Author: Admin

As I travel across Georgia throughout the year and currently for our fall district meetings, one issue that consistently rises to the top in many conversations is public safety. Public safety is a fundamental part of what makes Georgia’s cities great places to live. It is crucial to communities because it serves as the foundation for stability, growth, and well-being. When people feel safe, they are more likely to invest in their homes, businesses, and the community.   

GMA is working to support cities in their efforts to enhance public safety by advocating for good policies and offering a variety of programs that will continue to build leadership, improve safety standards, and mitigate risk. 

Our firefighters are often the first to respond in moments of crisis, from house fires to medical emergencies, and they are essential to the safety and well-being of every community in Georgia. That’s why GMA is proud to provide management services for the Georgia Association of Fire Chiefs (GAFC), which plays a vital role in equipping fire departments with the leadership, training, and support they need to protect our cities. The GAFC is dedicated to advancing the professionalism of fire departments and ensuring that fire chiefs across the state have the resources to effectively manage and lead their teams. The work of our fire chiefs extends beyond just putting out fires—they are leaders in emergency response, disaster preparedness, and community safety. 

A recent initiative for our cities is the Excellence in Policing (EIP) Certification program. This program is a cooperative effort between GMA, the Georgia Association of Chiefs of Police (GACP) and Local Government Risk Management Services (LGRMS). The City of Auburn was the first to receive the certification in July.  Nine more cities are in progress, with the most recent additions being the cities of Eastman and Eatonton. 

Police departments that participate in this program will not only enhance their operational effectiveness but also earn the trust and respect of their communities and receive a discount on their GIRMA premiums. The EIP program will provide law enforcement agencies with statewide recognition for achieving high standards, ensuring that critical high-risk policies are in place and proactively managed.  

Another program in the works is the Police Leadership Institute, a collaborative effort between GMA, the Georgia Association of Chiefs of Police, and the Harold F. Holtz Municipal Training Institute. This program will bring police chiefs and elected officials together to build stronger partnerships and develop the leadership skills necessary to address modern public safety challenges.  

GMA has been partnering with cities for over 90 years to help communities thrive. Whether its fire professionals managing emergency responses, police officers working to build and maintain safer neighborhoods, or local leaders demonstrating their commitment to the highest standards in public safety, we know this work touches every aspect of city life. At GMA, we are proud to support the public safety efforts of every city in Georgia, and we will continue working alongside local leaders to make sure our communities are safe for all.  At GMA, we are #CitiesUnited! 

As 2024 winds down to a close, the folks at Gwinnett Clean & Beautiful and Gwinnett County Solid Waste Management are gearing up for their final combined community event of 2024. Marking Gwinnett County’s answer to the Keep America Beautiful nationwide initiative, America Recycles Day will take place November 2, 2024, from 9 a.m. to noon at Gwinnett County Fairgrounds. The event will provide an opportunity for citizens to drop off items that are not accepted curbside, such as paint, electronics, and tires. Participants can also bring gently used clothing and shoes for donation and paper for shredding at the event.

“Celebrated on or around November 15 each year, America Recycles Day has been a major observance for more than 25 years,” said Schelly Marlatt, Executive Director of Gwinnett Clean & Beautiful. “As a Keep America Beautiful affiliate, we are proud to carry on the tradition of promoting and celebrating the benefits of recycling to our community. Not only does recycling divert waste from our local landfills, but recycled materials can be used to make all kinds of new products. More than just a recycling event, America Recycles Day is designed to educate and encourage individuals to be more mindful of what they consume, where and how to recycle properly, and to pledge to recycle more in their everyday lives. Combined with our other affiliates and participating organizations and municipalities during last year’s event, we recycled over 16.5 million pounds of materials. Whether joining us as a volunteer or a local participant, we look forward to seeing everyone bright and early November 2!”

