VALDOSTA, GA- The Chamber Ambassadors recognized Hester & Morris Orthodontics as this month’s Small Business of the Month.
 
Hester & Morris Orthodontics is the most highly recognized and well respected orthodontic practice in the Valdosta area. They have proudly served the community since 1988. Dr. Hester, Dr. Morris and their staff of 18 work hard to provide a superior level of customer service to their patients in a fun and enthusiastic atmosphere while offering the most current treatments.
 
Wayne Hester, DMD, first launched his practice in 1988 originally located on Woodrow Wilson Drive. Through the years, the practice’s growth forced them to expand twice before finding their current home on Oak Street Ext. in 1999. In 2009, J. Gregory Morris, DMD, joined the practice and a partnership was formed. Since then, the partners have opened a second location in Waycross, GA. The practice has grown exponentially over the past almost 30 years. Currently, Hester & Morris Orthodontics has about 1,400 patients in active treatment. 
 
Obtaining this high number of patients was not an easy task. With school aged children being the majority of their patients, scheduling appointments during after school hours became challenging. Treating most all patients after the school day and when parents were off work was not working. In response, Hester & Morris Orthodontics created the Ortho Taxi, a pick-up service to and from all the schools in the area. Parents can now schedule appointments for the Ortho Taxi to pick their child up from their school, take them to the office to be treated, then returned to school in a timely manner.
 
Another struggle the practice has had to overcome is finding a way to motivate their large population of teenage patients. Over the years, Hester & Morris have discovered that the most successful way to prompt teens to make positive changes in their brushing habits and braces-care is by creating incentives. A reward system is in place which features prizes and merchandise that can be purchased with Ortho Dollars earned via a patient’s compliance. The reward system is not only exciting for the patient, but has had excellent results in reinforcing beneficial customs.
 
Hester & Morris Orthodontics puts a great deal of emphasis on maintaining an active role in the community. With both doctors having South Georgia roots, they take giving back to Valdosta very seriously. Donating to a number of local charitable organizations annually is something Hester and Morris value. The practice has been a member of the Chamber of Commerce since 2006 and is an award winning Community Partner in Education for both the Lowndes County and Valdosta City school systems. They are also proud to have been named “Best Orthodontists” in South Georgia by the readers of the Valdosta Daily Times for the fourth consecutive year.
 
For more information about Hester & Morris Orthodontics, call (229) 245-1800, or visit them at 3229 North Oak Street Ext. in Valdosta.
 
If you would like to know more about Small Business of the Month, or how to nominate a business for this award, please contact Leslie Harris (ext. 231) or Kaitlyn Redish (ext. 229) at the Valdosta- Lowndes Chamber of Commerce. 

VALDOSTA, GA— The Chamber Ambassadors honored Chick-fil-A at North Valdosta as this week’s Leading Business of the Week.
Chick-fil-A at North Valdosta is a beloved restaurant to many in the community. Their customers enjoy their excellent service, friendly employees and quality meals daily. This particular location is ranked in the top 20% of all Chick-fil-A’s in the country, and they only plan to climb from here.
“The best part about working at Chick-fil-A is the people we work with and the customers that we serve,” says marketing director April Bruhl. Chick-fil-A’s employees strive to give customers the best experience possible. It is truly “their pleasure.” They prefer to be called “quick service instead of fast food” because they are “so much more than that!” expresses Bruhl.
Chick-fil-A at North Valdosta enjoys being an active member in the community. They are CPIE Partners with about 17 city, county and private schools in the area and have donated over $15,000 of food and coupons in 2017 so far. they have also been a member of the Chamber since 2009 and are thrilled with the perks and business connections that have come with their membership.
For more information about Chick-fil-A at North Valdosta, call (229) 245-0144 or visit them at 3147 Inner Perimeter Road in Valdosta.
The Leading Business of the Week program is designed to recognize members who have partnered with the Chamber for at least five years.  The 2016 Leading Business of the Week program is proudly sponsored by Ashley’s Business Solutions.  For more information, visit www.ValdostaChamber.com/Leading-Business-of-the-Week.

 
VALDOSTA, GA— The Chamber Ambassadors honored Real Living Realty Advisors as Leading Business of the Week this week.
Real Living Realty Advisors has been a member of the Valdosta-Lowndes Chamber since 2011. They feel that businesses are the life of the community and depend on the Chamber for its support of business interests and advocacy. They are proud to say that they have grown from a one-man business to one of the largest real estate firms in South Georgia.
“I love the interaction with our agents, our clients and our customers,” says Ron Borders, owner. Real Living makes an effort to make business personal and match their clients and customer needs with specific properties in a way that allows them to be more productive for their clients and customers.
For more information about Real Living Realty Advisors, call (229) 333-4622 or visit them at 1817 Green Circle in Valdosta.
The Leading Business of the Week program is designed to recognize members who have partnered with the Chamber for at least five years.  The 2016 Leading Business of the Week program is proudly sponsored by Ashley’s Business Solutions.  For more information, visit www.ValdostaChamber.com/Leading-Business-of-the-Week.

