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Car dealer donates $36K worth of toys
biz-NeSmith1 2
Demere NeSmith, principal dealer with NeSmith Chevrolet Buick GMC in Claxton, stands among the truck loads of toys that were donated to Toys For Tots, Backus Childrens Hospital and Salvation Army as part of the company's 15-day Facebook FunRaiser fundraiser. - photo by Photo provided.
Special to the News
Updated: Dec 22, 2010, 7:09 PM
Published: Dec 22, 2010, 7:11 PM

CLAXTON — NeSmith Chevrolet Buick GMC distributed $36,718 in toys to three local organizations as a result of a 15-day “Facebook FunRaiser” that took place Dec. 1-15.
Toys For Tots, Backus Children’s Hospital and Salvation Army received thousands of toys Friday during a celebratory event at the dealership. Representatives from all three charitable organizations and the media were present to document this fabulous event.
“Our hearts are filled with such joy knowing that thousands of children will receive a Christmas gift this year from our efforts,” said Demere NeSmith, principal dealer at NeSmith. “Thank you to everyone that participated in the Facebook community.”
From Dec. 1-15, the dealership hosted the Facebook FunRaiser, donating a toy in honor of every new person that “liked” the company Facebook page. Demere NeSmith created the Facebook Toy FunRaiser to give the community an opportunity to reach out and give toys to children in need this Christmas.
Toys For Tots donations will be distributed in Fort Stewart and in Liberty, Long, Evans, Tattnall, Bulloch, Screven, Emanuel, Candler, Evans and Treutlen counties.
Backus Children’s Hospital toy donations will be distributed to admitted and outpatient children receiving care at the hospital.
Salvation Army will distribute its toys to children in need throughout Savannah and the surrounding counties. 
 “This is making such a tremendous difference,” said Marion Platt, commanding officer of Salvation Army in Savannah. “A family that just lost everything in a fire last week will receive some of these toys.” 
Leah Poole with Toys for Tots in Liberty and Long counties added, “This NeSmith donation put us over the top this year. Every single child on our list will receive a toy and stocking stuffer.”
The NeSmith Automotive Group is comprised of two “No Hassle” dealerships including NeSmith Chevrolet Buick GMC in Claxton and NeSmith-Walker Chevrolet Buick GMC in Jesup. For more information on NeSmith Chevrolet, visit www.nesmithnow.com.

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Record April boosts Savannah's container trade at port
GardenCityTerminal
The Port of Savannah moved 356,700 20-foot equivalent container units in April, an increase of 7.1 percent. - photo by Provided
Bryan County News
Updated: May 23, 2018, 1:59 AM
Published: May 23, 2018, 2:00 AM

The Georgia Ports Authority's busiest April ever pushed its fiscal year-to-date totals to more than 3.4 million 20-foot equivalent container units (TEUs), an increase of 8.8 percent, or 280,000 TEUs, compared to the first 10 months of fiscal 2017.

"We're on track to move more than 300,000 TEUs in every month of the fiscal year, which will be a first for the authority," said GPA Executive Director Griff Lynch. "We're also anticipating this to be the first fiscal year for the Port of Savannah to handle more than 4 million TEUs."

April volumes reached 356,700 20-foot equivalent container units, up 7.1 percent or 23,700 units. As the fastest growing containerport in the nation, the Port of Savannah has achieved a compound annual growth rate of more than 5 percent a year over the past decade.

"As reported in the recent economic impact study by UGA's Terry College of Business, trade through Georgia's deepwater ports translates into jobs, higher incomes and greater productivity," said GPA Board Chairman Jimmy Allgood. "In every region of Georgia, employers rely on the ports of Savannah and Brunswick to help them become more competitive on the global stage."

To strengthen the Port of Savannah's ability to support the state's future economic growth, the GPA Board approved $66 million in terminal upgrades, including $24 million for the purchase of 10 additional rubber-tired gantry cranes.  

"The authority is committed to building additional capacity ahead of demand to ensure the Port of Savannah remains a trusted link in the supply chain serving Georgia and the Southeast," Lynch said.

The crane purchase will bring the fleet at Garden City Terminal to 156 RTGs. The new cranes will support three new container rows, which the board approved in March. The additional container rows will increase annual capacity at the Port of Savannah by 150,000 TEUs.

The RTGs will work over stacks that are five containers high and six deep, with a truck lane running alongside the stacks. Capable of running on electricity, the cranes will have a lift capacity of 50 metric tons.

The cranes will arrive in two batches of five in the first and second quarters of calendar year 2019.

 Also at Monday's meeting, the GPA Board elected its officers, with Jimmy Allgood as chairman, Will McKnight taking the position of vice chairman and Joel Wooten elected as the next secretary/treasurer.

For more information, visit gaports.com, or contact GPA Senior Director of Corporate Communications Robert Morris at (912) 964-3855 or rmorris@gaports.com.

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