James May June 2024 web - Flipbook - Page 4
P U B L I S H E R ’ S M ES SAG E
THE TOURISM & HOSPITALITY INDUSTRY,
SIPPIN’ LOCAL . . . AND MORE
began writing this message after returning from a nice time at
the Masters Tournament held
at the Augusta National Golf Club— perhaps the ultimate benchmark for hospitality and quality. The tournament
ended with an exciting finale and one
commentator exclaimed, “The world
came to Georgia and Georgians were
proud to share their great state with
the rest of the world.”
Aside from watching some great
golf, I read a Georgia Department of
Economic Development report that the
economic impact of the tournament
is staggering. It is estimated to have
brought in over 200,000 visitors and
$120 million in revenue over 14 days.
It reminded me that Georgia’s entire tourism and hospitality industry
is burgeoning, and that when there is
investment and support for tourism
everybody wins. This is underscored
by staff writer Patrick Hickey’s feature
reporting that Georgia has effectively
bounced back from the COVID era— all
due to the wide-ranging impact of over
167 million visitors arriving from out
of state last year and spending their
money here.
Then there’s staff writer Cindy
Morley’s piece on Savannah’s growing
reputation as one of the hottest places
to visit in the Southeast. The sheer volume of tourists coming to just that one
city is about 16 million annually. The
state’s other major cities are also seeing
a tourist upsurge. And, of course, metro Atlanta is in a league by itself. Big
sporting events there that host teams
from around the country and world
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are scheduled for this year and in 2025
which will draw untold millions of fans.
Considering all this, Georgians can
indeed be proud to share our state with
visitors from the rest of the country and
the world.
A Successful CEO,
The Curiosity Lab & Cybercrime
We regularly highlight companies
and their leaders that have a positive impact on Georgia’s economy, so
our latest “CEO Spotlight” shines on a
thriving Atlanta-based firm’s CEO: Paul
Shailendra of SG Property Services.
Read how this prominent businessman, at the helm since 2011, and his
team continue to build a major real estate development and investment firm.
Yet another Georgia business triumph!
Another success story is to be
found at the Curiosity Lab in Peachtree
Corners. Check out my feature on this
unique city-owned enterprise that provides a real-world test environment for
inventions and products that attracts
everything from early-stage start-ups
and Fortune 500 companies to academic researchers.
It’s gratifying that Georgia is a national leader on many fronts when it
comes to cybersecurity. But more must
be done since cybercrime is on the rise
and exacting increasing damage to our
economy and national security. Eric
Toler, executive director of the Georgia Cyber Center, is issuing a Paul Revere-type warning that we must develop, resource and incentivize a “culture
of cybersecurity” in Georgia so we can
make our citizens, government insti-
tutions and private industry far more
resilient to cyber threats. Our national
leaders must also follow suit. His column is a must-read.
Our Sippin’ Local Poll Winners
As part of our annual Sippin’ Local
feature, James asked readers to vote
online at jamesmagazinega.com for
their favorite breweries, distilleries and
wineries in Georgia. We received more
online responses than the year before!
Our winners come from three different areas of Georgia and have very
different origins. But we have found
two things they share: loyal customers
and success. Staff writer Baker Owens
writes about each winner, and we list
the top 10 vote getters in each category.
Congratulations to all the winners!
The Presidential Campaign
Matt Towery has previously analyzed how this year’s epic Democrat
versus Republican presidential election
battle, with all its twists and turns, is
raging. In this issue, we suggest reading how our political analyst, pollster,
businessman and lawyer (among his
many endeavors) looks into the crystal
ball at possible scenarios as this unpredictable campaign heads to Election
Day November 5th.
PHIL KENT CEO & PUB L I S H E R
