The Region 10 Georgia Academy for Economic Development Multi-Day Training Program will begin Tuesday,  August 27 at Darton College in Albany.  Class participants represent a number of professional and non-professional economic development fields, including elected officials, public servants, business leaders, educators, and social service providers from 14  counties in south west Georgia.  The counties are Dougherty, Lee, Terrell, Worth, Calhoun, Early, Baker, Miller, Mitchell,  Colquitt,  Seminole, Decatur, Grady and Thomas.   The Academy provides participants an opportunity to gain a unique understanding of the complexities of economic and community development on the local, regional, and state levels and helps create a  strong network of stakeholders within the region and encourages collaboration. 

The 4  sessions for Region 10 are August 27, October 1, October 29 and November 19 at Darton College.   

Created in 1993, the Academy assembles a cross section of economic development professionals and resources to provide this training in all twelve service delivery regions in Georgia.  The Board of Directors of the Academy represents public and private economic development organizations and agencies from across Georgia.  Since its inception, 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. Georgia EMC and Georgia Power provide facilitators for the program, and the Georgia Department of Community Affairs provides staff support to this important program.

“One of the goals for the multi-day regional Academies is to encourage multi-county cooperation,” says 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.” 

The Academy’s multi-day program, taught one day a month over a four-month period, includes training in the basics of economic and community development, plus specialized segments on business recruitment and retention, tourism product development, downtown development,  quality planning, redevelopment, education and other essentials for community success including financial and technical resources .  In addition, the curriculum features specific leadership skills such as consensus building, ethics in public service, collaborative leadership and other segments needed for effective community leadership in economic development.  Local elected officials may receive certification training credits through the Association County Commissioners of Georgia and the Georgia Municipal Association for completion of this program.  The cost of the 4 session training course is $195.00.

Applications are on line at  https://www.dca.ga.gov/secured/academy/participants/application.aspx

Space is limited per county.  Nominations or applications are being  accepted now.    

For more information on the Region 10 Fall 2013 Georgia Academy for Economic Development  program at Darton College please contact

Jo Childers  at  229-924-3707  or by email at [email protected]