By Johnna Pinholster
VALDOSTA — Keeping an eye on the future while reflecting on the past was the theme of Thursday’s IMPACT 2012 Shareholders Lunch at the Annette Howell Turner Center for the Arts.
IMPACT 2012 is a business action plan sponsored by the Valdosta-Lowndes County Chamber of Commerce.
Curtis Fowler, the 1998 board chairman, reflected on the changes in Valdosta and Lowndes County in just over a decade.
“It’s still a great place to live 10 years later,” Fowler said.
Moody Air Force Base, Valdosta State University, Valdosta Technical College, a myriad of retail and industrial businesses plus the proximity to Interstate 75 make the area a perfect place for growth, he said.
Where people work has changed in 10 years, with 15 percent working in manufacturing in 1998 and 55 percent working in retail. In 2009 the number of people working in manufacturing has shrunk to 10 percent, while retail jobs have increased to 60 percent, Fowler said.
The success of business growth has several contributing factors.
“Success is attributed to good leaders in business, government, as well as in the education field,” Fowler said.
There are room for improvements and Fowler said the implementation of the IMPACT 2012 business action plan will go toward making those needs a reality.
Dr. Patrick Schloss, VSU president, spoke about the future of Valdosta and the university’s role in growth and development.
Valdosta and Lowndes County have a great relationship with VSU and its students, Schloss said.
“Every student that comes here can find a job in this town,” he said.
To ensure the growth of VSU continues, Schloss said the university will triple its advertising and recruiting budget.
The university has hired two additional recruiting counselors, bringing the total number of recruiters to six, he said.
Bringing in students from Atlanta and now recruiting from Florida metro areas will bring in fresh revenue to the area, he said.
If the university focused solely on recruitment in the regional area, the institution would not have seen the growth that it has, Schloss said.
Currently, 45 percent of the students enrolled at VSU are from the metro Atlanta area.
The key to continuing growth, outside of recruitment and advertising, will be the diversification of programs offered at the university, he said.
Through the summer of 2006, during meetings to develop the IMPACT 2012 Business Action Plan, goals were developed for the group to focus on workforce development and education, expansion of targeted businesses, entrepreneurial and small business development, enhancement of the pro-business environment, and attraction of amenity-seeking retirees.
