WEBVTT 1 00:00:00.000 --> 00:00:08.680 Well, if you will, Bill, would you tell us or give us a shotgun view of your goals 2 00:00:08.680 --> 00:00:12.440 the moment you arrived as our new Tourist Commissioner? 3 00:00:12.440 --> 00:00:19.960 Well, I think that Georgia has such a horrible reputation, anything that we could 4 00:00:19.960 --> 00:00:25.560 do to improve Georgia's reputation is what it was all about at that time. 5 00:00:25.560 --> 00:00:32.280 We didn't have the tools that we had laid on three or four years later, but I think 6 00:00:32.280 --> 00:00:35.000 that was one of the biggest things we tried to change. 7 00:00:35.000 --> 00:00:41.160 Who were you marketing to at that time? 8 00:00:41.160 --> 00:00:44.000 What was the type of tourist you wanted to bring to Georgia? 9 00:00:44.000 --> 00:00:49.120 Well, the number one market was everybody was going to Florida. 10 00:00:49.120 --> 00:00:54.600 So this is the reason we wanted to build the Welcome Centers, just to stop them in Georgia. 11 00:00:54.600 --> 00:01:01.960 If we could just get them stopped today, it would mean millions of dollars for Georgia. 12 00:01:01.960 --> 00:01:08.060 Over the next two or three years, we started building the Welcome Centers. 13 00:01:08.060 --> 00:01:12.520 We did our first one in Sylvania, the next one in Savannah. 14 00:01:12.520 --> 00:01:16.720 We didn't have any money even then, but we had to get it from the Governor's emergency 15 00:01:16.720 --> 00:01:17.720 funds. 16 00:01:17.720 --> 00:01:22.520 And the first one in Sylvania cost us $56,000 to build. 17 00:01:22.600 --> 00:01:29.760 We got the land donated to use, and then the second one we built was in Savannah, and we 18 00:01:29.760 --> 00:01:34.920 worked with the Savannah Kiwanis Club to help raise the funds for that first Welcome Center 19 00:01:34.920 --> 00:01:39.280 built in Savannah at the foot of the Eugene Talmadge Memorial Bridge. 20 00:01:39.280 --> 00:01:45.520 You must have realized that you would need help without a big budget. 21 00:01:45.520 --> 00:01:50.800 To whom did you turn for assistance when you first began your tourist marketing program? 22 00:01:51.400 --> 00:01:58.560 Well, we worked with the Georgia Press Association and the Georgia Association of Broadcasters. 23 00:01:58.560 --> 00:02:04.080 Carolyn Carter, who was one of the greatest ladies, she afforded tourism for Georgia and 24 00:02:04.080 --> 00:02:10.240 writing great articles about attractions, events, and things like that. 25 00:02:10.240 --> 00:02:11.240 We hired her. 26 00:02:11.240 --> 00:02:14.000 She was one of the first people we hired. 27 00:02:14.240 --> 00:02:21.680 And each week, we'd get out a story on a city or an attraction in Georgia and send it to 28 00:02:21.680 --> 00:02:24.280 all of the Georgia Press members. 29 00:02:24.280 --> 00:02:28.040 And then we started working with the Georgia Association of Broadcasters. 30 00:02:28.040 --> 00:02:33.800 And we started a program and we named the slogan for Georgia was, See Georgia First, 31 00:02:33.800 --> 00:02:36.640 because again, everybody was going to Florida. 32 00:02:36.640 --> 00:02:44.440 And so, the Georgia Association of Broadcasters, we started a program with them where each 33 00:02:44.440 --> 00:02:51.960 city, the radio station would have a contest to select a local Miss See Georgia First. 34 00:02:51.960 --> 00:03:00.400 And then we would take her on all of our promotions, where we did travel shows and things like 35 00:03:00.400 --> 00:03:04.240 that throughout the Northeast and Midwest. 36 00:03:04.240 --> 00:03:06.500 So that was where we got the Georgians. 37 00:03:06.500 --> 00:03:09.380 And then the legislature started giving us funds.