Growing Community, Creating Opportunity

What does it take to build a stronger community? It starts with collaboration.

In this episode of Community Convener, we sit down with local leaders and changemakers who are creating opportunities, strengthening connections, and improving the quality of life across Henry County.

This episode features:

• Alvin Glymph, United Way of Greater Atlanta, discussing housing insecurity and how ALICE data is helping communities better understand and address financial hardship. 
• Judy McMurtry, JM EXCEL Consultant LLC, introducing the Henry Hub and its mission to support the "Business of One" through community, collaboration, and new opportunities. 
• Lisa King DeJesus, King Homecare, joining Chamber Membership Director Leonard Robinson to reflect on her recognition as the April Ambassador of the Month and the value of Chamber engagement. 
• Jonathan Penn, Henry County Parks & Recreation, sharing an inside look at the new Aquatic Center and what residents can expect from one of the county's newest quality-of-life amenities. 

Whether you're a business owner, community leader, or resident, this episode highlights the partnerships and initiatives helping Henry County thrive.

Explore upcoming Chamber events here: https://business.henrycounty.com/events/calendarcatgid/6

Interested in sponsoring an episode? Email tarcher@henrycounty.com

Stay connected. Follow us on LinkedIn, Facebook, & Instagram

☕So grab a coffee, and let's dive in!

🎙️ Community Convener is produced by Henry Chamber Media, bringing you conversations that connect business, community, and leadership throughout Henry County.

Transcript

SPEAKER_03 0:08

Welcome back to Community Convener, the official podcast of the Henry County Chamber of Commerce, proudly powered by Georgia Power. I'm your host, Joseph Henning, President and CEO of the Chamber. We have an exciting episode for you today, one that highlights innovation, collaboration, and major milestones shaping Henry County's future. In our catalytic conversation, we sit down with Alvin Glimph, Senior Vice President of Strategic Partnerships at United Way of Greater Atlanta for a deep dive into data-driven community strategy, housing affordability, and how regional partners are working together to strengthen economic mobility across Metro Atlanta. Then we turn to Judy McMurtry of JM Excel Consultant to talk about the launch of the Gig Connector, a brand new chamber initiative designed to help residents access flexible work opportunities and connect directly with employers who need talent right now. Then we're joined by Jonathan Penn of Henry County Parks and Leisure to celebrate the opening of the new Aquatic Center, a major investment in recreation access and youth development. And in our member minute, Director of Membership Leonard Robinson sits down with April's Ambassador of the Month, Lisa King de Jesus, to spotlight her service and leadership within the Chamber community. And we'll round out today's episode with member updates and a look at what's ahead on the Chamber calendar. So grab a coffee and let's dive in. Well, welcome back. Our catalytic conversation today centers on one of the most pressing issues facing our region, housing affordability. Alvin Glimph with United Way of Greater Atlanta joins us to unpack the data and trends and the collaborative strategies shaping the future of economic mobility in our area. Good morning, Alvin. Can you start by sharing your role and how your work connects to housing in Henry County?

SPEAKER_01 1:50

Sure. Well, one, uh good morning. Uh thank you for having me on. Absolutely. Look forward to it. I'm the Senior Vice President, Strategic Partnerships United Way of Great Atlanta, and have the honor of working with uh some colleagues who essentially we are tasked with using data, using resources to invest in our community, improving child well-being, but ultimately trying to improve upward mobility within our region. And for us, housing is a huge factor in regard to upward mobility as we know it influences almost all of the outcomes that we're trying to achieve. So housing is critical. And as we do the work in Henry County, trying to align resources, bringing data, bringing uh partnerships, it's a big part of our approach to this work.

SPEAKER_03 2:39

Absolutely. I look forward to the conversation because I know in recent conversations, you and I and and Jennifer and Anissa and your uh and your agency have been working through a couple different programs and that. And so from your perspective, Alvin, what is the most pressing housing challenge or challenges facing the region right now?

SPEAKER_01 2:58

So I think when we look across the region, and it's particularly with housing, it is affordability is probably one of the biggest crises that we're facing as a region, particularly because it doesn't just affect those who are experiencing poverty. And when we think about affordable housing, I know I at least when I first heard the phrase affordable housing, I thought of it Section 8. I thought of it how are we offering programs and interventions for individuals who are below the poverty level. The more I'm digging into this data, particularly our Alice data, which is the asset limited, income constrained but employed data, it really gives you a sense of how many households are above that poverty line that are really struggling. And so you mentioned the conversations that we've had round table series in Henry County, and Alice has consistently been part of those conversations because if you're only looking at the households who are below the poverty line, you're looking at, say, 9%, 10% in Henry County. When you're looking at that Alice data, that segment of households who are above the poverty line but still cannot afford to live in the communities that they live, in Henry County, that jumps up to 31% of additional households. So now you're looking at close to 40% of the families in Henry County that are truly struggling. And so when I when you then layer that into what's happening with the housing crisis, then housing affordability now has to be a much broader conversation as we take those families into consideration as well. Because those families are the we're thinking of teachers, we're thinking of healthcare workers, retail employees, um logistic workers, public service employees. So essentially, so many of the people who are the pillars of our society, who are who drive our economic engine. And so we really need to take that into consideration when we're looking at housing affordability.

SPEAKER_03 4:53

I think and I think that that is a key note to make here, and that two out of every five residents of Henry County fall somewhere between below poverty up to the Alice constraint. Correct. And those two generally, and I was going to ask you for what a persona of that individual looks like or or or is, but you you hit the nail on the head. I mean, these are these are our first responders. These are the the people that we task with our public safety. We task with medical care. We're tasking them with leading the next generation, educating the next generation. And so these people are, we need them. We need them. And when you say affordable housing, everybody goes, you know, we don't need to look at affordable housing. But without those two in every five, we got a problem.

