Chamber of Commerce, Tourism offices move across Square

In an effort to better serve both the member businesses and the growing number of tourists, the Washington-Wilkes Chamber of Commerce is moving to larger quarters on The Square.

The Chamber's new home is the Lindsey Building, formerly the home of Curves, which Chamber Executive Director Donna Hardy said gives the Chamber a much larger area in which to do Chamber business and far more space to greet visitors. "And it's got two big, handicapped-accessible restrooms for the public," she said. "That's a real need, especially when we have as many big public events on The Square as we do."

Doug and Suzanne Abramson, owners of the building, say that the Chamber is the ideal tenant for the building. They plan to renovate the upstairs for upscale office space, Doug said, and the Chamber of Commerce and Visitor Center will provide a good, professional anchor for the building.

Moving from the former Chamber home across The Square was a little sad, Hardy said. "The Chamber has come so far in this location. If it weren't for Louise and Ross Maynard, and Washington First, we'd still be stuck in the annex, and we are so grateful for their forward thinking and hard work that got us onto The Square where the visitors can find us."

The new space will also give Chamber Tourism Director Ashley Turner a place to welcome both visitors

and visiting tourism officials. "This is a great next step to help accommodate the tremendous growth in visitors to Wilkes County," she said, "and to help grow more jobs in the service sector of our economic development. We are proud to have this great new home." The new larger quarters will help

the Chamber of Commerce in their efforts to become a Georgia stateapproved Regional Visitor Center. "Getting that state designation will really put us on the map to get the funding, state recognition, and visitor attention that we need, ultimately bringing more dollars and more jobs to the area," Turner said.

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