Walker County was presented on Monday with the Deal of the Yearfor a Mid-Size Community Award for its work in recruiting Audia International into its new industrial park north of LaFayette.
The award was presented to the county delegation by Governor Nathan Deal who was representing Georgia’s Economic Developers Association. “We appreciate all the hard work that went into each of these projects,” Governor Deal said.
Each year the Georgia Economic Developers Association recognizes economic development deals that represent significant impact on Georgia. Judges consider many factors for the awards including the work that went into overcoming the difficulties that each project faced while it was being recruited.
“This team overcame many hurdles as we were considering where to locate this plant. We have faced challenges with power supply and rail issues but in the end of the day, they addressed each and we are proud to call Walker County home,” said Todd Gummersbach, vice president of Mergers and Acquisitions for Audia International.
Representing Walker County at the awards ceremony were: commissioner Bebe Heiskell, executive director Jeff Mullis of the Northwest Georgia Joint Development Authority, vice president Todd Gummersbach of Audia International, chairman Al Hutchison and vice chairman Virgil Sperry of the Walker County Development Authority, along with executive director Larry Brooks of the Walker County Development Authority who offered remarks of gratitude on the county’s behalf to the room filled with economic developers from across Georgia and various state officials.