Glynn News

LINDSEY ADKISON The Brunswick News - Date July 13, 2009

Joel Willis is very pleased with the progress the Archway Project has made since its arrival in Glynn County in July 2008.

The chairman of the Brunswick and Glynn County Development Authority also serves on Archway’s executive committee, and he is predicting great things for the future.

“After one year of Archway in the Golden Isles, I think we can see a clearer picture of what Archway can do for us locally,” Willis said. “We started out with the shotgun approach in dealing with issues and then realized that in an imperfect world, it does not work that way.

“After a good six months of discussions, we zeroed in on issues that in the long term will have tremendous impact on all the citizens.”

The program is a University System of Georgia project that helps communities focus resources on common needs.

One of its primary goals is to bring together community groups, including government agencies, schools and businesses.

A steering committee and an executive committee dictate the direction Archway takes.

Its funding is a collaborative effort between the participating local organizations and the university.

The local partnership includes the city of Brunswick, Brunswick-Glynn Development Authority, Glynn County Board of Education, Glynn County Board of Commissioners and Southeast Georgia Health System.

Each of the five partners puts in $10,000, which is matched by the University of Georgia.

It is a 3 to 1 match, with the University contributing a total of $150,000.

The good news to community leaders is that the funds have been renewed for another year.

Willis is grateful. He says the funding will allow the project to continue on its positive path.

“Archway has already provided resources in that area that have been beneficial,” Willis said. “Archway has enabled the community to look at ourselves objectively, get the different agencies talking to each other and begin to address the opportunities we have to improve the community.”

Over the past year, Archway has indeed made progress. Among other things, interns from UGA have come to Brunswick to address revitalizing the Norwich Corridor.

Students have also looked at boosting recycling efforts.

Joy Burch, the local Archway Partnership Program professional, says the year has been busy.

“We have a wonderful executive committee and steering committee in place,” she said. “They identify and prioritize the work that is done.”

Although the 2010 plan of work has not been finalized, Burch believes the primary focuses will continue to be growth, education and recycling.

“Our top priority is planning for growth and to this end we have a local task force with all of the planners who now meet regularly,” she said. “This area has the highest projected growth rate outside the metro area, so we’re looking at being ready.”