RECOMMENDATIONS FOR A RURAL RENAISSANCE A REPORT BY: GEORGIA CHAMBER CENTER FOR RURAL PROSPERITY

RECOMMENDATIONS FOR A RURAL RENAISSANCE A REPORT BY: GEORGIA CHAMBER CENTER FOR RURAL PROSPERITY

RECOMMENDATIONS FOR A RURAL RENNAISANCE INTRODUCTIONS FROM THE GEORGIA CHAMBER AND THE RURAL PROSPERITY COUNCIL Examination of Rural Prosperity across Georgia In 2015, the Chamber and the Center for Rural Prosperity Foundation embarked on a multi-year initiative to examine prosperity across the state. After extensive research, we have concluded that innovative solutions are immediately needed to encourage a revival of our state s rural communities. Though Georgia has consistently been ranked as the Best Place To Do Business, other rankings reveal a growing, more systemic problem. Consider the following indicators: Georgia s rural poverty rate stands at 21% Georgia ranks 45th out of 50 states in rural graduation rates Senior citizens will comprise over 25% of all rural Georgia residents by 2030 40% of rural Georgia adults are not working 74 Georgia counties projected to lose population by 2030 85 Georgia counties projected to lose jobs by 2030 53% of Georgia counties are categorized as Distressed while nationally that figure stands at 20% We must be honest about our challenges if we expect to thrive in the future. Our best days are ahead of us, if we choose to act now. ~ Chris Clark, CEO, Georgia Chamber of Commerce Opened the Center for Rural Prosperity For 103 years the Georgia Chamber has led the call for prosperity and job creation in all of Georgia s 159 Counties. In 2017, the Chamber opened the Center for Rural Prosperity in Tifton, created a new Rural Prosperity Council to develop innovative solutions and held the inaugural Rural Prosperity Summit. The Georgia Chamber is committed to a holistic state economic strategy to address the issues of urban, suburban and rural communities and businesses. We believe strongly that by working together state, local, education and business leaders can implement innovative solutions to address our rural economic crisis. Below are recommendations gathered from thousands of Georgians through town hall meetings, social media submissions, polling, listening sessions, and from groundbreaking practitioners around Georgia. They cover four critical areas: 1. Empowering Leadership 2. Strengthening Economic Drivers 3. Improving Quality of Life 4. Recruiting, Retaining and Training Talent Rural communities make our state unique and must be preserved. These recommendations will guide leaders to implement policies and practices that encourage prosperity to all our corners of our great state. ~ Dennis Chastain, Chair, Georgia Chamber Rural Prosperity Council

POLICY & STRATEGIC RECOMMENDATIONS PUBLIC AND PRIVATE LEADERSHIP IS CRITICAL FOR RURAL COMMUNITIES TO PROSPER IN A CHANGING ECONOMIC CLIMATE A. Public and private leadership is critical for rural communities to prosper in a changing economic climate: 1. Local government leadership and planning are key to building sustain able economic mobility and success in rural Georgia. Improving and enhancing local government planning and resource management are critical. A. A declining tax base in rural communities threatens service delivery and long term governmental viability. The state should develop incentives and more strategies for local and regional government shared and consolidated services. C. The state should also require additional training for elected leaders overseeing healthcare facilities and local governments should provide additional training for hospital boards to ensure that facilities are innovative and sustainable. D. Georgia should approve a program like South Carolina s regional grant effort that provides support for public-private partnerships, site development, infrastructure and other critical economic development needs. B. Many communities find it hard to develop realistic economic strategies because of a lack of resources and trained leaders. The State of Georgia and the private sector should: i. Provide additional resources to expand UGA s Archway Partnership to provide strategic planning resources to more rural communities. ii. Provide grant funds for local strategic planning efforts for Georgia s poorest communities. 2. Job recruitment and retention are not limited to political boundaries. Georgia must do more to promote true regionalism. A. The state should immediately launch a detailed Regionalism Task Force to: i. Restructure existing state-led regionalism efforts and incentives. ii. Identify ways to incentivize and reward regionalism, shared services, revenue sharing product development, marketing, and project management. B. Economic, leadership, and community development organizations should develop a coordinated curriculum for training of elected officials and development professionals (GMA, ACCG, GEDA, DCA, UGA, GA Tech, etc.) to promote regionalism, talent development and to better address emerging strategies. 3. The State of Georgia should fully review existing and future state office locations and attempt to replicate the success of projects like the Tift College Campus in Forsyth by moving state jobs into underserved markets. 4. According to the USDA Economic Research Service, there is a significant disparity between corporate and foundation investment in rural issues as compared to urban areas. The private and non-profit sector in Georgia should develop a coordinated and long-term effort to invest in rural needs and the General Assembly should examine innovative approaches to encourage and incentivize such giving. 5. Local economic development agencies must focus on regional cooperation and they must also develop strong, long term online digital strategies for internal and external communications. PAGE02

