CAPACITY BUILDING

• At the Georgia Municipal Association’s Mayors’ Day in Atlanta, Danny Bivins was part of a collaborative team from UGA’s Alliance for Quality Growth presenting a Managing Growth Training session and Brenda Hayes conducted Downtown Development Training for the Georgia Cities Foundation for more than 60 elected officials, city managers, downtown managers and Downtown Development Authority Board members who learned about legal issues, funding sources, and received practical tips from seasoned downtown professionals.

EXPLORATION

• Fanning Institute faculty and SERDI staffers Langford D. Holbrook and Jim Youngquist visited the Buffalo Trace Area Development District in Northern Kentucky to begin the process of assisting the BTADD in selecting a new executive director, facilitating a session with current BTADD employees to solicit input on the characteristics needed in a new director and meeting with the current Executive Director and the Board to design the search process.
• Danny Bivins and Langford D. Holbrook facilitated a planning session for the Peach County Animals in Disaster Plan February drill to test the county’s Animals in Disaster Emergency Plan and plan improvements.
• Brenda Hayes and Langford D. Holbrook met with the Georgia Trust for Historic Preservation’s Board and acting President to present the findings from the December Fanning facilitated sessions, to help them develop input on the future direction of the Trust and the attributes and characteristics desired in a new President/CEO.

ENGAGING COMMUNITIES

• The SWAMP Team provided the Water Council with the final version of the Comprehensive State-Wide Water Management Plan, which was adopted by the Council on January 8. Fanning then provided copies of the Plan to the Georgia General Assembly, the Governor’s Office, the Lieutenant Governor’s Office, the Speaker of House’s Office, and to all member agencies of the Water Council. In adopting the plan, Dr. Carol Couch, Chair of the Council and Director of EPD, thanked Fanning’s Leigh Askew, Raye Rawls and Courtney Tobin for their hard work.
• Langford D. Holbrook and Karen Duncan designed and implemented an on-line survey for the UGA Biofuels initiative. The feedback on the survey will be used in an upcoming retreat as the members of this campus initiative develop action strategies to move the biofuels initiative forward.
• Delene Porter was named President/CEO of the OneAthens Community Foundation.