Savannah-Chatham Day, the Chamber of Commerce’s annual delegation event in Atlanta, fell victim to the snowstorm that paralyzed much of the state capital Tuesday night and Wednesday, stranding many of the Chamber’s staff who had arrived in advance.
The abrupt cancellation came after Gov. Nathan Deal closed the state government and Capitol buildings through Thursday when Savannah-Chatham Day was to take place.
Events were to include a legislative meeting with Gov. Deal and other top state officials followed by a seafood fest at the nearby Georgia Railroad Depot. About 250 members had purchased the $100 tickets, with about 800-850 people projected to attend the seafood reception.
The Chamber’s staff were slated to stay at the W Midtown Hotel in Atlanta, but icy roads and gridlocked interstate traffic made getting there impossible. In fact, thousands of Atlanta commuters were either stuck overnight or abandoned their vehicles to seek shelter.
“The most amazing story in this case, two Atlanta families just invited our staff into their homes in two separate circumstances and let them stay from about midnight last night until conditions were better today,” said Savannah Chamber President and CEO Bill Hubbard.
Hubbard said he used his four-wheel drive and was able to make it to the hotel by about midnight. He didn’t have difficulty moving on the ice but described the congestion from other cars ill-equipped for those conditions as tricky.
“It’s an unfortunate set of circumstances, but it’s not as bad as it was for thousands of others in the city,” said Hubbard. “I think the public safety folks were doing what they could last night, but the ice got bad fast.”
Courtney Hester, the Chamber’s government relations manager, said she and other staff communicated via texts and phone calls trying to reconnect in a city immobilized by rare inclement weather.
By late afternoon Wednesday, Public Relations Director Erica Backus said she and others had made it to the hotel. Their next challenge would be to track down some food, as the hotel’s restaurant and many surrounding businesses were closed.
Hubbard alerted members via email that, right now at least, there are no plans to reschedule the event.
“I think it will be very difficult, and I think it will be highly unlikely we will be able to,” said Hubbard, citing the short legislative session and the Depot space being booked solid.
Due to the unusual set of circumstances, Hubbard said his staff would be working out details of the cancellation with no guarantees for refunds. He said any resulting surpluses would first go to sponsors of the event before individuals.
“I’m just happy they’re safe,” said Hubbard of his staff. “The next step will be packing it up and heading home.”