Ron Higgins, president and CEO of Savannah Movie Tours, Inc., was named Entrepreneur of the Year by the Savannah Area Chamber of Commerce at the 2008 Small Business Banquet May 8, 2008. The award is given annually to a Savannah businessperson whose innovative thinking, creative vision and talent have impacted the person’s own business as well as the community.
“We are pleased to present Ron Higgins with the Entrepreneur of the Year Award,” says Bill Hubbard, president and CEO of the Savannah Area Chamber of Commerce. “He embodies the true meaning of an entrepreneur by having a vision and taking a risk to fulfill his dream.”
Higgins, a filmmaker and Savannah native, established Savannah Movie Tours in 2003. The Savannah Movie Tour, Higgins’ inaugural tour, takes tourists to 70 local sites that have been immortalized in films such as “Forrest Gump,” “Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil” and “Something to Talk About.” The tour began as a walking tour, and in 2005, Higgins purchased a luxury, air-conditioned tour bus equipped with state-of-the-art LCD screens so that he could show clips from the movies while the tour made its way through downtown Savannah.
The Savannah Movie Tour has gained national attention, with write-ups in publications such as The Hollywood Reporter, The Dallas Morning News, The Miami Herald and the Atlanta-Journal Constitution.
In 2006, Higgins began offering a Scary Ghost Tour, which departs every night from Savannah’s famous Pirate’s House restaurant and stops at various “haunted” locales throughout downtown Savannah.
Higgins launched the widely acclaimed Foody Tour Savannah in October 2007. During the Foody Tour, patrons sample dishes at some of Savannah’s most delicious eateries while learning about the South’s rich culinary history. Higgins says that the Foody Tour has exceeded all of his expectations. “I have high expectations for every tour I’ve created,” he says. “The Foody Tour has been enormously successful and has surpassed all of my projected goals.”
Higgins credits Savannah’s superb restaurants with helping make the Foody Tour such a huge success and praises his family and friends for standing behind his idea for a culinary tour of the city. “It’s truly an honor to receive the Entrepreneur of the Year Award,” he says. “As I looked around the room, preparing to start my acceptance speech, my eyes teared up. And that says it all.”
“Hollywood” Ron Higgins is a filmmaker and Savannah native who has been involved in numerous movies including “Forrest Gump,” “Training Day,” “Remember The Titans” and “Pearl Harbor.” He founded Savannah Movie Tours, Inc. in 2003 to give tourists a glimpse into Savannah’s rich movie history. Since then, he has expanded the company’s offerings to include the Scary Ghost Tour and Foody Tour Savannah. All tours are conducted on a luxury, air-conditioned bus, which is equipped with state-of-the-art LCD screens. For more information or to schedule a tour, call 912-234-3440 or visit www.savannahmovietours.com.