The Georgia Tourism Foundation awarded the Dawson County Chamber of Commerce and the county Convention and Visitors Bureau a $19,850 grant July 15.

CVB Director Marty Williams said the award came very close to the maximum level he applied for of $25,000 to be used in expanding multi-media tourism marketing campaigns promoting Dawson County.

“The effect this money is going to have on our economy and local businesses is going to be tremendous,” said Williams.

“It will allow us to do much more advertising and we will also benefit from additional exposure provided by grants awarded to our partner organizations that include Hospitality Highway and Northeast Georgia Mountains Travel Association,” he added.

Williams said independent judges scored grant applications based on several factors including project goals and objectives, benefit to the community, positive economic impact and the ability to attract and service visitors.

“Writing a grant is an art and I think we got it this year because we got a lot more creative in our application. We have several projects that helped us get approved for this money, including our comprehensive marketing plan and our writers visitation project,” said Williams.

“Dawson County has become Atlanta’s backyard getaway in many respects. With the economy the way that it is and fuel prices at an all-time high, people are looking for great tourist destinations that aren’t that far away,” he added.

Williams said that CVB’s goal is to attract tourists from the state of Georgia, as well as surrounding states.

Williams said that Dawson County has done increasingly well each year in the number of visitors and tourists it has received and that the funds awarded by the grant will go a long way toward bringing even more visitors to Dawson County.

E-mail Adam C. Stapleton at adam@dawsonnews.com.