The Georgia Academy for Economic Development, held this past December, included a 2014 Region 3 Multi-Day Training Program open to Cherokee County participants. Meghan Griffin, director of the City of Canton's Main Street program, and Mitzi Saxon, administrative coordinator for the City of Woodstock's Office of Economic Development & Downtown Development Authority, were among the participants from professional and non-professional economic development fields, elected officials, public servants, business leaders, educators, and social service providers across 10 counties in metro Atlanta.

Georgia EMC and Georgia Power provide facilitators for the program, and the Georgia Dept. of Community Affairs provides staff support to this important program. Created in 1993, the Academy is taught one day a month over a four-month period. It includes training in the basics of economic and community development, plus specialized segments on business recruitment and retention, tourism product development, downtown development, planning, and other essentials for community success. In addition, the curriculum features specific leadership skills, such as consensus building, ethics in public service, collaborative leadership and other segments needed for effective community leadership in economic development. Local elected officials may receive certification training credits through the Association County Commissioners of Georgia and the Georgia Municipal Association for completion of this program. "One of the goals for the multi-day regional Academies is to encourage multi-county cooperation," says Corinne Thornton, director of the Georgia Academy for Economic Development. "Many times the participants discover the issues facing their community are the same as those facing other communities in their region, and can then combine limited resources to address the issue."