The Savannah Area Chapter of the Society of Human Resource Management hosted their annual HR retreat for 125 attendees from Georgia, Florida and South Carolina on July 24 in downtown Savannah at the Embassy Suites.

The retreat consisted of nine educational sessions by regional and national presenters from Hunter McLean attorneys, LPL Financial, Social Security 567, Savannah Business Group, and Blue Cross Blue Shield.

State Sen. Buddy Carter opened the event with a breakfast keynote on trends for 2015 for employment and education in conjunction with the state’s political framework. The closing keynote speaker was New York Times bestselling author Howard Wasdin, former sniper for SEAL Team Six, who gave a motivational presentation on effective leadership.

Attendees also enjoyed a business expo featuring 23 local businesses offering benefits, compensation and employee-related products and services.

The Savannah Area Chapter of SHRM has been awarded the 2013 Gold Level Excellence Award   been nominated for the 2014 Chapter of the Year for their “Footwear with Force” community project in support of global employment initiatives. In addition, two board members from the Savannah Area Chapter, Rushe Hudzinski and Cheri Sale, have been nominated as 2014 HR Leaders of the Year for their contributions to the human resource profession. Award winners are selected by and chosen by the Georgia State Council.