This is a news report on the meeting of the Patrick County Tourism Advisory Council that met on Monday, Sept. 21, 2009 at the County Administration building.
News report
Patrick County Tourism Advisory Council Meeting Sept. 21, 2009
On Monday, September 21, the Patrick County Tourism Advisory Council met for their monthly meeting.
In Tom Rose’s absence, Wilma Pendleton, with the Patrick County Economic Development and Tourism Department made these reports:
1. The Hospitality Books have been printed and are ready for distribution. Tourism Council members will be distributing them to local businesses, such as Convenient Stores, places of Lodging, Campgrounds, Visitor Centers, Parks, and Scenic Attractions in the next week.
2. The engineering work on the Mayo River Trail project is expected to begin in the very near future.
3. The Jack’s Creek Covered bridge project is waiting approval by VDOT and after which it will be sent out for sealed bids.
4. Future Tourism Advisory Council work needs to address the 2011 magazine advertisement content to revise them and bring them up to date. Another potential project is to develop a strategy to promote Patrick County local grown produce.
5. The Patrick County Artisan Trails brochure and map will be received from the printer on Sept. 22 and be ready for distribution to the public. 10,000 copies have been printed and will be distributed by the VA Welcome Centers, local Visitor Centers, and Round The Mountain’s Heartwood Center at Abingdon. The name of the brochure is, “The Hidden Treasures of Patrick County� and it will identifyArtisan Studios, Craft Venues, Farms, Lodging and Points of Interest.
Brooks Bradbury, Chairman of the Council and General Manager of Primland, reported that 350 people had registered for the Sept. 27, Open House and Tour of the new lodge and restaurant. At this point reservations are closed.
Tom Bishop, Executive Director of the Patrick County Chamber of Commerce reported on recent Tourism work by the Chamber:
1. Conducted a Tourism demo at the I-77 Virginia Welcome Center at Lambsburg, VA and 500 people came through. This is considered a great marketing opportunity for Patrick County. He reported on other tourism activities such as distribution of the Patrick County brochures, and providing Tourism information at various events.
2. He urged members to attend the planned announcement by Congressman Rick Boucher on Sept. 29 at Chateau Morrisette Winery reporting on the research conducted by VPI and Clemson University for the Blue Ridge Heritage project.
3. He described an ad campaign planned for the Martinsville Bulletin highlighting all the celebrations planned for October in Patrick County.
Businesses are invited to participate in 2-page color ads to be published next week.
Report by Tom Bishop
