This article originally appeared in the September 3, 2020 edition of The Clayton Tribune and is reposted with permission from publisher Wayne Knuckles.
By Megan Broome
Staff Writer
CLAYTON—The Forward Rabun Community Board kicked off its inaugural meeting Tuesday with special guest speakers former Gov. Nathan Deal, Sandra Deal and Rep. Terry Rogers of Ga. House District 10.
Community leaders and city mayors were present as well, and these individuals are who make up the Forward Rabun Community Board.
“Forward Rabun is an umbrella organization. It’s a coordinator,” said Rick Story, director of development for Rabun County, in his remarks. “We want for the first time ever to bring all our economic entities together.”
The Forward Rabun organization consists of the Development Authority of Rabun County, the Rabun County Chamber of Commerce and Welcome Center and a tourism entity.
Story said that he has already seen the benefits of these organizations being together and noted that the Deals have been supporters of the Forward Rabun concept since its conception.
“They have been supportive from the get-go,” Story said about Deal and his wife. “They certainly support what we are doing and applaud it.”
In his remarks, Deal stressed the importance of community members working together for the common goal of bringing tourism into Rabun County.
“All of you are working together and I think that’s what Rick [Story] has worked really hard to bring about,” Deal said.
He explained that development that happens in one municipality spills over to the county and other cities, so what one does affects the others. That is why it’s important to be involved and informed about projects happening in the whole community.
“You’ve done a very good job of attracting tourists here,” Deal said. “People are going to take advantage of communities like yours.”
He said that people will feel safe coming to Rabun County and admire the beauty that is here.
Story explained that more people continue to come to Rabun County and growth is inevitable, so it’s important to prepare and use this growth as an advantage.
“We’re growing. We’re growing by leaps and bounds,” Story said. “People are longing for the quality of life we offer. We can allow growth to happen to us or we can start now to proactively manage that growth.”
Story said that the goal is for Forward Rabun to allow Rabun County to become a unified community and work together with tourism as an asset.
“We want to brand Rabun County in that regard. We want to update all the assets we have here,” Story said.
He said that the “synergy” of these entities being centrally located will support this objective.
“Forward Rabun is just as much as community development as it is economic development,” said Robert Pittman, board member for the Development Authority of Rabun County.
Rep. Rogers stressed the importance of working as a team to reach a common goal.
“I cannot stress how important it is what you’re doing,” Rogers said in his remarks.
“Everyone getting on the same page is so important. If we all do our jobs, work together and can count on each other it works a lot better,” he said.
Story explained that Forward Rabun will be organized of a total of 21 members. Appointed members who represent the county, each municipality, the Chamber of Commerce and the superintendent.
There will also be board-elected members who represent businesses and organizations.
The executive committee of seven would meet monthly while the regular board meets quarterly.
“That will be your governing body,” Story explained about the executive committee. He added that the Forward Rabun model can be customized to better serve Rabun County.
“It is designed to be a partnership both public and private,” Story said.
County Commission Chairman Greg James spoke briefly and praised the success of Forward Rabun as it continues to develop.
“How proud I am of this building and this organization,” James said. “I want us to accomplish something great for our community,” he added in his remarks.
Dillard City Council member Claude Dillard said that he sees the value in an organization like Forward Rabun because it gives an understanding into what’s going on with the community as a whole.
“I saw first-hand how much better I was as an elected official to get all this information,” Dillard said.
April Childers, superintendent of Rabun County Schools, said she hopes Forward Rabun brings young people to the community discussion and allows them to see what the government does in their own backyard.
Commissioner Stephen Arbitter said he looks forward to working with his fellow board members and team mates.
“I look around this room and I see workers,” Arbitter said during the meeting. “I could not be more encouraged about what I’m sitting here looking at.”
Deal gave his blessing for the success of Forward Rabun and praised Story for his hard work and dedication as a leader.
“We wish you the very best as you kick off this Forward Rabun,” Deal said in his closing remarks. “I think we’re off to a great start,” Story said.
