The National Lieutenant Governors Association (NLGA) will meet in Baldwin County in August as the nation’s lieutenant governors and other seconds-in-command gather for the association’s first in-person meeting since 2019.

The meeting will convene state No. 2’s from across the country to discuss policy ideas, initiatives and best practices.

“Tourism is a top industry in our state employing more than 200,000 workers in 2019,” stated Lt. Governor Will Ainsworth (R-AL). “It’s essential to get tourism in our state humming again and I am proud to drive that by welcoming this prestigious group in August.”

NLGA says the meeting in Point Clear will generate an estimated economic impact of more than $300,000.

Ainsworth noted that the meeting will bolster the state economy and bring attention to the region and the state, which is especially important following the damage COVID-19 did to tourism along the Gulf Coast and in other areas.

“Tourists paid more than one billion dollars in taxes to state and local governments in 2019, dollars which saved the average Alabama family about $537 a year in taxes,” Ainsworth added.

NLGA was founded in 1962, and this will be only the second time Alabama has hosted an annual meeting of the association. The sole previous NLGA Annual Meeting in Alabama was in 1975.

“NLGA meetings are nonpartisan and promote innovative plans for shared challenges, something that is especially critical for state leaders as all the states emerge from the global pandemic and seek to regain their economic and educational footing,” commented NLGA director Julia Brossart.

“NLGA is a platform for us to come together as leaders, in a bi-partisan way, to drive thoughtful and informative discussions,” concluded NLGA chair and Lt. Governor Bethany Hall-Long (D-DE).

Sean Ross is the editor of Yellowhammer News. You can follow him on Twitter @sean_yhn