The 7th Annual State of Small Business in Chatham County, presented by Best Business Brokers and Wells Fargo & Company, will be held Wednesday, May 8, at the Eckburg Auditorium at Savannah Technical College, 5717 White Bluff Road, Savannah, GA.

During the morning event, five area experts will present reports on measurable benchmarks relating to the health of Savannah’s small business community.

The goal of State of Small Business is to have current and relevant information available about the local economy, to help the small business owner make informed decisions in strategic business planning.

2019 State of Small Business presenters and topics include:

• Gary Sanchez, Regional Director External Affairs for AT&T: Technology Trends;

• Lee Beckmann, Georgia Ports Authority, Garden City Terminal: Freight Shipping Trends;

• Tony O’Reilly, president of the Small Business Assistance Corporation: Small Business Access to Capital in the Savannah Region;

• Rhett Mouchet, associate broker at Colliers International Savannah: Commercial Real Estate Trends; 

• Dean Burnette, managing broker at Best Business Brokers: Business Sales Trends.

Following their presentations, the speakers will hold a round-table review to discuss the implications of the data and how it relates to small business owners.

Michael Toma, director of the Center for Business Analytics and Economic Research at Georgia Southern, will join the discussion to help interpret available information.

Doors open at 8 a.m. with refreshments available. Reports start at 8:30 a.m. and the roundtable will begin at 9:30. The event will end at 10 a.m.

During the event, there will also be displays from SCORE, UGA Small Business Development Center, and The Creative Coast, providing business resource materials.

This event is free and open to the public but seats are limited. Registration is required through https://www.eventbrite.com/e/state-of-small-business-in-chatham-county-tickets-59453115870.

This event is sponsored by Best Business Brokers, Wells Fargo & Company, Savannah SCORE, The Creative Coast, UGA Small Business Development Center, Savannah Entrepreneurial Center, Savannah Economic Development Authority, the city of Savannah, Small Business Assistance Corporation, Joe Marchese Construction, Carriage Trade Public Relations, Cecilia Russo Marketing, the Savannah Morning News, Richmond Hill Chamber of Commerce and the Savannah Area Chamber of Commerce.