BUSINESS LEADERS JOIN ELEVATE DOUGLAS TO LAUNCH CAMPAIGN TO SUPPORT COMMUNITY AND ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT INITIATIVE

Elevate Douglas Announces It Will Raise $2.5 Million from Private and Public Sector Partners; $1.5 Million Already Secured

DOUGLASVILLE, GEORGIA – November 4, 2022 – Leading Douglas County business and community leaders came together this morning with the Elevate Douglas Economic Partnership to officially launch the Elevate Douglas Campaign – a $2.5 million campaign to fully fund the Elevate Douglas Community and Economic Development Initiative.

The five-year Initiative will enhance Douglas County’s future economic growth with a focus on three specific goals:

• GOAL 1: Develop, Retain, and Attract Talent [TALENT], to address employers’ challenge of finding talent by connecting workers with the right skills to available opportunities
• GOAL 2: Grow Businesses and Jobs [JOBS], addressing the competitive reality that Douglas is competing with other communities for quality jobs and businesses of all sizes
• GOAL 3: Drive Investment in Douglas [COMMUNITY], by facilitating investment in key infrastructure and quality of life amenities to attract and retain top talent and businesses

Campaign Co-Chairs Shandron Forte (POSolutions) and Gary Miller (GreyStone), were joined by Douglas County Schools Superintendent Trent North, as they welcomed guests to a Campaign Kickoff breakfast at the new Douglas County High School Sports Complex.

Elevate Douglas Executive Director Chris Pumphrey unveiled details of the plan and the Co-Chairs announced the campaign’s progress to a gathering of local  business and government leaders.  The event provided an opportunity to celebrate the organizations that have pledged their financial support and engage the next wave of community leaders anticipated to join the growing list of investors.

“Through the collaborative efforts of our business and community leaders, we are pleased to announce that Elevate Douglas has secured $1.5 million in five-year private and public sector pledges – an impressive 60 percent of our campaign goal of $2.5 million,” said Pumphrey.  “We are grateful for the support of our early investors and look forward to new investors joining us over the next two months.”

Lead investor GreyStone was represented by Campaign Co-Chair and GreyStone CEO Gary Miller.  “Douglas County is emerging as an ideal location within the Atlanta metro area for global businesses, and Elevate Douglas is well-positioned to accelerate the growth and attraction of our
targeted industries,” said Miller. “Chris and his team bring strong leadership, a focused strategy and the right plan at the right time for our community.”

The event also included keynote remarks from Gretchen Corbin, Chief Executive Officer of the Georgia Lottery, a major funder of state-wide education at all levels, and a critical player to help ensure employers have a pipeline of future talent to access.

Elevate Douglas is a Public-Private Partnership and 501(c)3 that consolidates the resources of the City of Douglasville and the Douglas County development authorities into a united, cohesive organization dedicated to the future growth and prosperity of the County.  Pumphrey was recently named one of Georgia’s 500 most influential leaders by Georgia Trend Magazine.

For more information on Elevate Douglas and the campaign to fund the Initiative, please visit www.elevatedouglas.com or contact Campaign Director Kevin Donovan at 404-667-7768 or [email protected].

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