Archway Partnership to link community to UGA resources

Local leaders are hopeful that a new partnership with the University of Georgia will help identify and solve problems facing the area, further positioning Dublin and Laurens County for future growth. 

Representatives from UGA, along with elected officials and business leaders, announced in a ceremony Thursday that Laurens County has been named a community in the university’s Archway Partnership. Established in 2005, the partnership grants communities across the state, typically rural, underserved areas, access to university resources. 

“In my travels across the state I’ve talked to friends in communities that have benefitted from the partnership,” said local entrepreneur Jimmy Allgood, who was instrumental in spearheading Dublin’s involvement. “They can’t talk enough about what Archway does.”

The scope of the Archway Partnership is wide ranging, from helping coordinate arts projects to development of workforce development plans, and can last up to a decade or longer. Seven Georgia counties are alumni of the programs while only nine are actively involved. Nearby areas that have benefitted from the arrangement include Washington and Pulaski counties. 

UGA will hire a staff member to be based locally, in an office in downtown’s Fred Roberts Hotel Building, a process that will take until the fall, said Archway Partnership Director Michelle Elliot. That person, Elliot said, will help coordinate community surveys and town hall meetings to identify area needs and problems. 

“The community is the starting point for any goals,” she said. “The Archway Partnership assures that by broadly engaging community members through listening sessions and community surveys to identify issues to work on together. Common issues selected by Archway communities include economic development, education and workforce development, health and wellness, downtown revitalization, leadership development and tourism/recreation, but there is not a prescribed list of options.”

Then local leaders will work in conjunction with UGA staff and students to find solutions. 

“Archway is the center of the hub to facilitate everything with neutrality,” Allgood said. “One of the best resources available is the college students. It’s unbelievable what they can do. It can be rejuvenating to a community.”

    In 2020, the city of Hawkinsville used the Archway Partnership to have art students help restore murals in their downtown area and connected interns to businesses. 

The partnership is funded in part by local tax dollars. Both the city and county governments provide $35,000 to offset the cost, an expense that Dublin Mayor Joshua Kight called “wise.”

“This is a wise use of taxpayer dollars that we’ll get more than the investment,” he said during the announcement ceremony.   

Ryan Waldrep, the president of the Dublin-Laurens County Development Authority, said the partnership would be a great avenue to make the area more appealing on the heels of economic news, such as the construction of the Hwashin auto parts plant. 

“The question we have to ask ourselves is how do you make Dublin-Laurens County more competitive?” he said. “We are going to get new solutions to the issues that face our community.”