Georgia Southern PR Class Visits Jeff Davis County with GENIE

March 30, 2015

 

Tasked with creating an online presence for the Joint Development Authority of Jeff Davis County (JDAJDC), GENIE partnered with Mrs. Lori Mallard’s Public Relation Campaigns class and visited the rural south central community. Mr. Illya Copeland, Executive Director of the JDAJDC, hosted the class and took students on a tour of working industrial sites in Hazlehurst, Georgia. Students were able to gain a better understanding of the community’s economic development strengths and struggles.

Many students found that Jeff Davis’ existing industry is thriving but still has room for growth. Hazlehurst is already home to the largest hardwood sawmill in the United States, Beasley Forest Products. The PR Campaigns class stopped by to see where the massive fire took place last year and learned how Beasley was able to take a disaster and turn it around into a PR miracle. Although the disaster claimed a warehouse, office and plethora of product, no one was injured and Beasley did not lose any production hours. The students also stopped by to see the new production facility Beasley is almost finished constructing.

Students compiled their findings from the visit and summarized them in letters to Mr. Copeland.

“Our hands-on research that was obtained during this visit is essential to our understanding and commitment with this campaign project to give Jeff Davis County an online presence,” wrote Kaylee Joslin.

A few challenges presented themselves to the students during their research, such as the high unemployment rate. Students learned that potential employees lack certain soft skills that employers find desirable. “…because there is a high unemployment rate in Jeff Davis County, there is an available work force. However, we need to make sure that this work force gets the proper education and training, such as cross training on working in many different areas, setting up informational sessions of how to create a resume, how to dress for an interview, how to prepare for an interview, and information on how to stay away from drugs in order to not lose a potential job due to drug testing, etc,” said Mary Hill Amason.

Creating an online presence for Jeff Davis County will be beneficial to industry by spreading statewide awareness. The students continue to work in the classroom with Professor Mallard to develop campaigns and strategies for implementing a new website. A final presentation date has been set. The GENIE team and JDAJDC are excited to be working together with students to further their education and bring new opportunities to Jeff Davis.

Georgia’s Enterprise Network for Innovation and Entrepreneurship (GENIE) is a web-based virtual business incubator focused on assisting entrepreneurs and small business owners in economically challenged counties in Georgia. GENIE’s goal is to help create and retain jobs in Georgia by harnessing the power of entrepreneurship. GENIE is a grant secured through the Community Adjustment and Investment Program (CAIP) which helps the private sector to create new jobs and preserve existing jobs that are at risk of being lost in communities that suffered job losses directly or indirectly attributed to the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA). GENIE participation is open to any interested parties in Georgia with efforts focused in Jeff Davis, Jefferson, Lincoln, Telfair, and Wilkes counties.