SPEAKER_01 5:41

We have a problem. And what happens is many times those individuals then have to make some choices. So it's a choice of, well, what if I'm going to live in this community, what can I do without?

SPEAKER_04 5:54

Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 5:55

Or I have to live in another community and now I'm commuting. And so, you know, in those instances, businesses are risking losing employees, not being able to attract employees, but also counties are in many instances losing the investment of those employees back into their economic engine. So if I'm working in a county but I'm living in another county, chances are I'm spending my money in another county as well. And so there's a win-win opportunity for us to keep our employees living in the environments in which they work.

SPEAKER_03 6:30

Well, and I'm I'm glad we framed this around upward mobility, because right now I'm going to send us on a downward spiral. As you say, many of those individuals that we're you that we're talking about with Alice live outside of the county but travel into the county. They're already income constrained. If their method of commute breaks down, that's just yet another roadblock put in front of them.

SPEAKER_01 6:54

The challenge when we talk about Alice families, we talk about them in terms of economic stability, but more from a perspective of how fragile their experience is. And we know that it could be when you are living at the margins and you are sometimes just barely able to make it or even below the margin, all it takes is flat tire. It could be a transmission issue, it could be an air condition. You know, we're talking in 100 degree heat here. Um an air condition goes out, but when you are faced with an expense that you weren't expecting, then that tends to send these Alice families in a downward spiral because I don't have the money. So now I'm gonna fall behind because I have to, to your point, I have to get my car fixed. I have to get my air conditioner fixed. And so if if I'm using the resources that I would have paid my utilities to now get my car fixed, well then I'm falling behind on other payments. And then it's that type of data that we see in our 211 data as we're looking at calls for assistance for utilities or rental assistance, because those are the calls that ultimately are a precursor to someone falling into economic despair.

SPEAKER_03 8:19

Well, and and and you mentioned, thank you, you mentioned the 100-degree weather for the last few months, certainly, you know, a good what three months even. We had high gas prices before that. I mean, there's any number of things, but then you have COVID, the pandemic and everything just a few years ago. But how have these challenges maybe changed or intensified in the past few years with with uh what you're finding in the data?

SPEAKER_01 8:46

Well, what we're finding is how interconnected these challenges are. And so to your point, families are faced with external realities that they're unable to absorb. And so to as we talk about gas prices, as we talk about COVID and grocery prices going up, then what they're also faced with rent increases. They're also faced with childcare being disrupted or going up, along with just housing itself prices are going up. And so, as all of all of the cost for housing and the childcare and transportation and phone bill, all of these are going up, then what we're seeing is this pressure being experienced by our families in ways that we haven't seen before. And so one statistic that really stuck out when I was presenting at the roundtable yesterday was the 93% of residents under the age of 25 that are falling in that Alice population. Yeah. And so that in itself is a statistic and a pressure that we haven't seen before, where so many of our youth are coming into an economy that they cannot afford.

SPEAKER_03 9:59

Well, and I and I think that we need to say, too, that while these are external issues, there are internal consequences that come from that. What when I'm trying to decide if I'm going to pay my utility, fix my car, or pay my insurance, I don't have the healthcare coverage then that I need. I have the stress compounding it. You know, the stress that I'm feeling then might be taken in, not wanting it to, but taken in by my child or my spouse or whatever. I mean, we're looking at so many issues here that that it's not just housing. It's not just one month skipped of rent or or mortgage, but it's so much bigger. The picture is so much bigger. And then to compound this, now we have students in our schools that are in these Alice households that are struggling at home that impacts their schoolwork.

SPEAKER_01 10:51

And the student mobility challenge, as families are forced to move, it's impacting that child, is impacting the as a child leaves, it's impacting their peers, as they're forced with having to deal with the change of losing a friend. But it's also impacting the teacher. You know, I I share that my son is a teacher, a fifth grade teacher, and with in a school with a high student mobility rate, the idea that a teacher has to try to keep a classroom that in many instances is already overcrowded. But instead of 25, 30 kids over the course of the year, they now have to interact with maybe 45, 50 kids over the course of the year. And so that makes the dynamic of a classroom even that much harder, which we know education is already hard enough as a sector.

SPEAKER_03 11:44

Well, and then and then too, just to compound that, is you've got these the the student mobility in a different school trying to either catch up or get to the level that that classroom is in because it's different than the last classroom. And and so you just have all of these educational issues. Let me let me let me get off that for a minute, because yeah, that I I want people to realize that there's more than just the travel at some of that, but it also impacts the future of the community. So you mentioned the round table and and Henry County, you know, we're bringing together these different partners to address this. Housing in particular was yesterday. We've talked about entrepreneurship, we'll talk about childcare. What makes this collaborative so effective? How does this impact the community?

SPEAKER_01 12:30

So for me, what I appreciate about the the conversations that we're having is the idea that you're bringing stakeholders together from different sectors, but who are focused on a shared goal and coming together, grounding it in data, but then also really digging into what are some possible solutions and ways that we can collectively move in a in a direction to make a difference in these outcomes has been for me inspiring. And then what we experienced yesterday in our round table was hearing from other partners from other parts of our region, and then specifically coming from Cherokee County, where you could learn from them, but then they can learn from us. And that type of um regional approach to hey, this is us doing it together and sharing best practices, sharing some of the lessons learned is something that United Way is so excited to partner with uh what you're doing at the chamber because that to me is how we're gonna move the needle. Because I get to go around our 13 counties quite often. And what I appreciate about it is that there are people doing good work. There are pockets of success that aren't lifted up enough. And so the ability to be part of this exchange of information and to uh lift up the voice of a of a community so that people can appreciate that they actually have some agency in this is something that was truly exciting. And I would also lift up to have smaller businesses in the room to hear about resources and opportunities and be able to network, I think is also really powerful because you can offer capacity building to small businesses and resources and loans and all of that is essential. But it's also something about being able to be in a room as we experienced yesterday with the Henry County board chair. Yeah. To have her in the room sharing, hey, here's what we are doing in our county, and many instances, things that people didn't know, but then allow them to come up and engage with you, with her, is something that we don't take for granted. And we actually refer to that type of support as beyond the check. Yes. Because you can fund people, and that's great, but it's also giving them access that the small organizations really appreciate.

