Moultrie-Colquitt County Chamber of Commerce

There were smiles on everyone’s faces as they rounded the corner with laptops in hand at Southern Regional Technical College, excited for our first Facebook 101 workshop. With such diverse chamber members in attendance from Robert Hutson to Pavo Haunted House, as well as Commercial Banking Company to the Colquitt County Arts Center and everyone in between, the interactions of the participants with each other and the speakers of Brainstorm Marketing were lively, engaging, and full of plenty of useful information. Sales reps, grant writers, marketers, and even business owners all enjoyed our first member workshop offered this year. It was such a success, our members were practically begging for more!

Last month brought in many more new members. We were joined by Love Endures Ministries – a faith-based ministry specializing in marriage counseling, addiction recovery, etc. (229-526-8046), Plantation 81 & Company – a new downtown shop for men’s, women’s, and children’s clothing, as well as gifts and décor (229-921-1043), Piggly Wiggly – the new grocery store to replace Harvey’s (229-668-5377), and Bridge Creek Farms – a working cattle and pecan farm (229-319-5066). We are so excited to have you on #TeamChamber!

It was a privilege to honor Castellow & Strickland with our July Business of the Month presentation. They provide legal services for Moultrie and Colquitt County at their convenient location at 700 S. Main St. You can reach their office at (229) 985-1213. We also celebrated with the City of Moultrie at their Water Treatment Plant ribbon cutting ceremony, as well as the expansion ribbon cutting for Nutrien Ag Solutions, formerly Crop Production Services.

Our community members have had great events of their own during these hot summer Saturdays. The Moultrie-Colquitt County Parks & Recreation Authority held their wonderful Community Day at William Bryant Park. It’s no wonder they had an increase in attendance this year with water slides and a bounce house provided by Perfect Smile, as well as free train rides, a youth basketball tournament, and an evening dance. Southern Regional Technical College’s Foundation hosted another successful Dueling Pianos event that caused quite a buzz around town before it even began.

Summer must be the season for change. At least our summer here has been. As we welcomed a new member, Greg Icard, as vice president to the Moultrie-Colquitt County Development Authority team in our building upstairs, we learned soon after that we are saying goodbye to Darrell Moore – once our chamber president and now the president of the Development Authority – who has been here for 20 years. We celebrate with him as he moves on to help even more counties, including ours, with their rural development initiatives through Valdosta State University. We know he’s excited, and we support this new season of his life. Also, the United Way office in our building has had a big change, too. Mrs. Angela Castellow, faithful leader of United Way for 22 years, retired the beginning of July and welcomed Caroline Horne as her replacement as executive director. In less than six months, there are four new faces in our building, helping serve you and our business community, and we are all excited to be part of the growth and expansion of Moultrie & Colquitt County.

Leadership Colquitt County, our nine-month program focused on building leaders within the community and giving them the skills and knowledge of our area to be successful, kicks off the end of August. If you are interested in participating in this class and developing student/adult mentor connections, please contact our office at 229-985-2131 for an application. The deadline for adults to apply is Aug. 17.

August’s calendar is filling up fast, leading us into one of our busiest seasons. We have four ribbon cuttings already scheduled, our Business of the Month presentation at Sterling Group Primary Care Clinic on Aug. 3, our Quarterly Membership Luncheon on Aug. 8, and our Career Fair on Aug. 22, along with committee meetings, community events, and the start of Packer football.

It’s hard to believe summer is coming to a close so quickly and school begins again on Aug. 6. Be sure you don’t miss Open House with the Colquitt County School System on Aug. 2. Visit their website at www.colquitt.k12.ga.us for times and locations.

With so many community events coming up this fall, such as Chamber Week, the YMCA Trail Run, the NAMI Walk, the Glo Run for United Way, the Sunbelt Ag Expo, and the holiday Calico Arts & Crafts Show, visit our community calendar often on www.moultriechamber.com to make sure you don’t miss a thing!