Visit Savannah ranked No. 2 destination
Visit Savannah was chosen as No. 2 out of 100 must-follow destination marketing organizations on social media by Betsy A. Decillis Consulting this month.
Other destinations ranked in the top five include Visit Florida, Visit Austin, Texas, the Cleveland, Ohio Convention and Visitors Bureau and Brand USA.
“We have been recognized throughout most of 2014 in the top 10 of destination marketing organizations for our work, but to finish the year at number two is quite special,” said Joseph Marinelli, Visit Savannah president.
The rankings are decided by a method that incorporates the number of professionals following each organization and the organization’s Klout score, a measure of influence on social media.
Decillis Consulting also released a list of the most influential tourism professionals on Twitter, which included Visit Savannah marketing vice president Jeremy Harvey at No. 27 and social media manager Amy Brock at No. 31.
Jasper County, S.C., nearly matches U.S. jobless rate
COLUMBIA, S.C. — Unemployment in Jasper and Beaufort counties hovered at 6 percent or just below from October to November, while South Carolina as a whole remained at 6.7 percent.
Nationally, the November unemployment rate kept steady at 5.8 percent.
From October to November, Jasper County, home to many residents who commute to Beaufort County for work, worsened slightly from 5.8 percent to 5.9 percent. Beaufort County, meanwhile, did not budge from 6 percent.
Professional and business services added the most jobs at 4,500, followed by leisure and hospitality, 3,200, and government, 2,100.
Seven-hundred positions were dropped in education and health services, while construction jobs fell by 200.
Hilton Head’s ‘best cuisine’ awards announced
HILTON HEAD ISLAND, S.C. — More than 35 restaurants vied for the honors of “best cuisine” during the 25th annual Taste of the Season, presented by the Hilton Head Island-Bluffton Chamber of Commerce on Dec. 5.
People’s Choice for best cuisine was a tie between ELA’s Blu Water Grille and Conroy’s at Hilton Head Marriott Resort & Spa.
Sgt. Jacob Ballard, head chef for Parris Island Marine Corps Depot, was the culinary event’s celebrity guest judge. Ballard was the winner of the Veterans’ Day Cook-off award on the Rachael Ray show.
Ballard’s choice for best cuisine went to Heyward’s Restaurant Sonesta Resort Hilton Head for its Duck Galantine & Grits & Pumpkin Mousse Cup. Second place went to One Hot Mama’s Grilled Pork & Bahn-Mi with Fried Quail Egg, and third place to Black Marlin Bayside Grill for its Frogmore Pho.