The League of Women Voters of Carrollton/Carroll County to host candidate forums via Zoom: -

The League of Women Voters of Carrollton – Carroll County is hosting the following candidate forums for the upcoming elections via Zoom:

October 5, 2020 – Senate District 30 candidates Mike Dugan vs. Montenia Edwards

October 6, 2020 – House District 18 candidates Tyler Paul Smith vs. Pat Rhudy

October 7, 2020 – House District 69 candidates Randy Nix vs. Herbert Giles

Here is a

A Brief Overview of the Evening

The Forum will begin at 7:00 PM. Candidates should be in the virtual meeting room at 6:50 PM so that any adjustments can be made regarding audio and video. There will be no audience. Interested persons will be able to view the Forum by live feed to the League of Women Voters of Carrollton – Carroll County Facebook page or later in repeat on the League of Women Voters of Carrollton – Carroll County YouTube Channel. At 7 PM a representative of the League of Women Voters of Carrollton – Carroll County will welcome all participants, give brief statements about the League, and introduce the Moderator. The Moderator will welcome the participants. The Moderator will introduce the Co-Moderator, the Candidate Forum Chairperson, the Timekeeper, and the Candidates, stating the office they are seeking. The Moderator will give a quick overview of the Protocols. The Moderator will first begin the Forum by directing the Candidates to make their prepared opening statements of equal length of time. The Moderator will next direct the Candidates in the Question and Answer portion of the Forum. The Moderator will ask only questions previously compiled by the League of Women Voters of Carrollton – Carroll County Voter Services Committee. At this time, the League is unable to take live questions. Each Candidate will answer in statements of equal length of time, varying which Candidate answers first. The Moderator will next direct the Candidates to make closing statements. The Moderator will thank the participants and bring the Forum to a close.Since there is no audience you will need to view it live on Facebook or as a repeat on You Tube.

Since there is no audience the questions will be compiled by our Voter Services Committee. There will be ten – twelve questions.We are doing that right now.

IF YOU AS MEMBERS OF THE MEDIA HAVE QUESTIONS YOU WOULD LIKE ASKED, YOU MAY SUBMIT THEM FOR CONSIDERATION TO THIS EMAIL ADDRESS, but please do it ASAP, but by Friday the lastest. We have to give the questions to the LWVCCC technical chairperson who is going to arrange them on the screen.

Attached are our new and improved Protocols for Virtual Candidate Forums. IF YOU HAVE SUGGESTIONS ON HOW TO IMPROVE THESE, WE WOULD WELCOME YOUR INPUT. Please respond in a separate email with suggestions and corrections.

Also want to mention that Martha Ann Saunders is now the president of the LWVCCC, since May, and she is acting as the Candidate Forum Chairperson as well. If you have League related questions or comments, could you email them to this address? lwvccc@gmail.com If you need to get to her in a hurry her HOME number is 770-832-7761 but please use or give out the email address, not the phone number.

If you are writing an article, the information below our names in the tag lines is the latest on the League as a whole. Feel free to quote any of it.

We really appreciate the work that each and every person of our local media do to contribute toward informing the public on important community matters.–
Martha Ann Saunders, presidentJennifer Dandliker, vice-president
League of Women Voters of Carrollton – Carroll County
P.O. Box 1014 Carrollton, GA 30112-1014

website: local: http://www.lwvga.org/lwvofcarrollton.html
state: lwvga.org national: lwv.org

LIKE us on Facebook at www.facebook.com/LWVCCC.

The League of Women Voters of the United States encourages informed and active participation in government, works to increase understanding of major public policy issues, and influences public policy through education and advocacy. The League of Women Voters Education Fund works to register voters, provide voters with election information through voter guides as well as candidate forums and debates.

Mission: ‘Empowering voters. Defending democracy.’Vision: ‘We envision a democracy where every person has the desire, the right, the knowledge and the confidence to participate.’Value: ‘We believe in the power of women to create a more perfect democracy.’

Commitment to Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion: ‘LWV is an organization fully committed to diversity, equity, and inclusion in principle and in practice. Diversity, equity, and inclusion are central to the organization’s current and future success in engaging all individuals, households, communities, and policy makers in creating a more perfect democracy. There shall be no barriers to full participation in this organization on the basis of gender, gender identity, ethnicity, race, native or indigenous origin, age, generation, sexual orientation, culture, religion, belief system, marital status, parental status, socioeconomic status, language, accent, ability status, mental health, educational level or background, geography, nationality, work style, work experience, job role function, thinking style, personality type, physical appearance, political perspective or affiliation and/or any other characteristic that can be identified as recognizing or illustrating diversity.’

ATLANTA – U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA) announced that $162,488 has been awarded to the Georgia Department of Economic Development, which successfully competed for funding to support export growth among small businesses through SBA’s competitive State Trade Expansion Program (STEP).

“The SBA is committed to assisting small businesses to enter and prosper in the global marketplace,” said Loretta Greene, Associate Administrator for SBA’s Office of International Trade. “Through SBA’s STEP awards, states provide small businesses with the critical funding they need to thrive internationally while creating jobs and strengthening their communities.”

A total of 15,010 firms exported goods from Georgia in 2018. Of these, 13,195, or 87.9 percent, were small firms, which generated 26.4 percent of Georgia’s $37.6 billion in total exports.

“We are elated that Georgia’s Department of Economic Development will be working with STEP to support Georgia’s small business exporters,” said Terri Denison, SBA Georgia District Office Director. “We look forward to the collaboration.”

The opportunities for small businesses to grow by exporting are substantial, especially during this unprecedented time. The COVID-19 pandemic has resulted in a paradigm shift to increased web-based sales and virtual trade missions to reach 95 percent of the world’s consumers located outside the United States. Exporting is an important way for U.S. businesses to grow revenue and diversify their customer base.

STEP is designed to help small businesses take advantage of these opportunities by increasing the number of small businesses that export, the value of their exports and the number of small businesses that explore significant new trade opportunities. Expanding the base of small business exporters and streamlining the process is a key component of the Administration’s small business strategy. Since the creation of the STEP program 10 years ago, SBA has awarded approximately $157 million in grants to fund export opportunities to increase the footprint of small businesses in countries all over the world.

The 2020 STEP awards will allow Georgia to assist their small businesses with the information and tools they need to succeed in export-related activities such as participating in foreign trade missions and foreign market sales trips, obtaining services provided by the U.S. Department of Commerce, accessing expertise in designing international marketing campaigns and export trade show exhibits, participating in training workshops and more.

STEP awards are managed and provided at the local level by state government organizations. The program is managed at the national level by the SBA’s Office of International Trade (OIT). For more information about STEP program and other export resources provided by the SBA, visit the SBA’s business guide to exporting products.