SKC
Operating in the international arena.

Amazon.com
E-commerce: the wave of the future.

Solectron
Electronics-technology leader opens high-tech facility.

Honda
An expansion in Bremen.

Geico
Investing in Macon's future through a winner.

Viracon
Attention for South Georgia around the world.

Project Update
Georgia communities benefit from new business efforts.

Operating Results
Selected Quick Start Operating Results — FY99

GEICO, the nation’s sixth largest insurer of private passenger autos, already insured more than 3 million consumers in 48 states when it began searching for a new regional site in 1997. Georgia is not considered a high-profit state for insurers who underwrite automobile coverage here. Yet the cost factors of GEICO having a center in Georgia were appealing to the company. Georgia competed with at least three other states for the regional center and was the top candidate not only on cost comparison, but also training incentives. The commitment was to help hire and train more than 2,300 new employees over five years.

“We are most grateful to David Lucas and the delegation from Macon that extended itself on our behalf,” said Dave Pushman, Southeast regional vice president of GEICO.

GEICO has cut orientation time for new employees by 50 percent with Quick Start’s guidance and Macon Technical Institute’s classroom support.

“The Quick Start plan saved us training dollars,” said Pushman. “But the impact did not end there. We now have better-qualified job candidates, more productive associates and better-trained supervisors. We also have lower job turnover than before we worked with Georgia’s training organization.”

Quick Start’s training includes materials for sales, claims and customer service at GEICO; a recruitment video; and management tools, such as time management workshops and career coaching assistance. In the 14 months between August 1998 and September 1999, 1,442 trainees went through the GEICO training program.

To support GEICO’s ongoing recruitment efforts, Macon Technical Institute offers an insurance agent licensing course and Georgia’s Certified Customer Service Specialist program. As the training program succeeds, so does the company. GEICO now boasts more than 4 million insured and plans for 25-percent growth in 2000. QS

Visit GEICO Direct on the World Wide Web at  www.geico.com

State Representative Lucas Had Dream for Middle Georgia State Representative David Lucas, D-Macon, has been a big proponent of making the Macon-area attractive to insurance companies. His vision included developing permanent course work at area technical institutes that would produce workers who would qualify for entry-level jobs in the insurance field. He also requested funding from the House to train 2,300 new employees for GEICO's operations in Macon. In late 1998, state officials formalized a $1.6 million training program for GEICO. Lucas, who was instrumental in pushing the program through the Legislature, said "it will mean a lot for the whole community." His goal — to turn Middle Georgia into a major center for the insurance industry. Lucas, elected to the Georgia General Assembly in 1974, is president of TBL Inc., a bus charter service and independent insurance agency. He serves on the appropriations and insurance standing committees of the House of Representatives and is chairman of the state institutions and property committee.   QS