{"id":362,"date":"2012-10-31T12:58:25","date_gmt":"2012-10-31T16:58:25","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.l-a-k-e.org\/blog\/2012\/10\/vdt-and-chamber-feuding-about-which-is-the-most-negative.html"},"modified":"2013-08-01T11:35:49","modified_gmt":"2013-08-01T15:35:49","slug":"vdt-and-chamber-feuding-about-which-is-the-most-negative","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/www.l-a-k-e.org\/blog\/2012\/10\/vdt-and-chamber-feuding-about-which-is-the-most-negative.html","title":{"rendered":"VDT and Chamber feuding about which is the most negative"},"content":{"rendered":"\r\n\r\n\r\n
\r\n\r\n\"popcorn\"<\/a>\r\n
\r\n\r\n\r\nImage courtesy Fir0002\/Flagstaffotos under GFDL v1.2<\/a>\r\n<\/small>\r\n<\/td>\r\n<\/tr>\r\n<\/tbody>\r\n<\/table>\r\n

\r\nBreak out the popcorn!\r\nThe VDT and the Chamber of Commerce are feuding.\r\nAbout which one is the most negative!\r\nAlso, the Chamber hates agriculture.\r\nAnd everything good around here is to the Chamber’s credit,\r\nbut anything bad is not their fault; just ask them.\r\n<\/p>\r\n

\r\nThe VDT editorialized 18 October 2012,\r\n\r\nIs Valdosta really one of the poorest?<\/a>\r\nmostly criticizing\r\n\r\nthe recent report<\/a> that ranked\r\nValdosta MSA as the third poorest in the country.\r\nThe VDT added:\r\n<\/p>\r\n

\r\n

\r\nNow that the world wide web has broadcast this story, what can be\r\ndone locally to combat this image? And what are the various entities\r\ninvolved in job and business recruitment, i.e. the Chamber of\r\nCommerce and the Industrial Authority primarily, doing to fix the\r\nunderlying problem \u2014 low household income and the high\r\npercentage of individuals living below the poverty line.\r\n<\/p>\r\n

\r\nValdosta can attract retailers. But can Valdosta step it up and\r\nattract larger industries offering high paying jobs? Has the\r\ncommunity turned away from what made this a successful, viable up\r\nand comer in the state, namely manufacturing and agriculture? These\r\nindustries sustained Valdosta for many years and provided good, well\r\npaying, solid blue collar and middle income jobs. Educational\r\nopportunities are far greater today, there are more high school,\r\ntech and college graduates in the area than ever, and blaming the\r\nquality of the work force is starting to lose its luster as a viable\r\nexcuse for not bringing in industry. We have the land, we have the\r\nworkers, we have the infrastructure and we have a great location\r\nwith a good quality of life.\r\n<\/p>\r\n

\r\nPerhaps the community leadership should focus on the assets that are\r\nalready here and less on what’s not. Then maybe the next time a\r\nstory like this appears on the Internet, Valdosta won’t be cast in\r\nsuch a poor light.\r\n<\/p>\r\n<\/blockquote>\r\n

\r\nThe Chamber fired back a broadside to its members, which\r\nI’ve included below here, since I don’t think you can find it online elsewhere.\r\nHere’s the most precious part:\r\n<\/p>\r\n

\r\n

\r\nSecond, while there is still farmland in Lowndes County, it’s\r\nshrinking and when it sells, it’s for uses at prices that rule out\r\nagricultural use. Agriculture had begun moving to nearby more rural\r\ncounties even before the cotton field at the end of Baytree Road\r\nwas paved over for Valdosta Mall. Our largest tractor and farm\r\nimplement dealers followed.\r\n<\/p>\r\n<\/blockquote>\r\n

\r\nThat’s right, farmland is good for nothing but paving over,\r\nso says the Chamber!\r\nNevermind that knowledge-based workers generally like\r\n\r\n\r\nfarmers markets\r\nwith locally-grown produce.\r\nYou know, knowledge-based workers such as the Chamber claims it is\r\ntrying to attract.\r\nAnd farmers markets like\r\n\r\nValdosta Farm Days<\/a>\r\nthat the city of Valdosta and Lowndes County have organized around\r\nthe historic courthouse.\r\nFarmers markets that\r\n\r\ncontinued booming right through the recession,<\/a>\r\nincluding selling organic produce which is one of the fastest\r\ngrowing industries in the world.\r\nHm, maybe the Chamber’s idea of industry and jobs and knowledge-based\r\ncould use some broadening.\r\n<\/p>\r\n

