Southwest Georgia counties are the states newest designated Entrepreneur Friendly communities

ATLANTA, Sept. 12, 2006 - Southwest Georgia's Calhoun and Schley counties have joined the state's ranks of 'Entrepreneur Friendly' communities, an official designation indicating a community is developing an environment conducive to small business and entrepreneurs. They are state's 23rd and 24th communities respectively to earn 'Entrepreneur Friendly' status from the Georgia Department of Economic Development (GDEcD)'s Entrepreneur and Small Business Office. Calhoun County was certified on August 30 and Schley County on Sept. 11. 'Encouraging and supporting our homegrown businesses and entrepreneurs will help create quality jobs for Georgians,' said Governor Sonny Perdue. 'By helping local communities support the growth of small business, we ensure prosperity and opportunity throughout the state.' 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. The counties also completed assessments by a review team that identified strategies to implement entrepreneur and small business development programs. Additionally, county leaders asked local entrepreneurs and small business owners to evaluate the counties' present environments for small businesses. Calhoun's four municipalities have issued approximately 175 business license, with 97 percent of those going to small businesses. According to the Georgia Department of Labor, of the 128 businesses located in Schley County, 111 have fewer than 20 employees. 'The Entrepreneur Friendly process has allowed us to plant seeds of progress by letting business owners know their voice is important,' said Alicia Varnum, Family Connections Coordinator. 'One of the most positive results of this process is the collaboration between the elected county and city officials, business owners and concerned citizens.' "This program provides Ellaville and Schley County the opportunity to focus attention and efforts on supporting local entrepreneur-minded individuals in starting or expanding a business. The Ellaville Schley County Chamber of Commerce stands with its local citizens as they dream and work to have businesses of their own,' said Mickey Holloway, president of the Ellaville Schley County Chamber of Commerce. "Small businesses are a vital part of the economic picture in Southwest Georgia, and we congratulate these counties for taking a proactive approach to supporting them,' added Chris Clark, chairman of the Georgia Entrepreneur and Small Business Coordinating Network and GDEcD's deputy commissioner of Global Commerce. 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.