Volume 2, No. 17. September 13, 2002
New Arrivals
It's a conference center!
Callaway in Pine Mountain, Georgia, announces the arrival of the Southern Pine at Callaway conference center, August 23, 2002. Measurements: 54,000 square feet total, 22,000 square feet of executive meeting space, two ballrooms of 7,000 and 4,000 square feet (the former capable of being divided into five rooms), eight breakout rooms, one pre-set board room, one conference room, one gift shop, one lounge, one restaurant and one reception area for cottage rentals.
Callaway didn't book its first meeting until September 4—the Coca Cola Company—but many more are on the way, ranging from the Social Security Administration to the Professional Golf Association Tour Commissioners.
What Callaway offers at its new $12,5 million conference center is the essence of Callaway itself—the vastness of nature. Every meeting room except the small ballroom has one wall consisting of a floor-to-ceiling window looking out over the woodlands. The large ballroom's forest-view wall is curved, with outside terraces available for pre-event socializing.
The center is so attuned to its natural surroundings that it will likely become the first-ever "Green Conference Center" certified by the U.S. Green Building Council, which has been monitoring the development since the blueprint stage.
Despite its one-with-nature essence, the Southern Pine Conference Center doesn't skimp on cushy comforts and technological amenities, including wireless Internet access throughout the entire building.
For the center's gala grand opening and ribbon cutting (actually, a pine bough cutting), Callaway supplemented the usual invitation list of dignitaries and media members with meeting planners, about 200 guests in all. "People were oohing and aahing," said Rachel Crumbly, Callaway's corporate relations manager. "It's a very beautiful place."
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