NEWS

Last week, Savannah Area Chamber President and CEO Bert Brantley and Vice President of Government Affairs Jared Downs joined a small Savannah-based contingent in a short trip to Washington D.C. to visit with members of Georgia’s Congressional delegation.

Visit Savannah President and CEO Joe Marinelli and Savannah Convention Center Executive Director Kelvin Moore also made sales calls in the nation’s capital with a couple of important future convention clients before the scheduled meetings.

The Savannah group was able to spend time with U.S. Senator Raphael Warnock and U.S. Representative Buddy Carter, as well as members of their staffs. While Senator Jon Ossoff was back home in Georgia with his wife and newborn, his staff met the Savannah group to discuss key issues facing Savannah.

In addition to these meetings, the team also was able to see U.S. Representative Mike Collins and U.S. Representative Brian Jack at a baseball-themed reception hosted by the House Committee on Small Business. Discussions covered a range of key priorities, including funding for the Riverwalk in front of the Convention Center, support for Brand USA (the public-private partnership promoting U.S. tourism internationally), small business tax provisions under consideration in Congress, and updates on funding and projects at the Georgia Ports Authority. The group also expressed appreciation to our Congressional delegation and their staff for their ongoing support of Savannah-area initiatives.

Rounding out the discussions were Lee Hughes of Hughes Public Affairs and Yong Choe of YC Consulting, both representing the Convention Center, along with Ben Ayers of inSession Strategies, representing the State of Georgia and the Georgia Ports Authority.