Trip to Hawaii is all business

Friday, December 21, 2007
DAWN KENT News staff writer

Gov. Bob Riley, Alabama's economic developers and other state officials will kick off the new year by playing host to 20 site-selection consultants at a golf tournament in Hawaii.

The "Sweet Home Alabama" event, held in recent years at Hoover's Renaissance Ross Bridge Golf Resort & Spa, will coincide with the Mercedes-Benz Championship golf tournament in Maui.
Sponsored by economic development organizations and corporations from across the state, the event is aimed at educating consultants on doing business in Alabama.

Site-selection consultants are key players in landing lucrative projects and the jobs that come with them, said Neal Wade, director of the Alabama Development Office.

"It's probably the most important aspect of our marketing effort, to meet with and network with site consultants, not just in this event, but throughout the year," he said. "Almost all of the major projects we work are initiated by site consultants."

Sponsors requested the venue change this year in an effort to attract some of the most active site consultants from across the country, Wade said.

Such consultants field invitations from many states. The Mercedes Championship, a PGA winners-only event, gives Alabama a competitive venue against states like Georgia, which entertains consultants at the Masters Tournament in Augusta.

The "Sweet Home Alabama" event will run Jan. 2-6, with business sessions planned on two mornings. Speakers will include Riley and two-year colleges Chancellor Bradley Byrne and representatives from Alabama companies, which are some of the state's best ambassadors, Wade said. More here.