Athens, Ga. – The 29th annual Georgia Economic Outlook luncheon, hosted by the University of Georgia Terry College of Business on Nov. 29 in Atlanta, will feature two speakers discussing the economic forecast for the state and nation.
Robert T. Sumichrast, who has served as the Terry College’s dean since 2007, will deliver the Georgia economic forecast. He holds the Simon S. Selig Jr. Chair for Economic Growth.
Dennis P. Lockhart will deliver the national forecast. Lockhart is president and CEO of the Federal Reserve Bank of Atlanta, a position he has held since March 2007. In addition, he serves on the Fed’s chief monetary policy body, the Federal Open Market Committee. He previously worked in corporate banking, commercial finance and private equity. Before joining the Atlanta Fed, Lockhart served on the faculty of Georgetown University’s Walsh School of Foreign Service.
Billed as the state’s premier economic forecasting event, the kickoff luncheon in Atlanta draws business leaders and community organizations to the Georgia World Congress Center for a detailed look into next year’s economic prospects. This year, Sumichrast’s remarks will include a candid portrait of Georgia’s competitiveness in the region and several ideas to ramp up economic development and job growth in the state.
Registration opens at 11 a.m., and the luncheon program begins at noon. UGA President Michael F. Adams will emcee the program.
Following the Atlanta kickoff, the Economic Outlook series goes on tour around the state, with events in Augusta (Dec. 9), Swainsboro (Jan. 9), Savannah (Jan. 11), Macon (Jan. 17), Columbus (Jan. 18), Albany (Jan. 19), Jekyll Island (Jan. 23), Dalton (Jan. 31) and Athens (March 7).
The gold sponsor of the Economic Outlook series is AT&T.
The series’ silver sponsors are Gas South, Hardin Construction Co. and The PrivateBank. Bronze sponsors include Ameris Bank, Bank of North Georgia, Jackson Electric Membership Corp., Pattillo Industrial Real Estate, R.W. Allen, State Farm and Victory Real Estate Investments.
Additional media and community sponsors for the Atlanta program are the Atlanta Business Chronicle, the Atlanta Convention and Visitors Bureau, the Georgia African-American Chamber of Commerce, the Georgia Chamber of Commerce, the Georgia Department of Economic Development, the Georgia Economic Developers Association, the Georgia Hispanic Chamber of Commerce, Georgia Trend magazine, the Metro Atlanta Chamber of Commerce, Public Broadcasting Atlanta and The Atlanta Journal-Constitution.
For more information about the Georgia Economic Outlook series, see eol.terry.uga.edu, or contact Gary Sergent at 706/369-6153 or gsergent@uga.edu.