The executive director of the Peachtree City Tourism Association said the group is at the ready to help city recreation officials with tourism needs, particularly as it relates to youth sports tournaments.

Lauren Yawn also said an effort has been made to try and get the city’s July 4 golf cart parade into the Guinness Book of World Records to garner more publicity for the city.

Yawn gave a presentation to the city’s Recreation Commission Monday night, providing an overview of the various efforts to attract visitors to Peachtree City. Much of those efforts revolve around the city’s amphitheater and tennis center, which are operated by the Tourism Association. Those venues, and the city’s renowned golf cart path system, will be featured in a packet that is being designed for tourists, she said.

Sponsors will have the chance this year to get exposure at both the amphitheater and tennis center, Yawn added.

The association also operates a visitor’s center on the tennis center campus, and work is underway to secure a highway road sign so more people can find it easier, Yawn said.

Amphitheater Director Randy Angrisano also spoke at the meeting, saying efforts have been made to bring in acts that haven’t been to Peachtree City yet, but scheduling was difficult because of certain groups’ conflicts on a certain date or budget constraints that put some artists out of price range.

There will also be a few other “spotlight” concerts that aren’t part of the normal concert series and will cover a wide range of acts from comedy to country and alternative rock.

Angrisano said the results of the annual patron survey drove the types of acts that were chosen for this year’s summer concert series. The survey was done online for the first time this year, and that made it easier for staff to track, he said.

But Recreation Commissioner Joe Frazar III said doing the survey online might “skew” the results because older people aren’t as active online. Of all the survey respondents, about 20 percent were over 55, Angrisano noted.

“I’m telling you right now, the seniors don’t work that internet,” Frazar said.

Frazer said that many of the traditional patrons who got season tickets migrated to the concert series offered by The Villages Amphitheater in Fayetteville.

“A large percentage of that dropoff was seniors,” he added.

Cyndi Plunkett, an outgoing recreation commissioner recently elected to a seat on the City Council, said she felt some of the acts booked at the Fred “have to be more youthful.”

Commission Chairman David Ring, who also sits on the Tourism Association, said the amphitheater’s advisory council also plays a role as a safety net for the venue.

In other business, recreation commissioner George Martin said the group needs to revisit the out-of-county fees charged for various sports programs. Folks who live in Peachtree City and Fayette County pay taxes to support recreational facilities, but those who live out of county do not, Martin noted.

Martin is suggesting those funds be put in the individual “fenced accounts” for that particular venue so the money will only be spent on capital improvements for the venue. In other words, the money will be “going back into the facility.”

Commissioner Robert Learnard that could mainly affect football and cheerleading, which are the most expensive sports to participate in and have a large number of out-of-county participants.

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