Savannah Business Report
Monday, August 15, 2005
Coastal BETA Hires First Executive Director
Teri Boulay Heading Coastal Business, Education and Technology Alliance
Coastal BETA recently hired its first executive director.
The 10-year-old Coastal Business, Education and Technology Alliance, once a totally volunteer organization, will now be led by Executive Director Teri Boulay.
Coastal BETA is a community-membership organization for businesses, educators and technology groups that want Savannah and the coastal region to be a relevant technology center offering a high wage growth economy to its citizens. The group focuses on creating a sense of community and nurturing the area’s technology companies.
Coastal BETA President David Frost of the Georgia Institute of Technology Savannah campus said the membership had become increasingly cognizant over the last few years that as the volunteer leadership changed, the organization appeared to take two steps backward to move one step forward. He said the members felt that they could accomplish more if they had more continuity.
“We wanted to know that someone’s hand was on the steering wheel at all times,” Frost said.
Also, with the success of The Creative Coast to grow and attract new knowledge-based businesses to the area, Frost said Coastal BETA members felt that they needed to strengthen their own activities.
“We wanted to make sure that we had an organizational structure in place that would allow us to grow,” Frost said.
Boulay began her new position at the end of May. In the new position, she is tasked with consolidating and streamlining the organization’s knowledge base and operations to improve Coastal BETA’s effectiveness.
Boulay currently is completing her bachelor’s degree in economics at Armstrong Atlantic State University.
Boulay has been living and working in Savannah for the past three years as office manager/accountant for The Club at Savannah Harbor. Prior to that, she lived in Atlanta and worked with two executive search firms.
“It should be obvious from these prior work experiences, and also when you personally meet Teri (Boulay), that she has both great organizational and personnel skills,” Frost wrote in a letter to members. “Allow me to assure you that, as president of CBETA, I have already benefited from Teri’s organizational skills and problem solving attitude,” Frost added, referring to the organization’s updated and improved Web site at www.coastalbeta.org.
