​In conjunction with Georgia's Official Folk Life Play, Swamp Gravy, the Colquitt Miller Chamber of Commerce will be hosting the first Bless Your Art, Southern Folk Life Festival on October 22, 2016. This will be held in downtown Colquitt on the square and will feature homemade arts, crafts, folk art, demonstrations, and more! Chamber president KaCee Holt said, “We have about 40 vendors and a variety of them. We have local and area jewelry makers, craft makers, baked goods, and folk and fine artists to name a few. We have several food vendors coming, but are encouraging attendees to also shop and eat in our downtown area. That’s what it is all about, to bring people to our town and stimulate our local economy.” 
The festival will kick off at 10:00 am and run until 5:00 pm. The festival will take place on the inside street of the downtown square. Vendors will be set up on the North side of the square. KidZone Entertainment with their bouncy houses will be set up on the West side of the square, along with our food vendors joining them.
With Swamp Gravy in its 24th year of production, the chamber took this opportunity to even more celebrate the arts and folk life, hoping that it would be a new tradition in town! The south is known for their unique talents and artwork and this will be a great way to share that with others.
For more information, please contact the Colquitt Miller County Chamber of Commerce at 229-758-2400, find them on Facebook, or their webpage at www.colquitt-georgia.com. We look forward to seeing you on October 22!

The Colquitt Miller County Chamber of Commerce recently had a 5 Day/ 6 Gun Give-Away as a fund raiser. The money that was raised went toward the operating cost of the Chamber. During the week of October 12-16, 2015 the chamber drew from the raffle tickets that were sold. This was the week leading up to the opening of deer season! On Monday, October 12, Marty Tabb won a Smith & Wesson Shield Pistol. Tuesday, October 13, Billy Blaire’s name was drawn for a Smith & Wesson Airweight .38 Revolver. Marty Kelly’s name was drawn on Wednesday, October 14 for a Glock Pistol. On Thursday, the Chamber of Commerce gave away a Browning A-Bolt 3 Rifle to Brock Middleton. Finally on Friday, the tickets were drawn for the final winners. They were Tommy Evans who won a Browning Citori Lightning Over/Under Shotgun and the grand prize of Benelli Montefeltro Shotgun was awarded to Donald Brinson. The winning ticket was sold by Chamber board member Dr. Howard Small. A big thank you to Moore’s Ace Hardware for helping us to be able to purchase these guns local and to all of those who participated. 

​2015 Pet Costume Contest
The Colquitt Miller County Chamber of Commerce hosted the second annual Pet Costume Contest on Friday, October 30, 2015 at 4:00 pm during the Trick or Treat on the Square event. The winners of the contest were in three categories: Most Original, Best Duo, and Best Overall. The Most Original winner was Blue, who is a Blue Tick Hound. Blue’s owner is Taylor Cook and was Blue was dressed up as a fairy. The Best Duo went to Keely Engram and her pet dog Maggie. Keely is the daughter of Brad and Lauren Engram. Keely and Maggie were dressed as Dorothy and a Fairy Toto. The Best Overall award was given to Maggie Henley. She was dressed as Wonder Woman. Her owner Denise Henley said that Maggie loves to follow her around the house! Each of the winners received a chew toy and Maggie was awarded a 2015 Pet Costume Contest Winner Charm for her collar.
 A big thank you to all who participated and apologies to those who thought the contest was after the trick or treating! We plan to do it again next year, so save your costumes! We saw a lot of great costumes for the children and pets this year, and look forward to continuing this tradition next year! 

Webinar: Secret Tech Tools for Small Businesses

Time: Tuesday, July 28, 2015 - 9:00 AM to 10:00 AM

Where: Colquitt Miller County Chamber of Commerce Building

What if you could reach your customers with a multimedia video that you created on your phone in minutes?

Or schedule a staff meeting without having to send three dozen emails to find a time everyone could meet?

Or automate your little tasks that keep you from your real work?

And what if you could pull all this off straight from your mobile device?

 

Join the Colquitt Miller County Chamber of Commerce and author Beth Ziesenis, for the Secret Tech Tools for Small Businesses webinar on Tuesday, July 28 from 9:00-10:00 a.m. to discover how to use free and bargain technology tools you never knew existed to work more efficiently with your teams, create professional level graphics and wow your colleagues. This high-energy session will give you 30+ tools that will leave people asking, “How DO they do that?”

 

This webinar will Include a PowerPoint presentation and will be presented by Beth Ziesenis, author, speaker and technology consultant. She will help attendees understand how technology fits into every part of your day, use technology systems that streamline projects and tasks, and learn dozens of free and bargain apps and online tools that put the ideas from the webinar into action! There will also be a Q&A at the end of the webinar. 

