City officials and community leaders will gather this month to discuss ways that the state of Georgia can help Tallapoosa help itself with economic development and tourism, according to Tommy Allen of the Tallapoosa Downtown Development Authority (DDA).

“On Tuesday, Sept. 25, we will hold a roundtable of elected officials, civic and business leaders and the general public to follow up on an assessment by Bruce Green, Director of Tourism Product Development for the Georgia Department of Economic Development,” said Allen. “Our meeting at the Tallapoosa Senior Center will begin at 6 p.m., and the public is invited.”

Allen said there is no admission charge, and sandwiches will be served.

Green led the Georgia Department of Economic Development (GDEcD) Tourism Resource Team on their assessment of the county this year.

The Haralson County Chamber of Commerce requested the assessment several years ago, Allen said, in order to ascertain the county’s strengths and needs for improvement in the local economy. As the Tourism Team only visits four communities a year, Haralson County was put on a waiting list until this year.

The Tourism Team spent three days in May touring the county and seeing what it had to offer. After returning to their offices, they compiled a report of their findings and made recommendations on how to improve in the areas of cultural tourism, heritage tourism, historic preservation, the arts, downtown development, marketing and edutainment.

Each member of the Tourism Team returned to Haralson County on July 12 and shared their insight about what the county had to offer and where there was room for improvement.

The tourism team also focused on each city’s strengths and weaknesses. The upcoming conference will focus on bolstering Tallapoosa’s strong points and addressing the weaknesses, he said.

Director Green gave city leaders guidance when the Streetscape project was initiated several years ago.

“We are fortunate to have Bruce speak to us; he is in high demand all over the state,” said Allen.

Mayor William “Pete” Bridges and the DDA urged attendance by anyone interested in improving how local businesses can meet the challenges of today’s sagging economy. They also thanked supporters of this effort.

If you plan to attend, please RSVP to Allen at 770-574-2482 or by e-mail allensforist@yahoo.com, or call City Hall at 770-574-2345 by Monday, Sept. 24.