SPEAKER_03 15:10

Well, and I and I think to your point, it does truly show the collaborative nature in Henry County that this was the business community partnering with the United Way Agency, brought in Cherokee County, we brought in some public-private partnerships. But to have the county board chair in the room for the two hours, listening, taking it all in, and then succinctly wrapping up the conversation yesterday with, you know, her takeaways, but also what Henry County is doing and how people can get engaged. I think just it it was it was a home run that I wasn't expecting. I I thought I'd strike out or maybe get a triple. Maybe I could get a triple. But that that just having Chair Herrell in there, it was just a home run.

SPEAKER_01 15:52

The message, I think what I left with is how effective collaborations they start with this understanding that we gotta stabilize our families, we gotta stabilize housing environments because ultimately they're gonna contribute to stronger schools. We heard from the education system, stronger businesses. We had the business community room, and then stronger communities ultimately. And so Henry County needs to be congratulated, the chamber needs to be congratulated and glad we can assist and play a role in continuing to catalyze and connect those efforts.

SPEAKER_03 16:28

Absolutely, absolutely. I appreciate that partnership. So so let me ask you as as we we wrap up for United Way, how are you defining and measuring a success when it comes to housing stability at a regional level? What what do we need to know in Henry County?

SPEAKER_01 16:45

Wow. So for us, success, I mean, ultimately we're trying to align resources and connect them in a way that our region hasn't experienced uh at this at this rate before. But for us, success means more families remain housed. So success means, and the board chair talked about this, success means fewer eviction firings. Success means our residents maintaining employment while navigating these housing challenges. Because to me, that was something that you see in the data, how challenging it is to maintain a job while you're also experiencing some of the housing challenges. And then lastly, I would say success means our children experience more educational continuity when it comes to this. And we talked about student mobility, but we know that so often children and families are leaving due to trying to find more affordable housing. And so that's what I would say more families housed, less eviction filings, um, residents are maintaining employment, and then ultimately our students have a more continuous educational experience.

SPEAKER_03 17:56

Thank you. Thank you. Yeah, I appreciate that. I think the next round table is um August, I believe August 28th, uh, and we're gonna be talking about child care. And I think as we wrap up the conversation on housing, I want to remind our listeners that COVID COVID seems so far long ago, and yet not so long ago. But the the the chaos that the business community saw from that was the lack of childcare and companies being able to go back to work, but they couldn't get their employees back because the kids were out of school and they didn't have daycare. And the impact that that had on the bottom line, housing's the same way. If you've got constant turnover with with your employees and you're, you know, one of them leaves the county, you gotta hire a new one, you go through that wait process, then you gotta onboard them. That turnover costs you money too. And so I I really hope that our business community is paying attention to these issues and and learning from these conversations because it does have an impact on them. And there are things that we can do to make the world better, make Henry County better. And so I I appreciate you, Alvin, and and United Way of Greater Atlanta and the work that you all are doing and the collaborations that you've established for us.

SPEAKER_01 19:12

Well, thank you. We appreciate uh our partnership as well. You know, the United Way, more and more we are we are coming to this realization that it's more housing is greater than just a social issue. And I I appreciate the partnership because it really allows us to dive into what we think is that is fundamentally an economic issue. And so having these conversations with the chamber and and and your stakeholders really force us to then how can we build our collaborative energy and effort, make sure that more families have stable housing, children are doing better in schools, staying connected to jobs, um, businesses are retaining talent, but able to have this through line of our effort because ultimately economic mobility, upward mobility is what we're all about. And family stability and housing is just a huge lever. I mean, it's more than that. You know, you got to have the right education, you got to have the uh uh appropriate workforce pathways and uh make sure our youth are getting the opportunities they need and connecting them with social capital. But family stability and having affordable housing is critical.

SPEAKER_03 20:22

Absolutely. Alvin, thank you so much. Will we be able to have you back in a couple of months to talk about that childcare?

SPEAKER_01 20:29

Looking forward to it. Something tells me Jennifer has already put a hold on my schedule. But uh no, the you know, Joe, I just want to say thank you for all you're doing. The the chamber, to your point, wasn't really sure what the round table was going to yield yesterday as you come in. And but to see the networking and the buzz and their energy, to see some familiar faces, people coming back for conversations. But then what can we do to build from this? And I just am just thankful to to be part of it and looking forward to continue conversations. But again, salute to what you're doing with the chamber.

SPEAKER_03 21:05

Thank you, sir. I appreciate that. I think I think, you know, two takeaways from from yesterday. One was, you know, a lot of times when something ends, you see everybody run out the door because if, you know, I we all have things to do. But I think that there was still about 75% that remained in that room for another half hour and then realized it was noon and that they were hungry and then they left. I mean, there was a good deal of networking to your point. And and then the other takeaway is when Jennifer and Anissa and I started talking about this, what we did not want was to have a show and tell and then walk away. What we wanted was conversations, we wanted to to provide the data because we, you know, like United Way, the chamber is very keen on data and the ability to use that data to make change. It takes the emotion out of it, it kind of makes it a little bit more fact-based. But we also wanted to be able to provide solutions and to have people work on those solutions. And so I appreciate the collaboration we have and the opportunities that we have to make a difference. And hats off to you and your entire team there.

