Red Carpet Tour Celebrates 50th Year

Thursday, May 28, 2009

The Red Carpet Tour is a Georgia Chamber of Commerce tradition that remains an impressive event 50 years after its inception. Started in 1959 by then-Chamber president John Dent, the Red Carpet Tour showcases our state as a great place to locate for business opportunities. Although many Tour components remain the same from year to year, each Tour is a unique event that leaves guests smiling from our state's southern hospitality. Red Carpet Tour guests have created 30,000 jobs in Georgia and have invested over $3 billion in new and expanded operations in Georgia. The Red Carpet Tour boasts an impressive resume of companies who have relocated to Georgia after attending. One of the most recognized companies is Georgia-Pacific, who sent an executive to the Tour in 1960 when company headquarters were in Washington. This executive later sent a letter to the Georgia Chamber, thanking the staff for the time, effort and invitation to the Red Carpet Tour. We all know the eventual outcome—Georgia-Pacific relocated the company's headquarters to Atlanta. Keeping the tour at an intimate number allows guests to closely explore Georgia's economic resources and find out from current Georgia company executives the benefits of doing business in the state. As the personal demands on company executives grow, the Tour has been cut from five to four days to better accommodate workweek schedules. Each year the Tour visits different regions of the state, with a visit planned to Brunswick in 2010, but a traditional stop is at the Masters in Augusta. Because visiting the Masters has become an annual Red Carpet Tour event, the Augusta Metro Chamber of Commerce has become a key partner in the production of the Tour along with the Georgia Chamber and the Georgia Allies. 50 years later, the Red Carpet Tour continues to be a standard of excellence for economic tour events across the United States. From its start as a low-flying plane tour over industrial sites to the four-day journey it is today, the Red Carpet Tour will continue to provide an outstanding experience to executives looking to build their business in our great state. A Recap of the 2009 Tour
The 2009 Red Carpet Tour kicked off on April 8 with an opening reception at The Mansion on Peachtree, Atlanta's newest boutique hotel and also the designated home base for Tour guests. This year's 23 guests from the United States, South Africa, Canada, Ireland and the United Kingdom represented industries including logistics, building materials, solar products, aircraft maintenance, and paper and wood products.  Following the opening reception, guests were transported to the Governor's mansion for a dinner hosted by the Governor and First Lady. The next morning, guests spent the day in Augusta to view opening day of the Masters Golf Tournament, followed by a hosted reception back at The Mansion on Peachtree. The third day of the Tour included a mock live recording of Georgia Business Report at the Georgia Public Broadcasting studio with special guests John Rice, Vice Chairman of GE and Mike Webster, Vice President and General Manager with NCR Corporation. Arthur Blank of the Arthur Blank Foundation addressed the group on video. Guests also participated in different recreational activities, including golf and a chance to snorkel with whale sharks, before ending the night with a dinner at the Georgia Aquarium. The last day of the Tour returned guests to the Masters via a Delta plane dubbed "Red Carpet One." At the conclusion of the day, guests boarded flights for the return trip home. In the forthcoming weeks, economic development experts will follow up with Red Carpet Tour guests about each one's individual experience. Any of the guest companies in attendance would make a great addition to the economic development landscape in Georgia.