Chamber Impact

Business Resource Center

Since opening last March, more than 600 hours of professional development and growth were provided to small businesses. Based on survey data, we achieved our goal of supporting small and minority businesses:

• • Henry County-based Businesses: 87%
  • Women-Owned Businesses: 77%
  • Veteran-Owned Businesses: 26%
  • POC-Owned Businesses: 97%
  • Generation X-Owned: 42%
  • Millennial-Owned: 52%

Mobile Visitor Center

The Mobile VIC launched in early 2023 and provided tourism information at 52 large-scale community events and was staffed by Expert Explorers for more than 370 hours. Events included race weekends at Atlanta Motor Speedway, the Georgia State Fair, Stockbridge Amphitheatre events, and numerous tournaments, parades, festivals, and celebrations.

DEI Summit

The inaugural DEI Summit was held in Stockbridge in June of 2023. Sponsored by Georgia Power, the Henry Chamber invited Fayette, Clayton, Georgia, and Georgia Hispanic chambers to join us in a regional statement of unity.

Women’s EmPOWERment Summit

The fifth annual Summit was held in March and featured the new Kaiser Permanente regional president Pam Shipley as a keynote. At the event, Kaiser Permanente presented $10,000 to the Small Business Resource Center in support of its programming for minority business owners.

Visitor Spending

For the second consecutive year, bed tax receipts for the CVB exceeded $1 million. The most recent state reports highlights total visitor spending in Henry County increased 21.4 percent to $476.4 million. The $31.8 million in state and local taxes collected from visitors to Henry County equates to a $394 savings per Henry household.

Emerging Business Leaders

In its second year, the Emerging Business Leaders program continued to grow and provide value to the participants with more professional development and connections opportunities. Feedback on the first mentor cohort was positive.

Artist Consortium

The Artist Consortium continues to create placemaking opportunities in Henry County – for visitors and for residents. Routine update and maintenance of the Bushy Tail Art Trail ensures that the program continues to attract visitors. Following the completion of the mural in downtown Locust Grove in 2022, additional opportunities for murals and displays have been identified. In addition to an exhibit at Tanger Factory Outlet Centers, the Consortium is working with the City of Hampton to create a historic display recognizing the city’s Rosenwald School.

Organization Development

In 2023, the Executive Committee contracted with a consultant to produce a consistent procedure and format for employee evaluations. In addition, compensation studies were conducted, and salaries aligned with the industry and region. Through this process, goals and job descriptions were evaluated and updated as well. This process helps the organization to be competitive and to better incorporate professional development and succession planning. We saw a four percent (4%) growth in member accounts with more than 220 new accounts in 2023. Bed tax collections were up 13% to the highest recorded and the second continuous year more than one million dollars were collected. Cash on hand increased three percent (3%) to more than $335,000.