POLICY & STRATEGIC RECOMMENDATIONS FOCUSING ON EXISTING AND EMERGING RURAL ECONOMIC DRIVERS IS CRITICAL FOR LONG TERM RURAL PROSPERITY B. Focusing on existing and emerging rural economic drivers is critical for long term rural prosperity: 1. 75% of all Georgia businesses have fewer than 10 employees. ix Organic economic growth is the most promising and difficult strategy for rural areas and requires not just developing more small business start-ups and entrepreneurial activity, but a commitment to long term sustainability, diversity and success of those job engines. A. Georgia should develop Innovation Hubs (incubators, maker spaces, Centers of Innovation, etc.) throughout Georgia to better connect and market small business with available resources. B. Support the statewide small business startup education and competition to better educate the next generation of small business innovators in K-12 as well tap into the intellectual capital of our colleges and universities. C. Georgia must develop innovative solutions to increase capital investment in rural small business. D. Rural retail has faced significant decline because of online competition, but online retail offers these same small companies new opportunities to expand to new markets within Georgia. By focusing on Authentic Georgia Made and Georgia Grown products, retailers can tap into the demand for locally produced products. Policy makers should continually examine rules, regulations and tax policy changes that could help grow and modernize the creative, agriculture and artisan sectors. E. Provide additional resources to expand UGA s Archway i. Partnership to provide strategic planning resources to more rural communities. ii. Provide grant funds for local strategic planning efforts for Georgia s poorest communities. 2. Certain economic engines and industry sub-sectors find greater success in rural markets like Advanced Manufacturing, Agricultural Technology, Wholesale Trade and Logistics. Growing these existing industries is a viable and sustainable long-term solution. A. While large manufacturers are attracted to major talent hubs, small manufacturers and second tier suppliers thrive in rural settings. To target these types of companies the General Assembly should allocate additional funding to the Georgia Department of Economic Development to fund a new Micro-Enterprise Team focused on 5 to 30 employee relocation projects best suited for rural communities. B. Promoting rural location venues and expansion opportunities is difficult but programs like the Red Carpet Tour and Georgia Quail Hunt are examples of hands-on long-term relationship building that works for economic development. To that end, similar efforts to promote rural Georgia should be explored. Likewise, communities and regions in rural Georgia should develop new and unique strategies to tell their story and opportunities in non-traditional ways. C. Just like Georgia Grown has found great success in raising awareness to Georgia consumers the General Assembly should allocate funding to the Department of Economic Development to fund an Authentic Georgia Made Campaign done in partnership with the Georgia Chamber. PAGE03

