James_Sept-Oct_2025_web - Flipbook - Page 89
by Bert Brantley
ook, I get it. If
you’ve read James
magazine for any
length of time,
you’ve read about
Savannah’s growth before. And
again, and again.
Yet here we are again, column
inches spilled about record growth
at the Georgia Ports Authority,
ridiculous levels of investment into
new hospitality developments,
thousands of jobs created at advanced manufacturing facilities
and new missions and construction spending at our region’s military bases.
So why should you spend your
valuable time re-reading the same
thing you’ve seen before? Because
most of those write-ups about Savannah miss the secret sauce that
makes all this possible: our people.
We moved to Savannah early
in 2023 not because of the port or
the ghost tours or the new G800
built by Gulfstream. We came here
hopefully to join the long list of
local leaders who have worked to
protect, preserve and grow what
makes this town so special.
These names are not as familiar
to a statewide audience as they are
here locally. That’s ok. It takes the
vision of elected and business leaders that get coverage in the press
combined with the hard work done
in board rooms, volunteer projects
and finance meetings where public attention is not the goal.
Consider the story of Robert
James, who has presided over
Carver State Bank for more than
50 years, one of only 20 or so
black-owned banks left in the
entire country. James and the
team at the bank have helped
countless small businesses and
residents access capital and financial assistance that have changed
lives and future generations.
But he didn’t stop there. James
has served in leadership positions
on just about every major non-profit board in Savannah— giving his
time, talents and financial support
to organizations dedicated to
make our region better. And while
it’s certainly not a competition, his
incredible record of service was
riveled by two men that we’ve
recently lost.
Kevin “Catfish” Jackson
and Cliff McCurry personified
the motto that General James
Oglethorpe laid out for Georgia
upon its founding: “Not for self,
but for others.” There’s not
enough space here to list all the
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