Marlatt added that Gwinnett County contributed to that nationwide 16.5-million-pound total by recycling 5,514 gallons of paint, 14 tons of tires, and 21 tons of electronics, shredding 11 tons of paper, and repurposing 2,550 pounds of textiles during America Recycles Day 2023. For the 2024 event, Gwinnett Clean & Beautiful is urging citizens to start collecting the following items for drop off at Gwinnett County Fairgrounds on November 2:

• Electronics – Recycling is free except for TVs, monitors, and printers. Attendees are asked to bring cash – $35 for projection or console TVs, $15 per monitor or flat-screen TV, and $5 per printer.

• Paint –Both latex and oil paint will be accepted at this event. Collection is limited to ten gallons per vehicle. 

• Tires – Limit eight tires per vehicle – no dealer tires, please. Tires must have rims removed and be free of water and debris.

• Paper shredding – Limited to five copier paper boxes

• Textiles – Including gently used clothes and shoes

“It’s important to remember that paint cans must contain at least 25% wet paint in order to be recycled,” shared Marlatt. “If there’s less than 25%, residents can simply add kitty litter, shredded newspaper, or sawdust to the can to dry up the remaining paint, then double bag the can and throw it in their curbside trash bin for pickup. We will be unable to collect empty paint cans or cans that have 100% dried/solidified paint in them at this event.”

Encouraging families and groups to donate a few hours of their Saturday, Marlatt conveyed that volunteers are crucial to the event’s success. From directing traffic to hauling recyclables from attendees’ vehicles to their corresponding stations, volunteers must be 14 or older. As thanks for their participation in America Recycles Day 2024, volunteers will receive a complimentary event t-shirt (while supplies last.) Registration is now open at https://cerv.is/0024gkhtpUj. Volunteers should plan to arrive at 7:30 a.m. on November 2 for assignment. Gwinnett County Fairgrounds is located at 2405 Sugarloaf Pkwy in Lawrenceville. 

Ameris Bancorp (NYSE: ABCB) (the “Company”) today reported net income of $99.2 million, or $1.44 per diluted share, for the quarter ended September 30, 2024, compared with $80.1 million, or $1.16 per diluted share, for the quarter ended September 30, 2023. Excluding the gain on sale of MSRs and natural disaster expenses, adjusted net income⁽¹⁾ was $95.2 million, or $1.38 per diluted share, for the quarter ended September 30, 2024, compared with $80.1 million, or $1.16 per diluted share, for the quarter ended September 30, 2023.

For the year-to-date period ending September 30, 2024, the Company reported net income of $264.3 million, or $3.83 per diluted share, compared with $203.2 million, or $2.94 per diluted share, for the same period in 2023. The year-to-date period ending September 30, 2024 included a provision for credit losses of $46.0 million, compared with $119.7 million for the same period in 2023.

Commenting on the Company’s results, Palmer Proctor, the Company’s Chief Executive Officer, said, “This quarter’s strong financial performance reflects our core franchise value, disciplined focus on enhancing shareholder returns and commitment to our customers. We achieved core deposit growth, sold additional MSRs at a gain, reduced GNMA nonaccrual exposure and grew tangible book value by over 19% annualized this quarter. We are building capital at a strong pace, with our TCE ratio now over 10% and CET1 ratio at 12%. We remain dedicated to the Southeast markets, which continue to grow and thrive.”

Net Interest Income and Net Interest Margin

Net interest income on a tax-equivalent basis (TE) was $215.0 million in the third quarter of 2024, an increase of $2.1 million, or 1.0%, from last quarter and $6.3 million, or 3.0%, compared with the third quarter of 2023. The Company’s net interest margin was 3.51% for the third quarter of 2024, down from 3.58% reported for the second quarter of 2024 and from 3.54% reported for the third quarter of 2023. The decrease in net interest margin this quarter compared with the second quarter of 2024 is primarily attributable to decreased yield on securities during the period, in addition to an increase in funding costs. During the second quarter of 2024, the Company recognized approximately $2.3 million, or 0.04% to margin, related to positive inflation adjustments on Treasury Inflation-Protected Securities and accelerated accretion on an early bond payoff. The decrease in net interest margin compared with the same period in 2023 is due to the effect of overall increases in deposit costs over the last year, partially offset by increased yields on earning assets.