POLICY & STRATEGIC RECOMMENDATIONS FOCUSING ON EXISTING AND EMERGING RURAL ECONOMIC DRIVERS IS CRITICAL FOR LONG TERM RURAL PROSPERITY A. The Outdoor Economy is one of the fastest growing sectors with urban residents seeking to connect with the outdoors for ever-increasing recreational opportunities. To fully capitalize on those trends Georgia must invest in our existing outdoor infrastructure and conserve critical areas for long term access. The General Assembly should pass a permanent funding source for conservation and state natural resource access. 3. Georgia s economy is grounded in Agriculture & Forestry with an annual $74 billion economic impact x, but these industries are often overlooked in larger strategic economic planning. A. The General Assembly should fund and expand the Georgia Department of Agriculture s Georgia Grown efforts. B. The General Assembly should support and expand the Wholesome Wave Farmers Market program to support local farmers and provide local produce to low-income residents. C. While Georgia s reputation for commodities is superior, we have failed to fully capitalize on processing these products. Resources should be devoted to leveraging assets within the Georgia Department of Agriculture, Technical College System of Georgia, and University System of Georgia to fully integrate their ability to cultivate grower relationships with potential processors for Georgia development, relocation, and expansion. 4. Georgia s second largest economic engine is our Tourism, Creative, and Hospitality sectors and combined they employ nearly 450,000 residents of our state xi. The Outdoor Economy on its own had a $27 billion impact in 2017. xii Future international and domestic travel are projected to grow substantially. As one of the top three film and video production locations in the US, our rural communities are starting to see significant investments from the Creative industry. B. Small tourism, art centers, and agritourism in rural communities rarely have the resources to fully promote their venues and communities. Therefore, the General Assembly should create a new competitive Rural Tourism Development Grant program that also incentivizes joint marketing and more partnerships between rural tourism venues. C. Georgia is heavily outspent by our Southeastern neighbors promoting tourism, often to the detriment of rural communities and visitor venues. The General Assembly should fund tourism marketing and branding to 75% of the Southeastern state funding average. D. In the past several years, rural tourism venues have seen a decline in revenue because many school districts have allowed their school start dates to creep into early August and even July thereby reducing sales tax revenue and limiting youth employment opportunities. The General Assembly should provide uniformity for school start dates. E. Maintaining our existing creative industry tax benefits should be a continued priority for policy makers and we should seek ways to encourage rural production. F. The public and private sectors should continue to protect the brand of Georgia from divisiveness and discriminatory policies because in the age of social media, any negative public relations will continue to curb outside investment and visitors to the state. PAGE04

POLICY & STRATEGIC RECOMMENDATIONS FOCUSING ON EXISTING AND EMERGING RURAL ECONOMIC DRIVERS IS CRITICAL FOR LONG TERM RURAL PROSPERITY 5. Georgia has long maintained a conservative approach to tax incentives and has traditionally offered smaller job creation project incentives than other states. While Georgia should continue this stewardship approach, it is important that the incentives we do offer are competitive and meaningful to encourage rural expansions, locations, and start-ups. A. Develop legislation to rebrand and restructure Georgia s existing Tier incentive system and remove the negative connotation that comes with a lower tier ranking. The state must also stabilize the Tier system so that it doesn t change annually in the middle of a project because of economic challenges of another county. B. A study committee should review the effectiveness of monetization of certain tax credits targeted to rural projects. 6. Georgia ranks in 7th in Defense Industry spend and 8th in military personnel. xii All but one of our bases are in rural areas and over 96 rural counties have some defense industry. To better prepare for future base actions and to improve our reputation as a military and defense friendly state we must: A. Create a long term, full-time, fully funded coordinated federal advocacy arm to more quickly respond to changes in Georgia s military community and fund the Military Affairs Council to better prepare Georgia base communities for future BRAC reviews. B. The General Assembly should adjust the State Charter School Board law to allow the children of civilian employees of military bases to attend onbase charter schools. C. Extra measures should be adopted to protect against the cancellation of Health Insurance of members of National Guard, Reserves, or active duty personnel. D. The General Assembly should address issues with the validity of military ID for drivers and commercial driver s licenses and engineering licensure for military retirees and personnel. PAGE05

