Greeters

Note: If you are not able to serve as a greeter on your

scheduled date, please arrange for a substitute. 

 

 

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Paul Harris' Message on the beginning

of a New Rotary Year

 

From "The Future of Rotary"

By Paul P. Harris

Founder of Rotary, President Emeritus of the I. A. of R. C.

 

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Guests:

Jim Godwin attended this week, his last visit before moving south

 

Robert Farley from Princeton Rotary visited with us this week

 

Make-ups:

Ernie Hayes made up on the eClub

 

Norris Kantor made up at Bluefield, VA Rotary

 

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The Program: Mary Jo Babbitt, the Wytheville Convention and Visitors Bureau and Bluefield Fine Arts Commission

 

Mary Jo is a native of Bluefield, West Virginia, and now is Tourism Development Coordinator for the Wytheville CVB. She joined us this week to talk about these organizations.

 

She said that in addition to being a CVB, her organization is also a Destination Marketing Organization, and also a travel bureau, a welcome center and an information center, the primary mission of which is to attract visitors to the area for the purpose of enhancing the local economy.

 

The CVB advertises in publications such as Readers Digest, Southern Living and Better Homes and Gardens to attract visitors, and participates in trade shows to build relationships with motor coach operators who sponsor group tours, and suggest itineraries for coach tours to the area.

 

She said that a coach with 50 travelers represents an investment in the local economy of from $10,000 to $12,000 each, considering hotel stays, meals, entry fees to attractions, shopping, etc.

 

The Town of Wytheville's newest addition is a Meeting and Recreation Center, intended primarily as a new rec center, but which also grew into a meeting center. She said there was a need for the latter function, shown by the number of events held there in the last three years. She said there have been more than a thousand events and more than 100,000 participants in that time. The facility is funded by a two-cent tax added to the meals and lodging tax.

 

She said that she works with Rotarian Marie Blackwell to coordinate activities with the Mercer County CVB.

 

In addition to her work in Wytheville, Mary Jo serves on the Bluefield Fine Arts Commission, and she talked about the "Paint the Train" contest, which our Club participated in. The painted trains are on display at Chicory Square, where they will remain until winter, at which time they will be displayed in store fronts in the downtown area until spring, when they will again be on display at Chicory Square until September when they will be auctioned off.

 

Thanks to Mary Jo for joining us and telling us about her work at the Wytheville CVB and the Bluefield Fine Arts Commission.

 

 

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Editor: James H. Shott, III - editor@rotary-bluefield.org 

Editor Emeritus: James M. Godwin, Jr.