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 Continuing Education
McMurtrey said the tourism staff is currently taking online courses
in Photoshop and In-design so that promotional materials can be
created in-house instead of hiring it out to other firms.
McMurtrey will be attending the Governor’s Conference in March. The
conference is a leading resource for tourism conference the Illinois
Visitors Bureau.
Develop Media to advertise community programs
McMurtrey talked about the Logan County tourism guides, dining
guides, and rack cards that are sent to locations including rest
stops, throughout the state.
She is also preparing to begin working with local motels to help
their staff to be better informed about what is available in Logan
County and offer information to point visitors to local attractions.
Professionally developed marketing campaign
The tourism Bureau has access to two billboards, one north of town
and one south. The Bureau works to keep those up to date and offer
information about Lincoln and Logan County.
The Destination Logan County website is running well and is being
regularly updated.
The Bureau is also working with radio promotion that will promote
the county’s assets. McMurtrey said the ads would change but would
promote attractions such as the Railsplitter Covered Wagon, the
Mount Pulaski Courthouse, and the Paul Bunyon statue just to name a
few. She noted that the idea was to encourage overnight visits
instead of just day trips.
Support Logan County events
The Bureau is continually accepting applications for their sub-grant
program that provides dollars specifically for advertising events.
Events can also be placed on the tourism website free of charge.
Grants have been awarded this year to Lincoln Colloquium, Arts in
the Park, Lincoln Balloon Festival, Middletown Firemen’s Fall
Festival, Logan County Fair, Abraham Lincoln National Railsplitting
Festival, and Woofstock.
Promote Lincoln as a Route 66 and Abraham Lincoln Tourism
destination
State Representative Tim Butler has started a state-wide Tourism
Advisory Board. McMurtrey said that she and Andi Hake attended a
meeting of the board. She said it was a good place for various
representatives of tourism bureaus throughout the state to network,
discuss their challenges, talk about how to support each other, and
how to promote tourism throughout the state.
Tourism tracking
McMurtrey presented a printout of tourist statistics to the council.
She noted that the report showed how many people have visited the
Tourism Bureau since her arrival. The report included information on
where these visitors are from and what they were interested in
seeing.
The Bureau has also begun holding office hours on the weekend
McMurtrey said that in three months there have been 245 people who
stopped visited the Bureau office.
Visitors to the area included people from France, China, New York,
California, and some more local, such as from Springfield.
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Illinois State Requirements
The Bureau is maintaining its status as a Certified Tourism Bureau and is
utilizing a state grant for tourism promotion. It has applied for a grant
renewal from the state, which is currently on hold due to the budget impasse.
Bureau Council
The agreement between the city of Lincoln and the Tourism Bureau includes
maintaining a board or council. McMurtrey said the Council is active and meets
monthly. Members include Jean Bruner-Jachino of the Hampton and Holiday Inns in
Lincoln, Kristi Powell of Heartland College, Ron Keller of Lincoln College;
Shawn Taylor, owner of Logan Lanes; Paresh Patel, owner of the Best Western in
Lincoln; Renee Martin of Mount Pulaski, who is involved is a wide variety of
activities in that portion of the county including the Mount Pulaski Courthouse
Foundation. The City Council representative has been recently appointed, and
that person is Steve Parrot, Ward 1 Alderman.
Bureau presence
The Bureau has had booths at all the local festivals giving out information and
welcoming visitors to Logan County.
It also had representation at the Illinois State Fair this year as part of its
relationship with the Looking for Lincoln Coalition and will also be in
Springfield this fall at the Mother Road Festival. This will be the first time
the Bureau has represented Logan County at this festival.
Tropic Sign Committee
The Tropics sign committee has been formed and will start immediately working on
finding a means to restore the sign and then find a good location for it in the
city. The committee’s first job will be to discuss how to fund the project
through fundraising efforts.
Mayor Pro-Tem Marty Neitzel said she’d like to have someone from the council on
that committee. Michelle Bauer volunteered to be that person and will keep the
city updated on the work of the committee.
Tourism recap
The Logan County Tourism Bureau is funded through the local hotel/motel tax.
Dollars collected for this tax come from those who spend nights in motels in the
county. The majority of those motels are located within the city of Lincoln. The
tax generates approximately $175,000 per year.
The goal of the Tourism Bureau is to promote local attractions and events that
will put “heads in beds” at local motels.
The Bureau does not receive any additional funding from the city of Lincoln or
through the Logan County Alliance. It receives no additional funding through the
local events it helps to promote.
Working under the umbrella of the Logan County Alliance, McMurtrey is the only
paid employee of the Logan County Tourism Bureau.
[Nila Smith]
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