Quail Hunt opportunity to ‘tell the story’ of southwest Georgia

ALBANY — Thirty-one business leaders from across the country and around the world were joined on Thursday by Gov. Brian Kemp as state economic development officials are spreading the message that Georgia, and particularly southwest Georgia, is a great place to do business during an annual quail hunt.

The Georgia Quail Hunt, hosted by the Georgia Chamber of Commerce, is in its 32nd year.

Rural Georgia was particularly hard hit by the 2009 recession and has not recovered as quickly or as fully as the rest of the state, Chris Clark, president and CEO of the Georgia Chamber, said during a news conference held Wednesday.

“About five years ago, we made the decision, because of the economic devastation in south Georgia, to spread the message,” he said. “We’re really just telling the story.”

The hunt has been responsible for a number of companies locating in the state, and some of those projects have come to the southwest Georgia region, he said.

“We’ve seen tens of millions (in investment), tens of thousands of jobs located to Georgia,” Clark said.

That includes the Georgia-Pacific plant under construction in Albany. Southwest Georgia recently landed a Wal-Mart meat processing plant and a Taurus gun manufacturing facility.

“It’s not so much location anymore, it’s about quality of life,” he said.

Albany has much to boast about, including the Flint RiverWalk, Pretoria Fields Collective brewery and other exciting additions, he said.

“All those things are important to quality of life,” Clark said. “Gov. Kemp has made it a priority to promote rural Georgia, anything in the food and agricultural sector. We’re seeing more of those. We’re also seeing more and more companies in the firearms industry are looking at south Georgia.”

Agriculture will remain the backbone of the area’s economy, Kemp said, but it is important to diversify by bringing in other types of industries.

South Georgia is linked to the rest of the nation through I-75 and the port and railroads that serve it, making transportation convenient for companies, he said.

In addition to lagging the rest of the state in recovering from the 2009 recession, southwest Georgia also has been devastated by storms, Kemp said.

“Our farmers and our agribusiness people are very resilient,” he said. “I do think that makes it more important that we diversify.”

Asked about budget cuts he has requested — 4 percent for the remainder of the budget year ending June 30 and 6 percent for the next fiscal year — Kemp said that important services such as mental health will not be affected.

Many hiring freezes will affect positions that have not been filled in 18 months and actual spending for the agency would increase by $50 million under the governor’s budget proposal than the previous year, he said.

Making government more efficient is a campaign promise he is fulfilling, Kemp said, as is finding money to give pay raises to teachers so that schools can turn out graduates to fill jobs that could be created by connections made through the quail hunt.

“We’ve got to focus on our K-12 to make sure they’re preparing the people we need for these jobs,” said Pat Wilson, commissioner of the Georgia Department of Economic Development.

With that, the area is poised to take advantage of job opportunities not just in agriculture.

“There are so many things that add up,” Wilson said “We’ve got committed and loyal workers.”

Staff Photo: Alan MauldinAlanMauldin[email protected]
Staff Photo: Alan MauldinAlanMauldin[email protected]

Staff Photo: Alan MauldinAlanMauldin[email protected]