Yields on earning assets decreased five basis points during the quarter to 5.81%, compared with 5.86% in the second quarter of 2024. This decrease is primarily related to the $2.3 million in bond income recognized in the second quarter of 2024 noted above. Yields on earning assets increased 19 basis points compared with 5.62% for the third quarter of 2023. Yields on loans increased to 6.01% during the third quarter of 2024, compared with 6.00% for the second quarter of 2024 and 5.81% for the third quarter of 2023.

The Company’s total cost of funds was 2.50% in the third quarter of 2024, an increase of two and 26 basis points compared with the second quarter of 2024 and third quarter of 2023, respectively. Deposit costs increased only seven basis points during the third quarter of 2024 to 2.39%, compared with 2.32% in the second quarter of 2024. Costs of interest-bearing deposits increased during the quarter from 3.37% in the second quarter of 2024 to 3.44% in the third quarter of 2024, reflecting an increase in money market and brokered deposit account balances and costs.

Noninterest Income

Noninterest income decreased $19.0 million, or 21.4%, in the third quarter of 2024 to $69.7 million, compared with $88.7 million for the second quarter of 2024, primarily as a result of decreased gain on securities and mortgage revenue. The second quarter of 2024 included a gain on conversion of Visa Class B stock of $12.6 million, compared with no such gain in the third quarter of 2024. Mortgage banking activity decreased by $8.5 million, or 18.2%, to $37.9 million in the third quarter of 2024, compared with $46.4 million for the second quarter of 2024. Gain on sale spreads decreased to 2.17% in the third quarter of 2024 from 2.45% for the second quarter of 2024. Total production in the retail mortgage division decreased $170.1 million, or 12.8%, to $1.16 billion in the third quarter of 2024, compared with $1.33 billion for the second quarter of 2024. The retail mortgage open pipeline was $813.7 million at the end of the third quarter of 2024, compared with $802.2 million for the second quarter of 2024. Included in other noninterest income in the third quarter of 2024 was a $5.2 million gain from the sale of mortgage servicing rights, compared with $4.7 million for the second quarter of 2024.

Noninterest Expense

Noninterest expense decreased $3.6 million, or 2.3%, to $151.8 million during the third quarter of 2024, compared with $155.4 million for the second quarter of 2024. During the third quarter of 2024, the Company recorded natural disaster expenses of $150,000. During the second quarter of 2024, the Company recorded a reduction in FDIC special assessment expense of $895,000. Excluding these items, adjusted expenses⁽¹⁾ decreased approximately $4.6 million, or 3.0%, to $151.6 million in the third quarter of 2024 from $156.3 million in the second quarter of 2024. The decrease in adjusted expenses⁽¹⁾ resulted from a $1.2 million decrease in loan servicing expenses as a result of the sale of mortgage servicing rights beginning in the second quarter of 2024. Also contributing to the decrease in adjusted expenses were $1.0 million of additional deferred origination costs in our equipment finance division and a reduction of $1.0 million in problem loan expenses. Management continues to focus on operating efficiency, and the adjusted efficiency ratio⁽¹⁾ improved to 54.25% in the third quarter of 2024, compared with 55.00% in the second quarter of 2024.

Income Tax Expense

The Company’s effective tax rate for the third quarter of 2024 was 21.2%, compared with 28.2% for the second quarter of 2024. Tax expense during the second quarter of 2024 included a $4.8 million expense related to the termination of certain BOLI policies.

Balance Sheet Trends

Total assets at September 30, 2024 were $26.40 billion, compared with $25.20 billion at December 31, 2023. Debt securities available-for-sale increased to $1.44 billion, compared with $1.40 billion at December 31, 2023. Loans, net of unearned income, increased $695.7 million, or 4.6% annualized, to $20.96 billion at September 30, 2024, compared with $20.27 billion at December 31, 2023. Loans held for sale increased to $553.4 million at September 30, 2024 from $281.3 million at December 31, 2023.

