On Thursday, January 4th, the Greater Vidalia ® Chamber hosted the first event of the year, the Legislative Luncheon. This event gives constituents in the Greater Vidalia® area the opportunity to hear from their elected officials right before they head off to Atlanta for session of the Georgia Assembly. This year’s event hosted a record number of attendees with over 200 individuals registered. State Representative Leesa Hagan and State Senator Blake Tillery were on hand to discuss topics that they expect to be brought up during session and discuss bills that they will be working on. Rep. Hagan feels strongly that there will be discussion on both medical certificates of need for hospital projects and services and sports gambling. Both topics were brought up in the previous legislative session and have passionate supporters on both sides of the argument. Senator Tillery’s focus of this legislative session will be delivering a balanced budget to the State as the Senate appropriations Chairman once again.
This year’s event also highlighted a statewide elected official, Labor Commissioner Bruce Thompson. Commissioner Thompson became Georgia’s tenth Commissioner of Labor on January 12, 2023. He spoke about some of his experience in small business and how working in the private sector helped him change the direction of the Department of Labor once he took office. He has implemented many changes and wants the public to know that the Department of Labor should be working for the citizens and if we have any problems, a member of his team can help. One program that is notably new at the department is the “Walking the last mile” program. This workforce development program is designed to decrease the rate of recidivism while helping Georgia businesses find the talent that they need and fill the workforce gap post-COVID.
The Greater Vidalia® Chamber is dedicated to keeping our area a great place to do business and raise a family. We appreciate our elected officials taking the time to speak about pressing issues and we will stay abreast of any issues that may arise in the Legislature through our Public Policy Council. This event was held in partnership with presenting sponsor Optim Medical Center- Tattnall and gold sponsors, A and M Farms, City of Mount Vernon, Tar Land and Timber, and Terry’s Flooring and Blinds.
