In Griffin and Spalding County, a leadership team, under the guidance of the Griffin/Spalding Chamber of Commerce Small Business Committee and Leading Entrepreneurs, Advancing the Future (LEAF) team, spent close to a year preparing for the review team visit. To earn the designation, the LEAF team completed the Entrepreneur-Friendly program with the assistance of GDEcD’s regional representatives Rebecca Ferguson and Dawn Townsend. Program steps involved analyzing the current entrepreneurial and small business development environment and strategizing options for fostering small businesses and entrepreneurs. Griffin and Spalding County also underwent a full-day assessment by review teams composed of GDEcD staff, representatives from the Small Business Development Center, Georgia Micro Enterprise Network, Department of Labor, Small Business Administration, and Georgia Department of Community Affairs.