Fearless Fundraising for Your Small Business-LaGrange
FIN FIT “Fearless Fundraising your Small Business”
Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger is excited to announce the fourth 2025 FIN FIT (Financially Fit) event will be held on Tuesday, October 28 from 8:30am-12:30pm at Callaway Conference Center, West Georgia Technical College, LaGrange, Georgia. We are proud to partner with the LaGrange-Troup County Chamber of Commerce for this free small business event. This event is free and open to all Georgians. Free continental breakfast and workbook is included with registration.
Our panelists will discuss how to fearlessly raise capital to finance your small business as well as discuss the details of the Invest Georgia Exemption (IGE). IGE can be a powerful tool for Georgians looking to raise capital and fund their new venture or just grow their already thriving business. Our hands on learning lab portion will cover the topics of developing your fundraising goals, preparing your fundraising package, what to consider before you say yes, and managing your investor relationships for continued success and sustainability.
8:30am
Registration & Continental Breakfast
9:00am
Opening Remarks- Connie Hesler, President of LaGrange Troup County Chamber of Commerce
9:10am
Panel Discussion & Audience Q&A
10:50am
Break/networking
11:00am
Learning LAB by Marguerite Pressley Davis
- Developing your fundraising Goals
- Preparing your fundraising package
- What to consider before you say yes
- You’ve raised! Managing your investor relationships for continued success and sustainability
12:30pm
Program Concludes
Panelists
Moderator, Award Winning Journalist
Donna Lowry is an award-winning journalist who combines a passion for storytelling and a desire to empower others with communication and critical thinking skills surrounding political, educational, and financial issues.
Through her firm, Donna Lowry Communications, she provides consulting, writing, and producing services for educational, media, professional, and business outlets.
Donna serves as host/producer for several programs, including Lawmakers on Georgia Public Broadcasting.
Donna is an eight-time Emmy award winner, a three-time national Gabriel Award recipient, and has garnered honors from countless organizations, including the National Association of Black Journalists, Atlanta Association of Black Journalists, Georgia Associated Press, Society of Professional Journalists, Georgia Association of Educators (GAE), and the Professional Association of Georgia Educators (PAGE).
Her media peers inducted Donna into the prestigious NATAS Southeast Silver Circle to recognize her lasting contributions to the broadcast industry.
Donna has a master's in Journalism from Northwestern University and a Bachelor's in Mass Communications and Administration and Management from Chatham University.
Her professional affiliations include the Atlanta Press Club, the Atlanta Association of Black Journalists, the National Association of Black Journalists, and the Southeastern Chapter of the National Academy of Television Arts and Sciences (NATAS SE).
In her 15th year as a Girl Scout Leader, Donna has led girls ranging in age from kindergarten through 12th grade. Her community service affiliations also include Magnolia (GA) Chapter of Links, Inc., and Nu Lambda Omega Chapter of Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, Incorporated.
Donna and her husband, Army Major (Ret) Bennet W. Reid, Jr., are the parents of three daughters.
Owner FLI Properties
Kendall Butler considers herself a poetic athlete that strives for excellence and is passionate about faith, family, and community building. She is married to Keith Butler and is very proud of her four children and their independent thinking. She is the founder of F.L.I. Properties, a full-service real estate brokerage licensed in GA and AL that focuses on Family, Lifestyle and Investment properties. Kendall is talented at not just evaluating markets but knowing what is missing and creating markets. She develops single family residential subdivisions and has brought over 250 lots to market in LaGrange, GA over the last 10 years. When Kendall founded and opened F.L.I. Properties she had only sold 2 homes in her life and has now sold over 2000 properties of every types including industrial buildings, hotels, churches, land, and lots of homes. She is not one to back away from challenges or learning new skills. Kendall has become a community leader and has been recognized as one of the top 200 agents in the USA out of more than 2.5 million real estate agents nationwide. Kendall credits her success to her education, her faith and her husband's unwavering support in everything she does. Kendall has a bachelor's degree in Chemical Engineering from Auburn University and a Masters degree in Real Estate Development from Auburn University. She is most thankful for God directing her to choose life, becoming a mom at the age of 17 while still in high school. Kendall was on government welfare for five years while focusing on her education. She is the first college graduate in her family and now her oldest daughter has a masters degree in counseling, her oldest son has a degree in chemical engineering, her youngest son is a senior in mechanical engineering and her youngest daughter is a junior in high school and wants to be a stay at home mom.
