Brigie and I had the privilege of going with JeeJee and Grandpa to the 2024 GFA Annual Conference in Savannah! We did this last year and loved it so much, so JeeJee and Grandpa let us tag along this year too. I was extra excited because the conference was hosted in Savannah this year, where I had recently been on a school trip, and couldn’t wait to show Brigie all I’d learned.

When we arrived at the hotel, we were very excited to discover that it was very fancy and had a POOL. But before we did anything we headed down to the conference center to get registered. Another surprise was that not only did Grandpa so kindly buy us Conference t-shirts, we also got our very own, very official nametags.

There was one very special day in Savannah where everybody at the conference was celebrating Smokey Bear’s 80th Birthday! Brigie and I got a Smokey Bear t-shirt, and later Grandpa waited in line to get us very special Smokey Bear bobbleheads. There were only 50 of them and Grandpa managed to snag 2 for us!

Grandpa had lots of meetings all day, so JeeJee, Brigie, and I decided to explore Savannah a little bit. They like to call Savannah “the most haunted city” and had lots of ghost tours and houses. We steered clear of those and instead decided to hit the shops.

That whole second day Brigie and I ate all our meals at the conference center. The most memorable meal was the dinner where they presented the 2024 Georgia Tree Farmer of the Year and the 2024 Logger of the Year. My favorite part of the presentation is either seeing the winner’s family or getting to watch the video of their tree farm. I love getting to see what other tree farms look like and if they are run differently than ours.

Both nights, before hitting the sack, Brigie and I went down to the pool and enjoyed a nice evening swim. We were delightfully surprised to find almost nobody there, and got to be as loud as we liked. We also found an amazing lizard that looked like it belonged in a zoo! The hotel graciously played a kids’ movie by the pool every night, and that was also lots of fun. Brigie and I had to share a bed, but with 2 other younger sisters, we were used to it.

Before the special dinner, Brigette and I partook in a sacred tradition—scavenging the swag booths. This year they did not disappoint! We got QUITE a haul.

We got to have one last fun night in Savannah all together. We enjoyed a nice dinner and ate some delicious food, then walked around for a good bit. One thing I loved was getting to see a giant cargo ship pull into the big dock in Savannah. Alas, the fun night had to end, but I’ll always cherish the memories we made at the 2024 Georgia Forestry Annual Conference.

Vivi Lay