Southern Lower Chattahoochee Council of Governments   The Southern Lower Chattahoochee Council of Governments is made up of the local governments in Stewart, Quitman, Randolph and Clay Counties.  USDA formed COG in the late 1990’s to apply for an Empowerment Zone designation.  If it had happened, this designation would have brought $10 million into the community.  Unfortunately, we were not designated as an Empowerment Zone; but the COG was designated as a Champion Community.  As a Champion Community, the COG has received well over $10 million in grants from various sources including, USDA, HUD, DCA, and One Georgia Authority.  So while we did not get the administrative money we would have liked, the local governments have been able to accomplish a lot. The designation as a Champion Community allows member governments (county and city) to receive bonus points when applying for any USDA grants, such as water, sewer, Rural Business Enterprise Grants, etc.  This has assisted greatly when Quitman County applied for funds to create their water system, when the City of Georgetown applied for funds to create their sewer system, when Clay County applied for funds to create a water system and just recently when the City of Richland applied for funds to replace aging water lines and upgrade their system.  In order to keep this designation, the COG must meet on a regular basis and submit an annual report on the region.  Katie Howard of the Lower Chattahoochee Regional Development Center located in Columbus, GA prepares this report. The COG also manages a mini-enterprise revolving loan fund.  Small loans (usually less than $20,000- some under $5000) have been made to small, emerging business that might otherwise find it difficult to get conventional funding from banks.  The ultimate goal of this fund is to help businesses start and expand. The responsibilities of being a member are: 1. Executive Committee meets every other month for about two hours. 2. Executive Committee Members are also Board Members. 3. Board Members meet once a year at the Annual Meeting to elect officers and     board members as well as hear a short report on annual accomplishments. Contact information: Lower Chattahoochee Regional Development Center (LCRDC)  Katie Howard:     Phone: 706-256-2928                         Email:        khoward@lcrdc.org                         Web Site:  www.lcrdc.org   Clay County: Pam Ward     Phone 229-768-3228                         Email:       administrator@claycountyga.org                         Web Site: www.claycountyga.gov Georgetown-Quitman County Consolidated Government: Richard Morris    Phone 229-334-0903                          Email:       rmorris@americanbuildings.com                          Web Site: www.georgetown-quitman.com Randolph County:                         Web Site:  Randolph County Stewart County:                         Web Site:  Stewart County