Thursday, May 2, 2013
Writer: Michelle Wilder, 706/542-1098, mlwilder@uga.edu
Contact: Susan Reinhardt, 706/542-9498, slr@uga.edu
Athens, Ga. – The University of Georgia announced that Maggie Potter will be the new Archway Professional in Sumter County effective June 1. In her position, Potter will serve as liaison between Sumter County and the university, according to UGA Archway Partnership Director Mel Garber.
As the Archway Professional, Potter will work to connect the community with higher education resources that address locally identified needs and goals. Specifically, the Sumter County Archway Partnership has identified the following areas as their priority areas of focus: leadership development, public health, public education and community-wide economic development.
Prior to joining the Archway Partnership, Potter served as tourism product development manager for the Georgia Department of Economic Development where she was responsible for a 19-county region based in Columbus. She brings a combination of marketing and business development experience to her new position. She has worked in both public and private sectors as executive director for the Monticello-Jasper County Chamber of Commerce and has served as a marketing coordinator and business development director for private firms.
The Archway Partnership, a public service and outreach unit of UGA, connects Georgia communities to a full range of university resources. It is a partnership between communities and UGA where university faculty and students help address local community needs. The community drives the process through executive and steering committees of local citizens and community leaders. Partner counties have access to the knowledge, research and other resources produced by the university. Sumter County joined the Archway Partnership as the sixth community in 2009.
Members of the Sumter County Archway Partnership include the Sumter County Board of Commissioners, the City of Americus, the Sumter County Board of Education, Phoebe-Sumter Medical Center, Americus-Sumter Payroll Development Authority, South Georgia Technical College, Georgia Southwestern State University and Sumter County Cooperative Extension.
The pilot Archway project began in 2005, and now includes eight communities across Georgia: Washington, Clayton, Hart, Sumter, Pulaski, Whitfield, Grady and Habersham Counties.
About the Archway Partnership
A Public Service and Outreach unit of the University of Georgia, the Archway Partnership is an initiative that connects communities in Georgia with university resources to address the state’s most critical community economic development needs. For more information, see http://www.archwaypartnership.uga.edu/.
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Note to editors: An image of Potter is available at http://multimedia.uga.edu/media/images/Maggie-Potter.jpg.
