One million acres of land. Ten million visitors to state parks. And an economic impact of $600 million per year.

Attendees to Thursday’s Paulding County Chamber of Commerce Georgia Power Luncheon, held at the Paulding County Senior Center, learned that those numbers are part of the responsibility of the Georgia Department of Natural Resources, a department overseen by Commissioner Mark Williams. Williams served as the luncheon’s keynote speaker and addressed in his speech his department’s role in the state, the budgetary challenges the department has had to face and what the future holds for it.

See highlights of Williams’ talk in the attached video.