POLICY & STRATEGIC RECOMMENDATIONS VIBRANT AND DIVERSE COMMUNITIES OFFER EXCEPTIONAL QUALITY OF LIFE AND SERVE A VITAL ROLE FOR LONG TERM TALENT RECRUITMENT AND RETENTION C. Vibrant and diverse communities offer exceptional quality of life and serve a vital role for long term talent recruitment and retention: 1. Within 5 years, over 25% of rural Georgians may lack healthcare insurance. xiv 45% of children and 16% of adults in rural communities across the U.S. have health insurance coverage through Medicaid. These are higher rates than in metropolitan areas. xv Georgia s opioid epidemic is crippling many families and companies. And by 2030 over 25% of rural Georgia residents will retire, xvi increasing their healthcare needs dramatically. Georgia must become more creative and innovative in addressing these and other health concerns. A. Georgia must improve and increase physician and healthcare professional recruitment to rural areas: i. Adjust existing Medicaid Reimbursement for physicians ii. Improve programs/grants/incentives for rural healthcare professional recruitment. iii. Increase support and slots for development of rural residency programs. iv. Develop a Rural Admissions Track for all healthcare professionals at Georgia colleges and universities. v. Increase rural residency programming and opportunities. vi. Reform telemedicine billing to incentivize its expansion. vii. Address mental and behavioral health service gaps in rural communities. viii. Develop more robust support and programming for health transportation. ix. The General Assembly should pass meaningful tort reform to lower the malpractice insurance rates for healthcare professionals. x. Transform healthcare delivery and payment systems and establish Rural-Urban demonstration centers for innovation and preventative healthcare. B. Develop a public-private task force to recommend prevention and wellness policies and strategies to lower cost and improve outcomes. C. Develop new health care models for access to care for counties that demographically cannot continue to support a traditional hospital. D. Georgia must aggressively combat the growing opioid epidemic through unique and innovative partnerships between the public and private sector led by the Georgia Attorney General. E. By 2026, the rural healthcare crisis will climax when over 25% of residents do not have insurance. The Georgia General Assembly must pass federal waiver authority for the Governor to discuss securing existing Georgia taxpayer funds that currently leave the state to fund Medicaid expansion in other states. 2. Over 35% of working age adults in rural Georgia are not in the workforce today. xviii Issues ranging from lack of adequate transportation to education to drug abuse are prohibiting economic mobility. With over 21% of rural Georgian s living in poverty and over 29% rural children in poverty, xix Georgia must be more proactive in our efforts to promote economic mobility. A. Develop a statewide task force focused on moving people from poverty to prosperity and addressing existing rules and regulations that prohibit economic mobility. Georgia s faith and business communities and our technical colleges must play leadership roles in this task force. B. Study the potential of deploying more career/life coaches for Georgians on public assistance using the private sector models to help them develop a realistic trajectory to transition into quality, high paying jobs. C. Ensure that Georgia schools are introducing career skills to all students, including the most at-risk students, at an early age. Georgia Leads, a customized K-12 effort, led by the Fanning Institute at the University of Georgia is a replicable model. PAGE06

