Perry Chamber of Commerce

2008 Perry Chamber Accomplishments

Helped locate Publix Shopping Center
Opened 4th Quarter 2008
72,200 sf
26,600 sf of retail – 50% filled
4 out parcels – 2 available
Hosted E-Summit with the Georgia Department of Economic Development with over 200 participants including the Governor Sonny Perdue!
Hosted the Georgia Chamber Congressional Luncheon for the 5th year with over 1400 Business Leaders in attendance!
Helped 34 Entrepreneurs!
Website averaged over 88,000 hits a month!
Helped 569 people who visited the Chamber office!
Recruited 90 New Members!
Held 26 Ribbon Cuttings, Grand Openings & Ground Breakings!
New Event – Speed Networking: Held twice with over 70 attendees making New Business Contacts!
Organized 20th Annual Dogwood Festival with more vendors and people in attendance!
Professional Women’s Day Luncheon featuring guest speaker Secretary of State Karen Handel!
Held Business Expo with 35 Businesses Featured!
Graduated 15 High School Juniors from our Perry Youth Leadership Program!
Graduated 14 Business Leaders from our Adult Leadership Perry Program!
Awarded four $20,000 Scholarships to Perry and Westfield High School Seniors!

Middle Georgia’s Perry-Houston County is Designated

“Entrepreneur Friendly” Community

Statewide program helps foster current and potential small businesses

ATLANTA , January 6, 2006 – Perry-Houston County has joined the state’s ranks of “Entrepreneur Friendly” communities, an official designation indicating that the community is developing an environment conducive to small business and entrepreneurs. Perry-Houston County is the 14th community in the state to earn “Entrepreneur Friendly” status from the Georgia Department of Economic Development (GDEcD)’s Entrepreneur and Small Business Office.

"As a native of Houston County, I know it is a great place to live, raise a family and grow a small business. Houston County is an excellent example of a Georgia community that embraces the entrepreneurial spirit to encourage economic development," says Governor Sonny Perdue. An “Entrepreneur Friendly” community must complete a program instituting guidelines and strategies that build a local environment and culture to support entrepreneur and small business development. Perry-Houston County also completed a two-day assessment by a review team that identified strategies to implement entrepreneur and small business development programs. Additionally, county leaders asked local entrepreneurs to evaluate Houston County’s present environment for small businesses.

“The Perry Area Chamber’s Business Development Committee is thrilled with the news and tremendously pleased with the outcome,” said Bob Largent, Committee Chair. “It’s been a true team effort, with the entire chamber and the greater Perry and Houston County business community working together. “We knew we had an entrepreneurial-friendly community, but the data collected, the business survey results and the in-depth evaluation process validated that. In short, Perry and Houston County are extremely well-prepared for and provide outstanding support for new entrepreneurial businesses. The future is very bright for business in Perry!”

Largent added that the evaluation process helped the chamber identify several directions and strategies to make the business community even more welcoming for entrepreneurs. One such effort will be a full-service Entrepreneurial Resource Center, a “one-stop-shop” location for prospective entrepreneurial business owners to learn about Perry and Houston County’s assets.

Over 90 percent of the businesses who received more than 614 licenses from the City of Perry in 2005 have fewer than 20 employees. In Georgia, 95 percent of all businesses employee fewer than 50 people, and 50 percent employ fewer than five people. Nationally, entrepreneurs represent 99 percent of all American employers, creating over three-quarters of all new American jobs each year.

“Local economies benefit when they include strategies to encourage and nurture their small businesses and entrepreneurs," said GDEcD Commissioner Craig Lesser. "The Entrepreneur Friendly” program raises awareness of the issue and helps communities fully integrate these businesses into their plans for growth.”

Perry-Houston County has taken a proactive approach to sustaining its many and diverse small businesses,” added Chris Clark, chairman of the Georgia Entrepreneur and Small Business Coordinating Network and GDEcD’s deputy commissioner of Global Commerce. “We congratulate Perry and the community for taking the steps necessary to ensure its small businesses will thrive and thus play an active part in Houston County’s entrepreneurial and small business growth.”

The Georgia Department of Economic Development (GDEcD) is the state's sales and marketing arm, the lead agency for attracting new business investment, encouraging the expansion of existing industry and small businesses, locating new markets for Georgia products, attracting tourists to Georgia, and promoting the state as a location for film, video and music projects, as well as planning and mobilizing state resources for economic development. For more information, visit www.georgia.org.