At September 30, 2024, total deposits amounted to $21.88 billion, compared with $20.71 billion at December 31, 2023. During the third quarter of 2024, deposits grew $435.1 million, with noninterest bearing accounts increasing $21.1 million, money market accounts increasing $83.6 million, retail CDs increasing $60.4 million and brokered CDs increasing $403.7 million, with such increases offset in part by a $12.6 million decrease in savings accounts and a 121.0 million decrease in interest bearing demand accounts. Noninterest bearing accounts as a percentage of total deposits was minimally changed, such that at September 30, 2024, noninterest bearing deposit accounts represented $6.67 billion, or 30.5% of total deposits, compared with $6.49 billion, or 31.3% of total deposits, at December 31, 2023.

Shareholders’ equity at September 30, 2024 totaled $3.68 billion, an increase of $254.6 million, or 7.4%, from December 31, 2023. The increase in shareholders’ equity was primarily the result of earnings of $264.3 million during the first nine months of 2024, partially offset by dividends declared, share repurchases and an improvement in other comprehensive loss of $20.2 million resulting from changes in interest rates on the Company’s investment portfolio. Tangible book value per share⁽¹⁾ increased $3.87 per share, or 15.4% annualized, during the first nine months of 2024 to $37.51 at September 30, 2024. Tangible common equity as a percentage of tangible assets was 10.24% at September 30, 2024, compared with 9.64% at the end of 2023. The Company had no repurchases of its shares in the quarter ending September 30, 2024.

Credit Quality

During the third quarter of 2024, the Company recorded a provision for credit losses of $6.1 million, keeping the allowance for credit losses at 1.60% of loans, compared with a provision of $18.8 million in the second quarter of 2024. Nonperforming assets as a percentage of total assets improved 30 basis points to 0.44% during the quarter. Approximately $8.2 million, or 7.0%, of the nonperforming assets at September 30, 2024 were GNMA-guaranteed mortgage loans, which have minimal loss exposure. Excluding these government-guaranteed loans, nonperforming assets as a percentage of total assets increased two basis points to 0.41% at September 30, 2024, compared with 0.39% at the second quarter of 2024. The Company sold a pool of MSRs during the third quarter of 2024 which reduced exposure to nonperforming GNMA-guaranteed mortgage loans by $85.4 million. The net charge-off ratio improved to 15 basis points for the third quarter of 2024, from 18 basis points in the second quarter of 2024.

Share Repurchase Program

The Company’s board of directors, on October 18, 2024, authorized the Company to repurchase up to $100.0 million of its outstanding common stock. Repurchases of shares, which are authorized to occur through October 31, 2025, will be made, if at all, in accordance with applicable securities laws and may be made from time to time in the open market or by negotiated transactions. The amount and timing of repurchases will be based on a variety of factors, including share acquisition price, regulatory limitations and other market and economic factors. The program does not require the Company to repurchase any specific number of shares. The board’s authorization is a continuation of and increase in the Company’s previously announced share repurchase program which was set to expire on October 31 and under which the Company has repurchased $8.3 million of its outstanding common stock in the past 12 months.

Conference Call

The Company will host a teleconference at 9:00 a.m. Eastern time on Friday, October 25, 2024, to discuss the Company’s results and answer appropriate questions. The conference call can be accessed by dialing 1-844-481-2939. The conference call ID is Ameris Bancorp. A replay of the call will be available beginning one hour after the end of the conference call until November 1, 2024. To listen to the replay, dial 1-877-344-7529. The conference replay access code is 1525671. The financial information discussed will be available on the Investor Relations page of the Ameris Bank website at ir.amerisbank.com. Participants also may listen to a live webcast of the presentation by visiting the link on the Investor Relations page of the Ameris Bank website.

The Vidalia onion. Beloved across the country — so much so that it garnered a $200 million farm gate value in 2022 — but only grown in 20 counties surrounding the town of Vidalia in southeast Georgia, where special soil properties produce a sweet onion that is even sweeter.

The conditions that make this region good for growing are also optimal for a wide range of plant pests and diseases. Onion diseases that occur in production fields can cause severe economic losses to onion growers by reducing the yield and quality of marketable onions.

“Georgians are very proud of Vidalia onions. The growers have great success with current management models and technology, but with more innovative technologies, we can make the great even greater,” said Luan Oliveira, assistant professor in the Department of Horticulture at the University of Georgia College of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences (CAES). 

