This episode of Savannah Chamber Connect, presented by Vaden Automotive, features three exciting and information-packed segments.

First up, a Hot Seat interview with Sharon Miller, President of Business Banking for Bank of America, who shares impressions of Savannah, discusses $37 billion in regional investment (port expansion, Hyundai, and an AI data center), labor and retention challenges, and expectations that interest rates may rise rather than decline; she also highlights Bank of America’s hybrid digital-and-branch approach, technology spending, upcoming “Erica for Business” enhancements, CashPro capabilities, lending growth, and community investment through volunteer hours and philanthropy.

In a Superstar Spotlight, Mahogany Bowers, founder/executive director of Blessings in a Book Bag, describes the nonprofit’s 17-year mission to provide weekend food and accessible resources, details poverty and resource-access barriers, and shares ways to support events like the Back to School Bash, Tanger Dash and Splash 5K, Thanksgiving, and Christmas drives.

An industry update with Chris Andre covers Google’s AI search overviews impacting website traffic, tracking AI bot visits in analytics, Siri’s AI upgrades powered by Google’s Gemini, LLM terminology, model competition (GPT, Claude, Gemini), and advice to test how bots can read a business website.

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Bert's Hot Seat:

Sharon Miller President of Business Banking for Bank of America

Superstar Member Spotlight:

Mahogany Bowers Founder, Blessings in a Bookbag

Council Update:

Chris Andre CRM & MarTech Coordinator

FIND A FAVORITE SPOT IN THIS EPISODE:

00:00 Show Intro

00:42 Hot Seat Guest

01:37 First Impressions

03:03 Savannah Growth

05:22 Banking Partnerships

06:42 Interest Rates Outlook

08:26 Digital vs Branches

10:39 Tools and Lending

12:17 Community Impact

15:16 Superstar Spotlight

15:52 Mission Origin Story

17:27 Weekend Hunger Reality

19:32 Redefining Poverty

22:45 Accessible Resources

24:18 Accessibility Struggles

24:58 Why Support Matters

25:29 How to Get Involved

27:31 Thanksgiving Giving Drive

28:44 Nostalgia and Dignity

30:40 Need Still Growing

32:26 Beyond Food Assistance

34:36 Strong Together Savannah

36:15 AI Industry Update

36:48 Google Search Changes

38:27 Siri AI Overhaul

39:33 AI Terms Explained

41:07 Misconceptions About AI

42:16 Choosing AI Models

43:23 AI Tips for Websites

44:44 Sponsor and Closing