Walton County Represented at Annual Georgia Chamber Washington D.C. Fly-In

The following is a news release from the Walton County Chamber of Commerce:

Walton County sent a delegation to attend the annual Georgia Chamber Washington D.C. Fly-In in September. State Representative Bruce Williamson stated “Great trip to Washington, DC showcasing Walton County to our State Economic Development Professionals. I am extremely grateful for the opportunity for our team to meet with our incoming Commissioner of Economic Development, Chris Carr. I daresay, we are the very first Georgia County to give him our "sales pitch."” 

During our visit, we had the opportunity to visit the US Chamber of Commerce and had briefings from Dr. Marty Regalia, Chief Economist and SVP of Economic and Tax Policy; Jennifer Pierotti, Manager of Health Care Policy and Giovanni Coratolo, Vice President of Small Business Policy. The briefing was followed by a tour of the Pentagon. 

“The importance of the trip to Washington for Walton County cannot be overstated. The opportunity to showcase our community and the collaboration we enjoy in Walton County to our senators and representatives in Congress made a huge impression. In addition, networking with Georgia Chamber representatives and state economic development officials will pay great dividends in the future.”, stated Gary Hobbs, Superintendent of Walton County Public Schools. Chairman Kevin Little of the Walton County Board of Commissioners added, “The connections that were made through our legislative delegation and the local leadership are critical in moving Walton forward. The one on one contacts help future communications on issues that may arise between local government and the federal government. The trip to Washington DC was successful.” 

On Tuesday, the briefings included Senator Marco Rubio (R-FL); Senator John Barrasso (R-WY), Chairman of the Senate Republican Policy Committee; Senator Ron Wyden (D-OR), Chairman of the Senate Committee on Energy and Natural Resources; Congressman Hal Rogers (KY-5), Chairman of House Appropriations; and Congressman Buck McKeon (CA-25), Chairman of the House Armed Services Committee. We also celebrated with the members of the Georgia delegation, the Georgia Chamber and their staffs at an appreciation reception on the rooftop terrace of Jones Day. 

Kenny Smiley, Owner and Publisher of Georgia Connector Magazine stated “This trip to DC is invaluable as it keeps Walton County in the forefront of the decision-makers—whether related to grants, economic development, healthcare, education, etc.” Walton’s Christy Ellerbee of Allstate Insurance and chair of the Chamber Governmental Affairs Committee added, “It was exciting to be part of our Walton County delegation during the Georgia Chamber events last week. It was an honor to share with others on both the Federal and State levels what we have to offer in our progressive County!” 

Other Georgia Chambers in attendance included: Cobb, Douglas-Coffee, Douglas County, Greater Macon, Catoosa, Walton, Wayne, Chatsworth-Eton-Murray and Robins Regional. It has already been called by one attendee "one of the best Fly-Ins in Georgia Chamber history." Vickie Williamson agrees stating that “In the wake of the Navy Yard shooting as all flags over DC were at half mast, The Walton team covered a lot of territory telling other leaders in Georgia about what makes us Walton Proud. It was an economically productive trip for the community.” 

Our Walton Delegation felt the trip very worthwhile. Teri Smiley, President of the Walton County Chamber of Commerce stated that “It is exciting to have a delegation from Walton County attend this annual fly-in. The contacts made will keep Walton on the minds of our U.S. Representatives and Senators. It was great to show them that we are Walton Proud! One of the trip highlights was a Capitol Dome Tour, coordinated by Representative Bruce Williamson for us. It was absolutely amazing to be at the top of the United States Capitol. Thank you to Bruce and thank you to our delegation for taking the time to attend the fly-in.” 

Walton County Chamber Chairman of the Board, Meredith Malcom, also Senior Vice President of Athens First Bank & Trust sums the trip up as “Walton County was extremely well represented at this Fly-in event and everyone took full advantage of the multiple opportunities to talk one on one with our delegation in Washington about our community. These conversations were very well received by everyone as we continuously stressed our desire to bring more economic development opportunities to Walton County in the coming years. The huge announcements of Baxter and Caterpillar were still fresh on everyone’s minds and it was so encouraging to hear over and over again that Walton County was poised to be very successful in the coming years – this came not only from Chris Carr, the State of Georgia’s newly appointed Commissioner for the Georgia Department of Economic Development but also from U.S. Senator Isakson and others. We were also able to share our successes in regard to our local education systems (both public and private) and briefly introduced everyone to our Walton Proud message! I can’t thank our State of Georgia Representative Bruce Williamson enough for helping us facilitate many of these meetings and dinners. Our time there was short but we were able to make use of every minute of it making it truly a successful trip and a great opportunity to show off Walton County to a great audience!”