Jenkins County is states newest designated Entrepreneur Friendly community

ATLANTA, May 9, 2007 – Jenkins County is the most recent Georgia county to be certified 'Entrepreneur Friendly' by the state. The designation means that the community is strategically building its environment to support small businesses and entrepreneurs. Ninety-four percent of Jenkins County's 224 companies are small businesses with fewer than 20 employees. 'Homegrown businesses and entrepreneurs create quality jobs that are integral to ensuring prosperity and opportunity throughout Georgia,' said Governor Sonny Perdue. 'By encouraging and supporting small businesses, we are investing in a stronger future for local communities and the state as a whole.' Jenkins County is the 46th community in the state to be named Entrepreneur Friendly by the Georgia Department of Economic Development (GDEcD). Other east Georgia counties that have been certified include Burke, Wilkinson, McDuffie and Baldwin. Johnson County is in the certification process at the moment, as are Richmond, Effingham and Evans counties. Georgia counties certified in 2007 are Newton, McDuffie, Baldwin, Brooks, Walton, Habersham, Spalding, Clarke, Jasper, Berrien, Paulding, Barrow and Carroll. Worth County is slated for certification later this month. To earn the designation, counties complete the Entrepreneur-Friendly program with the assistance of GDEcD's regional representatives for small business. Program steps involve analyzing the current entrepreneurial and small business development environment and strategizing options for fostering small business and entrepreneurs. Counties also undergo a full-day assessment by a review team composed of GDEcD staff and other partners. GDEcD regional representative Adela Kelley assisted Jenkins County, and the agency's partners in the review team assessing Jenkins were the Small Business Development Office, the US Department of Agriculture, and Georgia Tech. Qualified entrepreneurs and small business owners in Jenkins County are now eligible for customized market data, such as demographic and business information, to help give them a competitive edge. The county is also eligible for an Entrepreneur-Friendly Implementation Fund (EFIF) grant to help it implement specific, long-term programs that support their entrepreneurs and small businesses. The grant must be matched 50 percent in dollars or in-kind value by the community. 'Going through the process of becoming an Entrepreneur Friendly Community has increased our awareness of our businesses' needs and concerns, which will help us better assist existing and startup businesses,' said Paula Herrington, executive director of the Jenkins County Chamber of Commerce. 'The designation process has been a valuable learning experience in economic development for Millen Better Hometown and for the Millen/Jenkins County Chamber of Commerce.  We are certainly better prepared to create an environment of encouragement and support for small businesses and entrepreneurs in Jenkins County.' 'We congratulate Jenkins County for taking this proactive approach to supporting its small businesses,' added Chris Clark, chairman of the Georgia Entrepreneur and Small Business Coordinating Network and GDEcD's deputy commissioner of Global Commerce. 'Steps like these ensure growth and development in the local business community.' The Georgia Department of Economic Development (GDEcD) is the state's sales and marketing arm, the lead agency for attracting new business investment, encouraging the expansion of existing industry and small businesses, locating new markets for Georgia products, attracting tourists to Georgia, and promoting the state as a location for film, video and music projects, as well as planning and mobilizing state resources for economic development.