Lake Lanier Area Offers Opportunity For Technology Companies

A guy named Mike Adkinson was in town the other day, speaking to the Lake Lanier Technology Association. In case you are not aware of the Lake Lanier Technology Association, maybe I had better explain that first. Some time ago, your local Chamber of Commerce set out to promote the development of technology jobs in this area, and one of the first things they did was form a group to represent technology businesses already active in Gainesville and Hall County. I think it is fair to say the number of people who turned up for the first meetings was a delightful surprise, and first thing you know the technology folks among us ... with the encouragement and guidance of the Chamber of Commerce ... formed an organization to promote their interests, and to promote technology generally, in the Lake Lanier area. So, the Lake Lanier Technology Association, led by the likes of Bob Bilbrough and Lance Compton and others, now holds a monthly meeting here in the Lake Lanier area.

Now, back to Mike Adkinson ... for it was before the LLTA that Mike Adkinson was speaking. Adkinson is the editor of a publication called TechLINKS, and TechLINKS reports on technology in the Southeastern United States. If anybody in the South knows what is going on in the business of technology, Mike Adkinson is that person. And he thinks towns outside Atlanta face great opportunity. Let me quote him from his magazine: "After surviving the avalanche of the dot-corn shakeout and the aftershocks caused by a few telecommunications firms,' he says, "the tech sector finds itself on the surest footing it's been on in a decade.." Job growth is coming from the small companies, he noted. Industry growth is coming from entrepreneurs. The best opportunities for innovative companies will likely come from outside Atlanta. Adkinson
talked about the energy of the technology community in the Lake Lanier area, and summed it up by saying: "This is the kind of place where good things will be going on."

This is Gordon Sawyer, and may the wind always be at your back.

http://accesswdun.com/article/2003/2/183080