Faculty member's documentary to air April 3 on GPB
Article By: Clark Leonard
University of North Georgia (UNG) faculty member Dr. Benjamin Garner's third film is scheduled to air on GPB at 3:30 p.m. April 3.
"Country Wine" is a documentary about Matt and Lindsey Vrahiotes opening a second tasting room in Helen, Georgia, to expand their Sweet Acre Farms Winery that is based in Alto, Georgia.
"What I found fascinating is how much Matt and Lindsay needed the help of their family to make the business succeed," said Garner, an associate professor of management in the Mike Cottrell College of Business. "Entrepreneurship is rarely the work of one individual. In this case, the whole family is pitching in. That was very inspiring."
Garner's skill set enables him to share his research on regional tourism and economic development with a wide audience.
"Some faculty are great with quantitative data analysis," Garner said. "But my strengths are in qualitative research and documentary film."
Additionally, Garner's second film, "Heartland Local Food," has been added to iTunes and the PBS Living channel of Amazon Prime Video after airing on at least 16 PBS stations across the country.
Garner enjoys the chance to continue honing his film skills.
"It's a way to get stories in front of more audiences," Garner said.
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