A Small Business Conference & Expo will be held Thursday, October 6, 2011 8:30 a.m. – 3:30 p.m. at the Graniteville Business Center, 133 Marshall St. Graniteville, SC. With rising job losses, many people are considering entrepreneurship. This conference is designed for start-up businesses, small, minority and women-owned businesses, and those interested in starting a business. With the variety of Vendors that will be on hand, this event will also capture the attention of consumers who are interested in doing business with local companies.

Corporate sponsors include Georgia Power, R.W. Allen, Savannah River Nuclear Solutions, The O’Connell Center for Executive Development – USC Aiken and Small Business Finance Institute

One of the featured seminar speakers is Charles Green, Author of The SBA Handbook who will conduct two seminars – Business Plan vs. Financing Proposal? How To Make Your Case For Financing and Business Debt & Equity Capital – Where to Find and How to Get Both.

Twenty Vendors are expected with services and products that range from security systems, massage therapist, bakery, music education and non-profit organizations. The new Family Y of Aiken will also have a Vendor table.

The Small Business Conference & Expo is hosted by The Barner Group, LLC a housing and economic development firm located in Graniteville, SC

Admission to the conference is $1 with all proceeds to benefit historic preservation efforts in Graniteville, SC. For more information, please visit www.thebarnergroupsmallbizconf.com.

A new addition to the community of Aiken, SC, Crab King of Aiken will be opening during the second half of October.  The store is owned by two local gentlemen, Richard Jones and Charleton Breland.
The store is located at 1147 York Street in the Bi-LO shopping center, telephone 803-648-5458. Hours of operation are Monday 3-7:30, Tues.-Thurs. 11-7:30PM,Fri & Sat 11-9PM, Sunday 1-6PM. Menu and pricing will be the same as Crab King I & II in Augusta and Hephizbah, GA.

Nu-look Weight Loss and Fitness Center will be having open house tomorrow Tuesday, October 4, 2011 from 2:00 pm to 7:00pm.  They will be door prizes and special offers.  Nu- look is a locally owned business that focuses on not just losing weight but living a healther life style.  Mrs. Linda invites you to stop in and see what all the excitement is about.  If you are looking for an Easy, fun, no-sweat workout give her a call at 803-641-9800.   The center is located in Aiken SC at 790 East Pine Log Rd.

Courtesy: Goodwill Press Release

Goodwill’s Job Connection^sm is pleased to host a Hispanic Career Expo on Thursday, October 13, 2011 from  1:00 to 4:00 p.m. at the Goodwill Job Connection^sm, 3120 Peach Orchard Road, Augusta, GA.

The purpose of this career expo is to draw awareness to our Hispanic community and to bring together both businesses and job seekers.  The expo will also feature community resources that support Hispanics in our community.  Over 20 vendors and businesses will be onsite with 150 job openings currently available.    According to the US Department of Labor, it is projected that Hispanics will comprise 18% of our workforce by the year 2018.

In preparation for the Hispanic Career Expo, Goodwill Job Connections are hosting a series of workshops.  These workshops will be taught in both English and Spanish. The Peach Orchard Job Connection is located at 3120 Peach Orchard Road, Augusta, GA.  The Augusta Career Campus Job Connection is located at 3153 Washington Road, Augusta GA (corner of Washington Road and Furys Ferry).

The workshops taught in English are:

Resume Writing   – Peach Orchard and Augusta Career Campus Job Connections – Tuesday at 9:00 a.m.

Interviewing Skills – Peach Orchard and Augusta Career Campus Job Connections –   Wednesday at 9:00 a.m.

Conversational English – Augusta Career Campus Job Connection – Tuesday and Thursday at 6:00 p.m.

The workshops taught in Spanish are:

Job Search – Peach Orchard and Augusta Career Campus Job Connections – Tuesday at 10:30 a.m.

Dress for Success – Peach Orchard and Augusta Career Campus Job Connections – Wednesday at 10:30 a.m.

Basic Computers – Augusta Career Campus Job Connections – Tuesday and Thursday at 6:00 p.m.

Some of the vendors and businesses participating in the Hispanic Diversity Career Expo are: AAFES, ADP, AFLAC, AMERIGROUP, CCCS, CHECKERS, COMCAST, FPL FOODS, GEORGIA HEALTH SCIENCES MEDICAL CENTER, GOODWILL INDUSTRIES, HOME DEPOT, INTERNATIONAL PAPER, KELLY SERVICES, MARY KAY, PALMETTO GBA, SCANA, SHAW INDUSTRIES, UNITED WAY, ACHA, ALAS ,  and EL PUENTE.

