Savannah Chamber president seeks to connect small businesses with growth opportunities

When Marjorie Young heard back in early 2023 there would be a new president at the Savannah Area Chamber of Commerce, she immediately booked a meeting and asked his plan for small business. Young is founder of a local small business, Carriage Trade Public Relations, and left the meeting impressed with the plan.

It was only a few months later the then-new president Bert Brantley took the stage at the Mayor's Small Business Conference. It was there Young and others started planning for this year's National Small Business Week. Brantley was the one that "bridged" all their brainstorming, bringing the Chamber of Commerce into the fold.

"This year, it's going to be three times the size because we're going to have the power of the Chamber, the power of the city behind it," Young said.

Brantley's one-year mark just hit on Feb. 1 ― one day after the chamber hosted its largest ever Savannah-Chatham Day Oyster Roast in Atlanta. This year's boosted Small Business Week is one of Brantley's top initiatives for year two, where he aims to keep small business a priority, also connecting it with the coastal region's big business boom.

This second year of Brantley's local chamber tenure comes as Savannah's flashpoint in growth fully ramps up, with the Hyundai Motor Group Metaplant America (HMGMA) bumping production up to the end of year. But with the impending growth comes both angst and opportunity for workforce development, housing affordability and residential quality of life.

One week ago Brantley sat on a panel of local leaders at Housing Savannah Inc.'s first-ever Housing Summit. Chamber members such as Cecilia Russo, founder of Cecilia Russo Marketing, say one hallmark of Brantley's first year has been his visibility and community engagement.

"Oftentimes, a new business may be thinking, 'Can I really get to the president? Can I really talk to him?" Russo said. "Yes, you can. In our Savannah chamber, where it might be a large membership, he is very approachable."

'One of the best relationship builders'

Brantley came to Savannah last year with a cache of experience in state government that spanned across two decades. Most recently it was as Deputy Chief of Staff for Gov. Brian Kemp's office, managing external affairs, policy and constituent services teams.

Before his stint in the governor's office, Brantley was COO of the Georgia Department of Economic Development. During that time on the state level, Brantley was already building relationships in coastal Georgia. He was still in the governor's office when Hyundai made its announcement to come to Bryan County.

Trip Tollison, Savannah Economic Development Authority president and CEO, said he has known Brantley for at least a decade through his work with the state.

"Bert is one of the best relationship builders I have ever seen," Tollison said. "He has done such a fantastic job bridging a lot of important partners for the state, and he is doing the same thing here in Savannah."

Brantley also serves as treasurer and secretary for the Savannah-Georgia Convention Center Authority Board, the group that leads the SCC and its $276 million state-funded expansion. He is also on the boards of Leadership Savannah and Union Mission.

For Brantley, his time at the state built trust with those he works alongside in Savannah. When the Hyundai plant was in the works, he had multiple meetings with Tollison and other leaders such as Chatham County Board of Commissioners Chairman Chester Ellis or Savannah Mayor Van Johnson, Brantley said.

"You can take what he says to the bank," Tollison said.

Balancing the boom and this year's outlook

Coastal Georgia's big business growth also brings concerns that impact residential quality of life. Some in Chatham County's more rural outskirts have organized to fight the proliferation of warehouses led by economic development.

The Georgia Department of Transportation's Coastal Empire study showed that if no improvements are made to local thoroughfares, congestion will increase significantly with the region's growth. And despite predicted population growth, there is already an estimated 10,000-unit housing shortage.

However, the sense that the relationship between business and residents is adversarial has always been confusing, Brantley said, because chamber members are also residents.

"It's not an either-or. It's not an us-versus-them; it's a both," Brantley said. "We're just as concerned about historic preservation, we're just as concerned about livability and those things as anybody else is."

Working with the county and city on those issues is also part of the chamber's mission, Brantley said. Throughout his time working in Savannah, both with the state and as chamber president, he has prioritized maintaining good relationships even when groups disagree, Brantley said.

Also key to Brantley's priorities this year is harnessing growth for small business. There are more small, local businesses in the chamber's membership than big businesses, Brantley said. One way of using the growth to benefit those smaller members is by connecting them with the larger operations.

Young, the local business owner helping plan the Small Business Week, said there are plans for an event to connect local business owners with representatives from organizations such as Hyundai and Gulfstream. An example of the potential for those connections is the larger companies may buy services of local businesses, such as insurance or catering, Brantley said.

"We want to make sure that our members have access to those opportunities, so as this growth happens, they are able to grow along with it," Brantley said.

Diane Morrison, another small business owner who founded Ad Specialty, was on the search committee that ultimately selected Brantley. Morrison said she felt like Brantley's role in the governor's office, where he oversaw a wide variety of departments, was akin to overseeing a wide variety of businesses.

Brantley's ability to advocate for businesses of all sizes was one of the skillsets that made him the best candidate for the job, Morrison said.

"We (the chamber) feel more energetic, we feel more proactive, we feel more engaged with our members," Morrison said. "We're awake and alive again."

Evan Lasseter is the city and county government reporter for the Savannah Morning News. You can reach him at ELasseter@gannett.com.

This article originally appeared on Savannah Morning News: Savannah Chamber president bridges business growth, quality of life