A thought leader is described as one whose views on a subject are taken to be authoritative and influential. In the spirit of the New Year, we spoke to four local thought leaders of different ages and professions about their hopes and dreams for 2017.
Mayor Hardie Davis
The Elected Leader
Mayor Hardie Davis has always been in the people business.
Early in his career he helped keep the lights on for families as an electrical engineer; then he brought light into people’s lives as a pastor; and now as a politician and mayor of the city of Augusta, he’s shedding light on those issues and solutions that can help improve the lives of its citizens.
Right now, his spotlight is on opportunity.
“We’re on the verge,” he says. “I’m honored to lead this city at perhaps one of the most transformative times in our history.”
He points to Cyber Command coming online at Fort Gordon and the major research university that Augusta University has become. Then there are the multimillion-dollar investments by companies such as Solvay, Unisys, ADP, E-Z-GO and EdenCrete, bringing hundreds of service economy jobs. Combine that with those intangible benefits Augustans have always enjoyed—a location two hours away from mountains, beaches and cities such as Atlanta and Charleston, as well as a low cost of living—“We should really be talking about what makes Augusta the best place in the state of Georgia in which to live, learn, work and to raise a family, and that’s really what I think we’re on the verge of in these next days ahead.”
And it’s what will attract—and retain—bright people who want to be a part of a progressive city, adds Davis. As mayor, one of his goals has been to be a champion for the roughly 32,000 students in Augusta and to ensure the city is a place where they want to return to raise a family—instead of matriculating away and planting their talents in another city. He wants to nurture other generations too, who can lend their perspective, wisdom and guidance.
It will take these people and a partnership between the private and public sectors to keep Augusta on an upward momentum in the coming year, Davis says. He has two major goals for 2017—to transform the river region as well as the Gordon Highway corridor. The first step will happen in early spring when the city breaks ground on a new $14 million transit facility at the old Regency Theater site.
“Inherently the challenge (for all this) is bringing the right people to the table from a private sector perspective, who are willing to take not only risks but who are willing to take their own capital and make those investments,” he says. “As a city, we’re going to take the first step…that’s going to be the jumpstart, the catalyst to not only demonstrate to our private sector that we are serious but that the city is committed to growing all of Augusta.”
Looking downtown, the view from the windows of the Municipal Building onto downtown Augusta hasn’t changed in decades. But Davis cites the excitement surrounding the two new hotels that are being built, totaling a $60 million dollar investment made possible in part by a local government focused on creating the right climate for these kind of investments, starting at the licensing and permitting level.
“Our skyline is going to change—that’s (the sign of) a progressive city,” says Davis. He adds, “These are our best days, and with increased collaboration between our citizens, between the private sector and government, Augusta is going to do things that we’ve never done before.”
Grace Belangia
The Tech Leader
Is Augusta innovative? “That’s a trick question!” said Grace Belangia with a laugh.
She’s thoughtful for a moment: “I think Augusta in general has the bones to be a very innovative community, and partly it’s because we’re starting to attract other people who are innovative.”
Belangia should know. Growing up in the Palo Alto community alongside budding technology engineers and developers, she’s attuned to the subculture of innovation that’s rising up in the city. She’s also the executive director of Hack Augusta, the nonprofit that manages theClubhou.se, of which she’s a founding member. The two entities were created to connect creative thinkers in tech, offer mentorship and provide resources to assist budding entrepreneurs in launching startups. On top of all this, Belangia is the workhorse behind the TedX Talks held at the Imperial Theater in 2015 and 2016, with a third coming in March.
“At the end of the day, (innovation) comes back to human capital and financial resources,” says Belangia. Fort Gordon’s Cyber Command is top of mind because of the trickle-down effect that growth will ignite. Another prime example is Augusta University, whose support of the Augusta community is starting to retain millennials looking for the quality of life that Augusta can provide, thus preventing “brain drain.” The third component is Savannah River Site, which is developing innovative partnerships with players such as the University of South Carolina Aiken.
“Those are the three pillars that we see, power, security and health…(that) are unique to Augusta,” Belangia says. “Getting those three in the same room talking to each other—(those) are the ingredients for Augusta to be considered an innovative city.”
Launching new businesses—which is where Belangia maintains her focus—is also vital. “Growing business is really important for economic development as opposed to taking a company from another part of the country and having them relocate here. You’re growing jobs in Augusta but taking them from another part of the country. So you want to create new jobs, and a way to create new jobs is supporting entrepreneurs and startups.”
It all goes back to people: Something as simple as an email introduction or taking a meeting can build a connection. Belangia goes back to her days in Silicon Valley: “It’s just an attitude. You can provide a sliver of that in Augusta. You have people who have ideas, you want to help them launch them. You have people here who have money, you want give them opportunities to help grow the next generation. Neither of them have to get on a plane to go to the West Coast—they can do those things here.”
While that attitude is not something that can change in just a year, 2017 could be the start of a five- or 10-year plan to get Augusta there. Belangia hopes to one day see a public seed fund in Augusta that will invest in startups and entrepreneurs—and enough happening that a full-time patent attorney would stay constantly busy. (Note: Augusta currently has no patent attorneys).
