Coweta County continues to be known as Prosperity's Front Door, and 2016 was an exceptionally good year for us! Here are just five of the ways your Chamber helped improve Newnan and Coweta County and make sure that our community remains a prosperous one.

1. Chamber supports German Apprenticeship Model

Lt. Governor Casey Cagle came to The Newnan Centre in May to help launch the Georgia Consortium of Advanced Technical Training (GA CATT) Program, the first of its kind in the United States, with the Central Educational Center, Coweta County's College and Career Academy. The program unites the German American Chamber of Commerce of the Southern U.S., Inc. with the Technical College System of Georgia and eight Coweta County manufacturing companies. Beginning in the tenth grade, high school students will now have the opportunity to complete their education with a high school diploma, German apprenticeship certificate and an associate degree in Industrial Mechanics through West Georgia Technical College.

Georgia is the first state to secure these kinds of dynamic workforce development opportunities in the nation. Coweta began by selecting 11 tenth grade students to take part in this world-class program.

During the launch at The Newnan Centre, leaders from business, education, government and other sectors celebrated our community's capacity to work together to create innovations that benefit our students, our businesses and our entire community. The Chamber played a role in this process thanks to our partnership with CEC and the leadership of Chamber members Martin Pleyer of Grenzebach and Tony Ferguson of Georgia Power.

Central Educational Center CEO Mark Whitlock said, "The Chamber's role in the growth and development and governance of CEC, and this Board's support for this apprenticeship program, have been absolutely essential to the development of this program." Whitlock also praised the Chamber for its "commitment to ensuring economic prosperity."

2. Chamber brings awareness to linear park initiative

The effort to bring a linear park system to Newnan and Coweta County picked up traction this year in the city and county. The Chamber played a role early in the process by bringing awareness and building support for the concept. Informational "coffee and conversation" sessions were held in the summer of 2015, local leaders went to Carrollton to learn about their Greenbelt, and Chamber leaders have been on the planning committee for the linear park.

"The Chamber has played a key role in creating public awareness and generating excitement for a Linear Park or Trail system in Coweta County," said 2016 Chamber Chair Tony Ferguson of Georgia Power. "Through publicity and business engagement, the Chamber continues to look for ways to keep this idea moving forward."

Chamber board member Jim Thomasson of 75 Jackson Real Estate noted that late last year, "Tony presented to the Economic Development group the idea of trails in Coweta as an economic driver, and this was well received. During 2016, the Chamber has remained supportive of the Trail project, and three Chamber board members attended a number of meetings." Thomasson said 2016 has been more of a planning year for the city and county, and in 2017, a master plan will be presented and hopefully approved by the city and county.

Like Tony and Jim, Chamber President and CEO Candace Boothby said she is excited about the linear park coming to Coweta and looks forward to the Chamber's continued role as an advocate and information resource for the project.

3. Chamber launches redesigned Leadership Coweta

After 20 years, the Chamber's popular Leadership Coweta program needed a redesign, and in 2016, the Chamber launched an exciting new leadership program with enhanced features.

Leadership Coweta, sponsored by the Newnan-Coweta Chamber, provides existing and emerging leaders with unique opportunities to enhance their civic knowledge of Coweta County, to sharpen their leadership skills and to network with leaders from across the community. For more than 20 years, the program has provided participants a better understanding of how our community works, opportunity to build relationships with the region's leaders, and inspiration to use their talents to serve the community.

State Senator-Elect Matt Brass and Garnet Reynolds of BB&T are Executive Team Co-Chairs for Leadership Coweta. Brass said, "The redesign revolved around a general theme of building leaders that would be intricate parts of this community for many years to come. This mission was carried out from the reorganization of the board all the way to the redesign of the actual program."

"Leadership Coweta is the key program for the future leaders of Newnan and Coweta County," said Reynolds. "The program is positioned to motivate, educate and encourage individuals to make a positive impact and difference for the citizens and the business owners of Newnan and Coweta County."

4. Chamber hosts 'State of Community' lunch series

It was "standing room only" when the Chamber hosted its first "State of the Community" Lunch Series this spring. The first lunch, with a focus on "State of Government," featured updates from local city and county administrators.

A "State of Education" Lunch during the summer featured leaders of the Coweta County School System, the University of West Georgia and West Georgia Technical College. The series concluded with a "State of Healthcare" Lunch in the fall that featured CEOs of Cancer Treatment Centers of America at Southeastern Regional Medical Center, HealthSouth Rehabilitation Hospital of Newnan and Piedmont Newnan Hospital.

Matt Reed of Newnan CEO served as sponsor of the luncheons.

5. Chamber sees work begin on Poplar Road Interchange

Coweta County first began discussions on the Poplar Road interchange in 1996, and in 2004, the Board of Commissioners approved $100,000 for the first step in the approval process, an Interchange Justification Report. The Chamber was actively involved in securing the Interstate Justification Number for the interchange.

Four years later, that report was approved by the Federal Highway Administration and the Georgia Department of Transportation. In 2009, Coweta received a GDOT Project Identification Number, and funding for portions of the project was established. In 2010, Engineering and Design work for the interchange was approved by the Board of Commissioners. Four years later, environmental studies were approved at the federal and state levels.

In 2015, the county acquired 47 parcels, totaling some 50 acres needed for the interchange project. Earlier this year, the project was advertised for bids, and the project was awarded at a contracted price of $28.8 million. On May 12, 2016, Coweta County officials broke ground on the Poplar Road Interchange to be known as Exit 44, with a completion date of February 2019.