The Greater Hall Chamber of Commerce hosted its annual Economic and Political Forecast event Tuesday morning where local business leaders discussed what is on the horizon.
Small business owners from around Hall County gathered Tuesday morning at the Ramsey Conference Center at Lanier Technical College and heard from several business leaders from the area. Included in the lineup of speakers was Carol Burrell, President and CEO of NEGA Health System, Frank Norton Jr., CEO and Chairman of The Norton Agency, Brian Daniel, President and CEO of Carroll Daniel Construction and Ron Bracewell, Managing Partner of BatesCarter.
The panel opened with questions about COVID-19 recovery. Kubota Manufacturing Vice President Phil Sutton acted as moderator, asking the speakers how their respective fields have weathered fallout from the pandemic and how they plan to move into the future.
Burrell started by providing the crowd with a first-hand update on the number of COVID cases she is seeing at the hospital currently.
“Certainly, we are in a better position today than we have been in the past two to three years,” Burrell said. “Unfortunately, the numbers are increasing, we're up over 100 [COVID cases], as of this morning, but compared to where we were this time last year, you know, we're all conditioned at this point. You likely heard that we initiated our mask-wearing again last week for our staff, medical staff, clinical staff, etc. We are not requiring that for our patients and visitors at this point.”
Norton noted the importance of creating a positive workplace culture as we move into the post-pandemic world.
“We're having more and more folks return to the offices, to the workplace,” Norton said. “Some of that is being required. But we also have learned to be able to deal with I think that resiliency in adapting a new way of doing business, it's very difficult to create a corporate culture on a Zoom call. And so you've got to have that eye-to-eye human reaction to each other. And I just firmly believe that we are going to be striking the new balance, that if we need to shift again, we are prepared for that.”
On the topic of inflation and supply chain issues, Bracewell acknowledged the importance of employee recruitment and retention. Specifically, he emphasized the education of new employees and how that directly correlates with a worker’s willingness to stay and perform competently at their job.
“In every managing partner pulse taken in my career of accounting firms, employee recruitment and retention has always ranked number one,” Bracewell said. “So in the accounting field, that's always an issue for us. And I'm glad to see it's being addressed. It's kind of like communication, you're never done with it, you're going to continue doing it.”
Daniel addressed the question with a background on business inventory management, detailing how many companies today are moving to a model of having products on hand, so unforeseen issues similar to a pandemic don’t catch them off guard.
“Some of the manufacturing industry has moved from ‘just in time’ to ‘just in case,’ to your point,” Daniel said. “Mr. Sutton and a lot of the manufacturing industry have realized that, you know, having some inventory on hand is a change in the way they think, but a necessity in a new market. So I think some of the supply chain issues will solve themselves. We have an overheated economy, and we're coming out of an overheated economy into a more normalized economy.”
A highlight of the panel’s discussion was detailing some of the positive and exciting opportunities coming to Hall County. Norton drew particular attention to Gainesville Square, sharing a personal story about how busy the area has been. Norton said he hopes to see that growth in other places around the county.
“Now it's time to add that energy to Flowery Branch, to downtown Lula, so that they can experience those same kinds of activities,” Norton said.
Burrell made note of the new tower being added to the medical center in Gainesville and praised the board members for staying on track with construction plans amid doubts over the expansion project.
“I remember in spring of 2020, as we were reeling, and we had been planning for this tower for a long time,” Burrell said. “And of course, everybody's reaction was, ‘Let's just stop it, let's just stop.’ And we thank goodness for our courageous board leadership that, no, we've got to keep looking up and looking out because the needs are not going to change. And so we made some very courageous decisions to continue which are allowing us to get that tower up.”
Bracewell and Daniel both applauded the efforts made by theirs and other companies, showcasing their expanding clientele lists. A major theme of the discussion was the extensive influx of new businesses coming into the county, as Georiga remains the top spot in the nation for business activity for the ninth year in a row.
A major cornerstone for all four industries represented on the panel was workforce development. Each of the speakers noted that the aging workforce is making it difficult to find qualified individuals to fill positions. That being said, they made note of new educational initiatives being implemented that help flame interest in trades, professions and technical skills.
“It's been so cool to see the hook get set in young people who say, ‘Man, you know, I never really thought about this, but what a great career,’” Daniel said. “And there are placards up saying a mason makes this much money, electrician makes this much money. And so there are efforts in place but we have a lot of work to do, it’s a challenge.”
Burrell made note of how the medical centers in Northeast Georgia have lowered the hiring age to 16, which helps educate students interested in entering the healthcare industry.
“In addition to the partnership that I mentioned earlier with UNG and Lanier Tech, we're working closely with the school system to start to educate, as Brian indicated, individuals younger just to educate them on what is available in healthcare,” Burrell said. “And it's not all at the bedside, necessarily, a lot of technology, a lot of changes there.”
Norton closed his remarks by commenting on many of the improvements the county will see over the next few years. Specifically, he said there are several new Publix stores that should be entering the region, along with apartment housing, residential housing and office space expansion. Norton believes the price of land and residential homes will soon turn downwards, citing a 5% dip in the average price for a house in the metro Atlanta area, including Hall County, from June 2022 to Dec. 2022.
President and CEO of the Great Hall Chamber of Commerce Kit Dunlap said hosting the annual forecast event is important for the community to be in-the-know about what the future may hold.
“It's sort of, particularly when you start a new year, and, you know, getting in different leaders in different fields of business, to talk about their business, but as well as what they see is on the horizon, particularly this year in the economy and everything,” Dunlap said.
Selection for the forecast panelists comes from the Chamber’s desire to have a diverse array of industries represented. This year’s speakers came from backgrounds in construction, healthcare, accounting and real estate.
The annual event started over five years ago, beginning with a small group. At that time, it was held at the Chamber’s headquarters. It has since grown dramatically and now hosts several hundred attendees. Dunlap said they plan to host the same forecast event next year as well.
You can learn more about the Great Hall Chamber of Commerce by visiting its website.