SPEAKER_01 22:15

Well, thank you. As you mentioned solutions, let me just also shout out April, April Atkins, because it was impressive to see the presentations that followed her. But the idea that there were people coming from as far as Tampa due to her request shows her influence. And as she continued to lift up different solutions that have happened around the country, just wanted to make sure we lift her name up as a huge collaborator. Absolutely.

SPEAKER_03 22:47

Well, and I think I think to that point too, Alvin, that this has helped to make this a regional solution, but has allowed us to identify opportunities that we normally wouldn't know in our, you know, by by focusing on our region. That's where we work. But April has such a bigger canvas that she works with that she can be like, hey, look at this. Look at look at what they're doing in Florida, look at what they're doing in Texas. And so it does allow us to have a wider lens to what solutions might look like.

SPEAKER_01 23:17

And vice versa, because Tampa left with some nuggets and some lessons learned as well. And so I fully believe that while we are in the midst of this turnaround with our upward mobility challenge, I really believe that in the years to come, Atlanta will be looked at as this is how you can turn it around. And it's uh people are leaning in and approaching this as a regional issue, not just as this is my county challenge, but this is a regional issue that we can do this together.

SPEAKER_03 23:53

Absolutely. And I look forward to to making that happen with you.

SPEAKER_01 23:57

Same here, sir.

SPEAKER_03 23:58

Thank you. Appreciate your time.

SPEAKER_01 23:59

No, thank you.

SPEAKER_03 24:00

Thank you. Appreciate you. This episode's elite member highlight is Chairman Circle member Snapping Shoals EMC. Snapping Shoals EMC has been serving the area for more than 80 years, and during that time has built a strong reputation for providing reliable power and excellent customer service. Their roots go back to the 1930s and the early days of America's rural electrification. In those days, just trying to bring power to rural areas was a major undertaking. Today, Snapping Shoals serves some of the fastest growing areas in our nation, and most of their once rural service territory is now part of Metro Atlanta. The co-op currently provides electricity to approximately 100,000 homes, businesses, and other facilities in an eight-county area that includes large portions of Newton, Henry, and Rockdale counties, as well as parts of DeCab, Butts, Walton, Jasper, and Morgan counties. Thank you, Snapping Shoals EMC, for your continued support of and commitment to the chamber and its economic and community development initiatives. And we're back and we're thrilled to highlight a brand new chamber initiative, the Gig Connector. Judy McMurtry walks us through how this platform works, who it serves, and why flexible work opportunities are becoming a critical part of Henry County's workforce ecosystem. Judy, welcome back.

SPEAKER_06 25:22

Thank you. Thank you for inviting me back again.

SPEAKER_03 25:24

Absolutely. I remember talking about this last fall, what what we wanted to see with this. And you have been working with our two pin turns since late May on this project. And so I am so excited that today is actually the day we're going to launch it. As people are listening to this, we want to drive them over to it. But first, let's let's talk a bit, Judy. There are countless job boards, there's networking sites, all kinds of platforms available today. What makes the Henry Hub so different?

SPEAKER_06 25:52

Well, the Henry Hub is not just your typical job board. It's special. It's Blue Ocean. It's taking what the other job boards have and then just putting another spin on it. It's basically designed for the local ecosystem.

SPEAKER_04 26:06

Yeah.

SPEAKER_06 26:07

And specifically for Henry County, we want you to live, work, and play in Henry County. So traditional platforms focus on volumes and like broad geographic areas to reach. The Henry Hub focuses on creating meaningful connections between the local businesses as well as organizations and independent professionals. So our goal is to keep the talent, opportunities, and investment within our community.

SPEAKER_03 26:33

Absolutely, driving that hyperlocal feel to it. And I think that's very key because whether you are an enterprise, you know, you're a manufacturer, you are a utility, you're a hospital, and I'm thinking of many of you out there, or you are that solopreneur just like Judy here. Yeah. It's it's built for both because what we want to do is we want to create that alignment in Henry.

SPEAKER_06 26:55

Absolutely. Absolutely.

SPEAKER_03 26:57

So talk to us then a bit. And I think that's where fortunately with the pen turns we were able to get this figured out because I wasn't looking at the big picture.

SPEAKER_06 27:07

Well, Joel, you always stay in the big picture. We had to just narrow it down to make it able to be usable and actually work for us.

SPEAKER_03 27:15

Yeah. That might have been something I've missed. Talk to us, Judy, about why would a large business organization use the Henry Hub instead of a national platform?

SPEAKER_06 27:26

Well, actually, one, you want to keep it inside Henry County and it's affiliated with the chamber. So that gives it credibility as well. And it gives it that extra vetting because a lot of the chamber members that are here, we have a vested interest in the community, want to make it grow, and we really care about our community. So with large organizations, they often spend a lot of time and money searching multiple platforms. And with multiple platforms, it's harder to find what you're actually looking for. It takes longer.

SPEAKER_03 28:01

Well, and I don't need to I don't need to look at Sonoma, California for a project.

SPEAKER_06 28:05

Exactly. Okay. It's right here. Exactly. And you you really want local too, because yes, you could probably even do the Philippines, but it's something about that time zone, time difference. But here you have the person accessible to you as well. If you need to even have them come in person, they're accessible. It's local. And it's, you know, the network of professionals that you can look out to and who understands the region.

SPEAKER_03 28:29

So I think the big question here then that, you know, you sold this to the big companies, but what's it gonna cost them?

SPEAKER_06 28:37

Nothing. A little time. Nothing. We're giving them something away. They're already members of the chamber. That's right. That's right. This is an added value. No additional costs. That's the thing right now. Exactly. You just have to be a member of the chamber to be part of the Henry Hub.

SPEAKER_03 28:54

So how does this Henry Hub create value for the the businesses and independent professionals?

