COVINGTON, Ga. — Newton County Industrial Development Authority’s (IDA) vice president of economic development and the city of Covington’s assistant finance director have been selected to Georgia Forward’s Young Gamechangers program.
Georgia Forward is an organization who’s mission is “to improve the state of Georgia by working as a catalyst to promote cross-sector, statewide conversations and partnerships by engaging young professionals and business, political, academic and civic leaders.” One of the ways this is done is through the Young Gamechangers program — “a unique and proven leadership action program that gathers 50 of Georgia’s brightest young minds to develop creative and viable recommendations for one community.”
Among the 50 “brightest young minds” selected for this year’s program were Asher Dozier and Ashlan Troutman Webb.
Dozier, who is vice president of economic development of the Newton County IDA, is a Newton County native who has worked in local government since 2005, serving in various leadership roles in public safety, human resources and economic development.
In his current role, Dozier works to recruit, retain and support industrial development in Newton County with workforce development and educational pathway alignment being his primary areas of focus.
“The IDA is very proud to have Asher selected to represent Newton County in this year’s upcoming Young Gamechanger Program,” Newton IDA Executive Director Serra P. Hall said. “Asher brings a wealth of knowledge to the table and will be a wonderful team member. We look forward to seeing and hearing about the progress they plan to make in the coming year.”
Webb, who is assistant finance director for the city of Covington, has over 10 years of experience serving local governmental entities of all sizes. She joined the Covington team in 2015 and is responsible for organizing, directing and reviewing treasury management, accounting, payroll and accounts payable processing, purchasing and warehouse management, and miscellaneous billing.
Since being employed with the city of Covington, the finance department has applied for and received the Popular Annual Financial Reporting award annually since 2017.
Webb also served as a councilperson for the city of Mansfield, where she encouraged revitalization and beautification efforts of the city center.
In 2022 the Young Gamechangers will be hosted by Dalton-Whitfield County.
Host communities present the class with several of their most significant challenges and receive detailed and well-researched “big idea” proposals with timelines, potential funding sources and prospective partners.
Class participants tackle real community and economic development issues with colleagues from across the state, building up civic engagement tools like collaboration, compromise and negotiation.
“The timing is perfect for the Young Gamechangers program to come to the City of Dalton to bring fresh ideas and perspectives as our community continues to grow and evolve,” Dalton City Administrator Andrew Parker said in a statement. “There are so many exciting projects taking place within the city over the next few years, and the Young Gamechangers will help us continue to think critically to best position the community for long term success.”
The 2022 cohort of Gamechangers were scheduled to meet for the first time in Dalton on April 27-29, and their work will culminate with a community presentation of their findings and recommendations in late September. The Gamechangers are accomplished professionals aged 41 and under from across the state who hope to make an impact through civic engagement, economic development and community partnerships. A third of the class is from the Dalton-Whitfield County area, another third is from the metro Atlanta region and the remaining third are from greater Georgia.
