Joining Two Georgias

Gilmer recently became host to seven representatives from the Republic of Georgia as they visited our state to study and learn agriculture and entrepreneurship from our local businesses.

The delegates met at the Bank of the Ozarks at Highland Crossing to begin their day as they have traveled to several counties in Georgia, and spent an entire day in Gilmer County. Dedicating two hours before noon, the representatives Nana Bagalishvili, Ketino Khvedelidze, Shalva Lagadze, Mindia Kavtaradze, Tinatin Gholadze, Nini Panjikidze, and Ketevan (Kety) Gviniashvili-Reaves met with County Commission Chairman Charlie Paris, Chairman of the Joint Development Authority and Post Commissioner Travis Crouch, Post Commissioner Dallas Miller, and Executive Director Debbie Sadler.

The Open World Leader Center (OWLC) administers the Open World Program as an independent government agency of the United States Congress and is in the Legislative Branch.

The Open World program builds the groundwork for enduring cooperation by bringing emerging government and civic leaders to the United States to work with their American counterparts and facilitates continued relations. They have hosted more than 24,000 leaders in all 50 states since 1999.

According to Sadler,

The Mission of the OWLC is to introduce rising leaders of emerging countries to the importance of legislative functions in creating and sustaining democracies. This is done through the introduction of young foreign leaders to the American democratic governing systems and free market operations at every level:  federal, state, and local.  The Center also maintains a continuing relationship with the network of leaders it has enlisted, especially with those from countries critical to American national security interests.

As they met with our local leaders, Chairman Crouch began the meeting formally welcoming the visitors to our county and extending our great pleasure to host them for this trip. Telling the delegates a little about Gilmer County, Crouch compared one of Georgia’s highest mountains, Shkhara, standing at 17,000 feet to our local mountains closer to 4,000 feet.

Chairman Paris spoke next, introducing our visitors to Gilmer County’s different types of agriculture, business, and industry. He walked them through Gilmer’s poultry going from the farms to the local processing plant as well as our growing grape industry and vineyards. Discussion continued in detail to explain how these industries are affecting Gilmer’s Agri-Tourism as well as the Apple Festival in October.

Questioning the way we advertise and promote the “Agri-Tourism” concept, the discussion continued as our visitors began thinking of how to incorporate these ideas and take them home to the Republic of Georgia. The delegates began asking if they could be invited back to our county in order to see the festival as well as opportunities to send workers here to work in our orchards and local farms to learn and see some of the farming technology they do not have access to at home.

As the meeting continued, two delegates offered thanks by offering gifts to Chairman Paris including Mindia Kavtaradze giving him one of his jars of honey from his homeland as Kavtaradze owns one of the largest Bee farms in the country “hosting 1,500 Bee Families.” Paris also was given a postcard from the delegates depicting the Village of Shovi and Barakoni Church.

After their meeting and a following Lunch at the Davis House, the delegates toured the Water Vendors By Us on Progress Road and stopped into R&A Orchards before ending their day at Cartecay Vineyards on Clear Creek Road. Each stop allowed the delegates to look closer into our county’s industry, but also to ask questions and dig deeper into the entrepreneurs who have built these businesses.

At Cartecay, the delegation sat down to a wine tasting comparing Gilmer’s wines to some of their own as well as European wines. Each visit became more than just teaching the delegates from Georgia, however. Speaking back and forth, they became very open and shared their own ideas and techniques with their hosts. Kavtaradze applauded Gilmer saying he could not imagine a country more hospitable than his own, but being in Gilmer exceeded his expectations saying, “I think these two Georgia’s are actually a part of one heart.”