POLICY & STRATEGIC RECOMMENDATIONS VIBRANT AND DIVERSE COMMUNITIES OFFER EXCEPTIONAL QUALITY OF LIFE AND SERVE A VITAL ROLE FOR LONG TERM TALENT RECRUITMENT AND RETENTION 3. Millennials will soon make up 75% of the total global workforce xx but current projections show a sharp decline of these workers in Rural Georgia. xxi Successful rural communities will make themselves more attractive for Millennials and Zoomers (aka Gen Z). Rural communities must also ensure that they have a vibrant and diverse quality of life with amenities and the right mix of housing. A. Local governments should conduct extensive lean code rewrites to ensure that businesses and developers can thrive through emerging consumer demands. B. Georgia should study incentives and other programs to diversify housing mixes to allow the private sector to create affordable housing options for urban, suburban, and rural residents. 4. In recent national surveys Georgia s Infrastructure earned a C grade. xxii For rural communities, crumbling bridges, outdated telecommunications, and lagging freight systems inhibit our ability to grow and prosper. A. Georgia must update the Georgia State Freight and Logistics Action Plan and follow that with a fully funded GDOT study and recommended list of expanded freight (road and rail) projects around the state in the next 10 years. F. Internet connectivity underpins long term rural success as we move into the internet of things, autonomous vehicle adoption and is key to precision agriculture. i. The General Assembly and local governments should work with the private sector to create a system of modern and expedited permitting and regulations across the state for new broadband infrastructure. ii. The General Assembly should pass Public-Private broadband expansion incentives. iii. Find ways to incentivize local governments through the Georgia Department of Community Affairs to utilize public private partnerships to build out local infrastructure needs. iv. Ensure that Georgia is prepared to capitalize on potential Federal funding programs. v. Improve communications with rural customers so that they understand the existing service resources that already exist, are available but likely underutilized. B. Georgia should develop a 10-year, statewide, strategic plan for infrastructure development that encompasses all modes of transportation that also contemplates economic, geographic, and demographic projections. C. The General Assembly should pass upcoming legislation focused on enhancing freight rail in Georgia. D. In 2018, the General Assembly should permanently remove the sunset on the motor fuel tax to secure long-term transportation funding for critical projects around the state. E. The public and private sector should continually promote regional and local TSPLOST. G. Accelerate the funding and delivery of the Network Georgia (inland ports) program with the Georgia Ports Authority. H. The next Governor should prepare to potentially fund the remainder of the cost of the Savannah Harbor Expansion Project if the Federal Government fails to act. PAGE07

POLICY & STRATEGIC RECOMMENDATIONS THE ULTIMATE KEY FOR A PROSPEROUS RURAL GEORGIA IS DEPENDENT UPON QUALITY AND SKILLED TALENT THAT REFLECT A WORLD CLASS 21ST CENTURY WORKFORCE D. The ultimate key for a prosperous rural Georgia is dependent upon quality and skilled talent that reflect a world class 21st century workforce: 1. Over 1 million Georgians will leave the workforce in the coming 10 years xxiii and businesses have now prioritized talent recruitment as a prerequisite for economic investment. Communities and businesses must develop a strategy to recruit and retain talent. A. Loan forgiveness and similar programs have proven successful for the medical field, but other critical professional categories could also benefit from similar programs. The General Assembly and the Governor s Office of Workforce Development should study a student loan forgiveness program for critical jobs in rural areas. B. Local and state leaders should consider innovative tax policies as seen in some Western states to lower the tax burdens on talent considering rural communities. C. Companies are also putting a greater priority on quality of life and community development as they search for locations because these items are critical for talent recruitment. Each community in Georgia should develop a comprehensive talent recruitment and retention strategy. 2. 66% of Georgia 3rd Graders do not read or write at grade level. xxiv Only 42% of young adults currently have a post-secondary degree or certification. In a world where 80% of the future jobs don t exist but 100% will require some level of additional education, xxv career readiness must be a state and local priority. A. Georgia supports and offers numerous apprenticeship programs and many local school districts have their own internship programs. We must make it easier for employers and students to find and use these programs. Georgia should coordinate existing apprentice programs in a central clearing house targeting businesses and students with one agency responsible for marketing, branding and coordination. B. Most existing career and leadership programs in Georgia target the best and brightest in our schools, often ignoring students that are more likely to remain in rural communities. Providing career and leadership training for all rural Georgia students should be a priority. The General Assembly should allocate funding to the Fanning Institute for rural career skill and regional leadership training programs. C. Rural students must have a better command of STEAM (science, technology, engineering, arts and mathematics) to be successful in a new world dominated by the economic engines of cyber security and data management but many rural school districts do not possess the resources to offer cutting edge education. The Georgia Department of Education should develop an online or regional based STEAM Accelerator to improve STEAM education in rural schools. D. Expand on past efforts to offer additional grant funds to fund technology upgrades in rural schools E. Studies show that disadvantaged students excel with one-on-one mentoring. Georgia should develop a statewide mentoring effort for K-12 in partnership with the private sector (example: provide incentives for companies that allow employees to mentor students). F. Georgia lost a generation of students that traditionally entered the agriculture and manufacturing sector and struggled with a generation that did not start small businesses at the same rate. As a result, we saw a distinct decrease in rural business locations in the state. To overcome this, Georgia must: i. Make expanding skills training for manufacturing and agriculture a priority through funding and programming for rural school districts. ii. Develop a clearing house with better marketing and coordination for entrepreneur education programs. iii. Fully fund the College and Career Academy grant program to ensure that every student has access. PAGE08

