Things are getting quite political around Duffey Communications. The firm hired former Savannah mayor Susan Weiner and won the PR rights to a new Metro Atlanta Chamber of Commerce program.

As the first female mayor of Savannah, Weiner is no stranger to activism. Her experience will guide her as she oversees Duffey’s Ignition, a daylong strategic planning session for Duffey clients. The 10-year-old program focuses on client issues, from performance history to allocation of limited marketing resources. Weiner will provide creative and strategic solutions and supervision, plus audit client business models and communications programs. Prior to joining Duffey, Weiner served as Founder and President of Weiner Associates, a consulting group that establishes training, employee communications and management analysis programs for government and private entities. She also worked for the Small Business Development Center at the University of Georgia, where she counseled small business owners and developed continuing education outlets for entrepreneurs. Her work in Savannah created the Savannah Certified Development Corporation, which supplied capitalization loans for small business start-ups and expansions. She also started the Savannah Downtown Renewal Authority (SDRA). Georgia Trend named Weiner twice as one of the “100 Most Influential Georgians.” She also received the President’s Life award from the Business and Professional Women of Georgia.

Duffey has also recently re-tooled its entire corporate structure into Business-to-Business and Business-to-Consumer Groups in order to build presence among distinct audiences. In the B2B arena, Duffey Communications will work the PR front for the Metro Atlanta Chamber of Commerce’s Industries of the Mind (IOM) program. The economic development initiative wants Atlanta to be on the A-list of best cities for information technology professionals by luring top talent and companies from outside the area and expanding local training programs. The IOM recruited Duffey to promote its work and Atlanta’s resources on a local, national and international level. Other B2B clients include Best Software, Phoenix International, and IT Utility. B2C clients include HPC Interactive, Utilconnec, and Medizeus.com; a website that offers women access to their own medical records anytime, anywhere.