GDEcD Shows off Northwest Georgia to International VIPs
Since 1986, GDEcD has hosted the annual International VIP Tour, introducing members of the Georgia Consular Corps to a different region of the state and the local communities within that region. Hosted by the International Relations division, this tour aims to showcase the collaborative, business-friendly environment, leading universities, vibrant cultural attractions and passionate citizens that exemplify Georgia.
For the 2019 edition of the tour, 26 international guests – including 13 Consuls General and other career diplomats, nine Honorary Consuls and a handful of trade commissioners and other international partners – traveled with us to Northwest Georgia for three days to discover the businesses and communities that make up the region. The countries represented spanned five continents and included top trading partners, investor nations, tourism origin markets, study abroad destinations, major allies and friends.
Day One
The tour kicked off in Calhoun, where we toured FieldTurf, a Montreal-based company owned by Tarkett SA in France. While watching the process of tufting, coating and adding design elements to the fields, we learned that FieldTurf makes up about 50% of the domestic sports turf market – including Mercedes-Benz Stadium – and has clients around the globe.
From Calhoun, the group snaked its way up the winding roads of Lookout Mountain where we joined the Northwest Georgia Joint Development Authority (JDA) for lunch at the Fairyland Club before trekking through the botanical gardens at Rock City to enjoy a stunning view of seven states.
Dalton rolled out the proverbial red carpet, exemplifying the Southern hospitality found throughout our state. First on the agenda was the brand-new Hanwha Q CELLS facility where we learned about the process of making solar cells and modules. Headquartered in South Korea and Germany, Q CELLS announced its first North American facility in May 2018, and started operations in early 2019. Senior leadership from Korea explained the decision to locate in Dalton stemmed from the strong feeling of community and the promise to help bring the project from graded site to completed facility within the company’s aggressive timeline. The Dalton – Whitfield County JDA, for their part, explained the city’s desire to diversify its industry, while still holding true to its floor covering dominance.
An evening reception at Dalton Brewing Co. and dinner at the beautiful Trevitt Hall event space catered by Cyra’s wrapped up the evening, offering our guests the opportunity to meet local business owners and leadership.
Day Two
After a breakfast catered by Oakwood Cafe, the group made one final stop in Dalton to IVC U.S., originally a Belgian venture, recently bought by Mohawk Industries, one of Georgia’s Fortune 500 companies. A tour of the facility exhibited the production of luxury vinyl tiles and provided the company’s design staff the opportunity to explain how their flooring designs remain on-trend and almost indistinguishable from real wood.
No trip to Northwest Georgia would be complete without a stop to the (roughly) seven hills of Rome. The Rome Office of Tourism welcomed us to the Chieftains Museum/Major Ridge Home, where the museum’s Executive Director explained the tragic but important history leading up to the signing of the Treaty of New Echota, which would see the Cherokee Nation set out from Georgia along the Trail of Tears. It was a somber, but impactful stop, with several guests expressing interest in returning in order to learn more.
Two educational stops lifted the group’s spirits, as the Darlington School hosted the group for lunch and the Rome Floyd Chamber helped lead a tour of the Floyd County College & Career Academy. The former stop paired members of the international community with international students studying abroad at the pre-K through 12 boarding and day school. The dining room was full of lively conversations regarding the students’ studies, future plans and extracurricular activities. The latter stop introduced the VIPs to the states college and career academies by showcasing the robotics, welding and education tracks at one of the state’s most successful examples: opened in the fall of 2008 with 35 students, the academy’s voluntary enrollment has grown to 862 students in spring 2019.
A visit to the local Japanese-owned Suzuki ATV manufacturing plant walked us through the process of a single handlebar becoming a fully operational off-road vehicle. Everyone stood enraptured by the production line’s final stage before packaging, each of us wishing it could be our job to rev each ATV’s engine and assure each vehicle would provide its soon-to-be-owner a lifetime of fun.
But perhaps the highlight of the day was the Dean of the Consular Corps, Consul General Miguel Aleman of Peru, reliving his childhood by throwing out the first pitch at the Rome Braves game that evening. Joined by Commissioner Pat Wilson, COO Bert Brantley and a bevy of local leaders, we took in the minor league baseball game while enjoying hotdogs and hamburgers against the backdrop of a beautiful Rome sunset. The evening ended with a win by the Braves!
Day Three
Waking up at Barnsley Resort in Adairsville might just have been the perfect way to start the final day of our tour. The rooms, the signature scent of lavender and mint, the views, the fire pits, the lounge the night before – all elements of a wonderful night’s stay – and the breakfast buffet, sponsored by the Cartersville-Bartow County Department of Economic Development, topped off a perfect (albeit too short) resort getaway.
Though hesitant to leave our own personal heaven amongst the gardens, we loaded up the bus and made our way to The Booth Museum in Cartersville where we explored exhibits featuring the paintings of T. Allen Lawson, hidden gems from the vault not previously displayed and the black and white photography of Bob Kolbrener. However, the highlight of the stop was a surprise visit by Bulgarian-American artist Ross R. Rossin, who previously painted a 13’ x 20’ masterpiece featuring the U.S. Presidents of the 20th century, and is currently working on two additional canvasses that will include every president up to, and including, President Donald Trump. As the group marveled at the largest permanent collection of Western art in the world, many suggested they would return to the museum, and soon.
After standing in awe at the magnificence of the artwork presented at The Booth Museum, the group next stood in awe of the stories told by the leadership of Phoenix Air Group – one of the world’s premier air ambulance services. Heath and decontamination experts shared tales of transporting the doctors who voluntarily treated Ebola and subsequently fell victim to the disease themselves. And company leadership explained how the company’s efforts and growth will allow for better responses to medical emergencies around the world, and how the countries represented could partner with the U.S. Department of Defense to request Phoenix’s services.
After a whirlwind three days exploring industry, tourism and education in Northwest Georgia, the tour wrapped up at Kennesaw State University where the Division of Global Affairs highlighted the state’s third largest university’s efforts to create a truly international campus. A student in the School of Music played the piano for our guests, while representatives from several of the university’s colleges shared educational opportunities and study programs with the Corps. Perhaps the favorite station, though, was in the basement where our group had the opportunity to try on a virtual reality headset and walk through virtual worlds developed by the faculty and students to help construction companies train their workforce.
The tour is a highlight for our department each year, and we were thrilled to share Northwest Georgia with the international diplomats based here in the state. We are incredibly thankful for all of our local partners who hosted the group, and we look forward to the next opportunity to show our international guests our great state.
Find a list of all the Consular offices in the state here.