Business View Magazine - October 2018

168 169 bond rating - the only county outside of metro At- lanta that has that; and an award-winning school system. “Our schools are so good, and rated so high, and have such great graduation rates, that people don’t have to send their kids to private school,” Johnson declares. “They get a quality edu- cation in our public school system.” “We pride ourselves on providing quality at ev- ery single turn and every single thing that we do,” Johnson states. “That’s all the way from our public safety, to the way we handle building inspections, to the way we handle customer service. You can pick any department in Columbia County, say, the Procurement Department, and I can give you all of the awards that it won. Our Finance Depart- ment has won a government finance award for the last 17 years in a row. Our water utility is a platinum, triple-crown winner of the award in their industry. I can go on and on– it happens in every single department. And you just don’t find that in every government.” “Columbia County is a special place,” Johnson affirms, in conclusion. “I know everybody says that. But look at every aspect of what we do and it’s PREFERRED VENDORS n Craig Gaulden Davis, Inc. www.cgdarch.com Craig Gaulden Davis is an architecture and interior de- sign firm with a 61-year legacy of placing the highest prior- ity on client success. By harmonizing form and function, our architectural response results in enduring and innovative spaces that cultivate human flourishing. n Gerald Jones Ford Lincoln www.geraldjonesford.com COLUMBIA COUNTY, GEORGIA amazing that we have been able to keep up with the tremendous growth that we’ve had; keeping taxes lower than any of our benchmark counties; and being able to sustain that over a long period of time. Our cost of living remains relatively low, but the quality of life remains relatively high, and is, absolutely, second to none in this state or anywhere else.We’re kind of a hidden gem.”