A multidisciplinary team of UGA researchers aims to enhance the competitiveness of Vidalia onion growers in Georgia by providing them with the ability to confidently detect onion diseases early, enabling them to make management decisions on their crop at a critical time. These abilities, researchers say, should result in increased yield and quality of marketable onions and an overall increase in efficiency and productivity.

Guoyu Lu, assistant professor at the UGA College of Engineering, is the principal investigator on the three-year project. Lu is joined by Oliveira, who also serves as the precision agriculture specialist for UGA Cooperative Extension, and Bhabesh Dutta, professor in the CAES Department of Plant Pathology and UGA Extension vegetable disease specialist.

“What makes this project especially interesting is the partnership between CAES and the College of Engineering that is fostered through the UGA Institute for Integrative Precision Agriculture, the integrated team — research and Extension faculty, county agents and farmers — and the use of AI to detect onion diseases,” said George Vellidis, professor in the CAES Department of Crop and Soil Sciences and institute faculty.

Disease detection limited by lack of technology and large field sizes

Detecting and identifying diseases creates many challenges for Georgia’s Vidalia growers. Farmers and their consultants detect and identify diseases by walking through fields. Because many fields are large, scouting every row is a major efficiency challenge. Producers often scout small areas within a field to save time, but this method leaves most of the field unchecked.

When a disease is detected, sprays — either curative or preventive — are applied to the entire field as a precautionary measure because the extent of disease distribution cannot be easily determined.

“Farming is a very tedious and costly job — it can be tiring work with many uncertainties,” Lu said. “I wanted to develop something that can help the farmers save their labor and time, ultimately making their jobs easier.”

Lu and the research team, along with three leading Vidalia sweet onion growers, will apply artificial intelligence and machine learning to create a series of disease management decision support tools (DSTs) for the Vidalia sweet onion.

SmartDetect app, other AI-powered tools boost disease detection and prevention

Combining data collection and analysis with plant pathology, precision agriculture and robotics, the team will build a photographic library of the foliar symptoms caused by onion diseases and other physiological disorders, feed them into the AI software, and use machine learning to identify the diseases based on pattern and color recognition from the images.

“Our disease management DSTs will range from smartphone apps to robotic solutions that will enable growers and their consultants to scout entire fields rapidly and target prophylactic and curative sprays to areas in the field where disease may be emerging or has emerged,” Lu said.

Growers and their consultants will be able to use the SmartDetect app to identify diseases that can be difficult to pinpoint without specialized knowledge or equipment, including bacterial leaf blight, pink root or onion smut.

“In addition, the SmartDetect app can be used to track disease outbreaks over time and in different locations,” Lu said. “By collecting data on the prevalence and severity of different diseases, growers can make informed decisions on how to manage their crops and prevent future outbreaks.”

Another advantage of using robots in onion fields is their ability to collect data on plant health and growth. By using sensors and cameras, robots can collect information on factors such as soil moisture, nutrient levels and plant health.

Improving profits for Georgia onion growers

The project aims to enhance the competitiveness of Vidalia sweet onion growers in Georgia through increased efficiency and profitability. Enabling growers to confidently detect onion diseases early and target disease management will increase the environmental sustainability of Vidalia sweet onion production by reducing the volume of pesticides used to grow the crop.

The project, awarded in late 2023, has just completed its first year and will be complete in September 2026. The team will now send all data to the app developer for disease recognition and localization. Lu and his colleagues hope to expand the technology to other crops in the future.

“As an Extension specialist, my job is taking this research back to the farmers,” Oliveira said. “Having something tangible to support our producers in Georgia is incredibly exciting.”

Learn more about research projects within the UGA Institute for Integrative Precision Agriculture at iipa.uga.edu.

Southern Company today announced the retirement of Martin B. Davis as executive vice president and chief information officer, effective April 1, 2025.

Davis has spent more than 35 years leading complex technology organizations in highly regulated environments. Since joining the company in 2015, Davis has led more than 2,000 technology professionals supporting Southern Company’s subsidiaries. He drove innovation and excellence at Southern Company by developing and implementing advanced technology, cybersecurity and customer solutions.