SPEAKER_06 29:00

It bridges opportunity and expertise for one, and businesses gain access to a diverse pool of local talent. Again, can't stress that enough. What professionals also gain greater visibility and access to opportunities that might not be available otherwise. And everyone benefits because relationships are built within trusted local ecosystems rather than through disconnected transactions.

SPEAKER_03 29:24

Absolutely. Let me ask you you know, you were with me at the Innovation Summit, and we had a great panel conversation about the hub.

SPEAKER_04 29:32

Yes.

SPEAKER_03 29:33

Tony Carnell from the Henry County Water Authority was also on the panel with us. And I know that Subermania and Gracian have been working with him and his team a bit.

SPEAKER_04 29:42

Yes.

SPEAKER_03 29:42

What talk walk us through that story, highlight that story of Tony and his team realizing the value.

SPEAKER_06 29:49

Yes, absolutely. They were pretty excited because they have so many contracts for primes. However, the prime needs subcontractors. And for them to be able to have their primes use the Henry Hub and look for subcontracts under the um Henry Hub would be amazing because now, again, it's local because before they have to go outside of Henry County to find really great subcontractors.

SPEAKER_03 30:16

Well, and and and part of it, part of the sell with the subcontractors was you've got a big project. I mean, you've got you know multimillion dollar projects in some cases. Yes. And you need to find these subcontractors, but you don't have a relationship with them.

SPEAKER_04 30:30

Yes.

SPEAKER_03 30:31

That's a lot of trust you're putting into somebody you don't know. How does how does the Henry Hub help them with that?

SPEAKER_06 30:37

Well, the Henry Hub, again, they will be vetted to make sure they have the right credentials of what they're looking for. And that takes time too, because Tony mentioned how long and lengthy that is to find the right, even like bonding, for instance. You know, make sure they're bonded. And this way, going through the Henry Hub, you don't have so many to look for. These are local. And you establish relationships with them.

SPEAKER_03 31:01

And you've got the credibility of the Henry. Yeah, great. So let's look five years out.

SPEAKER_06 31:09

Okay.

SPEAKER_03 31:10

What impact do you believe that that this project will have on Henry County?

SPEAKER_06 31:14

Ooh, five years out. Well, you one, you have to start looking at things differently. Everything's evolving and changing with AI and everything else and and the transition that's happening between the generations and the knowledge that's going out the door. This will give you a opportunity to keep to keep it local, to keep the talent fresh. And five years out to make sure this should build out even more. If people start really utilizing this, think of Angie's list, how far that have done. I mean, those type of lists are valuable. It'll show you for what Angie's list represents. No one's doing this in the chamber. And the chamber supports small businesses and the large business, and you connect them already. But this is a better way to connect small and big businesses. So if we start off now, this can grow massively.

SPEAKER_03 32:04

Yeah. I appreciate that. I appreciate the work that you and Supermania and Gracian have done on this. I'm excited that that this is launching and we want everybody to check it out. So any closing remarks, any closing thoughts you have, and and remind our listeners one more time what the website is.

SPEAKER_06 32:21

The website is henryhub.work. Okay. It would be the website. And the Henry Hub also features not just the Git Connector, you have the Core Collective as well as Skill Showcase. So you can show how you are an expert in many ways. So sign up for it. It's so much to offer. It's an extra bonus. I just love it because I have participated in all three categories and will be the first to sign up for Henry Hub as a solopreneur. JMXL Consultant is my company, and I am a solopreneur. And I look forward to just collaborating more. We need to come together and unite. We are stronger together. John Maxwell always tells us if you want to go fast, go alone. If you want to go far, go with others. And that's what uh Henry Hub does for us. It helps us go further by coming together and going with others. And that way we're not alone.

SPEAKER_03 33:16

Absolutely. Judy, thank you for your leadership for helping bring this resource to life. Remember, listeners, that the Henry Hub is more than a platform. It's an investment in Henry County and our people, in our businesses, and in our future. Judy, one last, one last question. This is launching today, but we want to make sure that it's strong for all of our, especially our solopreneurs, our gig workers, our contractors. What's one more resource that we can offer them?

SPEAKER_06 33:43

July 14th at 8 a.m., we're gonna do something special. We're gonna ask you to come so we can help you build out that phenomenal profile so that way you can be highlighted in the right way to be seen by large businesses and mid-sized and small business so that way people can know what it is you do. And we have a beautiful platform here designed for you to put a wonderful profile. That's the key piece. We want a profile that people can recognize. And yes, and they want to hire you. So if you want to know how to put a nice profile on the platform for Henry Hub, see us July 14th here at the Business Resource Center. We'll be here at 8 a.m. if you're a Henry County chamber member. If not, you can join through the Henry Hub and sign up and join us so that way we can really, we really want to build this platform out so it can be desirable for large businesses to see how wonderful um you are and and the work we do here locally in the county.

SPEAKER_03 34:45

Remember, this is not for me or for Judy. This is for the business community. This is to create collaboration in Henry County. And so if you're a larger business, please check out henryhub. And if you are a smaller contractor, solopreneur, gig worker, check out henryhub.work and um there's a button there for you. So see what see what uh is there for you, and please let us know your give us your feedback.

SPEAKER_06 35:10

Also, big businesses can post jobs that you have available that you it's short term, whether you want a photographer, event planner, whatever it you need, even a fractal consultant, you can post those jobs on Henry Hub's because we're gonna have a lot of great talent for you to select.

SPEAKER_03 35:29

Wonderful. Judy, thank you again. Thank you.

SPEAKER_06 35:32

Thank you.

