Just as wines get better with time, so do stories. I’ve heard some good ones this week about local businesses, including one that keeps getting circulated about area banks. Maybe by other area banks. However, to my knowledge and having written both stories and interviewed officials from both, yes there are two area banks who have had issues, one a bit more severe than the other, but neither one is closing. Both have addressed their problems, primarily due to real estate lending in areas closer to Atlanta, and are moving forward.
So this brings me back to, why on earth do people seem to thrive on bad news, especially when it’s about someone they know? It’s not just a Valdosta thing. Bad personal news, such as divorces and break ups, have taken the place for many as “the news”, not what our government is doing with our tax dollars.
However, I say that tempered with the fact that I continue to be impressed with the level of intelligence many people display quite vocally in our area through discussions, phone calls, emails and letters to the editor concerning a variety of local and national government issues. People who read the newspaper, attend meetings and stay informed may be a thinning breed, but they thankfully are not extinct. Far from it.
Maybe there really are more people interested in things that really matter than we realize. Or that national talking media heads would have us think.
And in the meantime, don’t believe everything you hear through the rumor mill. Most often, there is some truth there somewhere, but it’s rarely as interesting or scandalous as it’s presented to be.
Getting on board with the Chamber
The Valdosta-Lowndes County Chamber of Commerce is all about promoting the area and local businesses, and they pride themselves on doing all of their business with local vendors. They are stressing the Think BIG (Buy in Greater) Valdosta initiative, which urges everyone to spend their dollars locally rather than going out of town.
To encourage Chamber members to participate, Belk is offering a special deal on Tuesday, August 11 with an extra 20 percent off most regular and sale priced items. You have to have the coupon that was sent to Chamber members and a valid work ID to receive the savings.
In addition, Farmer’s Furniture is also offering a coupon to Chamber members and their employees for Friday, August 14.
So if your business is a Chamber member, get a copy of the coupons and help encourage the Chamber’s BIG initiative!
Business Roundup
Confetti & Lace on N. Oak St. had a fire last weekend that damaged part of the building, but apparently not the part of the building that affects customers.
They were closed for a very short time and have been reopened for business all week, so they didn’t let a little blaze dampen their spirit of entrepreneurship.
The former Mulldoon’s on Gornto is being reworked into a venue where mature folks will enjoy going to let their hair down, eat and dance.
It will be open by the end of October, most likely, in time for the holiday season. That’s all I know at this point, but will continue to announce details as I learn them.
A reader let me know this week that she sent an email to H&M;, a popular store in the Northeast, about bringing a store to Valdosta.
She received a reply back saying that Valdosta is on their radar screen, and they’ve already opened four stores around the Atlanta area. She said it may be a couple of years though before Valdosta moves higher on the list, as they’re concentrating on Florida right now.
There’s a new store that just opened on Northside Drive called Bloomingdeals. It’s a consignment and resale shop that sells primarily clothing, accessories and candles.
For those who missed it last week, yes Luna’s is closed but Vito’s Pizzeria is open there now in downtown Valdosta.
Also downtown, the former home of Southern Stationery is covered in scaffolding as the owners redo the building to house several small retail stores and professional offices. Southern Stationery moved last year to a new location on Lee St. by the Department of Labor building.
Out on Baytree, there’s a new Lee’s Too Bookstore next to the new Baytree Pizza place.
Also on Baytree, by Remerton, a building is being renovated now to house NijemTech and the State Farm office of Bubba Highsmith.
The new administration building downtown is coming along and I keep hearing that the Judicial Complex will be filling up very soon.
That’s it for this week, but if there’s anything I missed, please let me know!
Business
Business This Week: There’s enough doom and gloom in the news
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Valdosta Shared Office Space
VALDOSTA — Though Valdosta Shared Office Space is not new to Valdosta, it is newly green. The first and only shared office space in Valdosta owned by Gino Fina, just became the first Downtown Valdosta business to work with the Georgia Cities Foundation’s Green Communities Fund to implement environmentally friendly, energy-efficient improvements, reducing energy consumption upwards of 50 percent. -
Downtown businesses to be mobbed this week
A few years ago, when everyone started talking through social media, flash mobs became the new in thing to do. Primarily in the big cities, although VSU did their own a year or two ago, a designated place and time would be set and masses of people would descend on these sites, sometimes dancing, sometimes singing, sometimes acting obnoxiously.
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Keep tails wagging when your budget is lagging
I have a problem. Though I am a tight-wad when it comes to spending my money, I cannot resist the calling to buy adorable toys, collars and, yes, even clothes for my three cuter than all get out fur babies.
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The Valdosta Mall: Revamped and Ready for Business!
VALDOSTA — The Valdosta Mall has made tremendous strides since its rebranding away from Colonial Mall in 2007 and it’s refocus in 2008 when it made a move from serving the community to being a part of the community.
“We had taken for granted our place in the community for a long time,” said Jerry Weller, general manager of the Valdosta Mall. “We don’t do that anymore.” -
Keep your clothes looking fab to avoid looking drab
As I get older, I’m beginning to learn that there are more important things than clothes. Ugh! It pains me to even form that sentence; however, it’s true.
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Business This Week: Happy Mother’s Day!
Today is the one day a year dedicated to celebrating mothers, although we all use their guidance and wisdom every day. But for this one day, their sacrifices, kindness, love, and advice are recognized, hopefully, by the children they raised or helped to raise. It might not even be those born to them, as most mothers don’t limit their love and it flows over onto their children’s friends, family members, and the children they influence in the classroom, in Sunday school and in volunteer activities.
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Downtown will have a new beat this week
The Brown Bag Concert Series produced by Valdosta Main Street will begin again on Monday and last all week.
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Valdosta Regional Airport: Flying Valdosta to the Top
There are 104 publicly owned, public-use airports — nine commercial service and 95 general-aviation airports — in Georgia. Airports are significant to the state’s economic infrastructure and essential to transportation of goods and people. A single airport can support various diversified industries such as technology, manufacturing, distribution, agriculture and tourism.
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Brittany's Budget Diary: Be Green to Save Green
“It’s not easy being green,” once said Kermit the Frog. No offense to Kerm, but it is in fact quite easy being green. I know because I am incredibly green.
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Propex: Global Presence, Local Roots
VALDOSTA — Not every company sets out to build a better community, a better world and a better future. However, not every company is Propex.
Propex is known as a leader in building and rebuilding key infrastructure all over the world. Products made at Propex are used to protect hillsides, highways and waterways from damaging erosion by combining engineered fabrics with natural vegetation rather than broken rock. - More Business Headlines
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