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Expo to showcase business community
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Ever wondered where to go to get a great hair cut, or maybe to get the right piece of jewelry for that perfect anniversary gift – all without having to leave town? Well the Women’s Business Alliance will be showcasing what the Richmond Hill business community has to offer at the Hometown Expo from 1 to 3 p.m. Saturday at the Richmond Hill City Center in J.F. Gregory Park.

Tina Torres, president of the Women’s Business Alliance, said the slogan for this year’s event is “Getting to know Richmond Hill.”

“We just want people to get to know all the businesses her in the community and all the things that are available in Richmond Hill,” she said.

“We’ll have stuff there for kids – face paintings, balloons, hair cuts. There will be some stuff there for men and a lot of shopping for women.”

The expo will include 45 vendors, most of which are from Richmond Hill, that will be offering everything from jewelry to greeting cards, dog-sitting services, website services, nutritional services and much more, Torres said.

The event is free, and visitors will get the chance to register to win the grand prize of $500 worth of merchandise, “gift certificates, jewelry, all types of stuff,” Torres said.

In addition to the grand prize drawing, each vendor will be offering free giveaways. And boxed lunches, prepared by the City Center’s Chef Kermit Griffin, will be available for $7.

“There will be tons of shopping and free things,” Torres said. “And (the expo) is a good place for networking businesses, too.”

Torres said this is the fifth year the Hometown Expo has been held in Richmond Hill, but this is the first year it’s been presented by the Women’s Business Alliance. She noted this year’s event was made possible by 12 sponsors, including the Richmond Hill City Center, Richmond Hill-Bryan County Chamber of Commerce, CW13 WGSA, ClearChannel, BeSeen Outdoor, Bryan County News, GeoVista Credit Union, Comcast, Century Link, WaterWays Township and Coastal Electric Corp.

For more information about the Hometown Expo or the Women’s Business Alliance, visit http://wbarichmondhill.roundtablelive.org.

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Record April boosts Savannah's container trade at port
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The Port of Savannah moved 356,700 20-foot equivalent container units in April, an increase of 7.1 percent. - photo by Provided

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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