Before joining Southern Company, Davis served as head of enterprise information technology, executive vice president and chief technology officer at Wells Fargo and played a key role in that company’s integration of Wachovia, the largest technology integration in the history of U.S. financial services.

Davis currently serves on the board of directors of Piedmont Healthcare and the South State Corporation and formerly served on the board of directors of the American Heart Association (Southeast Region) and the board of trustees at Winston-Salem State University.

Davis holds a bachelor’s degree in business administration from Winston-Salem State University and is a graduate of the Young Executives Institute and the Wachovia Executive Leadership Program at the University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill.

Shaw Industries is further enhancing its domestic resilient flooring manufacturing capabilities with a $90 million investment in Plant RP here, which makes SPC and LVT resilient flooring. This latest phase of investment will more than double the facility’s resilient flooring production capacity by 2026.

These efforts will not only increase capacity but will also provide customers with enhanced product specifications, such as smaller production runs, new emboss textures, added dimensional stability for loose lay applications and more product sizes.

Plant RP has been a key component of Shaw’s strategic growth since it began production in 2016, positioning the company as a leader in high-performance resilient flooring. Since 2019, Shaw has invested more than $160 million in the facility (excluding this most recent announcement), creating job opportunities in Ringgold and driving innovation through advanced manufacturing processes.

“This investment allows us to better serve our customers with added product features, made domestically,” said David Morgan, executive vice president of operations at Shaw. “Expanding Plant RP ensures we continue to deliver the quality and service our customers expect.”

The expansion of Plant RP underscores Shaw’s continued focus on domestic manufacturing to deliver high-quality flooring solutions that meet evolving residential and commercial customer needs.

Resilient flooring made at Shaw Plant RP (both LVT and SPC) are recyclable through the re[TURN] Reclamation Program. What’s more, as part of the Environmental Guarantee Shaw promises to pick up Shaw-manufactured resilient for recycling at the end of its first life on the floor at no cost to the customer (for a 5,000-square-foot minimum).

 Quicken, maker of America’s best-selling personal finance software, today shared additional findings from its recent survey about Americans who work side hustles. It indicates that many Americans, especially Gen Z, are taking on side hustles to build skills for the future. Following extensive layoffs across tech, media, and other sectors, many young Americans are taking control over the future of their careers.

Nearly one in five (18%) Americans with a side hustle say they are building skills for future careers, demonstrating that these endeavors are more than just a means to earn extra income for some. When looking at Gen Z members of this group, this number jumps to 44%, highlighting how the workforce’s current youngest generation is taking charge of their professional development in response to heightened anxiety and disillusionment with the traditional 9-to-5 work model.

Desire for independence and self-sufficiency is another reason people choose to have a side hustle, with 72% of multi-job Americans reporting they enjoy working for themselves more than being tied to a corporation. Nearly three-fourths (73%) of those who prefer self-employment say they are happier managing multiple jobs than investing all of their efforts into one. While two in five (40%) Americans with side hustles say they dream of quitting their full-time jobs to focus solely on their second job, many keep their side hustle under wraps for now – only half (50%) of Americans with multiple sources of income say they have disclosed their side hustle to their full-time employer.

“In today’s evolving economy, more Americans are embracing side hustles, not just as a source of supplemental income but as a way to build new skills,” said Eric Dunn, CEO of Quicken. “Whether they’re looking to advance in their careers or eventually work for themselves, these entrepreneurial efforts are creating a path toward greater financial independence and personal fulfillment.”

Side hustles are transforming career paths and empowering individuals to find greater professional fulfillment and financial success. In the wake of widespread layoffs, 20% of Americans with side hustles are investing in their secondary income streams. More than half (52%) are considering quitting their full-time jobs within the next year. Americans with side hustles cite a range of benefits including feeling more financially secure (72%), experiencing reduced financial stress (67%), and no longer having to live paycheck to paycheck (68%).

As side hustles reshape career paths and provide greater financial stability, more Americans are finding fulfillment in diversifying their income streams. Check out more survey results here.