Positive opinion for positive results

I wanted to personally say “thank you” for the recent tourism editorials in the Walton Sun. It is rare that we read a positive opinion piece and the timing could not be more appropriate or more appreciated.
With tourism serving as the leading economic engine for Walton County, bringing in more than $1 billion annually, and gas prices creeping to the $4 dollar a gallon mark, our tourists are more precious than ever.
We are grateful to see your paper highlighting the value that should be placed on our tourists and how they should be treated. Encouraging locals to extend that helping hand and genuine welcome when visitors arrive to our community will go far in ensuring their return visit in spite of fuel prices and a struggling economy.
Asking all of us to put ourselves in our visitors’ shoes is a point that will hopefully be well received. I did not want your positive “Opinion” piece to go unrecognized, so on behalf of myself and the tourism industry, we send a big “Thank you.”

Sonny Mares
Executive Director
Walton County TDC