SPEAKER_03 35:37

This month, America officially celebrates its 250th year. It's an incredible milestone, but a birthday shouldn't just be a celebration. It's a checkup. Our democracy only works if we know how to operate the machinery of it. That's why we're launching the Citizens Playbook, a brand new podcast series dedicated to unpacking the everyday civics we all need to understand. Brought to you with support from Georgia Power and co-hosted by State Judge Stephen Knights Jr. Subscribe now and let's build the next 250 years together. Well, welcome to this episode's Henry Happenings, and we're excited to have Jonathan Penn, Executive Director of Leisure and Public Services at Henry County with us. Good morning, JP.

SPEAKER_02 36:21

Good day, sir. How are you doing?

SPEAKER_03 36:23

Good, good, good. Hey, so I'm kind of excited to hear from you uh on this latest, greatest SPLOSS project, the Aquatics Center. Tell us a little bit about opening weekend.

SPEAKER_02 36:34

Yes, man. It was a very, very successful and exciting opening weekend. Saturday was a beautiful day. We had a lot of people that showed up about 30, 45 minutes early so they can get in line and um get ready for us to open it up at 11 o'clock. And when we opened it up, they rushed in, they were happy, they were excited, people were jumping. So it was it was really cool to see everyone be able to experience this phenomenal facility that we've been working on for the past four years.

SPEAKER_03 37:05

What was your favorite reaction from one of the uh residents seeing the facility for the first time?

SPEAKER_02 37:12

Um, one guy, all he wanted to do was get on the Wave Rider. And so he was like the second person in line. He was like, I'm just super excited. I just want to get on the wave rider. I don't care if it's just for 15 minutes, I'm gonna get on it and I'll probably leave, but I just want to get on it. I'm so excited. And so he went in there, he rushed in, and he got on the rave rider, and he he stayed longer than 15 minutes, but it was like he he he was elated once he got on that wave rider.

SPEAKER_03 37:39

That is so cool. Hey, uh, for our listeners tuning in, what does a world-class amenity like this say about Henry County and where we're heading?

SPEAKER_02 37:48

It just says that we're headed to that next level for what we can provide and the quality of life for the residents of Henry County. This provides so many avenues for people to experience um fun as well as um to save lives. Like we have water safety programs that we'll be incorporating into our programming at the facility, and it will teach people how to swim, uh, everything about water safety. So a lot of people drown every year. So having this amenity there where we can help people learn how to swim and learn about water safety is a phenomenal thing. So not only will people be able to come and have fun, they'll also be able to learn a new skill and save, we'll be able to save lives.

SPEAKER_03 38:33

You you had mentioned the uh the wave rider the gentleman wanted. What are some of those standout attractions that are unique to Henry County?

SPEAKER_02 38:40

So we have four big slides. They're all color-coded, and one of them actually has four lanes on it. The kids absolutely love it. Also outside, we have a smaller recreational pool with lanes, the lazy river that you mentioned, but also the kitty area where there's a zero-entry walk-in to the pool with the big bucket that they like to stand up under and the water splashes down on their head. They have little water guns around the kitty area where they can shoot each other with the water. They have their own slide in the kitty area. So it's it's really fun for them. But one thing that's unique is not only do we have a concession area, but we also have a food truck area. So people can go to the food trucks that are there when they're out there to enjoy various foods for them to eat. So that's a lot, a lot different than most of the water parks. They don't have that food truck area.

SPEAKER_03 39:34

Yeah. So we talked a lot about those individuals that were exploring, experimenting, experiencing the water features. But I know you all got, you know, you mentioned concessions and the and the food trucks, but you all have cabanas, you've got the rooftop terrace. Tell us what that those are being used for. Are are those available now and how do we go about getting involved?

SPEAKER_02 39:54

Yes. So Saturday, the cabanas were rented all day. People were renting them. Wow. They're available to rent. Once you get your ticket, come in, then you can go to the area where we have designated for people to reserve cabanas, and you can reserve them there. We also have inside, and I didn't get into this, I was mostly speaking about the water park, but inside the aquatic center, we have a 50-meter competitive pool, and we also have a 25-meter therapeutic recreational pool. We have a community room that was sponsored by Kaiser Permanente. We also have a um rooftop terrace that's available for rent once we start renting out those those spaces for parties, special events. Uh we also have two rooms on the pool level, pool deck level, that will be used for teams when we do swim meets, but also they can be used for birthday parties and you rent them out. So we have a lot of space in indoors.

SPEAKER_03 40:53

Let's talk a little bit about the swim meets because this is, you know, we have talked for four years about how big of a need this is in Henry County so that our high school teams are not leaving the county to practice, let alone to compete. So tell us a little bit about the competitive pool.

SPEAKER_02 41:09

Yes, so we are currently in talks with the school board to come up with a memorandum of understanding with the Board of Education where all of the schools in Henry County will be able to practice as well as conduct their swim meets here at Henry County instead of traveling outside of the county to do those things. So they're very excited about that because they won't have to travel. There's less time they have to spend outside of the county, more time they can spend here for us to host their swim meets and their practices. In addition, we'll also have a competitive swim team that will be out of that uh facility, but we'll also be able to host regional and national swim meets there. So that just brings a lot of people into the county to help with that penny. They're gonna spend money, they're gonna be in hotels, they're going to be at a restaurant. So it's just the economic driver to have something like that in that area.

SPEAKER_03 42:06

Yeah, I can't tell you how excited uh the team here at the chamber and the CBB are for adding yet another beautiful amenity to the sports tourism market we have here in Henry County. Kudos to you all. Let me ask you as we transition this, for those people that, you know, are trying to survive the summer. We don't want to cause them any additional stress. What are your tips for navigating the crowds, getting out there? Um, where can they find details on the hours of operation and admission and all of that? Where can we go?