Over the past year, Goodwill Industries of Middle Georgia and the CSRA has placed 2,221 people into jobs and provided career development services to over 10,000 individuals.  Over the past five years, Goodwill Industries of Middle Georgia and the CSRA has placed 6,800 people in jobs, creating more than $164 million in new payroll purchasing power.

Providing education, skills training, and placement services for individuals with barriers to employment is made possible through the generous support received by Goodwill from our local community. With philanthropic investment and donations of clothing and household items to our retail training stores, Goodwill will continue to expand the mission-based programs that help people earn good jobs with career advancement potential and to further the services that contribute to both human and economic development.

About Goodwill Industries of Middle Georgia & the Central Savannah River Area:

Guided by its mission of building lives, families and communities – one job at a time, Goodwill Industries of Middle Georgia and the Central Savannah River Area (CSRA) provides education and career services, job skills training and post-employment support for individuals with disadvantages or barriers to employment.  84 cents of every dollar raised underwrites job training and placement services within the agency’s 35-county service delivery area.  Over the past five years, Goodwill Industries of Middle Georgia and the CSRA has placed 6,800 people in jobs, creating more than $164 million in new payroll purchasing power.

To learn more about services and individuals served by Goodwill of Middle Georgia and the CSRA, visit our website at www.goodwillworks.org.

Susan Everitt

Director of Communications

Goodwill Industries of Middle Georgia and the CSRA

231 Fury’s Ferry Road, Suite 210

Augusta GA 30907

severitt@goodwillworks.org

WRDW 1630AM 12-2PM OR STREAMING LIVE AT WWW.WRDWAM.COM

12:20pm – - Chris Bartow, vice president of Crown Communities will join us in the studio to chat about the opening of Crown Communities – a new neighborhood in North Augusta.   For more info, please visit: www.CrownUS.com
12:30pm – - Each day at this time we welcome in a staffing professional from either the Augusta or Aiken branch of Job Shop or Augusta/Aiken Staffing. They’ll share tips on hiring/getting hired and give us the Job Shop’s “Job of the Day”.  For more info, please visit them at: www.jobshopstaffing.com

12:45pm – - Typically, attorneys charge a hefty fee for their services, our attorney, J. Edward Enoch spends ten great minutes with you each week to help out with human resource issues, contract issues, wills and real estate law. To contact Ed, give him a call at (706) 738-4141
1:20pm – - Michael Wolff, Creative Services Specialist from the “Buzz on Biz”, shares highlights of the previous week’s business happenings including ribbon cutting info and reports on which companies are going in and out of business.
1:30pm – - Laurie Lockliear is Executive Director of www.themeridianfoundation.org, a foundation dedicated to inspiring CSRA companies to give to charity without affecting their bottom line. Companies contract with Meridian to do their credit card processing and about 50% of the fees go to the charity of the companies’ choice.
1:45pm – - Dylan Bredengerd, online consultant for )PowerServe International joins us each Monday to do a website, branding, and social media check-up on area businesses.  For more information, please contact Dylan at 706-826-1506 or by visiting PowerServe on the web at: www.powerserve.net

Jump City is moving today(Monday) to it’s new indoor location behind the Little Caesar’s Pizza Shop in a shopping center with Anytime Fitness and at the corner of Columbia and Belair Roads.

Jump City is similar to Monkey Joe’s with indoor inflatibles, but also does Jump parties in which they bring the inflatibles. They were also responsible for bringing the “dunk tank” the RelyLocal Expo in which Jeff Rucker, Neil Gordon, and others got dunked for charity.

Courtesy: Augusta Metro Chamber of Commerce

A 2011 recipient of the Augusta Metro Chamber of Commerce’s “Top 10 in 10 Young Professionals to Watch” award has received another prestigious honor.  Shizuo Z Kuwahara, the 34-year-old music director of Symphony Orchestra Augusta, has been chosen as one of Georgia Trend’s 40 Under 40.

Each year, Georgia Trend Magazine highlights 40 individuals under the age of 40 who are making an impact on their professions, their communities or, in some cases, the entire state.  Kuwahara’s nomination to the publication’s annual recognition was a result of the Chamber’s Top 10 program, designed to spotlight Augusta talent on a both a local and statewide basis.

Says Terry Elam, Chairman of the Augusta Metro Chamber of Commerce, “Augusta’s young talent is a rich resource for our community and we congratulate Kuwahara on this well-deserved recognition.”