 

Beth Ziesenis, webinar presenter keeps up with all the new online applications and downloads that can help you look like you’re working with a team of marketing, computer and productivity experts, even if you suffer from a shrinking staff and a disappearing budget. Named an editor’s pick for best speaker of 2013 by MeetingsNet and a Favorite Speaker by Meetings & Conventions magazine in 2014, Beth has been fascinated with technology and computer shortcuts that make people’s lives easier since her first computer. Beth helps computer users all over the country filter through thousands of apps, gadgets, widgets and doodads to find the perfect free and bargain technology tools for business and personal use through presentations and her books, including the latest title, Release Your Inner Nerd.

 

To RSVP for this event, please call the chamber at 229-758-2400 or email them at cmccoc@bellsouth.net. 

The Colquitt Miller County Chamber of Commerce has hosted two Business After Hours events for our members and non-members. The first one was on Tuesday, June 16th, when the Chamber and Super B Express welcomed local and area farmers, produce growers, sellers, and others at the Peoples South Bank Community and Learning Center to hear from the Georgia Department of Agriculture and Commerce.

Chamber president, KaCee Holt welcomed the guest by telling some of the statistics of agriculture in this area. She then introduced the guest speaker. Beth Meeks, the Southern Marketing Coordinator of the Georgia Department of Agriculture and Commerce and Georgia Grown presented. In her speech, she discussed the accomplishments and programs that have been initiated under the direction of Georgia’s Commissioner of Agriculture Gary W. Black. She discussed the current trails that have been developed for Highways 37 and 41 that focus on the agri-tourism of these highways. She also discussed some trends in the agriculture fields such as the “You-Pick” farms and “Farm to Table and School” services. She then introduced Callie Warren who is last year’s FFA president for the state of Georgia. Callie discussed the Georgia Grown program and how agriculture has impacted her life and her career choices. A question and answer conversation and environment was welcomed during the presentation.

Beth closed by answering questions and encouraging the attendees to contact her or others from the Department of Agriculture to help benefit their individual needs.

The second event, sponsored by Clenney Agency was held at the Family Resource Center of Miller County on July 9th. Chamber director opened by thanking the sponsors, Clenney Agency and welcoming  the speaker Chuck Wade, Director of “Drugs Don’t Work” program for Georgia. Mr. Wade is currently the director of The Council on Alcohol and Drugs. Previously, he was a police officer for fifteen years and an undercover narcotics agent for eleven of those years. Hereceived awards from the DEA and FBI for outstanding service in the law enforcement field. He has been the director of Drugs Don’t Work in Goergia for the past eighteen years where this program has been adopted by sixty-eight counties.

Mr. Wade began by giving an overall glimpse into the drug realm of Georgia and the nation. He discussed the efforts that federal and state governments were making in a fight against the problems. He then continued by talking about the extensive use of drugs and trading of drugs in the work places. He stated that 70% of drug users are employed and many of those buy and sell in their place of employment. He gave information on how businesses in Colquitt and Miller County could help by becoming Georgia Certified  Drugs Don’t Work Places of Employment, he estimated that this would reduce drug and crime rates in Miller County and Colquitt by 70%. He also gave information to parents to help curve the drug use of their children.   Mr. Wade continued by talking about the how being in the Drugs Don’t Work Program can save business owners 7.5% on their workers’ comp insurance premiums and how business drug policies have been and could be affected by the new law that was passed on the use of Medical Marijuana.  

Mr. Wade closed by answering questions and encouraging businesses to contact the Colquitt Miller County Chamber of Commerce for more information.

Through this event and future events, the chamber hopes to build connections among businesses in Colquitt and the surrounding area. This is also a way to bring contacts together, reach out to resources, and inquire about opportunities. The next event will be July 28th from 9-10 AM at the Chamber office and will be “Tech Tools for Small Business.” This program will be from nationally recognized author, speaker, and technology consultant Beth Ziesenis. She will be presenting virtually in conjunction with the Georgia Chamber of Commerce. She will be presenting the webinar to educate local businesses on how technology fits into part of your everyday, giving advice on how to use technology to streamline projects and task, and telling of dozens of free and bargain apps and online tools to ideas into action. This is free for Chamber members and $15 for non-members. For more information, please contact the Colquitt Miller County Chamber of Commerce at 229-758-2400, www.colquitt-georgia.com, and follow us on Facebook! 

Because of heavy rainfall on Thursday, July 2nd, the Colquitt Miller County Chamber of Commerce cancelled the events that were scheduled to celebrate Independence Day.  The rain started falling at 2:30 and cleared up about 6:30 pm; however, with the amount of rain that was received during that time, the park was soaked. With the event start time at 6:00 pm, we knew we would not be able to have the Touch-A-Truck or the inflatable bouncy houses because of the heavy rainfall. Chamber director, KaCee Holt said, “We want to reschedule all of the events for a later date so that the vendors and entertainment that was involved will have a better chance for an audience and participants. The fireworks could have taken place because the weather did clear, but at the time of cancelation, we thought that it wasn’t going to let up. We also had vendors, businesses, and various entertainment contributors that were involved, not just the fireworks, and with the heavy rainfall and water retention, many of those would not have been able to participate.”

