Brian Dickey of Georgia Power graduated from the Georgia Academy for Economic Development, taking part in the Region 12 multi-day training program. Class participants represented a number of professional and non-professional economic development fields, including elected officials, public servants, business leaders, educators, and social service providers from Coastal Georgia. The curriculum provides insights into the complexities of economic and community development on the local, regional and state levels.

Created in 1993 by then-Governor Zell Miller’s Development Council, the Academy assembles a cross- section of economic development professionals and resources to provide this training in all twelve service delivery regions in Georgia. “One of the goals for the multi-day regional Academies is to encourage multi-county cooperation,” said Corinne Thornton, director of the Georgia Academy for Economic Development. “Many times the participants discover the issues facing their community are the same as those facing other communities in their region, and can then combine limited resources to address the issue.”

Georgia EMC and Georgia Power provide facilitators for the program, and the Georgia Department of Community Affairs provides staff support to this important program. The next Region 12 Georgia Academy for Economic Development will begin in September 2012. For more information on this, please contact Teresa Concannon at (912) 536-5723.