member centric
Education & Workforce Development
The TLC continued its priority of education through seminars, training sessions, and programs designed to elevate the hospitality and tourism service. We organized two courses regarding the Temporary Food Service Permits for people who are affected by the sometimes arduous process of obtaining the permit from the health department. More than 50 restaurateurs and catering professionals attended at the TLC office. Tybee Island Tourism Council asked us to lead customer service seminars for their frontline workers. Advertising Specialties, Diana Morrison teamed up with Michael Owens to address the nearly 200 people at the Tybee Island YMCA. The TLC’s jobsinsavannah.com website continued a strong partnership with Savannahjobs.com for the management and promotion of the site. A great benefit to membership is the free job posting each month to assist in staff recruitment efforts.
Coastal Concierge Association The success of our city’s concierge depends on how well they connect and provide for our guests. The Tourism Leadership Council is helping this group of hotel frontline workers reach that success through a newly formed group called, Coastal Concierge Association.
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Each meeting begins with an interactive lesson about frontline customer service.Various businesses host the group to show off their products or services to a focused group of people who recommend these products and services to our guests.
relevance Community Involvement
As an organization focused on the betterment of our community, it helps to be involved. This year, we have taken part in several key events and taken hundreds of meetings in order to help elevate our standing.
Presentations
On behalf of tourism, we have been asked to speak to rotary clubs, Gulfstream employees, police officers, neighborhood associations, and civic organizations. The wide and varied audiences have expanded our reach beyond the typical tourism players to start the dialogue about tourism with the general public.
Under the Gold Dome
In addition to participating in the Savannah-Chatham Day, we had the opportunity to work on the new Welcome Center along the I-95 corridor. We were also asked to co-host the State Transportation Board of Georgia meeting in Savannah in October.
COMMUNITY INVOLVEMENT example
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The TLC helped us get our festival off the ground. They encouraged us to hold the week-long festival during August, a typically low-performing month for our tourism businesses.
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Savannah Voice Festival Executive Director Maria Zouvous
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relevance In the Media
Never before has the relevance of our organization been more clearly displayed than in the 2013 media coverage. From television interviews to bi-weekly newspaper articles, we made quite an impact for our organization and industry.
BiS articles Bi-weekly we have authored articles that appear in the Savannah Morning News. This has allowed us to talk tourism with the community on a grander scale.
radio, television, and newspaper articles featuring TLC
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What a great and practical voice for the impact our industry has on the lives of people every day (and on ‘everyday people’).
Kevin Langston, Deputy Commissioner for Tourism, Georgia Department of Economic Development
40,000 views of tlc generated e-mails
social & Electronic Media
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think big. Act BIG. IAMTOURISM At the beginning of 2013, the TLC Board of Directors set out to create a benefit card program that would give back to the 23,000 workers who make tourism happen in our city. This year, we have been building the program from the ground up. On the vendor side, we partnered with businesses willing to offer cardholders benefits. In return, they were connected with tourism and hospitality employees who shop in Savannah year round and recommend local businesses to the 12 million guests who visit our community each yearall at no additional cost to the vendor. We also joined Abenity, a national distributor of benefit programs. On the cardholder side, we unveiled the program to the public in the fourth quarter. Just in time for the holidays, people are buying cards in order to save an average combined saving of $4500/yr. on goods and services members use every day. The card is available for $25 for one year of savings. To promote the card, we designed IAMTOURISM.net, a website where you can find out more information about the card as well as purchase the card.
Events
Throughout the year, the TLC hosts the Tourism Awards and Scholarship Dinner, the TLC Golf Tournament, the Board of Directors Community Outreach program, monthly Connection Luncheons, and After Hours Socials.
Community Project On August 21, 2013, the TLC Board of Directors and staff volunteered at West Broad YMCA, where they cleaned closest and kitchens and sorted clothes for the neighborhood. They also played with the kids and helped them with after school homework. The West Broad YMCA has programs to help people move out of poverty. It houses an early learning program, a before and after school program, a public library, a strong summer program, as well as a variety of enrichment and recreation programs.
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The TLC hosted the 15th Annual Tourism Awards and Scholarship Dinner presented by Visit Savannah on Thursday, February 21, 2013 at the Hyatt Regency. The Herb & Franklin Traub Visionary Award went to the Honorable Mayor Edna Jackson who leads the city in efforts to bring people together. This year’s John P. Rousakis Community Champion Award went to Peter Doliber at the West Broad Street YMCA who effortlessly cares for people by, among other things, offering childcare to tourism workers. The TLC Service Star Award went to Charlie Wentway at Garibaldi’s and the Service Leader Award went to Dot Davis at the GA Visitor Information Center both for their exemplary job performance in the hospitality industry. Bob Coffey, Savannah International Trade & Convention Center received the TLC Member of the Year. This year a new award was added, the “I AM TOURISM” award, one of the highest awards given to an individual who embodies the very hospitality for which Savannah is so widely known. Wilhelmina Scott, a building service worker with the City of Savannah, received this award. The TLC also awarded $5,000 in scholarships to three students studying hospitality and tourism—Evgeniya Krasnoslobodtseva and Alcatrenia White both from Savannah Technical College, and Tania Smith-Jones from Strayer University. In the 15 years, TLC has awarded $55,000 in scholarships.
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15th Annual
TLC GOLF
TOURNAMENT
The 15th Annual TLC Golf Tournament was held on May 13, 2013 at the Club at Savannah Harbor. For the first time in tournament history, we held a two-flight tournament with more than 200 players. To the public, this golf tournament boasts tourism professionals who know how to have a good time. In 2013, players and participants had three square meals and drinks (adult and otherwise) around each corner.
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luncheonS Through these monthly luncheons hosted at various locations, business professionals gathered to connect to colleagues and potential business partners as well as listen to speakers discuss a variety of issues related to the tourism and hospitality industry. The 2013 speaker line-up included: January Pro-Tem Mayor Van Johnson City of Savannah March Kevin Benefield,
Atlanta Magazine
April Kevin Langston Georgia Department of Economic Development May Charlotte Moore Metropolitan Planning Commission June Susan Catron
Savannah Morning News
July Maria Zouvous Savannah Voice Festival August Joe Marinelli Visit Savannah September Cassandra Vanhooser Former Southern Living Contributing Writer November Captain Ben Herron Savannah/Chatham Co. Metro Police Department
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