queen of butter) and Paula (the queen of arts) continued to
build their empires, allowing Savannah to grow with them.
Our artists had paintings gifted to Oprah ("The State of the
Artists" p. 94), our performers made it to the biggest stage in
the world ("Mistress of the Arts" p. 106), and our good ol'
Southern-bred musicians started touring with industry giants
such as Carrie Underwood and Kenny Chesney ("Billy Cur-
rington" p. 114).
But having just as much, if not more, impact on the com-
munity over the past five years, handfuls of locals quietly
continued to fuel the city by discreetly donating large amounts
of their time ("The South’s Movers and Shakers" p. 64) or
organizing city-wide campaigns geared toward helping im-
prove the quality of life for all those who claim Savannah as
their hometown.
And then there were the people who didn’t necessarily set
out to shape the face of Savannah, but inevitably did. Thou-
sands of news stories surfaced, some positive, some negative,
but all vital to helping us understand our fellow Southerners
("Stories that shaped the News" p. 84). Many, many eyes all
over the world were fixed on Savannah.
So how did Savannah and its residents sustain and con-
tinue to flourish during half a decade of tumult and change
(a word which in and of itself came to have a whole new
meaning during that time frame)? Well, we at South magazine
have a little theory, and the proof is in the history.
It starts with Savannah’s debut as the state’s very first
city, a place James Oglethorpe originally intended to be a
garden-covered (hence the squares) utopia available to all
those who lived in it no matter their race, religion or riches,
a karmic asset that seems to have left a little fairy dust on
the cobblestone streets and enchanted landscape. Following
suit, about 150 years ago General Sherman infamously gifted
Savannah to President Lincoln, a gesture that saved the city
from an infernal ending. And, after knocking on some hypo-
thetical wood, it’s important to mention that since then the
area has also nearly escaped hurricanes, weathered depres-
sions and recessions, and escaped the potential wreckings of
important historical buildings and landmarks. In short, Sa-
vannah is a spared city. Luck is surely on her side.
Even now, during the worst global economic climate in
decades, Savannah is actually gaining steam. Between the
Mitsubishi facility and Gulfstream expansion, thousands of
jobs have sprouted up over the past few years ("Business
ventures" p. 58). The presence of Fort Stewart and Hunter
Army Airfield continue to provide reliable paychecks to tens
of thousands of households, and the port, our channel to the
rest of the world, remains one of the most active and impor-
tant on the East Coast. It's not hard to see why there’s new
interest in Savannah on a daily basis. Business and outside
community leaders constantly want to visit due to the
beauty and intrigue; they want to relocate here because of
the weather and food; and they want to bring their families
20
southmaga zine.com
f ebrua ry | m a rch 11
Meet and Greet: One of the
benefits of working for South
is getting to meet some truly
incredible people. L to R:
Jamie Deen on set with South's
Managing Editor and Art
Director; the South staff mingles
with the stars from Extreme
Makeover: Home Edition; The
Brooks family meets MMA
fighter Danny Griffin.
Digging Deep: Over the years, South has made it a point to cover topics
that others might shy away from, talk to people who normally don't have a
voice, and get the true story from behind the scenes. The "Hello, My Name
Is..." story from the December/January Issue is just one example.