Athens CVB Newsletter November 2012

Athens Now:

The monthly newsletter of the Athens Convention & Visitors Bureau

In This Issue...

Meetings & Conventions Updates

Athens Featured in enRoute magazine

Grow Your Business

Out and About with the CVB

Hospitality Newsmakers

Welcome! SeaPort Airlines, Steak 'n Shake

Meetings & Conventions Updates

The CVB partnered with The Classic Center at the Georgia Society of Association Executives (GSAE) Trade Show & Luncheon at the Georgia International Convention Center on November 14. The CVB will co-sponsor the GSAE Holiday Luncheon on December 12 with The Classic Center, UGA Hotel and Farm Links (Alabama).

A group of seven Ex-Libris Users of North America (ELUNA) representatives recently spent three days in Athens to tour The Classic Center and multiple off-site venues for their upcoming National Conference. While they are accustomed to meeting in Tier One cities, it was the charm of Athens that made it the number one choice for their 2013 event. The President of the group described Athens as an "oasis of culture" that caught him by surprise. At the end of their visit, which included tours of the Special Collections Library, Georgia Museum of Art, Terrapin Brewery, and various downtown venues, their biggest challenge was that Athens has "too many options." CVB Sales Manager Kelli McCain coordinated the itinerary and provided them with the opportunity to experience the fine dining, shopping, and evening activity options in the downtown area.

Athens In the News

We are excited to see Athens featured in the dining-themed November issue of Air Canada's in-flight magazine, enRoute. Writer Lisa Guimond made a press trip to Athens last summer to sample dining hot spots such as Five & Ten, Farm 255, The National, Mama's Boy, The Branded Butcher, and Heirloom. Hotel Indigo and the Athens Farmers Market are also profiled. enRoute has a readership of 942,000, so this is great coverage for Athens. Read the article at http://enroute.aircanada.com/en/articles/getaway-to-athens.

Grow Your Business
- Don't Miss Out!

There are several upcoming opportunities for growing local businesses. Check these out!

Athens SBDC Women's Business Expo
Networking, plus presentations on social media marketing, search engine optimization, financing your business, and success stories. Plus, a holiday lunch and booth opportunities to promote your business.

November 30

8:30 a.m. - 2:30 p.m.

Athens SBDC, 1180 Broad St.

Call 706-342-7436 more more info or register at www.athenssbdc.org.

Farm to Fork Workshop

This workshop is designed to help individuals and businesses with developing their food products to increase produce marketability and sales. Topics include business planning and financing, legal and regulatory issues, quality and food safety concerns, formulation and packaging, food defense plans, and distribution and sales. The registration fee is $39 and spaces are limited. Each participant will receive a personalized scorecard detailing their business development progress.

December 4, 2012

8 a.m. - 4:00 p.m.

North Georgia Technical College, Currahee Campus

8989 Highway 17 South Toccoa, GA 30577

For more information, contact Sarah Cook at 229-391-6882 or scook@georgia.org. Register now at http://tiny.cc/FarmToForkToccoa

Out and About with the CVB

Korean Delegation Oct 2012

The Carl Vinson Institute of Government recently hosted a group of local government officials from South Korea, who visited Athens to gather information on programs and economic initiatives, including tourism. On October 24, Classic Center director Paul Cramer conducted a tour of the convention facility's expansion and CVB Director Chuck Jones led an informational session on the CVB and the economic impact of tourism. Our thanks to Rusty Brooks for again including the CVB in these international exchanges.

The CVB and The Classic Center again partnered on a community service project for the United Way's 2012 Day of Caring. This year's assigned project was at Extra Special People in Watkinsville.

On October 15, CVB Director of Sales Tripp McKenney participated in the Interfaith Hospitality Network of Athens golf tournament, along with The Classic Center's Danny Bryant and Tray Alley.

Hospitality Newsmakers

The Classic Center is pleased to announce that Alicia Brasher has been named Convention Sales Manager. Alicia is replacing Nick Hancock, who recently departed Athens to accept the position of Senior Sales Manager at the Greater Richmond Virginia Convention Center. Alicia is well-versed in all things Classic Center, as over the past seven years she has worked in the Box Office, then as Event Coordinator, and most recently as Account Executive, Social Events.

Elizabeth Wythe has been promoted to the new position of Assistant Theatre Manager. Elizabeth has done an exceptional job for the past three years as Theatre Event Planner. In her new role, she will oversee The Classic Center Box Office as well as have an expanded role in managing Theatre operations and staff.

Lisa Jeffers has been hired as New Business Recruitment Coordinator at The Classic Center, the position formerly held by Kendra Ponte in the Marketing Department.

The internal staff changes have opened up both sales and theatre positions at The Classic Center. For more information and to apply, please contact Jennifer Cobb at jennifer@classiccenter.com, 706.208.0900.

Welcome!

The Athens CVB is pleased to welcome SeaPort Airlines, now providing daily connector flights between Athens-Ben Epps Airport (AHN) and the Nashville International Airport. For tickets and information on SeaPort Airlines, please contact them at www.seaportair.com or call 1-888-573-2767.

steak n shake We've been hankerin' for some Steak 'n Shake milkshakes, baked beans, and burgers, and now they're finally in Athens! Stop by their new location on Broad Street near King Avenue. After a ceremonial ribbon cutting ceremony on November 15, the restaurant is open for business.