Chairmans Club attends Washington DC Fly-In

The Douglas County Chamber Chairmans Club participated in the annual Georgia Association of Chamber of Commerce Executives (GACCE) Washington DC Fly-In in conjunction with participants from five Chambers in the state of Georgia. As the largest delegation on the DC Fly In, the Douglas County Chamber was recognized by our federal elected officials and able to effectively represent the interests of our community.

The Washington Fly-In offers our community leaders the opportunity to meet as a group with their elected officials. During the 48-hour trip, attendees met with U.S. Chamber representatives to discuss recent updates on fiscal, small business and healthcare policy updates including a brief one-on-one with Congressman Phil Gingrey. The morning was filled with executive briefings with Congressman David Scott and Congressman Lynn Westmoreland. The afternoon session featured U.S Senators Saxby Chambliss and Johnny Isakson. In addition, the group heard from U.S. Secretary of Transportation Ray LaHood which was of particular interest to the DC Chamber attendees in regard to the impending Highway 92 project.

Topics of conversation varied amongst the speakers however, the message and priorities for the DC Chamber attendees was specific. The DC Chamber supports continued funding of all the major transportation/road projects that are currently on various federal funding lists. This is especially important now that a Chamber supported alternative funding mechanism (Regional T-SPLOST) was rejected by voters in July. It was the sole purpose of the group to discuss alternative options and a federal stance on what is to come.

Attendees on the Washington Fly-In included Commission Chairman Tom Worthan; Mayor Harvey Persons; John Sell, Georgia Power; Gary Miller, GreyStone Power; Ken Barber, Metro Bank; Greg Williams, Kaiser Permanente; Craig Owens, WellStar Hospital; Dr. Skip Sullivan, West Georgia Technical College; Rosco Sayyar and Sam Ahmed, Sam & Rosco’s Restaurant/The Centre at Arbor Connection; Chris Pumphrey, Development Authority of Douglas County; and Kali Boatright, DC Chamber.