“There’s something special going on in Morgan County,” business owners and state department leaders alike said about the county’s entrepreneurial spirit during the inaugural EntreFest held at Empire Mills on Nov. 15.
Entrepreneurs were celebrated during the daylong event, hosted by local nonprofit The Wheelhouse, which aims to “ignite entrepreneurship” and aid small business development.
The event started with business pitches from nine Morgan County High School students, who represented the county's future of entrepreneurship. The pitches were part of the Foundational Leadership and Entrepreneurship X-perience (FLEX), a competition, which grows workforce talent and connects students to the business world. According to the FLEX website, students create real businesses, provide real products and services, and make real money.
The nine students finished their first round of FLEX at EntreFest, and each received $200 in seed money to start their business. Students were Jatavious Ward, Ethan Cook, Ben Jarrell, Wesley Nealon, Ishana Beharrysingh, Jacob Hilsman, Jaden Shumate, Jaylen Polk, and Blakely Payne. Their businesses ranged from custom PCs to nonstick horse feed buckets.
Over the next few weeks, students will learn how to operate their businesses and will present another pitch before a panel of judges. Then, the top three students will be selected to participate in a final pitch, in which a local winner will be chosen to advance to the state competition.
EntreFest also celebrated well-established entrepreneurs, with Robert Lee (R.L.) Terrell Sr. and Hazel Terrell received the inaugural Entrepreneurial Legacy Award. T&T Tall Timbers, a pulpwood operation started by the Terrell family in Madison in the 1940s, has grown into a thriving, multigenerational family business dedicated to serving the community.
“T&T Tall Timbers is more than a business; it’s a testament to the Terrell family’s faith, resilience, and commitment to excellence,” Wheelhouse executive director Dr. Miki Edwards said during the award presentation. “If you know this family, you know their outreach, whether it starts at the pulpit, feeding others, working with students, [or] finding homes, jobs, and resources. They work to lift those around them while working hard as entrepreneurs themselves. Let this remind all of us that your work sets an example for those around you and has impacts for generations to come.”
EntreFest also featured a “fireside chat” with former Georgia governor and current University System of Georgia Chancellor Dr. Sonny Perdue and Technical College System of Georgia Commissioner Greg Dozier. BankSouth CEO Harold Reynolds, the USG Board of Regents chair and past TCSG chair, moderated their conversation.
Perdue and Dozier discussed the college systems’ critical role in building the workforce talent pipeline.
Dozier highlighted several programs, calling TCSG “the frontline of workforce development.”
The TCSG includes 22 colleges with more than 18 programs heavily connected to the latest industry needs, as well as local workforce development and adult education sites. According to Dozier, each program focuses on job-ready skills.
“Everything is offered, really, as a beginning point to make sure somebody has the opportunity for economic prosperity,” he explained about the programs.
Perdue said teaching students problem-solving skills is critical in USG’s 26 schools.
“We hope to help them figure out how to solve problems, how to think critically,” Perdue said. “Most employers can teach the content. They want entrepreneurial thinking, outside-the-box [thinking] on how to do things more efficiently and effectively.”
Dozier echoed those comments, saying problem-solving is the “foundation” of technical colleges.
Perdue and Dozier said wherever students go, the schools will help them understand what it takes to be an entrepreneur.
They acknowledged collaboration as key, noting successful partnerships between the systems for multiple programs. They highlighted available resources, including small business development centers, career centers, job fairs, and mentoring and internship opportunities.
“The experiences we afford them give them the courage to be a risk-taker because businesses sometimes are hard; it’s not easy, but you got to have the constitution to sustain those tough times,” Perdue shared. “That’s our job — we prepare people for life.”
EntreFest ended with multiple breakout sessions, inviting local business owners to learn about tools and area resources. Sessions included talks with Christopher Nunn, commissioner of the Georgia Department of Community Affairs; Bob Mackey, successful “Shark Tank” pitcher and CEO of Central Georgia Boys and Girls Club; Rosemarie Drake, deputy district director of the U.S. Small Business Administration; Jamie Hood, chief marketing officer of Jamie Hood Creative Marketing; Lisa Rawls, founder and principal of Evergreen CFO; and representatives from Aruna Bio and the University of Georgia Small Business Development Center.
Session attendees also heard from event host The Wheelhouse. What Madison Mayor Fred Perriman referred to during his 2024 State of the City address as “the best-kept secret in Morgan County” aims to be a community of small business owners and mentors. Wheelhouse’s representatives highlighted the nonprofit’s services aimed to grow and maintain businesses, including roundtables, educational workshops, networking opportunities, and speaking events — all tailored to a business's needs.
Wheelhouse is led by Dr. Miki Edwards, Brooks Pennington IV, Dr. Annie Hunt Burriss, Stan Ashley, Jake Lindsey, Dr. Jim Malanowski, Bob Mackey, Madison City Councilmember Carrie Peters-Reid, Sherry Terrell, and Becky Thompson.
The Hub, Wheelhouse’s new headquarters, can be found on the second floor of the Madison Welcome Center at 115 E. Jefferson St. For more information about services and future events, visit madisonwheelhouse.com.