Governor presents Georgia tourism industry awards

ATLANTA, September 5, 2014—Gov. Nathan Deal today recognized several of the state's top tourism professionals at the 2014 Georgia Governor's Tourism Conference in Augusta. Hosted by the Georgia Department of Economic Development and the Georgia Association of Convention & Visitors Bureau, the annual event gathered more than 500 of Georgia's tourism industry professionals from Georgia's convention and visitor bureaus, attractions, hotels and more.

'Tourism is a powerful job and economic development generator in our state,' said Deal. 'With a record $53.6 billion in economic impact, this industry employs more than 410,000 Georgians. Our tourism professionals play an instrumental role in ensuring Georgia's economic vitality, and I am thankful for their hard work and dedication.'

2014 award recipients, nominated by the Georgia tourism industry, include:

• The Paul Broun Award for Marketing Initiatives was awarded to the Dahlonega-Lumpkin Chamber and Visitors Bureau, Dawson County Office of Tourism Development and Historic Roswell Convention and Visitors Bureau for the 'Mansions, Moonshine and Gold Mines' promotion that was created for group tour operators.

• The Larry Allen Tourism Leadership Award was presented to Barry White, president and CEO of the Augusta Convention and Visitors Bureau.

• The Al Burris Award for Creative Expression was awarded to Explore Gwinnett for the Gwinnett Tourism Awareness Program.

• The Paul Nelson Award for Outdoor Recreation and Preservation was awarded to the Columbus Convention and Visitors Bureau for Whitewater Columbus.

• The Tom Kilgore Lifetime Achievement Award was given to Dotty Etris, executive director of the Historic Roswell Convention & Visitors Bureau for her lifelong commitment to the industry.

• This year, the Champion Awards were renamed the Bill Hardman Sr. Tourism Champion Awards in honor of Bill Hardman Sr. for his tireless support and guidance for Georgia's tourism industry. Recipients of the 2014 Bill Hardman Sr. Tourism Champion Awards include:

• The Georgia Humanities Council was awarded the Tourism Champion in Government Award for its dedication to preserving Georgia's rich history, diverse culture and timeless stories.

• The 'Gone With the Wind Trail' Association received the Tourism Champion Product Development Award.

• Mills Marketing Group received the Tourism Champion Private Sector Award.

• The Tourism Champion Partnership Award was presented to Visit Savannah and the Savannah Tourism Leadership Council for their combined service to visitors traveling to the Savannah and Chatham County areas.

'Not only is the tourism industry a huge part of our department's integrated approach to economic development, but it is one of the state's strongest assets,' said Georgia Department of Economic Development Commissioner Chris Carr. 'Our tourism professionals are vital to the success of this industry – it was an honor to present awards to these deserving individuals and tourism entities.'

The Governor's Tourism Conference is intended to educate members of the tourism industry about travel-and tourism-related issues on a national and statewide level, focusing on emerging trends as well as ways to reinforce current tourism efforts and future initiatives. Next year's conference will take place Aug. 31 – Sept. 2 in Savannah.

About GDEcD

The Georgia Department of Economic Development (GDEcD) is the state's sales and marketing arm, the lead agency for attracting new business investment, encouraging the expansion of existing industry and small businesses, locating new markets for Georgia products, attracting tourists to Georgia, and promoting the state as a destination for arts events and location for film, music and digital entertainment projects, as well as planning and mobilizing state resources for economic development.