Ever pay any attention to those motor coaches driving around town, or more often, parked in front of hotels/motels or at restaurants. Well, if you haven’t, maybe you should. Why? Because every one of those buses represents CASH flowing into our community!

More and more people are discovering that this area of the state really rocks and is brimming with history. There are events that occur every year that bring throngs of visitors from the Griffin B. Bell Quail Hunt to Springtime Ellaville to Arts in the Park (Americus) to the Downtown Holiday Open House (Americus) and all in-between.

What with the SAM Excursion Train’s regular service through Sumter County, add some more visitors! And of course, every time South Georgia Technical College or Georgia Southwestern State University has a graduation, our streets are filled with cars and people!

Then you have the Jimmy Carter National Historic Site and the Andersonville National Historic Site. (Some folks in Macon County still get really steamed when we say it’s in Sumter County, but hey, most of the visitors overnight HERE.)

As Halloween approaches, we can look forward to the annual Americus Kiwanis Club’s traditional Pet Parade to be held at 4 p.m. Oct. 29 in downtown. Registration starts at 3 p.m. in front of First Presbyterian Church, Jackson Street. This is always a fun event with all the cute kids and their pets. Later that same day, the Downtown Trick or Treat event is held with participating merchants.

And from 7:30-10 p.m. Oct. 28-31, thrill-seekers can get their pants scared off (figuratively speaking) as the Windsor Hotel hosts “The Haunted Hotel.” Admission is $5 and people who attended last year say it is quite a scary-good time.

And then November brings the Downtown Holiday Open House which is the perfect way to showcase the downtown shops and businesses, as well great buys for holiday shopping. The annual Madrigal Dinner, the 21st to be exact, featuring the GSW Chamber Singers and Brass Ensemble is Nov. 13 & 14 at the historic Windsor Hotel. Cost is $39.95 per person which includes a full meal, wine and wassail, and $169 plus tax per couple will get an overnight stay. Group rates are also available (those your buses again!).

The historic Windsor Hotel, we are told, is about to become a Best Western franchise, a move which should make the hotel more competitive and will include some renovations to the property. I once spent a couple of nights in a Best Western in Angers, France, capital of the ancient county of Anjou. The hotel itself was ancient, beautifully appointed and the service was impeccable.

We know Sharad Patel will continue his tradition of excellence with the BW franchise and the Windsor Hotel will remain the “crown jewel” of downtown Americus. Many folks drive to Americus simply to see the hotel.

If you know of something going on in the local business world, that includes the tourism industry, please contact me at beth.alston@gaflnews.com or 924-2751, ext. 1529, so I can include it in this column which will publish every Sunday. It could be a new business, an employee promotion or recognition, a relocation or addition, a special marketing promotion, most anything related to enterprise.

Beth Alston, an award-winning journalist, is executive editor of the Americus Times-Recorder.