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Pembroke store marks first anniversary
2015-10-14 10.28.24
Carol Duggar, center, marketing specialist for Carlas Furniture Gallery and Gifts, makes a toast to owner Carla Nelson and operations manager Franklin Wormsley on Wednesday during the celebration marking one year since the business opened in downtown Pembroke. - photo by Photo by Paul Floecker

Carla’s Furniture Gallery and Gifts in downtown Pembroke has been open for one year and already is planning to expand.

The store at 37 E. Bacon St. will open its expanded area in December after buying property next door, owner Carla Nelson said.

Carla’s Furniture Gallery and Gifts welcomed city leaders and other visitors to its one-year anniversary celebration Wednesday.
“We’re proud to be part of the community,” Nelson said.

Nelson runs the store along with operations manager Franklin Wormsley.

“She’s the brains and I’m the back,” Wormsley said with a smile.

Also on the staff are marketing specialist Carol Duggar and digital media strategist Becki Belcher. Nelson credited Wormsley and Duggar with decorating the store and creating the window displays that have become the store’s calling card.

“Eighty-five percent of the people who come in here say it was because of the windows,” Nelson said.

The customers have been a mix of locals and out-of-towners, she said. Nelson thanked Mayor Mary Warnell and other city officials for their support in helping make the store’s first year a successful one.

Carla’s Furniture Gallery and Gifts is open from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Tuesday through Friday and 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Saturday. The store is closed Sunday and Monday.

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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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