There’s so much more than what meets the eye when you’re planning a big event like the Savannah Food & Wine Festival.
The Tourism Leadership Council is in the throes of that right now — logistics, talent, security, transportation, sanitation and much more — all for the week-long festival Nov. 10-16.
It’s natural that much goes into this festival that created $1.8 million in new spending in our local economy according to the formulas provided by the Georgia Department of Economic Development.
It takes plenty to power the Savannah Food & Wine Festival.
All would not be possible without the generous and amazing support of the volunteers. When you organize 52 events and experiences in one week, ranging from cooking classes with celebrity chefs to connoisseur wine dinners, you need plenty of helping hands.
Last year, we had more than 350 volunteers serving as “Agents of Southern Hospitality.” They helped with setup, registration, food and wine distribution and assisting the celebrity chefs in attendance, among other things.
These volunteers were from all walks of life and mostly from Savannah.
Jamie Parks from Savor…Savannah worked tirelessly to coordinate all of the moving parts of getting food hot and ready when it was supposed to be.
Author Martha Nesbit organized fundraising events, and kept all of us on track with her wit and charm.
Stay in Savannah’s Sales and Communication Manager Jackie Schott volunteered to lead the throngs needed for ticketing and checking identification of the thousands that attended the events.
Diane Rousakis worked before and after her day job for months on end. In the weeks leading up to the festival, she was able to talk me down from the cliff and help me maintain balance and sanity during a time when my wonderfully supportive wife called me “barely tolerable.”
And dozens of wine and spirit distributors gave their all to support the festival and our community.
We also had whole groups of people volunteer: Savannah Sand Gnats, Prince Bush Smith Hotels, Westin, North Point Hospitality, Savannah Technical College and Virginia College.
There are so many stories of people who not only volunteered, but recruited friends and family to help.
I wish I had enough space to honor each of the volunteers who make this festival possible.
Some volunteers came from out of town for the sole purpose of volunteering for the festival. That’s a new trend right now: “voluntourism.”
The work each of these people did was surely not easy. But most did it because they love food and wine, they love to share Savannah, or they love to give back to the community.
Last year, we raised more than $50,000 for charities that are changing our world for the better.
From America’s Second Harvest, our local food bank that feeds thousands of our area’s hungry to the West Broad YMCA, a community center that is leading an area ravished by poverty into self-sustainment, the volunteers at the Savannah Food & Wine Festival made that happen.
Volunteering is not for the faint at heart, it requires work.
However, you get a glimpse behind the scenes of a huge event, from setup to breakdown. You get to make friends and connect with old ones. You get to invest in the community through your hard work.
If you’re interested, we’d love to welcome you into the “Agents of Southern Hospitality.”
Fill out the volunteer application on the Savannah Food & Wine Festival website to get started. And get a friend to volunteer with you!
When you attend the festival, be sure to find a volunteer and tell them thank you. The continued success of the festival wouldn’t be possible without each and every one of them.
Michael Owens is president/CEO of the Tourism Leadership Council and co-founder of the Savannah Food & Wine Festival (www.SavannahFood
andWineFestival.com). Feel free to email him at michael@tourismleadershipcouncil.com or by calling 912-232-1223.