POLICY & STRATEGIC RECOMMENDATIONS THE ULTIMATE KEY FOR A PROSPEROUS RURAL GEORGIA IS DEPENDENT UPON QUALITY AND SKILLED TALENT THAT REFLECT A WORLD CLASS 21ST CENTURY WORKFORCE G. As the pace of change expands exponentially the demands for workers to update their skills is ever evolving. To meet emerging trends and demands the Technical College System of Georgia and the University System of Georgia should develop a rapid response education system or a quick certification delivery system for fast changing career fields. H. Encouraging students to attend a rural university or technical college would greatly increase their potential for staying in that region. Georgia should study and develop more scholarships and incentives for training and retaining workforce in rural areas. I. Our University and Technical College Systems are not only key for long term talent development, but they are also economic engines in their communities generating billions of dollars in economic impact annually. The state should continue their focus on economic mobility and development and ensure that those efforts are coordinated, shared and resourced. PAGE09

GET ENGAGED JOIN THE GEORGIA CHAMBER AND ENGAGE THE RURAL PROSPERITY COUNCIL Our Commitment to Imporve Rural Efforts There are thousands of suggestions and recommendations for leading a rural renaissance and the Georgia Chamber will continue to seek innovative solutions and best practices. We will also continue to convene public and private leaders to facilitate an ongoing dialogue while raising public awareness on these pressing issues. Join the Georgia Chamber We encourage you to visit the Rural Prosperity Center in Tifton, Georgia. To join the Chamber and engage our Rural Prosperity Council visit our website: gachamber.com/rural-georgia-home. PAGE10

THE GEORGIA CHAMBER 2018-2020 RURAL PROSPERITY ACTION PLAN FROM THE GEORGIA CHAMBER AND THE RURAL PROSPERITY COUNCIL Actively partner with elected officials and advocate for recommendations, strategies and policies to promote rural job creation Continue the work of the Rural Prosperity Council to specifically focus on: -- Rural Incentives -- Regionalism -- Homegrown Business Start Ups Rural Talent Recruitment, Retention and Development Strategies Continue the Rural Prosperity Summit to focus attention on rural issues and to offer best practices, strategies and policy recommendations Launch the Georgia Chamber Trade Summit to promote exporting among Georgia small and rural businesses Facilitate diversity discussions and inclusion strategies throughout Georgia Seek national partners and other state partners to develop strategies for rural prosperity Continue the Georgia Quail Hunt that focuses on the promotion of Southwest Georgia Examine opportunities to promote rural Southeast Georgia Actively partner with the Georgia Departments of Agriculture, Community Affairs and Economic Development Continue to support and promote regional leadership programs via GeorgiaLeads Continue to support and promote career and leadership training for all Georgia students via GeorgiaLeads Develop a state-wide small business and entrepreneurship program Launch Authentic Georgia campaign and website to promote Georgia made products as well as Georgia tourism destinations Assist Georgia rural communities and regions in passing transportation referendums Advocate at the federal, state and local levels for telecommunications connectivity Actively partner with the Technical College System of Georgia and the University System of Georgia for policies, strategies and programming to promote rural talent development, recruitment and retention PAGE11

