Barnesville-Lamar County Industrial Development Authority

Thank you to Mike Keenan and the team at Grain Craft for the warm welcome and tour of your Barnesville facility today. We are grateful for your continued investment in Lamar County and proud to support long-standing industry partners who play such an important role in our local economy.

What a sweet surprise today!

Good news from downtown!

Goggans Florist is temporarily open at a new location while they recover.
You can now find them at Buck Naked Deer Cooler located at 775 Veterans Pkwy.

They are continuing to serve customers and can be reached at the same phone number you’ve always used.

Let’s continue showing them the same love and support our community has already demonstrated. Stop by, place an order, or simply share the word so people know they’re open. 🌼💛

Job Fair Coming! Employers needed!
The Office of Workforce Development (a division of TCSG), in collaboration with Southern Crescent Technical College, Thomaston-Upson County Development Authority and Three Rivers Regional Commission are organizing job fairs specific to the employees affected by upcoming closures. There are two, one specifically for employees of Quad Graphics and one specifically for the employees of Continental tire.
The job fair for Continental Tire/Aldora Mills is scheduled for Wednesday, March 25 from 10am – 2pm at their facility: 160 Aldora Street, Barnesville.

The job fair for Quad Graphics is scheduled for Thursday, February 26 10am – 2pm at Southern Crescent Technical College at 1533 US-19 (Building B), Thomaston.

Employers who would like to participate in the Continental Tire event can use the Registration Link -

forms.office.com

We are proud to have you as a member of our board!

Please join us in congratulating Tyler Young, one of our accomplished owners and pharmacists, on receiving the Distinguished Young Pharmacists Award at the 150th Georgia Pharmacy Association Convention. We appreciate your service to our community.

Let’s take Rotary to the next level! Chief Belinda Penamon will be our new president of the Rotary Club of Barnesville! She is also the 2025 Career woman of the Year voted by our club!

Congratulations to Sandra Puckett for almost 10 years of service to the IDA serving as chair for two years and as our first female AND female of color as our chair! Pictured with her is Erin Cook, our second female chair. Thank you for your leadership, organization and professionalism during your tenure. You will be missed but we know you will continue to work in our community.

We are so proud to accept support from the Central GA EMC unclaimed capital fund for our economic development program! Both the Chamber and IDA were recipients. Pictured are Cathy Turner and Bianca Romero from the Chamber and D.T Hamil, Central GA EMC Board member and Christ Mitchell, Director of Field Services and Kathy Oxford of the IDA. We appreciate all of our utility partners at Central GA EMC.

If you are interested in a career path that helps build a stronger community and have some experience in community leadership, strategic planning, collaborative economic and business development, please consider applying for our Executive Director position. See the full job description and job requirements at

Job Opportunities

So, a cool thing happened last night at the inaugural Champions of Technical Education dinner last night at Southern Crescent Technical College. Kathy Oxford was recognized as a Champion for 2024. What an honor to be included in the group of amazing Southern Crescent supporters. Thank you to Piedmont Green Power for being a sponsor. They take education seriously folks. We all need to!

Welcome Back Highlander Nation! Have an awesome year!