SCORE Middle Georgia – Recruiting Above & Beyond

With currently ~20 volunteers in the chapter and a high demand for SCORE services in the area, SCORE Middle Georgia has been running at 140% capacity! Chapter Chair, Matt McKenna, knew this could not be sustainable long-term. The chapter leadership called on their community and founding network to quickly increase their volunteer base to meet increasing demands. 

What they’ve done:

• Active marketing and personal outreach to recruit more members
• Efforts made to have the volunteers in the chapter mirror the community
• Initiatives working with the local chambers, mayor, and other partnerships to help small minority businesses
• Target town of Macon for volunteers which is about 40% of the chapter's client base, and also target the city of Warner Robins which is another 40% of the chapter's client base.

SCORE Middle Georgia is building on and leveraging its recently developed legacy. The Chapter was founded in 2016 by Dr. Ulrica Jones, who recruited a diverse mix of volunteers from the start. Due to her efforts the chapter had a great starting foundation with ~40% women and ~%40 minority members. Additionally, SCORE Middle Georgia was previously a Branch of SCORE Atlanta for years and one of the mentors, Bryan Hayes of 12+ years, helped establish a positive brand reputation in the Macon, Georgia community. One of Bryan's own mentees from 8 years ago is very involved in the community and helped organize the annual Women's Entrepreneur event founded by Dr. Jones. The web continues to develop, as this mentee is now the Director of Small Business Affairs in the new mayor's office, and with her help, the leadership team at SCORE Middle Georgia was able to organize a meeting with Matt McKenna (Current Chapter Chair), the Chamber Chair, CEO, and the Mayor to discuss mutual goals for promoting small and minority businesses in 2021 and beyond. 

As we all know, the success of SCORE and the small business community is interwoven. SCORE Middle Georgia is a shining example of what can be possible with the One SCORE mindset locally as well. Thank you to the amazing volunteer leaders who are transforming the Middle Georgia community!