SPEAKER_02 42:35

You can go to swimhenry.com. That's www.sw-imhenry, h-e-n-r-y.com, and it will allow you to go on and see all of our pricing, hours of operation, what days were open. Everything is listed on that website. Any updates. So if you go to swimhenry.com, you'll be able to get all of that information. Just for the listeners out there, the water park is open every day of the week. Monday and Tuesday is reserved for summer camps and seniors from 10 to 3. Wednesday through Saturday is open 11 to 7, and Sunday is open from 1 to 6. And then the indoor, which is uh our big pool, is open from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. Monday through Friday, and then 10 to 5 on Saturday.

SPEAKER_03 43:26

Well, JP, thank you so much for sharing that with us. And on behalf of my team over here at the Chamber and the CVB, congratulations on your four-year effort to get this up and running. And so we're so excited for that. And uh hopefully we will uh be out there and and uh checking out that rooftop soon enough.

SPEAKER_02 43:44

Yes, sir. Please come over. We will welcome y'all over there. It's a beautiful site, a beautiful view, an overlook of the water park as well as the lake. So please come over there. We're excited to have you and everyone come enjoy this new admitted. Here in Henry County for the residents of Henry County.

SPEAKER_03 44:02

Looking forward to it, sir. Thank you so much. And now it's time for our member minute. Today, Leonard Robinson sits down with Ambassador of the Month, Lisa King de Jesus, to highlight her service, her leadership, and her commitment to strengthening the chamber community.

SPEAKER_00 44:19

All right, welcome for a special member minute with Lisa King de Jesus of King Home Care. Welcome to the podcast. Thank you, Leonard. I'm happy to be here. I'm happy to have you here. You're celebrating our April Ambassador of the Month, and that award goes to you. Wonderful. Now, as we approach the month, as the month went through, did you have any idea that you were leading, that you were going to be Ambassador of the Month for April?

SPEAKER_05 44:47

In the spirit of transparency, I'm I'm a little competitive. So we have a leaderboard, and every time I submit every event that I've gone to, I check the leaderboard because I want to see, okay, where am I uh with the competition? Not really competition, but we're all friends and family. So I kind of had an idea that I had won the uh April Ambassador of the Month.

SPEAKER_00 45:12

All right, fantastic. And by the way, just the fact that you're competitive, that would be the worst kept secret in Henry County. However, I believe that there's a chance that some people may not know Lisa, but we'll whittle it. Now, if you've been here, you're not a native of Georgia. You hail here from Buffalo, New York. Buffalo, New York. That's right. Okay, so did are we celebrating the Knicks' victory still? What's going on there? How's that work?

SPEAKER_05 45:34

Absolutely. Anytime a New York team wins, I'm happy about it. Whether I am a big sports fan or not, it just comes with the territory.

SPEAKER_00 45:42

All right, fantastic. I expected that Buffalo answer to go that way. All right, but now you've been here in Georgia for a while. You seem to be very comfortable. How long has King Healthcare been around and what what what made you bring it to Georgia?

SPEAKER_05 45:56

So King Home Care has been around since 2023. And I started the company really to pay tribute to my father, who passed away in 2022. I was his caregiver for a little while. And starting this company made me feel like it was an extension of still caring for him. So having that heart for compassion, the heart for elderly people, especially, I wanted to kind of continue in that. And that's when King Home Care was formed.

SPEAKER_00 46:27

Fantastic. And I'm during, we do talk a lot, all right, when they're not microphones on. And I recently you shared that in order to become a better business owner, you went back and took some classes that a business owner really wouldn't have to do in order to be in your position. Do you want to share a little bit about that?

SPEAKER_05 46:45

Absolutely. So we hire aides to go out and perform personal care services and even companion care services. And we also hire skilled nursing to go into homes and care for people who need it the most. Well, I wanted to understand fully what it's like to be an aide. Of course, I, like I said, took care of my father, but I wanted to understand what it's like in a, I guess, an educational from an educational standpoint. So I went back to school to become a certified nursing assistant so that I understood fully the proper way to take care of our clients. So yes, I absolutely did that.

SPEAKER_00 47:24

That is really kind of stepping up and making your business come full circle to understand what people have to do for you when they're out away from you at a different office. How does that type of business owner translate to being an ambassador?

SPEAKER_05 47:39

Well, you have to be able to really care about not only your business, but your clientele, who you're serving. As an ambassador, you want to be able to care about your fellow business owners. Not only that, but care about the chamber itself and its mission. And so that's really something that's really important to me.

SPEAKER_00 48:01

You make it a point to show up and you show up on a regular basis. If you're not there, I know something must have come up, okay, whether you've had to check in with me or not, because you show up like that. Why is that so important? What's that all about? Where does that come from?

SPEAKER_05 48:15

So, like I said, when I created King Home Care in 2023, I had my ribbon cutting in August of that year. As I stood here in the Business Resource Center and one person after another was coming through the door, I realized there was a lot of people showing up that I did not know. Of course, I had my tribe there and a lot of family and friends and even people who came from out of town, but I saw a lot of people I did not know. One by one, they came through the door and they all introduced themselves as ambassadors. So when I saw that, it did my heart good. I mean, I literally, I was full. I had to keep myself from waterworks and tears because I said, these people are here to celebrate little old me. They don't know me, they don't know my business, but yet they're here. They showed up. So I saw that and I said, you know what? I want to be that to someone else because I know how that made me feel when people showed up for me. And so I started unofficially showing up to other ribbon cuttings before I officially became an ambassador. And I said, you know what, I'm doing this. I might as well officially join. And so that's why I became an ambassador. I wanted to be that cheerleader for other businesses, the way that people were there for me.

SPEAKER_00 49:30

That's a great answer. It's an opportunity to kind of give back to the community. You s seem to care a lot about giving back. What would we pay it forward if we wanted to share with someone new coming into the chamber? Is that being an ambassador? Is it something you recommend?

