Letter from SEDA Chairman of the Board

On January 14, 1925, the Savannah Economic Development Authority, then known as the Savannah Port Authority, held its first organizational meeting to develop a strategy for helping to create and attract jobs and investment to our region. Ninety years later, that is still our mission.

A lot has changed in ninety years, but many of the original drivers of our economy have remained the same. For example, because of the Port of Savannah, this area has remained a sought after location for distribution and logistics businesses. Manufacturing prospects continue to consider and choose our area because of the location, workforce and the quality of life we enjoy in Savannah.

We have also worked to make it possible for new economic sectors to take root in Savannah, and the entertainment production industry blossomed in 2015. With the hiring of Ralph Singleton to market Savannah as a location for film and entertainment production, along with other marketing efforts led by SEDA, the film and entertainment production industry accounted for $58 million in total spending in our area in 2015. Now, anchored by the Georgia Film Tax Credit and the Savannah Entertainment Production Incentives enacted in 2015 by the SEDA Board of Directors, this industry will certainly continue to thrive.

Also in late 2015, SEDA hired its first full-time project manager dedicated to emerging industries. In this position, Patrick Bentley is on the front line of our sales and marketing efforts to attract new businesses in these growth industries. He is also working to help expand the firms in these industries that have already selected our area. Patrick has worked diligently to develop an aggressive, proactive marketing and business development plan.

The work of SEDA has been enhanced by the tremendous support we have received from our economic development and community partners, especially the outstanding cooperation of our government officials. They have played critical roles in the success of our efforts to place the Savannah area in the best possible position to compete effectively for investment and job growth opportunities.

Finally, it has been a pleasure to have served as SEDA’s Chairman during this exciting time. Led by the dedicated board of directors and the committed professional staff, SEDA is charting a path for the continued prosperity of this region.

 

Robert E. James
Chairman and CEO
Carver State Bank

Letter from SEDA President and CEO

Three years ago, the Savannah Economic Development Authority Board of Directors gave me the gracious opportunity to lead this organization. I stepped into the role at a time when like most economic development organizations we were working to help pull our community and ourselves out of the last dredges of the deep recession.

Since that time, with the support of our board of directors, partners and the community, the SEDA staff have accomplished a lot including the phenomenal growth of World Trade Center Savannah; being tapped to manage Foreign-Trade Zone 104; formation of the Savannah Harbor-Interstate 16 Corridor Joint Development Authority, new branding and logo for SEDA, creation of a land development strategy; securing a EB-5 license, creating a new partnership with to market the entertainment production industry and our next horizon, to capitalize on our assets to create a true emerging industries sector of the economy.

I point out these initiatives because as a collective whole coupled with the day to day business development we do with our partners at the Georgia Department of Economic Development, Georgia Ports Authority, Georgia Power, the City of Savannah, Chatham County and others, they are what drive our efforts to help create, grow and attract jobs to Chatham County.

It’s not easy as this year’s annual report illustrates. A conservative estimate is that Savannah Economic Development Authority staff had 315,311 points of contact to generate leads that eventually lead to 17 new company announcements or expansions in 2015. That’s 667 new job opportunities and $204.7 million in investment in Chatham County.

I invite you to review the 2015 annual report to learn more about the work we do, how we do it, the challenges we face and the accomplishments of the year.

 

Hugh "Trip" Tollison
SEDA President & CEO

Letter from World Trade Center Savannah Chairman

In October of 2016, World Trade Center Savannah will celebrate our five year anniversary. We are no longer a startup but a highly functioning business and trade development organization.

WTC Savannah now has 67 investing partners from 16 counties we support and serve every day. We offer regular Global Education Programs ranging from the very general to the very technical but all to help regional businesses operate more effectively and more efficiently on the global stage. We are the grantee for Foreign Trade Zone 104, promoting the federal program that can save companies that import significant amounts of money. We coordinate the itineraries and host visiting delegations and plan customized outbound missions for our partners. After much effort, we received designation as an EB-5 regional center and have established the Savannah World Trade Center for Investment.

Even with the associated costs of the EB-5 effort and factoring in the cost of office space, equipment and supplies as well as the cost of support provided by key SEDA staff in leadership, finance and marketing, WTC Savannah is covering more than 50% of its total expenses. And it’s important to note that much of what WTC Savannah does is work SEDA would have to do anyway so the level of investment SEDA makes is for services rendered.

While WTC Savannah programs and services are now well established and we are committed to maintaining quality and value, that initial startup spirit of innovation and strategic growth is still at the core of WTC Savannah. Our team is always thinking about how to make things better or what else we can do to advance our mission and the goals of our partners and community.

Moving forward, there will be more outbound business development and trade missions and a focus on creating opportunities to generate more FDI opportunities for the region. There is potential for advancing a vision for real estate associated with the World Trade center brand that could link and elevate associated properties. And I personally hope that sometime in the next few years, WTC Savannah will bid to host the World Trade Centers Association General Assembly, the one time every year that all the 330 World Trade Centers are invited to meet and connect around issues of the day. It would be an exceptional way to showcase our region to business leaders from around the world.

World Trade Center Savannah was created to support the mission of the Savannah Economic Development Authority and other regional economic development partners, to help attract investment and create jobs by 1 – Helping regional businesses grow internationally, 2 – Identifying more foreign direct investment opportunities, and 3 – Generating revenue to support those activities. The organization considers everything it does through that lens.

I am proud to have been associated since its inception and I thank the SEDA board of directors for the honor to serve as chairman.

 

Scott Center
Chairman, World Trade Center Savannah
National Office Systems