AMERICUS — The Education Division of the Sumter County Chamber of Commerce announces its inaugural event this year with the first State of Education Dinner. With presenting sponsor, the One Sumter Economic Development Foundation Inc., this signature event will be held at 5:30 p.m. Sept. 26.
Hosted by South Georgia Technical College (SGTC) at the John M. Pope Industrial Technology Center, the State of Education Dinner will serve as a unique opportunity for the business community to hear firsthand from educational leaders across Sumter County. A celebration of Sumter’s educational options, the event will open at 5:30 p.m. with a reception highlighting each of Sumter’s five school systems — Georgia Southwestern State University, South Georgia Technical College, Southland Academy, Sumter County Schools and Furlow Charter School. Dinner and a special program will follow immediately at 6:15 p.m.
Education Division Chairman and Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act (WIOA) Coordinator at SGTC, Sandhya Muljibhai shares the Chamber Board’s enthusiasm for the event. “We are looking forward to hosting the first State of Education Dinner on behalf of the Sumter County Chamber of Commerce. This event is something we have been planning and looking forward to for a long time, and to see it all come together is truly exciting! The business community really wants to be an active and engaged partner for education in Sumter County, and this is one of the first opportunities to bring both of these groups together and have all five of our outstanding educational institutions represented on one stage at one event.”
The Networking Reception sponsored by the Sumter County Development Authority, before the doors open to dinner and the formal program. Guests will be joined by Sumter County’s educational leaders, who will have the opportunity to share all of the exciting opportunities for student learning and engagement in Sumter County. Special guests include GSW President Neal Weaver, SGTC President John Watford, Southland Academy Headmaster Ty Kinslow, Sumter County Schools Superintendent Torrance Choates, and Furlow Charter School Principal Elizabeth Kuipers. Through a moderated discussion, the dinner will serve as the business community’s first platform in which to support our institutions of education and learning, and learn firsthand all that is happening around education in Sumter County,
Contact the Sumter County Chamber of Commerce to reserve your seat today. Tickets are $25 each for Chamber members and $35 for non-Chamber members. Tables can be purchased on a limited, first come basis for a cost of $300 per table. Any business or organization wishing to purchase a table will be featured as a Gold Table Sponsor in the event program.
Reservations and ticket purchases can be made by phone at (229) 924-2646, or by email at chamber@sumtercountychamber.com.  For more information on table sponsorships, contact Carolyn Wright at (229) 924-2646, or at cwright@sumtercountychamber.com.