On September 12, 2023, Capital City/Lake Murray Country and Thoroughbred Country hosted a workshop at the Capital City Lake Murray Country Visitor Center in Columbia, SC.
The day began with speaker Jay Keck, the SC Wildlife Federation’s Industry Habitat Manager, presenting Wildlife and Ecotourism: Enjoying the Outdoors While Caring for Wildlife. The presentation included how local plants and animals are impacted, both positively and negatively, by our actions in the outdoors and how we can coexist.
Next, attendees learned how to take and edit #gram-worthy photos with their smartphone with Samie Worthington, the owner of EMILY: Revolutionary Marketing Group. We learned cool tips and tricks for utilizing Canva and got hands-on experience taking better photos! In case you missed it, or need a refresher, the presentation can be viewed, here.
Before heading to our next session, attendees enjoyed lunch catered by Chris Williams, SC Chef Ambassador and Owner of Roy’s Grill!
We then traveled to the West Columbia Riverwalk Amphitheatre for our next session with Michael Mayo, owner of Palmetto Outdoor. During this walking tour, Michael talked about the local watershed, history, and using your area’s recreational assets not only as a way to attract visitors but also as a means of relocation. When Mayo started his tubing outfitter over 15 years ago, Columbia was known as a “detour” or “stopover” for visitors, who were actually traveling to another destination. Today, Columbia’s Three Rivers Region draws visitors from all over the Southeast, even all over the world, to float through rushing whitewater rapids. We had to take a rain check on our tubing excursion, but are so excited to return again soon!
Thank you to all of our speakers and hosts! We look forward to seeing you all again soon at our Annual Meeting on November 2, 2023 in Seneca, SC!