3 things I never could have done if I didn’t work for the Chamber/CVB
For those of us who work at the Liberty Chamber/CVB there are often some pretty cool moments that we get to have during the course of our regular duties. Now they don’t happen every day, or even every month, but when they do, the regular day-to-day duties, which are usually pretty entertaining are blown out of the water. Below is my list of 3 things I could never have done if I didn’t have such a great job!
- Ride in a boat to St Catherines Island and take a truck ride through the interior of the island.
Now you might be saying, “Hey, I’ve been to St Cats” especially if you’re a local. And you may have been to the beach side. But very few get into the interior of the island, and we were lucky enough when scouting for a show back in the fall of 2015, to take a boat ride out courtesy of SeaTow and a truck ride through the interior where we saw all kinds of wildlife. It’s on this side of the island that you can find the lemur colonies, the friendliest deer and some very large alligators! All of which I had to have pictures of. The only unfortunate part of the day spent doing this was the producer we brought with us who was more upset about his phone not working than he was in interested in viewing the pristine landscapes and untouched natural vistas. Want to learn more about Liberty County’s barrier island? Visit their website! Also Keep Liberty Beautiful does a beach sweep every year and while it won’t get you on the interior of the island, it will get you to the island if you want to volunteer. Be sure to get signed up, details are at https://goo.gl/V5RmbM
- Visit the set of American Grit and eat lunch close to John Cena.
Now we didn’t shake his hand, but I can report that he’s much, much larger than he looks on screen. Definitely one of the more fun parts of what I do is help scout for tv/film and having American Grit Season 2 film the entire season here in Liberty County was a huge boost to our local economy, as well as a door opener to other projects. Just this one show had an economic impact of $4.2 million (figure courtesy of AFCI). Spending the day on set was very interesting, you never think about where these people do laundry (well they hired someone locally), where they get their smoothie fix (they hired someone locally), where they buy bicycles to get around (they bought locally), who cooks for them 24/7 while filming (local caterer) and on and on and on. We ate with the folks in their makeshift cafeteria and enjoyed riding around and seeing the various obstacles that had been created and the amazing things that tv magic can produce. Want to watch American Grit Season 2? It just premiered in June so you can definitely catch up here.
- Visit the state capitol so many times I now know where all of the bathrooms are, where the elevators are located and the best light for a selfie!
It often feels like I spend most of January, February and March either driving to Atlanta, staying in Atlanta or driving back from Atlanta. While this is always one of my most dreaded drives, the events I am going for are always some of the best things I do all year. Tourism Day at the Capitol, Film Day at the Capitol, 3rd ID Day at the Capitol, Leadership Liberty Day at the Capitol, and I could literally keep going. Now some of these visits are just a staff person and myself, representing our industry as the official destination marketing organization for Liberty County and others are huge undertakings, organizing tons of people, logistics, parking, food and more. But I can proudly say that after doing this job for almost 7 years that I can now direct people the restrooms on every floor in the Capitol building and the Coverdell building, as well as the elevators. And you want a good picture spot with amazing lighting? I’m your gal! I often kid that I feel like I need Vaseline because I’m always have to smile all the time, even when I may not feel like it, but during these trips the smiles are genuine and well deserved because most of them are about honoring the work that we do here in our offices, being recognized by the State and state associations for a job well done! Want to see pics from the most recent 3rd ID Day at the Capitol? Click here!
-Leah Poole, CEO for the Liberty County CVB & Chamber of Commerce
The Right Blend Blog is written by two different authors employed by the Liberty County Chamber/CVB. As we are able, we rotate weeks and each writes about our individual experiences, opinions and let our writing reflect our personalities and creativity. All content provided on The Right Blend blog is for informational purposes only. The owner of this blog makes no representations as to the accuracy or completeness of any information on this site or found by following any link on this site.
