Flat Creek Lodge Blog

We are so excited to have St. Benedict's Women's Group at the Lodge for a second time this April! The ladies had so much fun last time, and we know that they'll enjoy the spring weather at the lodge! We are booking now for spring women's groups, class reunions and family reunions! With everything from paintball to polished toes, we've got something to suit your interests.  Make it easy on yourself and let us plan the rest!

We have had a plentiful quail season down here at the Lodge, but season comes to a close on March 31st.  We're getting in the last of our shoots through the end of the month.  Thank goodness that it's almost turkey time, with the season opening on March 20th through May 15th.  We've already had lots of turkey sightings, so we hope to see  you down at the lodge soon!

Congrats to Leslie Kelly of Newington, GA as the winner of the February Cheese Pack! Want to get updates and special offers from us or have a chance to win like Leslie? Sign up for the Flat Creek Lodge Email Newsletter!

We shared with you in January the winners of the Land O'Frost/O'Neill Outside Flat Creek Lodge Promotional Contest, and we were glad to host them this past week.

The show will air on August 12-15 and November 11-14th!

Thanks for your kind comments, O'Neill and for sharing the photos below!

Lodging:  First Class
Food:  Gourmet
Quail Hunting:   100 quail a day with excellent dogs and guides
Hog Hunting:  250 pound boar taken with a muzzleloader
Overall:   There is no better plantation for quail in Georgia.   It's more of a resort than a hunting destination.

- O'Neill Williams
http://www.oneilloutside.com/

Thank you to our visitors from the Piedmont Division of Coca-Cola Bottling Company United, Inc. this past weekend.  We're so glad that you chose us, and we thank you for your kind words!  At the Lodge our entire staff takes pride in what we do, and we know that corporate gatherings need to be flawlessly executed. 

Snowbirds!

A couple more beautiful shots from our snow episode the other week.  Don't these birds look magnificent against the snowy background?

Our state - and the greater part of the East & South was blanketed in snow this past weekend! Thankfully the temperatures weren't as cold as predicted in the weather - but we did get nearly 4 inches of the white stuff!  The baby calves had a field day running in the show, and we were reminded of the splendor of nature in our temporary Winter Wonderland.

With Valentine's Day around the corner, we were lucky enough to get the scoop from one of the sweetest stories yet to come out of the Lodge.  Thanks to Al Lawson for sharing his story with us!  Read on for the romantic details...

After loosing his wife to cancer in 2004, Al struggled for the next few years, finally finding someone he was interested in getting to know a few years later in 2007.  Dianne and Al had their first date at the lodge, and things were going well.  Over the next year their relationship blossomed, including questions to Al from Dianne's daughter about just when the 'ring' would be coming! 

He made a reservation at the Lodge, with perfect timing.  They were the only couple at dinner that night, so it made for a romantic setting.  Al recalls that the two of them laughed when dinner turned out to be ravioli, since they weren't fans of the Italian dish - but their tastebuds got turned around with the delectable concoction prepared with cornish hen and artisan cheese from the dairy.  

Earlier that day, unbeknown to Dianne, Al had done a little special planning with the chef.  He bought in a box of Cracker Jacks - one of Dianne's favorite sweet treats - with the top steamed open.  He traded in the prize for an extra shiny surprise for Dianne to discover later that evening.

After dinner, though Dianne was stuffed from dinner, Al and the waiter convinced her that dessert would be worth it.  The waiter finally arrived with a silver domed tray, expertly taking off the lid to reveal the box of Cracker Jacks, surrounded by chocolate covered strawberries.  She had truly found her prize in the box and with the evening's proposal from Al.

For Dianne and Al, it was an unforgettable night and a sweet beginning to a promise of a lifetime.  The two were married in November of 2009 and continue to reside in Swainsboro.



Do you have a romantic tale to tell while at the Lodge?  We'd love to hear about it!

Now, we're so glad to be a part of the community, but one thing that hinders us locals and our visitors alike from around the globe is the condition of the road when visitors come down Bishop Chapel Church Road.  We want to thank The Forest Blade for printing our Letter to the Editor, which we'll also share with you below. 

Dear Citizens of Emanuel County,

The purpose of my letter is to report to you the unsafe condition of our road and request that the stretch of road from Cannoochee Road to the north property line of Flat Creek Lodge be paved. I currently serve as the General Manager of Flat Creek Lodge.

Flat Creek Lodge is a resort that brings in people from across the state and the world and has become one of the top attractions in Southeast Georgia.


Here are just some of the ways the dis-repair of the road affects both the county and our business:

-Three accidents have occurred on this road in just in the past 6 months. One of the accidents required a passenger which had to be emergency airlifted to Augusta, GA. Another resulted in a broken collar bone and the vehicle was totaled

- In the past 8 years we have pulled more than 75 customers out of the ditches on this road and lost scores of business.

-A considerable amount of tax revenue has come into Emanuel County in the last 8 years due to Flat Creek Lodge, not only in property taxes, but sales taxes as well. We have over 35 employees and/or independent contractors who currently travel this road.

We come to you for aid in remaining a viable active entity and to help us create more revenue for the county by attracting visitors from other areas of the state, our country and from all over the world.


We are proud to call Emanuel County home. We believe in the people and see the incredible potential for growth and prosperity in our area. We have even gone the route of trying to repair the road ourselves when large groups come to the Lodge which puts us at risk for liabilities that should be the responsibility of our county.

Please consider our request to have Bishop Chapel Church Road paved.

Sincerely,

Cathy D. McDaniel

General Manager Flat Creek Lodge

367 Bishop Chapel Church Road

Swainsboro, Georgia 30401

Have you had any of these experiences on Bishop Chapel Church Road?  Please share them with us in the 'comments' section.

We were excited to host the Georgia’s Regional Tourism Representatives last Monday, January 11th here at Flat Creek Lodge!  The Swainsboro / Emanuel Chamber of Commerce, along with city, county and Joint Development Authority representatives hosted.  We were excited to have all 17 members of the group at the Lodge.  It was an incredible chance to showcase some of what the County has to offer, as well as for the group to strategically come up with a plan for tourism for our entire state.  Check out the coverage on The Forest Blade's website!