\r\nIt’s curious how in its list of achievements the Chamber didn’t\r\nmention all the money and resources it forced the whole community\r\nto waste on last year’s school “unification” referendum, which\r\n\r\nwas defeated 4 to 1<\/a> even though\r\n\r\nthe Chamber and its allies<\/a>\r\noutspent opponents 10 to 1.\r\n<\/p>\r\n

\r\nAnd the Chamber curiously didn’t mention its recent good work\r\nin promoting renewable energy, especially solar power.\r\nMore on that in another post.\r\nAnd the Chamber didn’t mention its recent interest in\r\npromoting fast Internet access here; more on that when\r\nthe Chamber says something about it in a public forum.\r\n<\/p>\r\n

\r\n\r\n\"solar<\/a>\r\nCongratulations to the Industrial Authority on staying\r\nout of this feud and getting on with two things that actually\r\nwill help attract knowledge-based businesses and employees:\r\n\r\nsolar power and fast Internet access.<\/a>\r\nAnd VLCIA is getting good PR for that!\r\nMore on those things later, too.\r\n<\/p>\r\n

\r\n-jsq\r\n<\/p>\r\n

PS: Here’s the Chamber letter.\r\n<\/p>\r\n

\r\nTO: All Chamber Members\r\n
\r\nFROM: Board of Directors of the Valdosta-Lowndes County Chamber of Commerce\r\n
\r\nDate: Mon, 29 Oct 2012 11:41:46 -0400 (EDT)\r\n
\r\nRE: Chamber Board Responds to VDT Criticism\r\n
\r\n

\r\nA recent Valdosta Daily Times editorial criticized the Chamber of\r\nCommerce and Industrial Authority for not setting the clock back 25\r\nyears to when “manufacturing and agriculture” sustained Valdosta\r\nwith “well paying, solid blue collar and middle income jobs”.\r\n<\/p>\r\n

\r\nThe editorial was based on the front page story the same day under\r\nthe negative headline:\r\n<\/p>\r\n

\r\nOnline report: Valdosta ‘3rd<\/sup><\/small> poorest city in U.S.’\r\n<\/p>\r\n

\r\nOnly after six paragraphs did readers learn the VDT questioned\r\ninformation in their own story, which would have appeared factual\r\nand damaging for those not reading further.\r\n<\/p>\r\n

\r\nNegative articles only serve to hinder our economic development\r\nefforts as industrial recruiters routinely check news articles on a\r\nprospective community. A more accurate story would have been an\r\narticle immediately debunking the study.\r\n<\/p>\r\n

\r\nThe local newspaper then based their editorial that day on the story\r\nthey belatedly questioned, asking “…what are the various entities\r\ninvolved in job and business recruitment, i.e. the Chamber of\r\nCommerce and the Industrial Authority primarily, doing to fix the\r\nunderlying problem\u2014low household income and the high\r\npercentage of individuals living below the poverty line. Has the\r\ncommunity turned away from what made this a successful, viable up\r\nand comer in the state, namely manufacturing and agriculture?”\r\n<\/p>\r\n

\r\nFirst, the manufacturing companies that have stayed in the U.S. and\r\nsurvived global competition are doing so by incorporating high tech\r\nequipment and computer controlled processes, so even manufacturing\r\njobs today require a higher educated and skilled labor force than\r\nwas required 25 years ago.\r\n<\/p>\r\n

\r\nThe Chamber has long been aware of this change in workforce skill\r\nsets and has worked hard to influence the educational level of our\r\nworkforce. Our CHOICES program has consistently worked within the\r\nschool systems to educate students about the importance of acquiring\r\nthe educational background to compete for today’s more\r\ntechnologically challenging jobs, reaching about 8,500 eighth\r\ngraders over the past 12 years.\r\n<\/p>\r\n

\r\nSecond, while there is still farmland in Lowndes County, it’s\r\nshrinking and when it sells, it’s for uses at prices that rule out\r\nagricultural use. Agriculture had begun moving to nearby more rural\r\ncounties even before the cotton field at the end of Baytree Road\r\nwas paved over for Valdosta Mall. Our largest tractor and farm\r\nimplement dealers followed.\r\n<\/p>\r\n

