Press Release: Georgia's Lake Country
October 30, 2000
LAKE OCONEE, GA -- The regional partnership that has marketed Georgia's Lake Country has had a ``stupendous'' impact
on the morale of rural Georgia, according to Lt. Gov. Mark Taylor during a speech at Reynolds Plantation on Wednesday,
Oct. 25. The speech kicked off the one-year countdown to the grand opening of the Ritz-Carlton Lodge, Reynolds
Plantation, a $120 million economic development coupe for Greene County.
In addition to the announcement and tour of the proposed hotel and golf course, Mercer Reynolds, owner of Reynolds
Plantation, also announced a new development known as the Oconee Village. The village will have a Publix supermarket
as the anchor store and will be located on the Reynolds Plantation property-fronting Highway 44.
Taylor thanked Reynolds for his vision and investment that has allowed a first class organization, like the Ritz-Carlton,
to build a destination resort in rural Georgia. He sited the development as a prime example of how regional leadership
and private investment work to provide economic prosperity.
``We have significant challenges to address in our efforts to improve rural Georgia,'' Taylor said. ``We need to
improve our education system to match our post-secondary education excellence, we are working hard on work force
development and we need leadership.
``Those projects take time but we need jobs in rural Georgia now. Too many families in rural Georgia are under
economic pressure from being unemployed or underemployed, which causes our young people to lose hope,'' Taylor
continued. ``The three counties that are working together in Georgia's Lake Country are providing leadership to
promote economic activity and create jobs in the tourism industry. Tourism is a phenomenal opportunity for rural
Georgia. This development is a big victory for rural Georgia.''
Reynolds stated that Reynolds Plantation currently has a staff of about 450 employees but that number will double
when the Ritz-Carlton Lodge, Reynolds Plantation is finished in November, 2001. Additionally, the hotel will generate
about $2.5 million annually to the tax digest of Greene County.
Taylor noted that tourism is second only to agribusiness in economic development in Georgia. According to tourism
officials, 50 million visitors came to Georgia last year and spent $20 billion that resulted in about a $1.7 billion
tax impact. Reynolds expects about 150,000 visitors a year to pass through Georgia's Lake Country.
In order to promote tourism and further enhance the area's appeal, Greene, Morgan and Putnam Counties recently
joined together to form the Lake Oconee Regional Marketing Alliance which is the group behind Georgia's Lake Country.
This group is working together to promote the counties and the towns of Madison, Greensboro and Eatonton, as is
partnering with local developments to enhance the area around their golf attractions.
The biggest attraction will be the Ritz-Carlton Lodge, Reynolds Plantation that will open in the fall of 2001.
The development will feature yet another world-class golf course, known as the Oconee Course designed by Rees Jones,
to go along with Cupp's Plantation, Nicklaus' Great Waters and Fazio's National courses already featured at Reynolds
Plantation. With its full service spa, golf course and Lake Oconee, the Ritz-Carlton Lodge, Reynolds Plantation
is striving to be an accessible destination resort (one-hour from Atlanta) that offers casual elegance in a beautiful
setting. Ritz-Carlton officials have been marketing the resort around the country and said they have been well
received for being one of the first destination resorts built in this country in three generations. Their goal
is to be the number one destination resort in the country.
Georgia's Lake Country is an initiative of the Lake Oconee Regional Marketing Alliance. The alliance is made up
of the Madison-Morgan County, Greene County and Putnam County Chambers of Commerce, Better HomeTown and Main Street
programs, Georgia Power, Cuscowilla, Reynolds Plantation, and commercial businesses in the area. The mission of
the alliance is to promote tourism and economic development in the Lake Oconee area.
SOURCE: Georgia's Lake Country