ENDNOTES RECOMMENDATIONS FOR A RURAL RENAISSANCE A REPORT BY THE GEORGIA CHAMBER CENTER FOR RURAL PROSPERITY i. Industry Snapshot, JobsEQ, 2016-2026, accessed 10/30/2017 ii. iii. Poverty Status in the last 12 months, American Community Survey 2015 5 year Estimates Daniel Showalter, Robert Klein, Jerry Johnson and Sara Hartman. Why Rural Matters 2015-2016: Understanding the Changing Landscape, The Rural School and Community Trust, June 2017. http://www.ruraledu.org/user_uploads/file/ WRM-2015-16.pdf xi. xii. xiii. Tourism, Georgia Department of Economic Development, accessed http://www.georgia.org/ industries/georgia-tourism/ Georgia Outdoor Recreation Economy Report, Outdoor Industry Association Outdoor Recreation Economy Report, accessed July 26, 2017, accessed https://outdoorindustry.org/resource/georgia-outdoor-recreation-economy-report Defense Spending by State, Georgia Department of Economic Development, FY 2015 xix. xx. Poverty Status in the last 12 months, American Community Survey 2015 5 year estimates, accessed 10/30/2017 Global Generations: A global study on worklife challenges across generations, Ernst and Young, 2015, accessed http://www.ey.com/ Publication/vwLUAssets/EY-global-generations-a-global-study-on-work-life-challenges-across-generations/%24FILE/ EY-global-generations-a-global-study-on-worklife-challenges-across-generations.pdf iv. Demographic Profile, JobsEQ, 2015 and 2030, accessed 10/30/2017 xiv. Georgia Chamber Quality Healthcare Access Study, Georgia Chamber of Commerce xxi. Demographic Profile, JobsEQ, 2015 and 2030, accessed 10/30/2017 v. Employment Status, American Community Survey 2015 5 year estimates vi. vii. viii. ix. Demographic Profile, JobsEQ, 2030, accessed 10/30/2017 Demographic Profile, JobsEQ, 2030, accessed 10/30/2017 Distressed Communities Index, Economic Innovation Group Small Business Quick Facts, Georgia Department of Economic Development, accessed http://www. georgia.org/small-business/learn/quickfacts x. 2015 Georgia Farm Gate Value Report, The Center for Agribusiness and Economic Development xv. xvi. xvii. Medicaid in Small towns and Rural America: A Lifeline for Children, Families, and Communities, Georgetown University Center for Children and Families & University of North Carolina NC Rural Health Research Program, June 2017, accessed https://ccf.georgetown.edu/wp-content/uploads/2017/06/rural-health-final.pdf County Projections by Age, Governor s Office of Planning and Budget 2015 Series Georgia Chamber Quality Healthcare Access Study, Georgia Chamber of Commerce xviii. Employment Status, Total Adults 25 to 64 Not in Workforce, American Community Survey 2015 5 year estimates, accessed 10/30/2017 xxii. 2014 Georgia Infrastructure Report Card, American Society of Civil Engineers Infrastructure Report Card xxiii. Georgia Jobs Projections, Governor s Office of Planning and Budget 2015 Series xxiv. Georgia DOE 2016 Milestones End of Grade assessments, Georgia Department of Education xxv. Complete College Georgia: Georgia s Higher Education Completion Plan, University System of Georgia and the Technical College System of Georgia, November 2011, accessed http://www. usg.edu/galileo/gil/conference/documents/ga- HigherEducationCompletionPlan2012.pdf xxvi. Alec Ross. Industries of the Future. (New York, New York: Simon & Schuster, February 2, 2016) PAGE13

RECOMMENDATIONS FOR A RURAL RENAISSANCE A REPORT BY: GEORGIA CHAMBER CENTER FOR RURAL PROSPERITY GACHAMBER.COM/RURAL-GEORGIA-HOME