Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the Economic Development topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
Walton County development officials tout project leads, new factory and fiber training
Summary
Development Authority leaders told the Walton County Board of Commissioners that 18 project leads came to the county in 2025, highlighted a $38.5 million MGM Products site expected to create 150–175 jobs, and described a Di‑Con Ridgeline fiber‑installation training program and expanded workforce partnerships supported by a $350,000 federal grant.
Walton County development officials updated the Board of Commissioners on April 14 about a busy year for business recruitment and workforce programs.
Shane Short, the county’s economic development leader, introduced Ben McDaniel, vice president of economic development, and Dessa Morris, vice president of workforce development, who summarized 2025 activity. McDaniel said the county logged 18 project leads from the state that year. Those prospects represented roughly $45.9 billion in potential investment when including large data center projects; excluding data centers, the county still averaged more than $1 billion per project in state‑level inquiries, he said.
Officials named a range of targeted industries: advanced manufacturing, ammunition and building materials, glass manufacturing, biopharmaceutical and pharmaceutical manufacturing, health care and life sciences, and energy and clean technology including battery packaging and solar cell module manufacturing. Logistics and infrastructure leads included data centers, distribution and fiber‑related projects.
Short and McDaniel highlighted two developments in Walton County. At Jim Daws Road, Di‑Con is building a “Ridgeline” training facility for fiber‑installation work that will host multi‑week training sessions for subcontractors, bringing trainees to Monroe who are expected to patronize local businesses. Separately, officials announced that MGM Products has selected a 20‑acre site in the Piedmont Regional Industrial Park for a $38.5 million facility that the county estimates will yield 150–175 jobs; McDaniel said MGM cited the local workforce as a factor in its location decision.
Workforce efforts were a central theme of the presentation. Officials described a Workforce Wednesday partnership with the Department of Community Supervision, Walton County and the City of Monroe that county staff said is being replicated in neighboring Hart and Elbert counties. The county is building educator‑to‑industry connections through the Walton Works externship program (officials reported a cumulative 108 educators participating, and 25 local educators and seven companies engaged in 2025). Short also referenced a $350,000 federal workforce grant in partnership with Newton and Athens‑Clarke counties and said the county has broadened outreach to electric mobility and bioscience employers.
Commissioners applauded the Development Authority staff at the end of the presentation. No formal action was required; the presentation was given for information and to inform future economic and workforce planning.