VALDOSTA, GA – The Chamber Ambassadors honored Adams Orthodontics as Leading Business of the week this week.
Adams Orthodontics is owned by local orthodontist, Dr. Bradley Adams. They truly love what they do, and it shows in their work! In addition to getting the job done right, the main focus at Adam’s Orthodontics is the patient.
Dr. Adams and his fellow employees are highly qualified in what they do and continue to make advancements to make the patient’s experience the best it can be. They have recently started using a new form of technology to make impressions. It is a top of the line method and they look forward to future advancements. These new methods make the job easier and more efficient for the doctor and patient. “Seeing a patient’s smile after they get their braces off is our best major accomplishment!” exclaims Dana Richards.
Adams Orthodontics has thrived in Valdosta and they enjoy being an active member in the community. They credit much of their success to being a member of the Chamber, especially with advertisement. “They let us know of any advertising opportunities that would benefit our business,” says Richards.
Adams Orthodontics is located at 816 Northwood Park Drive in Valdosta and can be contacted by calling 229-247-6960.
The Leading Business of the Week program is designed to recognize members who have partnered with the Chamber for at least five years.  The 2017 Leading Business of the Week program is proudly sponsored by Ashley’s Business Solutions.  For more information, visit www.ValdostaChamber.com/Leading-Business-of-the-Week.

VALDOSTA, GA- “The Valdosta and Lowndes economic standing has ‘turned the corner’ and is headed in the right direction” according to local economist, Dr. Cynthia Tori, Professor of Economics for the Valdosta State University Langdale College of Business Administration.
 
The 2017 Economic Summit was held on April 6. Business leaders from the area gathered to hear from entrepreneurs such as DeWayne Johnson and Dan Henry, innovative professionals such as Dr. Brian Gerber of VSU, and Steven Justice of the Georgia Center for Innovation, which is an arm of the Georgia Department of Economic Development, as they discussed not only the state of our local economy but also how we can improve it.  Their advice, in a word: innovation.
 
Dr. Tori presented the seventh edition of “Lowndes By The Numbers”, in which she compares Lowndes County with 14 peer and aspirant communities in the Southeastern U.S. on nine measures of community economic health.  “For the first time since we began these analyses in 2011, Lowndes County is moving up, rather than falling behind,” Tori said.  “This is important news for our community. It means that we have turned the corner and are heading in a positive direction. While we still have work to do, leaders should be proud that their efforts are paying off.”
 
New to the area and the Chamber, Yvette Jefferson, Marketing and Community Relations manager for Langdale Hyundai and Langdale KIA of Valdosta, said that the Economic Summit was “a great way to learn more about the economic forecast of Valdosta and how it compares to its ‘peer’ cities. We wanted to gain additional knowledge about the business climate in Valdosta.  We also wanted to learn more about the economic forecast and business development.  Valdosta's population growth is outpacing its peer cities, and that's definitely a plus.” Jefferson’s husband Anthony, General Manager of KIA of Valdosta and Langdale Hyundai of South Georgia stated that “It's important to know what motivates consumers, what their challenges are and how to offer solutions.  In the automobile industry, these are very important components of success.”
 
David Peterson, Chief Strategic Officer for i7strategies challenged members of the community to “change our thinking” and reconsider “how we think.” Although he was unable to attend in person due to weather changes in his travel plans, in his open letter to the group he encouraged community leaders to set aside our “traditional, autopilot” type thinking, and open ourselves to more innovative thinking, welcome new technology and create an environment that will allow it to flourish.
 
Peterson described his experience 20 years ago in attempting to build and grow a bank software company when our community was not prepared to assist technology-based enterprises.  “There were champions out there who wanted to help Goldleaf Technologies, but Lowndes County, at that time, was not equipped to accommodate such businesses.”
 
His message to today’s leaders in Lowndes County:  “There are so many more opportunities for software than when Goldleaf wrote its first line of code.   But there is still work to be done for Lowndes County to take its place amongst communities that are embracing technology-based start-ups.” 
 
In order to promote this type of thinking, David Peterson announced a partnership with the Chamber to present to the members of this community a group of local and out-of-state speakers that will focus on Transformational Growth and Innovation. Gather your executive team and join us on May 9, 2017 at Rainwater Conference Center. Come ready to think creatively and in terms of future growth for not only your business, but Lowndes County.
 
Registration is available for the 2017 Innovation Summit by visiting www.ValdostaChamber.com or by calling (229) 247-8100.
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VALDOSTA, GA- The Chamber Ambassadors recently held a ribbon cutting at Epic Escape Rooms in celebration of their recent opening and accomplishments.
 
Epic Escape Rooms is a family owned business that allows families and friends to “unplug” and enjoy working together to win the game! To play, you simply book your group in one of the three themed rooms and then you will have 1 hour to solve all of the puzzles, riddles, and clues to “escape” the room! Recently, Epic Escape Rooms has added a Mega Game option to be able to accommodate larger groups. These games can brought right to you! They hope to be adding even more games throughout the year.
 
The owners are Valdosta locals and saw a need for healthy, fun, “family style” entertainment in the community. They believe escape room games bond groups in a unique, fun way. Their ultimate goal is to give their customers a great time. Having them return and give recommendations makes everything worth it. “We absolutely love when a group has so much fun that they turn around and book their next room right away!  That means we are doing what we set out to do!” says Michele Everson.
 
Epic Escape rooms has recently become a member of the Chamber and is thrilled with the networking it has provided. They look forward to taking advantage of all the Chamber has to offer and hopes to bring a lot to the community.
 
You can visit Epic Escape Rooms at 2533 N Ashley Street in Valdosta and they can be reached by calling 229-561-4969.
 
For pictures and further information about this event, visit ValdostaChamber.com.