male Athlete of the Year: Demetrius Griffin of Coweta County, Outstanding Grassroots Support from a Business on a Local or Area Level: Buffalo Rock of Coweta County; and Outstanding Organization: CEC Health Science Class of Coweta County. Kudos guys!

PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- Jim Mora's Count on Me Family Foundation recently recognized Special Olympics Georgia's (SOGA) Outstanding Coach of 2008 at the organization's annual Distinguished Service Awards Banquet.

The award, given to Rockdale County coach Pam Smith, is named in honor of Seattle Seahawks Coach and former Falcons coach Jim Mora.

"The Jim Mora Count on Me Family Foundation has been a fan of Special Olympics athletes for years. Special Olympics Georgia appreciates the overwhelming belief, support and enthusiasm given by the foundation to the organization. Because of the current and past recognition given to SOGA by the foundation, we have been enabled to make Georgians aware of the services that we provide year-round to children and adults with intellectual disabilities," said SOGA CEO Georgia Milton-Sheats.

The Jim Mora Count On Me Family Foundation was created to support children's organizations through monetary grants primarily in three target areas: children from low socio-economic backgrounds, mentally and physically challenged, and children at-risk. Coach Mora and his wife Shannon have been long-time supporters of Special Olympics Georgia. They quickly embraced the organization as their signature charity when they arrived to Atlanta in 2003, and have been very supportive since. Over the years, the foundation has donated more than $300,000 to Special Olympics Georgia.

Coach Smith received a letter of recognition from the former Atlanta Falcons coach and special pro sports memorabilia.

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City of Newnan Receives Fiscal Budget Award

CC Note: Great job!!!! This is the 18th consecutive year the city has won the award.

The Government Finance Officers Association of the United States and Canada (GFOA) is pleased to announce that City of Newnan, Georgia has received the GFOA's Distinguished Budget Presentation Award for its budget. The award represents a significant achievement by the entity. It reflects the commitment of the governing body and staff to meeting the highest principles of governmental budgeting. In order to receive the budget award, the entity had to satisfy nationally recognized guidelines for effective budget presentation. These guidelines are designed to assess how well an entity's budget serves as:

a policy document
a financial plan
an operations guide
a communications device

Budget documents must be rated "proficient" in all four categories to receive the award.

When a Distinguished Budget Presentation Award is granted to an entity, a Certificate of Recognition for Budget Presentation is also presented to the individual or department designated as being primarily responsible for its having achieved the award. This has been presented to City Manager’s Office; Finance Department; Meg Blublaugh; Katrina Kline; Clifton Foster; Cleatus Phillips; Gina Snider and Libby Winn.

For budgets including fiscal periods 2006, 1,127 entities received the Award. Award recipients have pioneered efforts to improve the quality of budgeting and provide an excellent example for other governments throughout North America.

The Government Finance Officers Association is a nonprofit professional association serving 17,500 government finance professionals throughout North America. The GFOA's Distinguished Budget Presentation Awards Program is the only national awards program in governmental budgeting.

Newnan, GA Resident Receives VITATM Wireless Samaritan Award

BUSINESS WIRE--The Wireless Foundation and members of CTIA-The Wireless Association® proudly honored MetroPCS customer, Claudio Veras of Newnan, Georgia on Monday, June 2^nd with a 2008 VITA^TM Wireless Samaritan Award. Veras was honored during the 14^th Annual Wireless Foundation Achievement Awards Dinner for using his wireless device to help prevent a potential tragedy.

A routine trip to Wal-Mart gave Claudio Veras the chance to become a hero. When he saw an older woman being violently assaulted during an attempted carjacking, Mr. Veras came to her assistance. The carjacker pointed a gun in Mr. Veras’ face and told him to leave. Mr. Veras returned to his car but continued to keep an eye on the situation. When the carjacker started to drive away in the woman’s car with her still inside, Mr. Veras followed them and dialed 911 using his wireless device. When the suspect saw Mr. Veras on the phone in the rearview mirror, he jumped from the car and ran. Mr. Veras stayed with the woman, who told him that the suspect had threatened to kill her. Police were able to obtain security camera footage showing the man escaping into another car. Shortly after distributing a bulletin to law enforcement agencies throughout the Southeast, police in Alabama apprehended the suspect. Evidence in his car linked him not only to three other robberies, but also to the murder of Auburn University freshman Lauren Burk. Mr. Veras not only saved a woman’s life, he stopped a violent criminal very likely to offend again.

“Thanks to Veras’s immediate response and the use of innovative wireless technology, tragedy was averted,” said Steve Largent, CTIA-The Wireless Association® President and CEO. “On behalf of the wireless industry, I commend Claudio for taking responsibility and stepping up to the plate to lend a hand in this dangerous situation. Claudio is a well-deserving recipient of the 2008 VITA^TM Wireless Samaritan Award, and we are proud to honor him in this way.”

Every day more than 290,000 wireless phone calls are made to 911. That is why the VITA™ (Latin for "life") Wireless Samaritan Awards are presented annually to recognize people across the United States who used their wireless technology to save lives, stop crime and help in other emergency situations. These individuals exemplify the importance of putting safety first, as well as the crucial role wireless technology can play in emergencies.

In recognition of Claudio Veras’s quick thinking and bold action during an urgent situation, he was selected by a panel of law enforcement and emergency response representatives to receive the 2008 VITA^TM Wireless Samaritan Award. This award honors citizens who have used wireless responsibly in emergencies, and is given annually to roughly thirty recipients nationwide.