Editor:

Recently, the Liberty County Chamber of Commerce/CVB hosted the annual Taste of Liberty and awards banquet. The venue this year was unique in that each restaurant was situated in individual rooms, giving it a coziness as you traversed from vendor to vendor. Attendees were able to enjoy locally famous hush puppies and tartar sauce and shrimp and grits to scrumptious barbecue and tasty soups and salad’s and indulge in delectable desserts. Attendees sat or stood at cozy tables nestled in various parts of the venue to enjoy the food and network with various friends and businesses. The evening culminated with the presentation of various plaques and coveted awards such as business and business leader of the year and civic leader of the year.

But the one award that is not presented is the award that should go to Chamber CEO Leah Poole and her staff of five who spearhead this annual event and various others throughout the year. They envision, they plan, they create and execute to ensure a memorable evening. But their presence in the community goes far beyond just one evening. They embrace all new businesses that come into the area and ensure that established businesses are provided networking resources needed to survive. They provide monthly gatherings for business to network, meet and talk and they also provide workshops to help businesses prosper and stay connected. But their reach goes even further beyond to marketing our coastal region to travel writers and movie production companies and ensuring that others know about our history and beauty.

This team of six goes beyond just embracing their community for today but they plan and envision how it should be in the future.

So the real award for outstanding community leadership should go to the Liberty County Chamber of Commerce/CVB.

Bruce Muncher

Hinesville