Founder & CEO, Finance Savvy CEO®, Angel Investor & Small Business Advisor
Marguerite, a former Wall Street financial analyst, business strategist, and top ranked business money expert, was named Atlanta’s 40 Under 40 by Atlanta Business Chronicle, co-authored “Girl Power Uncensored” with her chapter “From Wall Street To Helping Main Street”, is an accredited angel investor, host of the podcast “Finance Savvy CEO®”, the creator of Your Profit Playbook® - the leading business financial planning training program for small business owners, and Founder & CEO of financesavvyceo.com.
Marguerite spent the early stages of her career as a senior analyst at Goldman Sachs, controlling an over $2 billion portfolio of private equity, alternative energy, and commercial real estate investments. She transitioned after business school at the NYU Stern School of Business into a successful career in Mergers & Acquisitions as a Manager at Deloitte Consulting, advising fortune 500 companies through the full deal cycle from target screening, deal structuring, valuations, and due diligence, all the way through day 1 readiness and post-merger implementations.
Marguerite continued to push the ceiling when she sought to make wedding planning less stressful and more fun for brides by creating Tulle la la, a global retail technology company that combines technology with a project management-based approach to wedding planning. In 2018, Tulle la la won the modern luxury diamond award for Best Wedding Technology. Marguerite had a successful exit from the company within 5 years, and today, Tulle la la continues to serve thousands of brides across the globe each year.
Marguerite now focuses her attention on her EdTech FinTech platform, Finance Savvy CEO®, created to help close the gender & racial wealth gap through focusing on profitable entrepreneurship. Finance Savvy CEO® supports business owners on an ongoing basis, through programming and members only access, to increase the financial health of their business and intentionally create long term organic financial sustainability.
Marguerite is passionate about building generational wealth through entrepreneurship and is always excited to help entrepreneurs navigate their pathway to profitability.
Director Community Banking, Community Bank & Trust
With over 37 years of dedicated service at Community Bank & Trust, Bill Stump is a seasoned banking executive whose leadership has significantly shaped the institution’s growth and its connection with the communities it serves.
Bill began his banking career in Charleston, WV and joined Community Bank & Trust (Cornella, GA) in 1988 and has steadily risen through the ranks. Over his tenure, he has held a number of key roles from Senior Vice President and Chief Credit Officer to President and CEO of Community Bank & Trust and Community Bankshares, Inc., each broadening his experience and influence in areas such as community banking, customer relations, regulatory compliance, and strategic growth.
Currently, as Director of Community Banking, he is widely recognized for his customer-first mindset and commitment to integrity. Under his watch, Community Bank & Trust has repeatedly been honored with local accolades: in 2025, he was named Best Banker by LaGrange Daily News in Troup County, while the bank itself won Best Bank and Best Overall Business—affirmations of his values of consistency, excellence, and relational banking.
Beyond his formal roles, Bill is known in LaGrange and surrounding areas for investing in community well-being. He lives the bank’s mission not just in financial services, but in being an active partner in local civic, charitable, and business efforts.
Area Director for the UGA SBDC in Columbus
Phil Wise is the Area Director for the UGA SBDC in Columbus. He brings over 35 years of executive leadership experience and extensive experience in the areas of strategic growth, revenue enhancement and cost containment, customer service excellence, mergers/acquisitions, and greenfield management. Prior to joining the SBDC, Phil served as COO of a car wash company and was part of the management team that launched the express wash concept. He also served as president and CFO of a respected regional restaurant group. Phil has a BBA in Finance from University of Georgia and an MBA from Columbus State University.