Albany Herald

Photo by Carly Farrell

ALBANY, Ga. -- Quail Unlimited members, local elected officials and many others were at Potter Community Center on Thursday evening to celebrate the official announcement that the national non-profit conservation organization will moving its national headquarters to Albany.

Quail Unlimited (QU) will be moving its national office from Edgefield, S.C., to Albany and its new offices will be built on property being donated by Phoebe Foundation, the philanthropic arm of Phoebe Putney Memorial Hospital.

The land lease agreement will allow QU to build on eight acres in the southeast corner of Potter Community Center's nearly 50-acre property.

"This (relocation) is for the members of QU, the local hunt club, QU volunteers and for our youth who will hopefully care for this land in the future," said organization President Bill Bowles.

Phoebe CEO Joel Wernick said, "QU is one of those great volunteer organizations" and that the organization will prosper within Dougherty County.

"People here have invested the time, money and man-hours into making what quail hunting here what it is and we are thankful that Quail Unlimited can make it's new home here," Wernick said.

Dougherty County Commission Chairman Jeff Sinyard said having the conservation organization based in Albany and Dougherty County will help the region with exposure.

"The bobwhite quail is know all throughout the world," Sinyard said. "We don't see and feel (the effects of having QU here) right now but we will. It's bigger than the bird and the hunt."

Bowles said while the organization's single-story national office building is under construction, the organization will be moving into building near the Phoebe's campus that the hospital will rent to QU for two years.