Tybee has become the perfect setting for this seminar as it creates a peaceful and serene backdrop for these artists who are here to improve and learn more about this fascinating art form. The art of china painting also know as porcelain art or china decoration has an extensive history. With its roots going back to early China (hence the name) the China paintings are done with the same attention to design, pattern and visual texture as other forms of painting. The techniques used resemble those of a watercolor artist but the appearance is much like an oil painting. After firing the multiple layers do not bleed into each other as watercolors tend to do.

This year four scholarships were given out, two were given to the Savannah Arts Academy and the remaining two were given to Tybee Arts Association members. The Savannah Arts Academy chose Taylor Graham and Angel Ang while Mary Lou Vandenburg and Alice Gerber were the chosen recipients from the Tybee Arts Association. Congrats!

A special thank you goes out to Tybee Island business owner and resident- Stacye Jarrell with Oceanfront Cottages, the Tybee Arts Association and Suzanne Painter with GA Seminars by the Sea for helping to make this a memorable week for the participants here on Tybee.  Stacye graciously turned some of her Tybee rental properties into studios for the painters and has purchased several special kilns to fire the porcelain pieces so students were able to finish their pieces during the seminar.

Plans are already underway for the 2011 GA Seminars by the Sea Porcelain Painters classes here on Tybee Island so stayed tune. More information can be found at www.gaseminarsbythesea.com.

Again many thanks – Vicky

Mardi Gras on Tybee proved to be a great success and also served as the debut of our newly restored Tybee Island float! Congratulations to TITC board member Belinda Flanigan on being crowned 2010 Mardi Gras Queen along with her strapping Mardi Gras King Joe Sheffield!  With Mardi Gras completed we’re now on to the St. Patrick’s Day Festivities and Springtime!

The TITC is pleased to announce three new members to its board of directors.  Diane Kaufman of Mermaid Cottages, Susan Kelleher of Seaside Sisters, and Keith Gay of Tybee Beach Vacation Rentals.  We look forward to their input and working together for Tybee tourism.  Welcome aboard!

Recently, Vicky attended a “Boot Camp” in Macon sponsored by the Georgia Office of Tourism on bringing family reunion business to our area.  This conference along with the Group Tour conference attended in December have given lots of great information and insight, and the best thing is that they are FREE!  “Tourism Day at the Capitol” was also a great day of networking with tourism folks from around the state.  The state was presented with a revenue check for over $850,000,000.00 showing how very important the tourism industry is to the state.

Vicky attended several informative social and networking events this past month including the Buy Local of Savannah annual awards luncheon and the Savannah Downtown Business Association annual meeting where Vicky received an award for her five years of board service.  The Savannah Chamber’s business connection at the Club at Savannah Harbor, Maritime After Hours held at the new Fort at Forsyth Park (a must see), and Hospitality Night sponsored by SavannahMenu.com are all monthly events and a great way to network with our local community.  On another great note, three of Savannah’s tour companies have been listed on the top 100 tours on Tripadvisor!

The Tourism Leadership Council also had their annual dinner in February, which not only recognizes community leaders, service leaders in the hospitality industry, but also awards scholarships to students pursuing degrees in the hospitality industry.

The Tour and Travel committee of the Savannah CVB has a very aggressive marketing plan for 2010 and looks forward to bringing lots of business to Tybee.  The TITC will be helping to host a FAM (familiarization tour) this summer along with the Savannah CVB and the GCTA (GA Coast Travel Association) to help showcase Tybee and the coast.

Savannah Days at the I-95 Visitor’s Center the Friday before Mardi Gras brought lots of interest from visitors.  Many folks excited that Tybee was going to have some fun festivities for Mardi Gras!  Many folks were headed to Daytona but planning on a stop to our area on their return trip.

By now everyone should have received some information about the 2010-2011 Tybee Island Vacation Planner.  Vicky will be checking basic information and getting enhanced listings. Remember that these are not only distributed to individuals interested in coming to the area, but all the state Visitor Centers, trade shows, conferences, and other tourism venues.  Remember that you must be a member of the Savannah Area Chamber of Commerce and Convention and Visitors Bureau to be included in the Tybee Vacation Planner.  There are so many great reasons to be a chamber member from social networking, advertising and online opportunities.

Lindsay attended Savannah Chatham Day at the Capitol where meetings were held throughout the day with our top state elected officials. It was a great day of networking and gave us the opportunity to talk about key issues related to Tybee tourism with our representatives including Ron Stephens and Buddy Carter.

