Taking Care of Business

Local groups help businesses come and grow

With more than 2,300 businesses, including some of metro Atlanta’s top firms and the regional headquarters of national and international companies, the Peachtree Corners/Norcross area is in the top 10 economic engines in metro Atlanta.

So says the chairman of the Southwest Gwinnett Chamber of Commerce (SWGC), one of two local organizations devoted to keep that engine roaring. SWGC works to build a healthy economy and improve quality of life in the tri-cities area of Peachtree Corners, Berkeley Lake and Norcross.

“The chamber was founded on the ABC’s,” SWGC Chairman Weare Gratwick said. “Advocate, Build and Connect.”

The other organization, the Peachtree Corners Business Association (PCBA), was launched with five key initiatives, including giving businesses a unified voice and making it easier for the business community to interact with the city, said Lisa Proctor, the group’s president and executive founding member. Most of Peachtree Corners’ businesses are small, with 50 employees or less, Proctor said.

“We realize they don’t have all the resources the Fortune 500 companies have, so we are building networking and member opportunities that will bring those resources in,” she said. “We are trying to build real relationships, rather than just that drive-by networking event.”

Both of these organizations began in 2012, the same year Peachtree Corners was incorporated. The city born of technology says its robust business community is one of the reasons it can offer a full-service government that charges no property taxes — residential or commercial.

PCBA and SWGC are working to keep it that way.

Southwest Gwinnett Chamber of Commerce

SWGC Chairman Weare Gratwick is regional president-Atlanta of Colony Bank and Mayor Pro Tem on the Peachtree Corners City Council. He’s been a city resident for 24 years.

Except for its paid director of sales and member services, Beth Coffey, the chamber is a volunteer organization with currently about 170 member companies.

Its 23-member Board of Directors meets quarterly. A dozen of those members serve on an executive committee that meets monthly with Gratwick and Coffey.

The chairman is especially proud of the group’s continuity of leadership. Every one of its past chairs, who serve one-year terms, has remained involved on a past chairs board.

SWGC promotes area businesses, represents them at government meetings and brings them together in a variety of ways.

Weekly Connect Over Coffee meetings are informal networking sessions where businesses can learn about each other.

“First Friday Breakfast” meetings usually draw about 50 to 100 people and feature speakers that have included Gwinnett County Public Schools Superintendent Alvin Wilbanks; Gwinnett County Commission Chairwoman Charlotte Nash; and Jason West, program manager of the Gwinnett County Environmental Heritage Center, who spoke to the chamber as Button Gwinnett in celebration of the county’s bicentennial.

July’s First Friday will be a Mayors’ Panel, featuring the mayors of all three cities in the SWGC region.

Twice a year the chamber provides a leadership program “for business owners and lower- or mid-level rising stars” in small to mid-sized companies, Gratwick said. “We want to fill those gaps where companies may not provide those services directly,” he said.

SWGC provides an avenue for volunteering, supports community programs and has aided a variety of school programs such as, along with PCBA, the Rotary Club of Peachtree Corners’ Career Exploration Night for high school seniors.

Through its Project Curb Appeal, the chamber has taken on two medians on Peachtree Industrial Boulevard — from Holcomb Bridge Road to Paul Duke STEM High School — for more maintenance and beautification than the county can provide.

“We would like to expand that program north on Peachtree Industrial through Berkeley Lake,” Gratwick said. “We’re filling needs in business and the community and helping support our local schools.”

Peachtree Corners Business Association

PCBA President Lisa Proctor is the president and CEO of executive search and consulting services firm Sanford Rose Associates — Lake Lanier Islands. She’s lived in Peachtree Corners for more than 25 years.

PCBA is all-volunteer, with about 200 member companies and 575 company representative members across metro Atlanta. In addition to connecting its members, the group recommends member businesses to others and seeks to promote integrity — all through networking meetings, social events, member education and a speaker series.

One recent speaker was Steven Carse who co-founded the King of Pops frozen treats business with his brother Nick in 2010 after he was laid off from his corporate job during the Great Recession.

PCBA also supports community activities and charitable organizations.
“We’re not a civic organization, but this is a great way for a lot of us to be involved with our community,” Proctor said. “At least once a month we hand out a check to one of our local scholarship recipients or local 501C3s that need support.”

PCBA keeps metrics on membership trends, including why businesses close or move out of the city. “We’re not going to solve every problem in the world, but … we want the group to be accessible and for companies to feel comfortable, so we understand the resources they need,” Proctor said.

One of those problems led to a new program called the PCBA Lunch Club, which was launched in May. Proctor knows of one restaurant whose owner said sales dropped by more than $3,000 a week after the city’s new Town Center opened in April, with Farm Burger, Marlow’s Tavern and Firebirds Wood Fired Grill among its current and “opening soon” tenants.

Through the Lunch Club, PCBA member restaurants are filling empty seats by offering discounts to fellow PCBA members and their guests, Proctor said.

“We have to be Switzerland,” Proctor said. “We cannot play favorites with any of the businesses.

“Everyone’s so excited about the new Town Center, and that’s good,” she said. “We’re making sure that we are listening to the established restaurants and (working on) what we can do to encourage people not to forget them.” ■