Center For Rural Entrepreneurship Officially Open To The Public

Community members and local leaders gathered to celebrate the official opening of the Center for Rural Entrepreneurship on Tuesday afternoon, October 29.

This new facility has been in the works for over two years, as the Greater Vidalia Chamber and Toombs County Development Authority received a $4,059,474 grant from the Georgia Department of Community Affairs Rural Downtown Development Funds in 2022 to create a place for entrepreneurs to be able to learn more about starting and running their own continued from page

businesses. This grant funding was combined with $750,000 OneGA funds and a $859,386 local match to build the 14,200-squarefoot facility, which is located at 204 East First Street in Vidalia.

“The purpose of this building is to stimulate the establishment of growth of entrepreneurial individuals by providing networking, incubation space, mentoring, technology, tools, strategy, and support in a collaborative downtown environment. Our clients will have access to various programs and services, including the Georgia Enterprise Network for Innovation and Entrepreneurship, while also being able to easily access the traditional services and networks provided by the Greater Vidalia Chamber and the Toombs County Development Authority, along with safe, secure, and efficient IT services provided by our partners, Responsive Technologies,” Toombs County Development Authority Chairman Tim Truxel explained to the crowd.

According to Truxel, the entrepreneurship programming within the center was developed through the Georgia Power Cultivating Rural Entrepreneurs and Transforming Economies Program (CREATE), as well as input from the Georgia Southern University Parker College of Business.

“I have all the confidence in the world that these programs will be efficient and meaningful to our community and all who use them in the future,” Truzel added. The building also houses the Greater Vidalia Chamber and Toombs County Development Authority, anchor tenants Responsive Technology Partners, and several developing businesses within its incubator and office spaces.

“What a true journey this has been from what those pictures look like in the lobby of what this site looked like a year and a half ago to what it is today,” Truxel said. “It is aesthetically a much better looking building for this location, and the purpose of this building is going to add more benefits to our community than what was here before.”

Greater Vidalia Chamber Chairwoman Stephanie Williams also addressed the crowd, sharing how she believes having this resource could have greatly helped her and her husband Tommie when the couple were beginning their olive oil business, Terra Dolce Farms.

“All of this almost never happened. Why? Because it was so difficult to get it started and off the ground,” she remarked. “You see, we knew how to plant trees – that wasn’t a problem for Tommie. But understanding how to prune, harvest, mill, bottle – those were questions we did not have answers to, and as a new Georgia crop, there was nobody to ask. We both had our own businesses that we were running during the day, so we began to research at night. We did a lot of internet articles, went to trade shows, he went to milling school, we called a lot of state agencies, we contacted friends from California to Italy, we reached out to agriculture organizations, and we finally figured out how to import bottles from overseas and get them through customs. That was a true win.”

Williams continued sharing the struggles of learning how to make labels with the necessary nutrition facts, earn Georgia Grown branding, and more. “Every element had a different agency to contact. There were days when I would have paid $1,000 just to get a direct answer from someone,” she told the crowd. “When I first heard of the concept for the Entrepreneurial Center, I immediately thought about all of these challenges that we went through. I thought about all of the wasted time and money we spent just trying to get the labels right, and the frustration of not having the information we needed, and that’s when I knew that this Center was not only necessary but for this community, but that it was going to be successful.”

She added, “Entrepreneurs are the bedrock of our community. They are visionaries and dreamers who create new and often innovative products, and they provide great services. But they need guidance, encouragement, information, resources, and a little bit of a reality check every now and then. This Center is designed to foster the entrepreneurial spirit by providing people with the tools they need to be successful in business. These tools will fast track our budding entrepreneurs through hours of wasted time and money so they do not give up out continued from page

of frustration, which I think is the biggest thing entrepreneurs face.”

The chairwoman ended her address by emphasizing her excitement to not only watch entrepreneurs develop, but to watch the cultivation of partnerships and mentorships between the business community and the potential business community. “I believe this is going to be a big thing for our community,” she stressed.

