Lawmakers visit during annual event

Barbecue was on their plates, but talk about Colum-bia County was on the menu as local officials went to the state Capitol on Wednesday for the second annual Columbia County Day.

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A steady stream of lawmakers and legislative staffers visited the Atlanta luncheon Wednesday, held by the county's Chamber of Commerce, the Convention and Visitors Bureau and the Development Authority.

The event is designed to boost the county's visibility with lawmakers. It attracted visits from Gov. Sonny Perdue, Lt. Gov. Casey Cagle and dozens of legislators who dined on pulled pork from Columbia County's Mot's Barbecue while members of local agencies and governments talked up the county.

"I think we hit a home run. I really do," said the chamber's executive director, Karen Chrjapin. "And the timing was great."

The event fell the day after the Georgia Department of Economic Development's Tourism Day at the Capitol, at which officials from across the state -- including Columbia County's CVB director, Beda Johnson -- touted the benefits of the state's $20.2 billion tourism industry. That allowed Johnson an extra day to sell Columbia County and to remind lawmakers to visit Wednesday's luncheon.

On Wednesday, Mot's set up two serving lines -- one inside the borrowed room to which lawmakers were ushered by chamber volunteers, and one outside where staffers could fill their plates.

"We had better networking opportunities and more faces this year -- recognizable faces of legislators," Johnson said.

The event was sponsored by AT&T and Atlanta Gas Light.