"I'm not a director to sit behind my desk and wait for them to come to us." —George Page of VLCPRA @ LCDP 2012 01 09

George Page, Executive Director of the Valdosta-Lowndes County Parks and Recreation Authority (VLCPRA), said at the 9 January 2012 meeting of the Lowndes County Democratic Party (LCDP), that amateur baseball tournaments were coming in April 2012, bringing 1200 room nights to Valdosta. That caused applause. He said the Black Softball Association is coming in February, with 80-100 teams, and more room nights. Local players won't have to go to Atlanta for tournaments anymore.

Ed Hooper wrote for the VDT 1 Dec 2011, Baseball tournaments coming to Lowndes County

At its monthly meeting on Wednesday, the Valdosta-Lowndes County Parks and Recreation Authority announced the United States Specialty Sports Association (USSSA) is set to bring its highly-respected baseball tournament to Valdosta and Lowndes County in April.

The tournament features 24 teams from the state of Florida and 24 from Georgia, and consists of teams from ages 9-14 years old. The tournament will run from April 22-24, and will be played at Freedom Park, Vallotton Park, South Lowndes Park, Lowndes and Valdosta High Schools and possibly Valdosta State University.

“It will be the absolute best 9, 10, 11, 12, 13 and 14-year-old teams coming out of the state of Georgia to face Florida,” Bubba Smith, Director of Tournament Operations for the USSSA said. “Obviously, it is a real competitive tournament that we put together, but it is real exciting to give the teams opportunities to mingle with each other.”

...

VLPRA director George Page also announced the Black Softball Association Tournament, which features 80-100 teams, will be played in Valdosta this upcoming February. The tournament will bring in around $200,000 to the local community.

At LCDP, he said all those tournaments would bring close to half a million dollars into the economy. More applause.

"I'm not a director to sit behind my desk and wait for them to come to us."

Apparently he'd modest, as well, because even more tournaments are coming, and the expected economic benefit of all those tournaments is actually larger.

Ed Hooper wrote 20 Jan 2012 for the VDT, More sports tourneys coming to Lowndes

More tournaments are headed to Valdosta and Lowndes County.

At its monthly meeting on Thursday night, the Valdosta-Lowndes County Parks and Recreation Authority announced the Amateur Softball Association will be bringing eight to nine tournaments to the area in 2012. Among the tournaments will be a Georgia-Florida Rider Cup Tournament, which will feature 40 to 60 teams. The economic impact of all the tournaments combined will total around $1.2-1.5 million.

“We feel like it is a great program we have brought to Valdosta,” ASA Director Roy Hattaway said at the meeting. “The girls are excited.”

Last year, the ASA brought several tournaments to Valdosta, which totaled around a $350,000 economic impact.

It's good to see an executive director and a local authority actively going out and getting new and clean economic activity!

Here's the video:

"I'm not a director to sit behind my desk and wait for them to come to us." —George Page of VLCPRA @ LCDP 2012 01 09
George Page Executive Director of VLPRA,
Monthly Meeting, Lowndes County Democratic Party (LCDP),
Valdosta, Lowndes County, Georgia, 9 January 2012.
Videos by Gretchen Quarterman for LAKE, the Lowndes Area Knowledge Exchange.

Here's a playlist for his entire talk:

-jsq