Since the company that was being used for the fireworks was booked already for July 3rd and 4th, the Chamber is working with them to get a date and time together. “We will make sure to let the people of Colquitt and Miller County know when we have rescheduled,” said Holt, “as of right now, we do not have a date set. I am going to try to work with all of the contributors that were involved to make sure they are included in the rescheduled event.” Please continue to look for updates on Facebook, Miller County Liberal and www.colquitt-georgia.com. 

Agriculture is the number one industry in our community serves as an important economic element throughout our state.

The University of Georgia Center for Agribusiness and Economic Development stated that overall , agriculture is a $72 billion industry in Georgia. This is possible because of Georgia’s varying landscapes and climate. The Georgia Farm Bureau statistics show that in 2012, there were 42,257 farms in Georgia totaling over 9 million acres with the average farm size being 228 acres. Georgia is the number one state in the production of peanuts, chickens, pecans, and blueberries.  One out of every seven people in the state of Georgia is employed by agriculture, forestry, or a related field. Over the last few years, the number of farms in Georgia has decreased; the average farm size has increase.

Colquitt and Miller County have followed in these trends that are set by our state. The 2012 Agricultural Survey indicated from 2007-2012, in Miller County, the number of farms decreased from 213 farms to 183 but the average size of the farm increased from 478 acres to 523. According to the National Agricultural Statistics Service, among the 159 counties in Georgia, Miller County was second in corn production with 2,772,000 bushels, third in peanut production with 133,700,000 pounds, seventh in winter wheat production 341,000 bushels, and ninth in cotton production with 71,600 bales.

Agriculture, forestry, or a related field is the third employers for Miller County with 11.5% of our population being in this field. The largest is education, health, and social services, and second is manufacturing.

With many changes and an increase in technology in the agriculture and related fields we will probably continue to see improvements in the crop production that our area has. Your challenge is to take note of how you are daily impacted by agriculture, forestry, or a related field. Thank a farmer for their impact on our community. 

Georgia’s Top 10 Agriculture Products

1.        Broilers: Consistently the state’s top commodity, broiler production in 2011 topped the national charts with 1.38 billion head. The commodity significantly contributed to Georgia’s economy, with a value of $3.46 billion in 2013.

2.        Cotton: Ranking No. 2 in the nation and the state, cotton production generated $1.29 billion in cash receipts in 2013. Georgia farmers harvested 1.3 million acres of cotton, resulting in 2.9 million bales.

3.        Peanuts: The official state crop of Georgia raked in $1.1 billion in 2013. The 1.65 billion pound yield accounted for about half the nation’s peanuts.

4.        Chicken Eggs: Georgia cracked the top five chicken egg producing states in the nation, coming in at No. 2. In 2011, 4.29 billion eggs brought $491 million to Georgia’s economy

5.        Greenhouse/Nursery: In 2013, Georgia produced $376.2 million worth of products in greenhouses and nurseries throughout the state.

6.        Cattle and Calves: Cattle and calves, raised in all 159 counties, generated $357.61 million for Georgia’s economy in 2011.

7.        Dairy Products:  The average cow in Georgia produces about 2,188 gallons of milk per year. In 2011, dairy products totaled $317 million in cash receipts.

8.        Pecans: Pecan trees covered 14,529 acres of the state in 2011, producing 102 million pounds of pecans. Pecan production contributed $265 million to Georgia’s economy.

9.        Corn: Corn production in 2011 brought $234.75 million to Georgia. Field corn is mainly used for livestock feed and ethanol production.

10.     Blueberries: More than 300 million pounds of blueberries are grown in the U.S. each year. In 2011 Georgia produced $93.3 million for the state’s economy.


* http://farmflavor.com/us-ag/georgia/top-crops-georgia/top-10-commodities-georgia/

Happy Birthday America! On July 2, 1776 the Second Continental Congress voted almost unanimously to declare the United States Independence from Great Britain. On July 4, 1776 is when Thomas Jefferson was finished editing the Declaration of Independence and the documentation was signed and adopted. This year marks the 239th year of our independence and the Colquitt-Miller County Chamber of Commerce invites you to take in the celebration of our nation’s independence at 6 pm on July 2nd at Spring Creek’s Star-Spangled Salute!

The event at Spring Creek Park will get started at 6:00 pm with some of Colquitt’s very best locals entertaining with patriotic songs. Also at this time, there will be bouncy houses and face painting for the kids. Food and drinks will be available at the park, and a new event that we will be having this year is a FREE “touch-a-truck.” We have partnered with many local businesses and services to showcase fire trucks, emergency vehicles, farm equipment, a monster truck, a semi, a police car, and others there for children to sit it, touch, look at, and get their picture made!

The National Anthem will be performed at 7:00 pm with a presentation to honor those who have served our county. This will be presented by the American Legion Post 165. Following our salute to our veterans, The Country Boys will be entertaining with gospel and country music.

The Spring-Creek Star-Spangled Salute will commence with fireworks starting at about 9:00 pm!