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Local woman on statewide utility board
biz appointment
Chris McDermott - photo by Photo provided.
Chris McDermott of Richmond Hill was re-elected recently to a three-year term as a member director of the board of Georgia Transmission Corporation. She also serves on the board of directors for Coastal Electric Membership Corporation.   
In addition to her role on the GTC and Coastal EMC boards, McDermott has served on the Georgia Magazine Advisory Board for Georgia EMC. She has volunteered with the Girl Scouts Council of Savannah, Bryan County region, and presently works with the Bryan County Board of Education Community Education Programs.
“Even in challenging economic times, Georgia is predicted to be among the fastest-growing states in the nation with per capita electricity use expanding even faster than the population,” McDermott said. “The strong partnership between Georgia Transmission Corporation and Coastal EMC will help ensure reliable electric service for our members during this continued growth.”
GTC is a not-for-profit cooperative owned by 39 (EMCs in Georgia, including Coastal. Georgia Transmission delivers the high-capacity, long-haul power to EMCs that deliver electricity to members along electric distribution lines and systems. The corporation owns more than $1.6 billion in assets, including nearly 3,000 miles of transmission lines and more than 600 substations across the state.
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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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