U.S. Rep. Rick Allen presented graduates of the Leadership Coffee Class of 2015 their awards at the Chamber of Commerce power lunch on Monday. Allen presented the awards after his speech “Saluting Leadership.” His message was clear: the American people are more than capable of changing the nation if they employ leadership skills and work together. “It’s pretty amazing to see what people,” Allen said, “especially Americans, can do.”
Having been in office for seven months, Congressman Allen has voted on more than 500 bills. Of those bills, 32 made it to the Senate. He attributes his success, and the success of his team, to his own leadership skills and his empowerment of those on his team. Leadership is what he claims helped to bring back over 300,000 of the 360,000 jobs lost in Georgia during the recent recession. He also spoke of his stance on several current issues including the upcoming Iran bill, opposing giving aid to a “terrorist nation.” His speech ended on a powerful note, that “only God can save this nation.”
Also speaking at the Chamber lunch was Dan Bickford, manager of Southwire and the sponsor for the event. Bickford and his family have lived in Mississippi for a number of years but did live in Georgia previously, and his wife was born in Georgia. They recently moved back to Georgia for Bickford to accept the job managing the Douglas Southwire plant. He talked a little about the family owned company, stating that it is one of the largest wire manufacturers in the U.S. and working to become a zero-landfill company in the next two years. Being one of the largest employers in Coffee County, the Chamber of Commerce thanked Southwire for being such a valuable asset to the job market and local economy.
Jack Brinson of Collette Travel announced upcoming trips with the Chamber of Commerce. These trips include an eight-day tour of London and Paris in May of 2016, and a nine-day tour of Israel in November of 2016.