About Us

About Us

The Emanuel County Development Authority (ECDA) consists of seven members.  Regularly scheduled meetings are held on the second Monday of the month at 5 P.M. in the Chamber of Commerce board room at 102 S. Main Street, Swainsboro.  In the event a special called meeting is required, a special notice will be posted at the meeting location above and newspaper notified. The board members of the SECDA have the experience to help your business succeed. We realize that where a company is located has a significant impact on its ability to control costs, generate income and maximize business productivity.  ECDA is a one-stop organization that assists in all your location or expansion needs. There is no red tape. You get immediate answers to your questions. The city and county governments and the ECDA work together to provide incentive packages, based on job creation and private investment, that help your business become profitable in the shortest amount of time.ECDA realizes that your location/expansion is on a definite timeline. We help you meet that timeline with seven different industrial parks to choose from, some of which have pad ready sites with all infrastructure in place. For other sites, we are in the process of “certifying” sites by doing the preparation work in advance, such as environmental studies, geotechnical studies and others, to minimize time to groundbreaking and to meet your critical timelines. One 40-acre pre-qualified site is already in place with all utilities at the site.  A 51 Acre Georgia Ready for Accelerated Development (GRAD) site is located at the Airport industrial park and adjacent to the four-lane U.S. 1 By-pass.

Our newest park, the Highway 297 Industrial Park, 376 acres with rail access, has all utilities at the site.

Another significant factor is our county and labor draw area can provide qualified labor at the right wages and salaries. Plus, if you meet certain criteria, the state of Georgia, through its Quick Start Program, can provide free training for your new employees.  There are many reasons to choose Emanuel County. Please contact us to set up a visit so that we can show you why you should come to Emanuel County!

Jack Bareford

President

478-237-6426

jbareford@goemanuel.org

Our Board Members

Will Donaldson – Chairman

Wade Johnson – Vice Chairman

Tim Garrett – Member

Butch Frye – Member

Kenny Griffin – Member

Jim Mercer – Member

Cason Devane – Member

Richard McNeely – Board Attorney

Our Staff

Ken Warnock
Chief Executive Officer, Swainsboro-Emanuel County Chamber of Commerce and Development Authority

Board Treasurer

Jack Bareford
Authority President and Board Secretary