The past several months have been volatile ones for the nation's economy, and Georgia has felt the pressures of this "cooling off" as well. At the time of this writing, close to 16,000 jobs have been lost, many of them in our state's textile industry. The good news is, Quick Start and the Department of Technical and Adult Education are stronger than ever and ready to face the challenges of this volatility. We can reach out across the state and help train and retrain workers now in both new companies and existing companies. In these pages you will find that many of our existing companies are, in fact, expanding (see HL-A story), in large part because of our ability to help them quickly and efficiently train workers from other industries. Good news travels worldwide. We recently had a delegation from China visit our Atlanta offices, and Austrian executives, who have been attending the Executive MBA Program at the Goizueta School of Business at Emory University, also have been by to see our unique programs in action. Quick Start is a vital support system for Georgia's economy. We are glad to be able to support our citizens, serve these fine companies and spread the word to other countries as well. JACKIE ROHOSKY Assistant Commissioner Economic Development Programs jrohosky@georgiaquickstart.org

HL-A Signs Training Plan With Quick Start and West Central Technical College Recently, DTAE State Board member Edgar Rhodes (second from left, standing) joined economic developers at HL-A in Bremen for a training plan signing. (jump to this story). Pictured are (l-r, standing) Jonathan Warner, Quick Start; Edgar Rhodes; Mike Burnett, HL-A Plant Manager; and Don Rhodes, V.P., First National Bank of Georgia. Seated (l-r) are Jeff Lynn, Quick Start; Tetsurou Komaki, President, HL-A; and Janet Ayers, President, West Central Technical College. GEICO Benefits From Quick Start Service Training Quick Start, GEICO and Central Georgia Tech recently celebrated the culmination of a highly productive three-year training relationship. Pictured at the luncheon are (l-r) Norm Moye, DTAE Assistant Commissioner for External Affairs; Ken Breeden, Commissioner, DTAE; Jackie Rohosky, Assistant Commissioner, Economic Development Programs, DTAE; Dave Pushman, GEICO Regional Vice President; and Mel Palmer, President, Central Georgia Tech.