Washington-Wilkes awarded coveted state designation after months of hard work on entrepreneurship program

All pulling together: Entrepreneurs and leaders gathered behind the Washington-Wilkes Chamber of Commerce's successful effort to have the community branded "entrepreneur friendly."

Washington and Wilkes County have been designated a Georgia "Entrepreneur Friendly Community."

In an all-day review session at the Fitzpatrick Hotel last week, a team led by Regional Project Manager Adella Kelley from the Georgia Department of Economic Development reviewed the efforts of the local community team and local leadership and determined that Washington-Wilkes had, indeed, met the state's criteria.

The Washington-Wilkes presentation was excellent, and the team of Chamber of Commerce Executive Director Donna Hardy and Washington Main Street Director David Jenkins had clearly put a great deal of effort into it, Kelley said. In addition, she appreciated how local leaders worked together as a team throughout the process. She also appreciated the high level of participation here, with city and county leaders and administrators actively taking part in the review session all day.

The Washington-Wilkes effort to be declared entrepreneur-friendly has involved months of meetings, interviews, and conducting a resource fair for small businesses, with the local group working closely with Kelley, the state's economic development regional project manager.

During the presentation, local leaders presented the results of their extensive surveys of community small businesses, and fivesuccessful Wilkes County businesses told their stories of establishing and running small businesses in Wilkes County.

"The local businesspeople who told their stories were wonderful and inspirational," Kelley said. "They showed how a lot of small businesses in Wilkes County are starting up and doing well, and they were very positive. We got a good cross-section of entrepreneurial businesses and heard a lot of good feedback on doing business in Wilkes County."

Now that Wilkes County has been awarded the designation, the regional project managers will assist the local team to plan and implement strategies that result from the process and designation.

Some of the opportunities Kelley's team saw in Wilkes County included following up on expansion possibilities with businesses that said they were looking to grow; creating programs to assist in community needs; and creating a business mentoring program.

The state will help with strategic planning for the community's next programs in Phase II.

Governor Sonny Perdue will award Washington-Wilkes the Entrepreneur Friendly designation and award the $25,000 OneGeorgia grant on November 7 at the One- Georgia board meeting in Macon.

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