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Local buys three McDonald's here
Gary Jill Ronald
Gary and Jill Stanberry of Richmond Hill are all smiles with Ronald McDonald. Gary Stanberry recently acquired the three McDonalds locations in Richmond Hill. - photo by Photo provided.

The three McDonald’s locations in Richmond Hill now have a new local owner.
Gary Stanberry of Richmond Hill took ownership of the stores at Love’s Travel Center on Highway 144, on Highway 17 near I-95 and on Hwy. 144 at Publix on Wednesday. He purchased the stores from his former partner, Gary Dodd of Hinesville. 
“I am a 30-year member of the McDonald’s family, starting as a crew person in 1981 ...,” Stanberry said.  “I worked for McDonald’s corporation in various mid- and upper-management positions until 2002 when I joined Gary Dodd as director of operations, where I ran his McDonald’s company until November 2010.”
It was in 2010 that Stanberry decided to step out on his own and purchase his first stores — the McDonald’s in Pembroke and a store on White Bluff Road in Savannah.
Though Stanberry is just acquiring the locations in Richmond Hill, he’s no stranger to the stores here.
“(My wife, Jill, and I) have been a part of the community for pretty much the last 15 years,” he said. “It was our hope all along that we’d have the opportunity to purchase these restaurants.”
Stanberry noted that he and his wife played a big part in getting the popular McTeacher’s Night school fundraisers going at the store by Publix, as well as Pembroke.
“We look forward to continuing that, and really we’re just looking to be good stewards of the brand and good stewards of the community.”
Stanberry said the only change customers might notice is when the Highway 17 store goes to 24 hours, most likely in February. Otherwise, he said, the existing management and employees will all remain in place.
Dodd was unable to be reached for comment by presstime.

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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

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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