ATLANTA — Norman Park Mayor Sandy Hurst was among the Nov. 18 graduates of the Georgia Academy for Economic Development’s 2008 Region 10 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 12 counties in Southwest Georgia. The academy provided each of the graduates an opportunity to gain a unique understanding of the complexities of economic and community development on the local, regional and state levels.

Created in 1993 by then-Gov. Zell Miller’s Development Council, the academy assembles a cross section of economic development professionals and resources to provide this training in all 12 service delivery regions in Georgia. The Board of Directors of the Academy consists of 21 members representing public and private economic development organizations and agencies from across Georgia. Since its organization, the academy has provided training for thousands of professional and non-professional economic developers around the state, and since 1998 the academy has been offered annually.

“One of the goals for the multi-day regional academies is to encourage multi-county cooperation,” Saralyn Stafford, executive director of the Georgia Academy for Economic Development, said. “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 the program. Financial support for the regional leadership training program is provided through the Leadership Infrastructure Investment Fund set up by the General Assembly, which allows the program to be offered at an affordable cost to all participants, with scholarship funding provided through the OneGeorgia Authority for those with demonstrated need for this assistance.

The academy’s multi-day program, taught in five days over a four-month period, includes training in the basics of economic and community development, plus specialized segments on entrepreneur and small business support, tourism product development, downtown development, quality planning, and other essentials for community success. In addition, the curriculum features specific leadership skills such as consensus building, teamwork, ethics in public service, collaboration, and other segments needed for effective community leadership in economic development. Local elected officials receive certification training credits through the Association County Commissioners of Georgia and the Georgia Municipal Association for completion of this program, and the program is certified for 3.5 CEUs through the UGA Georgia Center for Continuing Education.

The next Region 10 Georgia Academy for Economic Development will begin in February 2009. For more information on this, please contact Spencer Mueller at (229) 723-9184 or by e-mail at spencer.mueller@dca.ga.gov.