SPEAKER_05 49:48

I look at it like this. Think of a young child who's in school and they're in their first school play and they're nervous, they've never been in a play before, and they're on that stage, lights come on, and now it's their turn to show out and show up. And then they look in the audience and they see their parents, and all of a sudden all that nervousness goes away. And now they feel like they can perform. And so they're cheerleaders out in the audience. I feel like as an ambassador, we are the cheerleaders for other businesses. And I would absolutely 100% recommend that members A, become a member of the chamber, and B, join the ambassadors. We are here to not only support businesses in the community, but the ambassadors have become a family. And I will emphasize it with this with this point. Something that just happened over the weekend. I attended a wedding for one of my girlfriends. Actually, the wedding was right here at the Chamber of Commerce. So if people don't know, uh the chamber rents out a room for different events. Well, the day of, my friend's photographer canceled at the last minute. No. Talk about being horrified. She was in tears. She called me. Lisa, what am I gonna do? Have no fear. I'm gonna make a phone call. I'll get right back. I have to give a shout out to Edith Greenwood from the conception studio, who not only answered the phone because she could have been busy, it's a weekend, right? She answered the call. She said, I got you, I'll be there. And when I tell you it was like maybe two hours before the wedding, and she showed up. So the ambassadors here at the Henry County Chamber, we are like family, and we show up for one another. And I I just had to, you know, shout her out because that she she was a lightsaver. She saved the day for that wedding. So that's what we are as ambassadors.

SPEAKER_00 51:51

Well, you heard it here. It's a family affair to be a part of the ambassador team. You just heard the story of Lisa De Jesus King and King Home Care. You just heard how ambassadors come together to pull together to make sure events and situations happen and take place. Lisa, if someone wants to connect with King Home Care because they want the level of service that you provide, or if they just wanted to reach out and meet the person that we're interviewing today, how do they do that?

SPEAKER_05 52:18

Sure. You can email me at admin at kinghomecare.org, or you can find me on my website, kinghomecare.org, or you can simply pick up the phone and give us a call at 404-850-6548. You can also find us online on socials at KingHome Care on Facebook and IG.

SPEAKER_00 52:44

And she'll be definitely going around with me to more ribbon cuttings as the ambassadors continue on our march through 2026. Thank you for your time today.

SPEAKER_05 52:52

You're welcome.

SPEAKER_03 52:54

A huge thank you to Lisa for her dedication and leadership within our ambassador program. We're grateful for the energy she brings to every event and every member interaction. We also have several exciting updates from across our chamber family. The countdown is on to the Quaker State 400 available at Walmart NASCAR race at Echo Park Speedway this Sunday, July 12th, as part of an incredible race weekend experience. Families can explore great ticket packages, special events, and all the excitement leading up to race day. Visit EchoParkspeedway.com for details. And join us for three upcoming ribbon cuttings, Thursday, July 9th at 11 a.m. for Spectacular Play Care. On Friday, July 10th at 3 30 p.m. at umart.club, and Thursday, July 23rd at 10 a.m. at the Advanced Auto Parts number 7873. Be sure to check out member news section on our website for details.

SPEAKER_00 53:45

You've heard about our podcast sponsorships, so why not make it your moment? We'll record your ad, give your business a shout out, and even offer a bundle with our eNewsletter to expand your reach. It's simple, affordable, and built to highlight what makes you stand out. Reach out to Trinity at tarcher at henrycounty.com to get started.

SPEAKER_03 54:11

Next up, let's take a look at what's going on on the chamber calendar. Monday, July 6th at 5 30 p.m. is our 14 entrepreneurship workshop at the McDonough Public Library. Join us for a hands-on interactive session designed for aspiring entrepreneurs aged 12 to 18, where you'll step into the role of a real business owner. You'll make decisions, get creative, and figure out what it actually takes to turn an idea into something real. On Saturday, July 11th at 10 a.m. is Henry County School's Stuff the Bus School Supply Drive. This event is designed to alleviate the financial burden on teachers, enhance the classroom experience, promote equity, and boost teacher morale. Donate classroom supplies at any of the four drop-off locations across Henry County. Visit Henry County Public Schools Foundation for locations and a wish list. Monday, July 13th at 5 30 p.m. is our fifth and final Teen Entrepreneurship Workshop at the Locust Grove Public Library. On Tuesday, July 14th at 8 30 a.m., we will be hosting a perfect platform profile session for our new Henry Hub platform. Join us to learn how to set up your profile and how to take advantage of this economic ecosystem. Bring your laptop. Also on Tuesday, July 14th at 8 30 a.m., the Henry County Schools will be preparing swag bags to welcome new Henry County Schools employees. On Thursday, July 16th at 7.30 a.m., join the Henry County Chamber and the Henry County Schools for the Educator One kickoff and new teacher welcome for the district's newest teachers and staff. Community members are invited to attend from 7.30 a.m. to 8 a.m. to cheer on our educators as they receive their welcome tote bags. Also on Thursday, July 16th at 11.30 a.m., join Dr. Richard Schnicker, veteran leader, business strategist, and SBDC consultant for the CEO Mindset, Leadership and Decision Making. Great leadership isn't just about authority, it's about making sound decisions, building trust, and guiding others with confidence. This session is designed to strengthen your leadership mindset and elevate your decision-making skills. For information on these events and more, visit henrycounty.com. Thank you so much for tuning in to this episode of Community Convener broadcasting from our Georgia Power Studio. If you're interested in learning more about our exclusive membership benefits or exploring sponsorship opportunities, give our team a call at 770 957 5786 or visit us online at henrycounty.com. And we'll be back with another episode featuring more conversations, more insights, and more ways to stay connected with the Henry County Chamber. Until next time, stay inspired, stay engaged, and keep growing with us at the Henry County Chamber.