On Sunday, as travel professionals and destination marketers from across the state checked into Great Wolf Lodge for the 2019 Georgia Governor’s Tourism Conference, a group gathered at Wild Leap Brew Co. to help raise funds for scholarships to tourism conferences.

The third annual Georgia Association of Convention and Visitors Bureaus BBQ Cornhole Tournament and Scholarship Fundraiser introduced visitors from across the state to Wild Leap beer, Country’s Barbecue and LaGrange’s downtown. The cornhole tournament is considered by some to be the unofficial kickoff for the tourism conference.

“This has been a third annual kind of kick off eve of the governor’s conference that allows early arrivals and those wanting to support the scholarship program to get together and network,” said Jay Markwalter, executive director of the GACVB. “We like to showcase development projects that are tourism product.”

Wild Leap Brew Co. put LaGrange on the craft brewing map in 2017, when the brewery announced plans to open in the former Westbrook Tire building. Since then, the brewery has hosted numerous large events and played a major role in events throughout the city.

“It is great to be in a local tourism asset like Wild Leap,” said Katie Williams, executive director of Discover Dunwoody. “To have people represented from our industry around the state get to come and experience it and kick off the conference [is great]. Our industry loves supporting local businesses like Wild Leap, so I think having this fundraising event here is a perfect opportunity.”

Event organizers said that Wild Leap proved to be an exceptionally attractive option for the cornhole tournament fundraiser, especially for tourism partners.

“Right now, the craft beverage industry is very hot in a lot of our towns, and we heard about the award winning Wild Leap,” Markwalter said. “The venue certainly lends itself to a wonderful events facility, and we love supporting the entrepreneur spirit that you see in the distilleries and breweries.”

While Wild Leap’s recent win as the Best New Brewery in the United States in the nationwide UA Today 10Best Readers’ Choice Awards contest meant that many of those gathered at the brewery on Sunday had heard its name, the event itself provided a chance for the brewery to show travel professionals and destination marketers what it has to offer.

“We consider ourselves a tourist destination, and we take that role seriously,” said Rob Goldstein, co-owner of Wild Leap Brew Co. “So, anything that we can do to help bring more folks to LaGrange — not only because of Wild Leap but all of the other places here in the city — is a great opportunity.”

In addition to the promise of friendly competition and refreshments, organizers said many people attend the event because of its ability to make tourism conferences accessible to more people.

“We offer scholarships to people who work for cities and counties promoting their area for tourism,” Williams said. “It allows them to go to conferences not just for Georgia tourism, but southeast tourism society, marketing college, other tourism conferences so that they can gain professional development that they can take back to their community. At the end of the day, the goal is all about economic development and tourism, so that is what this event allows us to do.”

The 2019 Georgia Governor’s Tourism Conference will take place at Great Wolf Lodge in LaGrange until Wednesday afternoon. This year is the first time the conference has taken place in this region of the state.