May 22, 2009 

MEDIA CONTACTS: Michelle Sherrard
202-994-1423; mcs1@gwu.edu
Racine Tucker-Hamilton
202-994-4413; rthmedia@comcast.net

GW SCHOOL OF BUSINESS GRADUATES COMPETE TO BOOST TOURISM IN ST. MARY'S COUNTY, MARYLAND

WASHINGTON--Twenty-five graduates of the GW School of Business Accelerated Master's of Tourism Administration (AMTA) program are working to improve tourism in St. Mary's County, Md., through a unique competition organized by the University and in cooperation with the county. St. Mary's is a community steeped in history, including where the first Colonial landing in Maryland took place 375 years ago.

GW AMTA graduates will compete against each other to develop a new tourism strategy plan that will help St. Mary's County capture the attention of the nearly five million people that live nearby in Washington, D.C., Northern Virginia, Baltimore, Annapolis and Pennsylvania. Competitors will meet with local stakeholders and assess existing assets and identify those that currently are underperforming. The findings will be presented to St. Mary's officials. 

"St. Mary's is the undiscovered county of Maryland," said Carolyn Laray, tourism manager of St. Mary's County.  "Today few people remember the landing of Leonard Calvert and his fellow Catholic colonists in 1634. We would like to change that."

Raynald Brouard, director of the GW School of Business Accelerated Masters of Tourism Administration program, said, "Tourism in Southern Maryland, which includes St. Mary's County, has lagged behind other regions in the state. St. Mary's has the longest continuous shoreline in the area. The county has tremendous assets that need to be explored to further economic development."

Leonard Calvert and his fellow colonists landed on St. Clements Island on March 25, 1634, where they established the first of Lord Baltimore's settlements in America, the first such settlement in this country founded on the principles of freedom of conscience and separation of church and state. On March 25, Maryland observed the 375th anniversary of the landing. 

GW's School of Business prepares students for professional management careers. The depth and variety of its academic and professional programs, including five specialized master's programs, provide rich opportunities for students in the school's core Bachelor of Business Administration, Master of Business Administration and Doctoral programs.

To learn more about the project, contact, Dr. Raynald Brouard at 202-994-3327 or brouard@gwu.edu.

For more information about GW's School of Business, visit http://business.gwu.edu.
For more news about The George Washington University, visit www.gwnewscenter.org.
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