Click here to hear the podcast with Kevin Wade
Our “techspert” Kevin Wade from INTELLISYSTEMS stops by the radio version of the BUZZ for his weekly visit with Bill and John. This week, Kevin covers some of the big “tech” headlines for the week.
Click here to hear the podcast with Walter Sprouse
The Executive Director of the Development Authority of Richmond County, and one of the four most influential Augustans, stops by the radio version of the BUZZ to update Bill and John on the latest news regarding new businesses coming to the area.
AUGUSTA, Ga., Jan. 20, 2011 – Mayor Deke Copenhaver will officially cut the ribbon for the Emporium Building on Tuesday, January 25th at 11:30 am. Renovations for the historic structure located at 1106 Broad Street have been completed and include nine luxury loft apartments and two commercial spaces on the ground floor.
The three million dollar renovation by Mack and Natalie Mcleod incorporates energy efficient systems while maintaining original historic features such as pressed metal ceilings and wooden plank flooring. Mayor Copenhaver says “The McLeod’s investment in downtown Augusta with historic preservation in mind has resulted in a finished project that has garnered state-wide recognition for our great city.”
Immediately following the ribbon cutting, tours of the building will be available. The public is invited to attend.
For more information, contact Margaret Woodard at the Downtown Development Authority. 706-722-8000.
WRDW 1630AM 12-2PM OR STREAMING LIVE AT WWW.WRDWAM.COM
The boyz are back talking with some movers and shakers from the worlds of Economic Development, Information Technology, Media, and the Chamber of Commerce
12:20pm – WALTER SPROUSE, from the Augusta Richmond County Economic Development Authority will chat about Augusta & update you on projects!
12:45pm – Kevin Wade of Intellisystems stops by each Thursday to discuss your office and your voice needs. Intellisystems is a Microsoft provider, and does Networking, Monitoring, and Voice and Data services for clients. For more information, log on to www.intellisystems.com
1230 JOB SHOP JOB OF THE DAY
1:20pm - Editor STACEY EIDSON will chat about the METRO SPIRIT changing its name (see presser below). www.metrospirit.com
Breaking News; after 22 years we are changing our name! Metro Spirit Augusta’s Independent voice is changing to Metro Spirit Augusta and Aiken’s Independent Voice beginning this Wednesday!
We will have two Aiken cover features this year as we incorporate Aiken into the weekly paper by breaking out Aiken in the calendar section and a weekly Aiken column to help our readers find out easily what’s happening in Aiken.
1:30pm – GERALD JONES MAZDA
1:45pm - – Brian Tucker of the North Augusta Chamber of Commerce joins us for CHAMBER CHAT, a weekly look at networking events, workshops, seminars and activities to get involved with as a business leader. Brian also updates us on area business and state lobbying efforts. For more information log on to www.northaugustachamber.org
COURTESY: AUGUSTA GREENJACKETS
GreenJackets Fans,
Cal Ripken, Jr. will be conducting a Coaches Clinic with Bill Ripken and, former Baltimore Orioles pitcher, John Maybean in Marietta, GA on Saturday February 12th. Coaching Clinics feature insightful advice and instruction and are designed for coaches and parents of players at all levels! “We have always believed that the most efficient way to extend our message about teaching the game of baseball is through coach and parents,” says Cal Ripken, Jr.
For being a loyal member of our fan base, we have a special 25% discount for coaches and parents wanting to attend this event! Mike Provencher, a Ripken Baseball Camps & Clincs Account Representative, is handling all of the registration process for the Coaching Clinic and can be reached by e-mail or by calling him at (443) 327-8064. mprovencher@ripkenbaseball.com
Make sure to reference the Augusta GreenJackets while processing your registration to receive the 25% discount!
Here is some more information and a schedule of events for the Coaching Clinic:
The Coaching Clinic is being held at Southern Polytechnic State University, located at 1100 S. Marietta Parkway, Marietta, GA.
Date: Saturday February 12th, 2011
Time: 10:00 AM – 4:00 PM
Age Qualifications: 18 years and older
Capacity: 550 coaches and parents
Giveaways: Lunch, instructional manual (other giveaways throughout the event)
More information on the Coaching Clinic can be found here. The cost is just $75 for all members of the GreenJackets community!
COURTESY: LAWRENCE, KANSAS NEWSPAPER
So long, Sunflower. Hello, Knology.
The new owners of Lawrence’s (Kansas) Sunflower Broadband officially changed the name of the service Tuesday to Knology.
The Georgia-based company — which bought Sunflower from the Journal-World’s parent company late last year — is changing signs, trucks and logos to reflect the new Knology brand name and its red corporate colors.
The company uses the Knology brand name in its 12 other markets across the Southeast and Midwest. Knology CEO Rodger Johnson, who was in Lawrence for the kickoff, said consistency is important for marketing purposes.
“But I hope everything else looks pretty much the same for customers,” Johnson said. “I hope the service and high quality that Sunflower folks established will continue. We think there will be minimal change as we go forward.”
