Accepting the Tourism Champion award from Governor Sonny Perdue were (l-r) Jeannie Buttrum, Classic South Regional Tourism representative; Sherry McKeller, Lincoln County Development Authority; Washington-Wilkes Tourism Director Ashley Barnett; Governor Sonny Perdue; Beda Johnson, Columbia County Convention and Visitors Bureau; Elizabeth Vance, Thomson-McDuffie County Convention and Visitors Bureau; and Trent Mercer, Classic South Travel Association. Washington-Wilkes Tourism Director Ashley Barnett and her tourism partners in the area were recognized for their efforts last week at the Governor's Tourism Conference in Albany.

Representing the counties of the Clarks Hill Partnership of Georgia, Barnett and the other tourism staff members received the prestigious Partner Agency Tourism Champion Award from Governor Sonny Perdue Friday. The award was presented to team members at the Governor's Brunch and Awards Ceremony that closed the state tourism conference.

"We are so thrilled to earn this prestigious award," Barnett said. "It shows we can do much with little, work together and pool our resources and have a bigger impact. The Clarks Hill Partnership's promotion of a Bassmaster tournament is a perfect example of that. We have a tremendous asset in Clarks Hill Lake. So much attention goes to Lake Oconee and Lake Lanier, but Clarks Hill is the largest lake in Georgia."

In addition to Wilkes County's Ashley Barnett, the tourism team for the Partnership accepting the award were: Beda Johnson, Columbia County Convention and Visitors Bureau; Sherry McKeller, Lincoln County Development Authority; Elizabeth Vance, Thomson- McDuffie County Convention and Visitors Bureau; Jeannie Buttrum, Georgia Department of Economic Development, Classic South Regional Tourism Representative; and Trent Mercer, Classic South Travel Association. Team member O.B. McCorkle from Warren County was unable to attend.

To win the award, the Clarks Hill Partnership of Georgia used a Tourism Foundation Co-op Marketing Grant to promote regional tourism for the 2007 Bassmaster Weekend Series National Championship held at Wildwood Park last November.

The Partnership sponsored a 30-minute fishing show, BassEdge, that appeared on Versus Network in January and also set up booths at the Bassmaster Classic Championship in February and the FLW Cup Championship and Expo in August 2008 - all to bring tourists to the Clarks Hill area, including Wilkes County.

The Clarks Hill Partnership of Georgia representing Columbia, Lincoln, McDuffie, Warren, and Wilkes Counties was originally created by former State Senator Jim Whitehead, whose legislative district represented each of the counties in the Partnership.

The group meets quarterly and the voting members are the county administrators, county commissioners, and community mayors. Walker Norman of Lincoln County serves as chairman and Sam Moore of Wilkes is vice chairman. Starting in 2006, the Partnership Tourism Team members began attending the meetings to work together to cooperatively market the Clarks Hill area.

Beda Johnson from the Columbia County Convention and Visitors Bureau expressed the group's delight at winning this award. "This recognition from the Governor and our tourism peers shows how essential it is that we continue to pool our resources and work together to represent our region at a national level. We're thrilled to be able to bring this award back to the leadership of the now 'award-winning' Clarks Hill Partnership of Georgia!"