\r\nOur newspaper should recognize that 25 years is forever in today’s\r\nbusiness world. The VDT had a much higher circulation and a larger\r\nnumber of reporters 25 years ago. It also understood the importance\r\nof working together to promote our community, not tear it down.\r\n<\/p>\r\n

\r\nThe Chamber is a membership organization with approximately 1,500\r\nmembers, 86 percent of them small businesses. The Chamber plays an\r\nimportant role in building a strong, economically healthy community,\r\nas does the Industrial Authority. Our local governments create the\r\ninfrastructure that makes job creation possible. Our local school\r\nsystems and higher education institutions have a responsibility to\r\nproduce an educated, qualified workforce.\r\n<\/p>\r\n

\r\nEveryone has a role to play and a job to do as we work together to\r\ngrow more and better jobs for our citizens \u2014 including our\r\nlocal newspaper.\r\n<\/p>\r\n

\r\nThe VDT asks what the Chamber is doing to “fix” low household income\r\nand high percentage of individuals living below the poverty line? To\r\nlist only three of our many business development initiatives:\r\n<\/p>\r\n

    \r\n
  • Assisting our residents grow their businesses through the SEEDS\r\nBusiness Resource Center\r\n<\/li>\r\n<\/ul>\r\n

    \r\nThe SEEDS Center serves 500-600 clients each year, primarily local\r\npeople who want to start their own businesses. More than 200 new\r\nbusinesses have gotten off to a good start with assistance from the\r\nSEEDS Center.\r\n<\/p>\r\n

      \r\n
    • Growing jobs for college and university graduates\r\n<\/li>\r\n<\/ul>\r\n

      \r\nThe winners of the annual Business Plan Competition have together\r\ncreated 54 high-wage jobs in Lowndes County.\r\n<\/p>\r\n

        \r\n
      • Promoting drug-free lifestyles\r\n<\/li>\r\n<\/ul>\r\n

        \r\nThrough our DRUGS DON’T WORK Program, 234 businesses save about\r\n$250K per year in Workers Comp premiums while providing their\r\nemployees a drug-free workplace.\r\n<\/p>\r\n

        \r\nWe appreciate the fact that the local newspaper needs and should\r\nreport news; however, we will not succeed by tearing each other\r\ndown. Success will only come if we work together to improve the\r\neconomic health of our community.\r\n<\/p>\r\n

        \r\n
        \r\nValdosta-Lowndes County Chamber of Commerce\r\n
        \r\n416 North Ashley Street\r\n
        \r\nP.O.Box 790\r\n
        \r\nValdosta, GA 31603\r\n<\/p>\r\n<\/blockquote>\r\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Image courtesy Fir0002\/Flagstaffotos under GFDL v1.2 Break out the popcorn! The VDT and the Chamber of Commerce are feuding. About which one is the most negative! Also, the Chamber hates agriculture. And everything good around here is to the Chamber’s credit, but anything bad is not their fault; just ask them. The VDT editorialized 18 […]","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":false,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2},"_links_to":"","_links_to_target":""},"categories":[202,14,15,49,16,266,321,19,132,21,22,23,24,457,133,178],"tags":[8750,8704,1460,8756,8761,8701,8709,1458,8702,12,7,1459,8711,8712,6,8769,8742],"class_list":["post-362","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-agriculture","category-economy","category-education","category-elections","category-environment","category-festivals","category-food-and-drink","category-history","category-internet-access-speed","category-planning","category-politics","category-renewable-energy","category-solar","category-valdosta-farm-days","category-vdt","category-vlcia","tag-agriculture","tag-economy","tag-farmers-market","tag-festivals","tag-food-and-drink","tag-georgia","tag-history","tag-knowledge-based","tag-lake","tag-lowndes-area-knowledge-exchange","tag-lowndes-county","tag-organic","tag-planning","tag-politics","tag-valdosta","tag-valdosta-farm-days","tag-vdt"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p585fK-5Q","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.l-a-k-e.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/362","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.l-a-k-e.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.l-a-k-e.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.l-a-k-e.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.l-a-k-e.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=362"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"http:\/\/www.l-a-k-e.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/362\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":4978,"href":"http:\/\/www.l-a-k-e.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/362\/revisions\/4978"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.l-a-k-e.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=362"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.l-a-k-e.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=362"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.l-a-k-e.org\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=362"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}