Johnson said customers also should not expect dramatic changes in rates that are charged for the company’s cable, telephone and Internet services.
“I would expect the rate strategy would be very, very similar,” Johnson said.
He said Knology — which is a publicly traded company on the Nasdaq — belongs to the same cooperative that was used by Sunflower to negotiate fees the cable providers pay to cable networks. He said the amount of fees being asked for by regional sports networks was one of the larger issues in the cable industry. But Johnson said he absolutely understood the importance of having Jayhawk basketball on the airwaves in Lawrence.
“Now that I’m a Kansas fan, I should say I think Ohio State is overrated,” Johnson said, referring to the team that is one spot ahead of the Jayhawks in the latest basketball polls.
On other issues, Johnson said:
• The company is strongly committed to continuing the local programming on Channel 6 and the 6News broadcasts. Originally, Knology had planned to sign a contract for the Journal-World’s parent company to provide content for the 6News operations. But just prior to the closing of the sale, Knology decided to operate 6News on an entirely independent basis. Johnson said the company now is using Channel 6 to determine whether local programming could be used to strengthen their systems in other markets.
“We are very excited about both 6News and Channel 6,” Johnson said. “We’ve made a very major commitment to make that a viable piece of our business structure in town. We’re going with all guns blazing to be successful with 6News and Channel 6.”
• Local layoffs that were announced near the end of last year were part of the process of eliminating redundancies between the two companies. Johnson confirmed the majority of the layoffs were in Sunflower’s customer service call center and accounting and finance positions. Knology operates call centers in Augusta, Ga., and Sioux Falls, S.D., that serve all of Knology’s markets. Johnson said he was confident customer service would not decline as a result of the change. The company expects to have about 130 employees in Lawrence initially, and then “grow from there.” Previously, Sunflower had employed about 200 people.
• Extending broadband service to additional unincorporated areas of Douglas County will be studied. Johnson said the company since 2008 has been implementing an “edge out” strategy that attempts to broaden the geographical footprint of its markets.
“Our business is very healthy and we have the capital to consider investing in expanding the footprint in and around the Lawrence area over time,” Johnson said.
Shortly after the name change Tuesday, questions emerged about what the change would mean for e-mail users who have @sunflower.com as part of their e-mail address. A company spokeswoman said that the @sunflower.com addresses would continue to work, and that the company had not yet made any decision on whether it would attempt to change the addresses in the future.
“We have not finalized any e-mail migration plan, so as of today, it is just going to be business as usual,” said local Knology spokeswoman Maria Preston Cargill.
Click here to hear the podcast with Sam Adams
The Head Professional at Savannah Lakes stops by for his weekly BUZZ visit with Bill and John, and Sam is happy to report that the golf courses are back open after the week long weather delay.
Click here to hear the podcast with Kim Huston
Kim Huston, the author of the book SMALL TOWN SEXY stops by the radio version of the BUZZ to talk to Bill and John about her love of small town America, and about her upcoming visit to the CSRA to speak in February at the North Augusta Chamber Of Commerce annual meeting.
WRDW 1630AM 12-2PM OR STREAMING LIVE AT WWW.WRDWAM.COM
12:20pm –SIMON MEDCALFE from ASU’s Hull College School of Business will chat about his monthly commentary, which indicates that Augusta is coming out of the recession in more rapid fashion.
1230 JOB SHOP JOB OF THE DAY
12:45pm – Margaret Centers of Margaret’s Travel will chat about “How To Prepare For Your Trip. She recently formed her Augusta Travel Agency after spending more than 30 years as an employee for travel agencies. www.margaretstravel.com
1:20pm — KIM HUSTON is the author of SMALL TOWN SEXY. (The book discusses the allure of living in small town America). http://www.smalltownsexybook.com/
She will be coming to North Augusta next month (Feb 15th) for their 2011 Annual Chamber meeting.
1:30pm – Richmond Burke County Job Training Authority. Executive Director Frederick Lloyd will be on today and can be reached at his office line.
1:45pm – Savannah Lakes Golf head pro Sam Adams will talk golf to round out our program.
courtesy: SMU
Workshop at Southern Wesleyan to help businesses attract more clients online
In this fast-paced, connected world, having a Web site means little unless potential clients can find your business when searching for products or services through Google or other search engines.
Southern Wesleyan University in North Augusta will host a workshop Feb. 2 sponsored by the North Augusta Chamber of Commerce. The event will cover ways a business owner can take advantage of free resources to ensure greater online visibility. The workshop will be led by Sue White and Jean Kolenda of Business Training Team, a company that provides training for business owners to help them discover success through professional development. The workshop starts at 11:30 a.m. and runs until 1:30 p.m. The cost is $10 for chamber members and $15 for non-members. The fee includes lunch.
Southern Wesleyan is located at the Business Technology Center, 802 East Martintown Rd., Suite 101 in North Augusta. For details, contact Brian Tucker at the North Augusta Chamber of Commerce by e-mailing brian@northaugustachamber.org or calling (803) 279-2323.