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P U B L I S H E R ’ S M ES SAG E
TOURISM, THE LEGISLAT U R E A N D OT H E R R E F L EC T I O N S
eorgia’s tourism and hospitality industry is the second
largest economic contributor
to our state. So when Georgia invests
and supports tourism and hospitality, everybody wins. Think about it.
It takes real, live Georgians to staff
hotels, hold conventions, manage
tourist attractions, operate restaurants and keep our lakes and nature
areas clean and safe.
Columnist David Beasley puts
this in perspective by focusing on
the upcoming FIFA World Cup event
and its visitor draw as well as on the
impact of the World Congress Center
and its many year-round events. And
columnist Patrick Hickey expands
on what FIFA brings to Georgia. Also
think of all the sporting events in
Atlanta and elsewhere which draw
millions of fans. In April we saw the
impact of just one major event— the
famed Masters golf tournament
which drew over 200,000 visitors and
brought in an incredible $150 million
in revenue over 14 days.
Then there’s all of Georgia’s
lakes, mountains and cities which
are popular with tourists. The
volume of tourists just coming to
Savannah alone draws in over $4 billion annually. Considering all of this—
including the state government’s
pro-business economic policies
which help this industry— Georgians
can be proud to share our state with
visitors from the rest of the country
and the world.
Yet even though the tourism and
hospitality industry is a huge component of Georgia’s economy, we aren’t
forgetting our state’s number one in-
G
dustry. That’s why staff writer Baker
Owens shares with readers the work
of Agriculture Commissioner Tyler
Harper (a seventh-generation farmer) who oversees a department that
supports farmers and producers, protects consumers and our food supply
and markets Georgia’s products here
and abroad.
THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY & EDUCATION
The legislature adjourned on
April 2nd and Chad Hagan follows
up on what was done and left undone. Aside from the importance of
passing the budget, of special notice
is the gradual reduction of the state
income tax as well as some property
tax relief.
On the issue of education, our
readership may have missed some
underreported bills that passed.
That’s why we recommend reading
Tana Page’s “report card” on the
literacy legislation and a number of
education-related bills that passed
and some that didn’t.
Furthermore, we always like to
bring you news about various Georgia colleges and universities. This
time we report on the latest from
Columbus State University and the
University of West Georgia.
our state and country has enjoyed a
great economic and cultural relationship with the democratic island
of Taiwan since 1949. So learn why
Director General Jared Lin of the
Atlanta-based Taipei Economic and
Cultural Office writes about Georgia
as “one of the best places” to “deepen its footprint.”
James also features Georgia
cities, counties and regions and this
time we publish an article on news
from Middle Georgia’s Putnam County and its county seat of Eatonton
nestled in scenic “Lake Country.”
POLITICS & PRIMARIES
It seems elections and special
elections have been the norm lately,
but time flies and now there will be
the May 19th Georgia Republican
and Democrat party primaries (and
probably runoffs) which will determine their general election nominees.
In this context, our own Matt Towery
provides sober analysis and advice
for Republicans seeking to defeat incumbent Democratic Sen. Jon Ossoff.
A May 19th primary reminder:
Regardless of which party ballot
you choose, there will be non-partisan local judicial races and voting
for state Court of Appeals and Supreme Court candidates. For those
statewide races, I prefer the incumOUR LATEST CEO & PUTNAM COUNTY
bents because they are experienced
We regularly highlight various
and principled. Georgia needs
companies that have a positive
judges who respect the Constitution
impact on Georgia, so we chose for
and the letter of the law— and who
our latest “CEO Spotlight” Wellstar
Health System’s Ketul Patel. It’s quite don't seek to devise new law.
a story how he came to Georgia.
When it comes to foreign investment and economic partnerships,
PHIL KENT CEO & PUB L I S H E R
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