The announcement from GeorgiaTrend is welcomed news to the Chamber’s partners in the Top 10 program, which include Augusta Magazine and the City of Augusta.  “Augusta continues to attract and retain the enthusiastic talent of younger generations because we appreciate and offer the lifestyle they want,” says Mayor Deke Copenhaver.  Augusta Magazine publisher Kate Metts adds, “The Top 10 Program is certainly accomplishing its mission and we are very proud to be a part of it.”

Shizuo Z Kuwahara is the music director of Symphony Orchestra Augusta (SOA), formerly known as The Augusta Symphony.  He is the first prize winner of the prestigious Georg Solti International Conductors’ Competition in Germany.  Prior to SOA, Mr. Kuwahara was associated with the conducting staff with Philadelphia Orchestra, Virginia Symphony, Pacific Music Festival, Saito Kinen Festival, IPPO Philharmoniker, the College of William & Mary, and American University.

In Philadelphia, he was an apprentice to the Music Director Christoph Eschenbach and directed the orchestra in family and student concerts as well as covering for additional performances.  In the summer of 2008, he was an assistant conductor at Saito Kinen Festival, assisting Seiji Ozawa and conducting the Ozawa Jyuku Orchestra. He spent the summer of 2006 in Sapporo, Japan where he was an assistant conductor to Valery Gergiev at the Pacific Music Festival.

Frequent guest conductor of the Japan Philharmonic, the Nagoya Philharmonic, and the Orchestra Ensemble Kanazawa, Mr. Kuwahara made a debut with the Frankfurt Radio Symphony Orchestra and the Frankfurt Museum Orchestra this season. His past guest conducting appearances include Tokyo Symphony, Yomiuri Nippon Symphony Orchestra, Century Orchestra Osaka, Omaha Symphony, Baton Rouge Symphony, Polish Chamber Philharmonic, Philharmonia Slaska, Sinfonieorchester den Nationalen Philharmonischen Gesellshaft der Uklaine Kiew, German Radio Symphony Orchestra, Buffalo Philharmonic, Chattanooga Symphony, Baltimore Symphony, and Orchestre Philharmonique de Nice.

In addition to winning the first prize at the Solti Competition, he has won awards at numerous international conducting competitions, including the Malko International Conducting Competition, the Tokyo International Music Competition for Conducting, the Prokofiev International Conducting Competition and the Fitelberg International Competition. He is also a recipient of the Paul & Daisy Soros Fellowship for New Americans.

Born in Tokyo, Mr. Kuwahara studied conducting at Yale University, where he was awarded the Charles Ives Scholarship and won the Eleozar de Carvalho Prize. At Eastman School of Music, he was awarded the George Eastman Scholarship, Performer’s Certificate, and Arts Leadership Program Certificate. Mr. Kuwahara has also studied with Leonard Slatkin, David Zinman, David Effron, Lawrence Leighton Smith, Timothy Muffitt and Michael Jinbo at various conducting institutions, including the Aspen Festival, the National Conducting Institute, the Pierre Monteux School, and the Chautauqua Music Institute.

Augusta’s Top 10 in 10 Young Professionals to Watch was developed in 2009 by the Augusta Metro Chamber of Commerce in partnership with Augusta Magazine and the City of Augusta to annually highlight ten young professionals (ages 25-35) in the Augusta Region.  Recipients of the recognition receive a commemorative plaque presented by the City of Augusta and the Chamber, a profile in the annual June issue of Augusta Magazine, a Chamber Member Luncheon in their honor and a complimentary nomination to the annual Georgia Trend 40 Under 40 competition.

A new diner has opened in the old Bailie’s Street Grille, 3 Squares Diner, and Waffle King location at 1454 Walton Way. This is a note we got from a Buzz on Biz follower:

“A new diner has opened up on 1454 Walton Way. Its owned by five star Chef Edward Mendoza. He also plans to open a restaurant on 1208 Walton Way in the space which was formerly the Delta Sandwich Shoppe once renovations are complete.”

Prior to the end of 2011, Maryland Fried Chicken will open it’s third location in the CSRA and move in between Carefree Pools and Spa and The Garlic Clove restaurant in the shopping center in front of Wal-Mart off Washington Road in Evans.

They had hoped to be open this month, but due to County inspection issues will need more time to get up to code. They are retrofitting a Nail shop that closed earlier in the year.

Maryland Fried Chicken has a location past Olde Town into Beech Island(John may know exactly where it is) and one near Pollard Corner on the way to Lake Thurmond in Appling.