Technology Association of Georgia Announces Online CFO Auction Benefiting Economic Gardening Initiative

Bids to have lunch with Georgia’s leading CFOs grow small businesses and add jobs

SAVANNAH - February 15, 2011 – The Technology Association of Georgia (TAG) is holding an online auction to benefit its Economic Gardening initiative, which provides targeted market research, competitive analysis, and consultative services to high-growth potential businesses in the coastal region. From March 7 through midnight on March 11th, bidders will have to opportunity to vie for personal introductions followed by lunch meetings with some of Georgia’s top CFOs. Participants include JCB, Georgia Ports Authority, First Data, McKesson, Manhattan Associates, Cbeyond, RockTenn Company, VendorMate, and others. The opportunity to take one of these CFOs to lunch could be the catalyst to building key business relationships for the winning bidding company.

“Georgia business community has once again stepped up in support of a great program,” said Tino Mantella, president of TAG. “This is an important fundraiser for a great cause – the success of this auction will enable us to further our investment in growing companies in Coastal Georgia.”

TAG ultimately plans on having at least twenty CFOs participating as a part of the auction and has found the CFO community to be very responsive to the request to participate, particularly as they learn more about the entrepreneurial activities the auction is supporting.

“Cbeyond is excited to participate in the CFO Auction,” stated Bob Fugate, CFO of Cbeyond and TAG board member. “This is a creative way to raise awareness and support for an important initiative.”

About TAG’s Economic Gardening Program
Economic Gardening is an innovative economic development methodology which provides cutting-edge research tools and technical assistance to small business leaders. The unique approach yields stronger companies, more jobs, and stimulation of overall economic growth. Participants take a major step towards scalability and do so with the right resources to make that growth sustainable. TAG’s Economic Gardening program was created via a one year grant from the Economic Development Administration (EDA) and has been supported by the Enterprise Innovation Institute and Georgia Tech and the Savannah Economic Development Authority (SEDA.) It focuses on providing resources such as market research to high-tech and tech-enabled companies in the Georgia coastal region, and the targeted services have been accompanied by monthly networking events in Savannah featuring executives from The Coca-Cola Company, The Weather Channel, Turner, and Verizon Wireless.TAG is currently planning their second year of the program, which is dependent on continued support and fundraising success. Visit www.GAGrow.com for more information.
About the Technology Association of Georgia:

The Technology Association of Georgia (TAG) is a leading technology industry association dedicated to the promotion and economic advancement of the state’s technology industry. TAG provides leadership in driving initiatives in the areas of policy, capital, education and giving, and also brings the technology community together through events, initiative programs and networking opportunities. TAG serves as an umbrella organization for 28 affinity groups, or societies, including Women in Technology (WIT). Additionally, TAG’s charitable arm, the TAG Education Collaborative, is focused on helping science, technology, engineering and math (STEM) education initiatives thrive. For more information visit the TAG website at www.tagonline.org or TAG’s community website at www.TAGthink.com.

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