Local Archway Professional to take part in leadership program

Grady County Archway professional Betsy McGriff has been selected to participate in a statewide leadership program, Young Gamechangers. The program is sponsored by GeorgiaForward, an organization that works with people around the state to create “innovative solutions to our state’s challenges.” People selected to participate in the Young Gamechangers program must be under the age of 40 and submit an application for consideration.
McGriff’s is the fourth such class, and will be working in Augusta through the end of the year. “Each class works for six months to generate big ideas and recommendations for persistent challenges in a Georgia community which they present to the community at the conclusion of the program,” states information from GeorgiaForward.
McGriff says she is looking forward to learning more about urban issues, “I think this will expose me to programs and ideas that may not have yet made it to rural Georgia. While I certainly realize that everything that will work in Augusta will not work in Cairo, I hope there will be elements that I can bring back to share that might gain traction here.”
The former mayor of Augusta says having Young Gamechangers work in his community will be beneficial. “Augusta is at a critical juncture as our city is undergoing a transformation into a more knowledge based economy. In order to help shape this transformation to the benefit of our entire community, our city applied to enlist the best and brightest young minds from throughout the State of Georgia to help shape the future of our region through GeorgiaForward‘s Young Gamechangers program,” says Deke Copenhaver, former mayor of Augusta and owner of Copenhaver Consulting.
McGriff says in addition to learning about another community she is looking forward to introducing her classmates to Southwest Georgia. “When I look through the list of Fall 2016 Young Gamechangers, with the exception of one other participant from Dublin, I’m the only representative from rural Georgia,” she says, “This is a big responsibility – to represent what, for some, will be their first exposure to Southwest Georgia in general and Grady County in particular. But, I have a great story to tell them. The story of a community that’s working together to accomplish big things and to make a statewide impression.”
McGriff has worked in Grady County as the Archway Professional since September 2015. The previous two years, she had worked as the Archway Professional in Candler County. A native of Bulloch County, McGriff holds a master’s degree in business administration and a bachelor’s degree in chemistry, both from Georgia Southern University.
McGriff is a graduate of Leadership Bulloch (2005) and the Georgia Academy for Economic Development (2006 & 2014).
She and her husband, Harley, live in Tifton with their children, Mac and Charlie.