State Representative Leesa Hagan also shared her excitement for this new resource in the community. “The whole reason I am grateful that you let me serve in the state house is because my priority is Georgia’s rural economy. That is why I am there and why I hope that you’ll keep sending me back. We all know here that small businesses are the backbone of any small community like ours, but the reason why entrepreneurs are the rockstars of every small business owners are that you look at the families, individuals, and communities and you see what the wants and needs are and you do the hard work and sacrifice to start a business that can meet those needs and wants of the community. It is these small businesses that entrepreneurs start that give each and every small rural Georgia town its own unique identity,” she said. “That’s why I’m so excited about what is going to happen in this building for the years to come because I know that you will come up with some of the most awesome ideas that will make our community a unique place to be and make young people want to come back here.”

Toombs County Commissioner Wendell Dixon, Vidalia Mayor Doug Roper, and Lyons Mayor Willis NeSmith Jr. spoke to the attendees about their admiration for the appealing façade of the structure, comparing it to the former Econo Inn, which was previously at the location.

“It is so beautiful. Y’all have done a great job,” Dixon told the Chamber and Authority.

“I want to take you back to what was here – this is literally where people came and dreams died – and now [dreams] are going to come to life and see fruition. This is where people came that were hopeless, and now, this is where people are going to come that have hope for a brighter, better future and they are going to get what they need,” Roper stated. “This project is an extension of what you have seen our community do over the last four weeks. A lot of communities cannot do what it took to pull this off, and a lot of communities around us haven’t fared as well as we have in the last 4 weeks because they cannot get together, check their egos, and get things done for the betterment of their community. This is a special, special community.”

He continued, “There are two guys that need to be mentioned – one is with us today and one is not. John Robison (who passed away in 2022) and Harry Moses had a lot to do with this project. I wish John was here today to see it – I can only imagine how proud he would be. Harry, thank you for what you did.”

“I cannot wait to see what is produced here. This was my very first project – this was the number one target on my list when I was elected in 2020. And look what we have now. It’s something to hang our hat on and be very proud of,” he concluded.

Mayor NeSmith Jr. added, “This is a shining example of our community – community being Toombs County, Vidalia, and Lyons. This is a great thing we have done, and we are just going to keep going up.”

Responsive Technology Partners CEO Steven McComas also addressed the attendees, emphasizing the importance of this new facility. “What an exciting moment for the cities of Vidalia and Lyons, counties of Montgomery and Toombs, and rural Georgia as a whole. We are standing at the intersection of innovation and opportunity, where community meets the road, and where dreams turn into thriving businesses. Over a two-and-a-halfyear process, your support was pivotal in this project. The ones that are not yet born will not forget this contribution,” he began.

“In my nationwide business travels, I have been asked this question – ‘In all the locations that you serve, why is this company operating and investing in rural Georgia?’ My response is really simple. You see, I believe that everyone should have access to global opportunities through worldclass technologies and facilities,” McComas continued. “The state of Georgia has 1.2 million small businesses that are over 99% of the state’s overall businesses. In 2023, Georgia small businesses employed 1.7 million people – 42% of the private workforce – and brought in $77.4 million in annual commerce to the state of Georgia. Small business matters through the survival of businesses in rural communities. Their success ensures a diverse, resilient economy for entrepreneurs and companies to tap into unexplored opportunities and markets. These businesses are often family-owned and passed down through generations, sustaining a legacy and the heritage of the region.”

He added, “The Center is more than just a building – it’s a symbol of what is possible in rural communities across America. The Center represents a place where entrepreneurs and small business owners from all walks of life, regardless of their age, personal economic and family circumstance, can find resources, mentorship, and connections to start their businesses. It’s a hub for innovation, technology, creativity, and entrepreneurial spirit that defines this community.”

During the ceremony, Garbutt Construction Director of Risk Management Phil Best Jr. announced that the construction company had kept this desire to grow small businesses in the area in mind when working on the project, as he hired as many local contractors as possible. “The intent of this building is clear: to serve this community and act as a business generator for the local economy. With this goal in mind, we made an effort to utilize local subcontractors whenever possible. By following local and state procurement guidelines, we successfully achieved that goal – nearly 60% of the subcontractors used were from Toombs and Montgomery Counties,” he shared. “This not only fosters this economy but strengthens the ties that bind the community to this project.”

Following the ceremony, the public was able to tour the facility, which remains open from 8 a.m. until 5 p.m. on Monday through Friday. For more information on the facility, call (912) 537-4466.

SPEAKING TO THE COMMUNITY – Toombs County Development Auhority Chairman Tim Truxel speaks to the community at the official opening of the Center for Rural Entrepreneurship.Photo by Makaylee Randolph