Hot off the presses are the 2010 Tybee Island Calendar of Events! This year we’ve designed a slick business card sized calendar for easy distribution and to inform our visitors of the events happening on our island throughout the year. There’s always something happening on Tybee and now let’s spread the word.

In other news the EVP Pro Volleyball Tournament is coming to Tybee Island! The tournament will take place May 22^nd – 23^rd, which is also Beach Bum weekend. Having the tournament and the Beach Bum Parade on the same weekend gives us a great opportunity to bundle these two events and make it a blow out weekend for Tybee!

Please feel free to call Lindsay or Vicky at the TITC and have a great Tybee day!

Lindsay Fruchtl

Marketing Coordinator

912.786.5444

lindsay@tybeevisit.com

Vicky Buck

Sales/Operations Coordinator

912.786.5444

vbuck@tybeevisit.com

We’re looking forward to participating in the Tybee Island Irish Heritage Parade as well as the Savannah St. Patrick’s Day Parade as we have been working for some time on the renovations of the Tybee Island float. The renovations are complete and the float was debuted in last month’s Mardi Gras parade. Having a new float to represent Tybee Island will increase our exposure with our guests and visitor’s to Savannah and Tybee.

The Tybee Island Tourism Council has recently added a new software program called D3000. This software is used by the Savannah Area Chamber of Commerce/Convention and Visitor’s Bureau to track prospective and existing member’s information, visitor information leads, media contact lists and the list goes on and on of this program’s endless capabilities. With the installation of D3000 here at our offices we will now be able to more efficiently obtain data from our visitor’s to track where they’re coming from, what they’re interested in and the length of stay. The media and e-mail capabilities of D3000 will give us more exposure from a public relations standpoint and make communication with our Tybee chamber members more effective.

Many of you may not be aware that the Tybee Island Tourism Council is a council under the umbrella of the Savannah Area Chamber of Commerce/CVB. This is a great benefit as it helps bridge the gap between Tybee Island and Savannah. If you are not currently a member of the chamber we encourage you to contact Vicky and get more information about the benefits that it has for you and your business. Some of the benefits include but are not limited to networking opportunities like the SMART Lunch Series, Business Connections, Annual Business Expo and The Small Business Banquet and Tradeshow. Sponsorship opportunities are also available through the chamber for these events. As a member you will also receive website inclusion and advertising opportunities on visitsavannah.com as well as a listing and website link on tybeevisit.com the official Tybee Island Tourism Council website.

On that note, we are currently in the process of updating our website tybeevisit.com . On the list of improvements we will be making included are updating photos throughout the site to incorporate some of our new Tybee Island Vacation photo contest pictures. We will also be collaborating with local experts to improve our content in areas such as ecotourism, recreation and our beloved sea turtles. We will also be adding a Special Offers page! The result will be a cleaner look as well as being more user-friendly for visitor’s to maneuver through the site.

In closing, tourism affects all aspects of business here on Tybee and we welcome your ideas, comments or concerns.

Make it a great Tybee day!

Vicky Buck | Sales and Operations Coordinator

vbuck@tybeevisit.com

Lindsay Fruchtl | Marketing Coordinator

lindsay@tybeevisit.com

Office: 912-786-5444

You may not know, but Savannah’s not the only place to catch an outstanding St. Patrick’s Day parade! The Irish are coming to Tybee Island on Saturday March 13^th for our 8^th Annual Tybee Island Irish Heritage Parade.   Under the guidance Jimmy and Jay Burke this parade will feature lots of Irish families marching, along with bands, bagpipers, floats and no Tybee parade would be complete without our Alee Temple Shriners!

The Third Thursday’s on Tybee Grassroots Art Program continues on March 18^th from 5-6pm in the lot at Tybee Oaks featuring contemporary folk artist Lauren Lapointe. This free, family friendly outdoor concert series provided in part by the City of Tybee Island’s Better Hometown Initiative is a don’t miss!

Tybee Island makes its big screen debut on March 31^st in “The Last Song” based on the Nicholas Sparks novel and filmed the summer of 2009 right here on Tybee! The film is a coming of age tale about seventeen-year-old Veronica “Ronnie” Miller who is sent to spend the summer with her father on Tybee Island. Over the summer father and daughter connect over their mutual love of music and along the way Ronnie experiences her first love. The film is a beautiful testament to Tybee and shows sides of our little slice of paradise that many haven’t seen before. Get to the theaters and check it out!

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