By Stephen Smoot
The Pendleton County Convention and Visitors Bureau held what likely will be one of its final public meetings hosted at the community building. Progress that has been made and potential future opportunities were discussed.
Lindsay Kazarick, board member, assumed the role of running the meeting in the absence of Annie Humes due to her impending nuptials. Kazarick emphasized, “Kudos to Annie and thank you for making sure everything is squared away” in preparation for the September meeting.
The board first heard from Michelle Connor, the Town of Franklin’s alternate representative with the Mon Forest Towns organization. She shared that the United States Environmental Protection Agency will soon offer a technical assistance grant.
Any non-private sector entity can apply for the grant. The Town of Frankin was approached initially and offered to be an applicant. The Pendleton County Chamber of Commerce expressed a willingness to play that role as well. Most, however, agreed that the CVB would provide the best fit as the lead applicant because its mission covers the entire county and the point of the grant worked better with its organizational mission.
Connor explained that the CVB could partner with Pendleton County based Full Quiver consulting to conduct public meetings and create an asset map that can be used for economic development planning, as well as giving a foundation of knowledge that can help the area bring in more lucrative grants.
She then explained how her team had gained valuable experience in grant writing and administration through obtaining one to help to pay for renovations of the theater building in Franklin.
In support of the CVB taking on the role as lead applicant, Kazarick stated “this seems like a no-brainer to me.” She added that “these things . . . are the exact same things we’re doing for the AFNHA (Appalachian Forest National Heritage Area) grant . . . we can do a lot of this simultaneously.”
This answered the question posed by Jeff Munn, board member, who wondered what the CVB’s role would be in the grant. Most of the heavy lifting would be done by Full Quiver while the CVB would be the non-profit lead.
Connor shared also that the final result would be “a work product that we can use however we choose.”
Melinda Brooks shared after that discussion that she had finalized a draft of the job description of the executive director and would distribute it via email for input.
Shortly thereafter, the board approved renewing the lease on CVB office space in Franklin. When the Seneca Rocks Regional Development Authority moves its Franklin office to the Innovation Hub on Walnut Street, the entire office space of both will go to the CVB.
Board members discussed what to do with the additional space. After talking about how to configure the business office, the board talked about potentially selling locally made food products similar to the Beverley Heritage Center in Randolph County.
Kazarick shared that “we can utilize this space better than what it currently is.”
