Yep, that’s right. As of November 1st I will be leaving the full-time employment of The Creative Coast.  Pretty crazy, right?

The transition for The Creative Coast to an independent, self governing organization is complete, and in the end I’m not going to be a part of it. There are lots of reasons, but ultimately it comes down to what many big decisions come down to: money.

The Creative Coast has enjoyed generous support from three sources over its six year history, SEDA, the City of Savannah and Chatham County. Sometimes not everyone can pitch in, but we’ve made it stretch every year and done great things because of it.

That will continue to be the case in 2011.  The economy has been a challenge for everyone — Thousands of organizations of all shapes and sizes have had to shift, push, pull, stretch and squish themselves in order to adapt to the changing economic environment and ever fluctuating market conditions. The Creative Coast is no different. Several weeks ago, we learned that we are now facing a significant new budgetary reality that we had not fully anticipated and a tough decision had to be made.

Alright, kids — we’ve got something (kinda) new to show you. The Creative Coast has partnered with the Atlanta-based not-for-profit StartupLounge to bring you the entrepreneurial event of the year.

StartupLounge works to improve the capital environment for early stage companies with high growth potential in Georgia and the Southeast.

On November 2nd, the best and brightest in the Creative Coast entrepreneurial world will gather for an intimate albeit engaging evening of “face time” with investors from the region.

This is not the venue to deliver your elevator pitch.  This is an event where investors and early stage entrepreneurs can find one another without fear of being hassled by salespeople, annoyed by amateur brokers, or interrupted by job-seekers.

This event is entirely free of charge to all attendees, and is paid for by select sponsors who identify with and support the StartupLounge mission.

What are we looking for from Companies / Entrepreneurs:

1. Must have a product to sell or at least be beta-ready
2. The entrepreneur must have an actual company
3. The company should have the growth potential (in the eyes of the committee) to reach $50 MM in revenue in 5-7 years

Hey kids — don’t forget about this: This thursday, ?Altamaha Riverkeeper and Ogeechee Riverkeeper present the 3rd Annual “Rivers Rock!” Low Country River Jam on October 7, 2010 at Moon River Brewing Company in Savannah. If it’s anything like last year, it should be a blast!

?The exciting event features the used, abused, and rhinestone-infused band, Junkyard Angel, special beer crafted just for the occasion by Moon River brewery, and delicious munchies. Highlighting the evening will be a raffle and auction. Each guest will receive an earth-friendly goody bag chock full of local favorites.

You can read more about the event on our website.  Hope to see you all there!

Remember our pals, Digital Roar Studio the game development company we blogged about this past April?  Well they’ve just released Ascension: Incursio, a new sci-fi space shooter for Facebook.  (P.S. The CEO, John Lyons, was the cool dude that responded to our tweet about IKEA a few days ago. Thanks, John for dropping by IKEA for us. HUGE help.)

?In Ascension: Incursio you are a pilot fighting for one of three warring factions in the galaxy. The controls are fully customizable, and it supports multiple input methods like the mouse and keyboard or console controllers. You have a full range of motion in 3D space, with multiple, upgradable weapons and shields. The gameplay is supported by a sweeping, complex narrative. And all of this happens directly inside of Facebook!

Incursio is the first step towards Digital Roar Studios’ mission of “challenging the conventions of the video game industry through creative game creation while focusing on the construction of original intellectual property and multi-platform proliferation.”

Incursio is free to play online at apps.facebook.com/ascensionwar. More information is available at Digital Roar’s website, www.digitalroar.net. (P.S. Also be sure to check out their Kickstarter page.)