By Stephen Smoot
With one Maple Day behind and another yet to come, the Pendleton County Convention and Visitors Bureau held its February meeting last week.
The light agenda started with board member Annie Humes discussing the Appalachian Forest National Heritage Area grant. She said, “The CVB applied for and was awarded a grant from the AFNHA last summer.”
Humes went on to explain that the “skill building and planning grant” made the CVB “well-equipped to have a solid long-term plan.” An obstacle briefly appeared in that AFNHA did not initially provide the entire $7,000 award due to limits on grants paid for by federal funds. Specifically, a number of complex regulations surrounded funding use for food and hospitality.
Happily, AFNHA received support from a non-governmental source and used that money to help make the CVB grant whole.
Amber Nesselrodt, executive director, then provided an update on the revamping of the website. She stated that “Taylor Yokum has sent us the rough draft of our new website.” Nesselrodt added that the CVB would suggest edits in color scheme, verbiage, and other aspects. The new website will also have a “sign up for e-newsletter option,” which will be added this year, as well as an “in the news” page and an events calendar link.
She then informed the board that stakes for the new welcome signs had come from the West Virginia Department of Highways. The highway department will offer guidance on how to place them.
Next, the group discussed the February installment of Maple Days from both the state and the local perspective. Lindsay Kazarick shared that she could “speak to it on a statewide level.” Across West Virginia “quite a few new participants” took part.
Locally, “Elevated Grounds had a fantastic opening,” but “the weather did impact attendance in the Potomac Highlands.”
The board then discussed sponsorship opportunities for the CVB to help support local events and facilities attractive to tourism. Kazarick suggested that the organization increase its sponsorship of the Warners Drive-In. Board member Katie VanMeter, who also serves on the drive-in board, said, “We’ve got a lot more coming down the pike this year, a lot more events.”
CVB board members then approved the appointment of Jared VanMeter to the advisory board. To that body, he brings “experience in marketing, budgeting, and asset management, as well as grant writing.”
Humes added her support for Jared VanMeter, saying, “The goal of the CVB is to function as the marketing” for Pendleton County. The board unanimously approved him for the role.