“Innovation is a calculated risk to try something new,” says Belangia. “(It’s) ‘I’m going to do this thing because it’s going to make my life better or make my business better.’…Innovation is happening, but to be supportive of moving this city forward means that you need to have skin in the game…In theory, yes, Augusta is innovative, but in practice, how innovative are we? Are we really helping support our small businesses, are we really collaborating with those who want to be innovative and are we providing those resources for them?”
Bryn Towner
The Millennial Leader
Recently Bryn Towner was sitting on a rooftop with friends in New York City. While they were enjoying the view of the skyline in one of the hippest, coolest and trendiest cities in the world, her friends—who recently moved from Augusta—began reminiscing about how much they loved and enjoyed their time here.
For Towner, a millennial, it’s an attitude that she’s seen again and again among friends and acquaintances of her age group. Towner is a little unique, being a transfer to the Garden City who is originally from suburban Atlanta and later Valdosta (while attending Valdosta State University). She recognizes the familiar attitude of young Augustans who want to leave the city in search of the amenities that major metropolitan areas can offer. But “I fell in love with Augusta,” she says—pointing out the city’s history, its low cost of living and the people and connections available here as just some of its high points. “And I think the hidden truth of Augusta that a lot of people don’t realize is that there are plenty of things to do here.”
In fact, she’s seen a number of those in her age group move back to Augusta after experiencing life elsewhere, “(which) to me shows you that we can be hip and modern but at the end of the day, millennials, we’re going to grow up,” she says with a laugh. “We’re going to want to settle down. If we grew up in a community, we’re going to want to reflect that in our own lives. So I think millennials who are from this area, many of them do stay because they know that it’s a good place for them and it helps them thrive.”
The city can be that place where millennials can plant their roots—and step up to help guide the city’s next direction. Towner moved to Augusta for an inner-city teaching position and now raises funds for University Health Care System and heads up the Young Professionals of Augusta networking group, so for her, it’s all about a service mindset.
As someone who lives and plays downtown, she sees the urban core as a key area for investment in the coming year, whether it’s through startups opening up a storefront or military, medical or energy workers moving there with their families. “Businesses are going to come where people are, and people are going to come where businesses are,” she says. She likens it to Atlantans vying to live inside the beltline. “If we can do that as well, that would create just a wonderful community in Augusta…Augusta would continue to attract not just millennials but all generations for work, play, a place to live.”
Downtown’s much-talked-about revival would require more affordable lofts and apartments, a grocery store, even more restaurants and entertainment, and a livelier Riverwalk that offered improved access to amenities (such as kayak rentals) to allow citizens to enjoy the river area.
She’s excited about those opportunities both for herself and her fellow millennials. “We get to be a part of the change,” she says. “The biggest thing we could do is to change our perspective on how we can serve our city as opposed to it serving us, catering to us and our needs.”
Pastor Marty Baker
The Spiritual Leader
Pastor Marty Baker will be spending this month in prayer for the city of Augusta.
Together with his congregation, the spiritual leader of Stevens Creek Church annually carves out 21 days in the months of January and August to pray and fast over the city, its political leaders, its schools, its businesses and its families.
Baker views Augusta as spiritually strong—with its multitude of churches, a robust Christian radio station and citywide events such as the Just Give Me Jesus revival in 2012 and annual March For Jesus Walk. Still, he sees a hunger for more. “We have been blessed as a community with great resources, and we have a beautiful city and great innovation, a lot of opportunity. And I meet so many people who have all sorts of opportunities and they have a great life on the outside, but there’s something that is crying out on the inside.”
He sees this particularly in the next generation but in professional men and women too. Baker in fact talks often with his congregation about entrepreneurship and business. It may be an unusual message, one that you don’t always connect with Sunday service, but perhaps it should be shared more often. “For so many years we’ve tried to compartmentalize spiritual life. We’re saying, ‘OK, spiritual life is on Sunday and then I’ve got work life on Monday.’ And so what I’m trying to communicate is that your spiritual life is a part of your everyday life.”
That ongoing connection to a higher being is what makes for a strong city, he says, resulting in stronger families, happier and healthier marriages, job growth and less addiction. It begins at the individual level—and one goal for the coming year that Baker would encourage for everyone is to set aside 15 minutes a day to read the Bible and reflect on scripture. “In addition to that, I would encourage people to connect with others,” he says. “You’re not created to live on an island, God has created you for community. I really feel like if we can take the next step and connect with someone else, we are truly better together and stronger together.”
One example is the monthly community prayer breakfast that Deke Copenhaver launched during his time as mayor and that he continues to be involved in. “So many times, people wait for the pastors to do something when really the people in the church have the power to do it because they have the influence and the relationships.”
With the city growing thanks to Cyber Command and other new initiatives, Baker says that Augustans have a unique opportunity in 2017. “God is sending us people from all over the world,” he says. “We have this opportunity to help influence them to make decisions that will make their lives better and we have an opportunity to receive these outsiders and make them insiders…We oftentimes send missionaries overseas, (but) how about this? Maybe we are the missionaries and God is sending us people here for us to demonstrate in very practical ways the love of Jesus Christ.”