LC TOURISM PLANNING FOR 2023…
By Susan Salyer
On Tuesday February 20, 2023 the LC KY Tourism Commission met at the Fred M. Vinson Museum upstairs at 5:30PM. Tourism Chairman Wes Kingsmore was in attendance along with Secretary Susie Chambers, Treasurer Brenda Hardwick, and members Keith Chaffin, Chris Jobe, Debbie Hill. Mayor Harold Slone was in attendance. Newly appointed member Christy Moore was absent.
AGENDA
1. Blessing
2. Call to Order
3. Special Guests – Johnny Osborne-LC County Attorney (Osborne was absent, Kingsmore said he would reschedule) Shona Wilks Smith was at the meeting discussing the upcoming East KY Gospel Fest 2023.
Hosted by Lawrence County Tourism at the Lawrence County Community Center at 205 Bulldog Lane, Louisa, Kentucky, on April 28 the doors open at 5PM and the concert begins at 6PM.
On April 29, 2023 the doors open at 12PM, Matinee at 1PM, Doors open at 5PM and concert begins at 6PM. Performing will be: Larry Cordle, 5 For The Gospel, King Family, Living Water, The Violet Maynard Family and John Thornsberry Trio to name just a few.
4. Old Business
1. Give 2023 Budget update/set next work date – The Budget topic will be rescheduled.
2. Grant Update – Paula Nye – LC Tourism has received a check for $4,000 from The Kentucky Bicycle and Bikeway Commission. (KBBC) Grant Funds will be used for Safety Gear Helmets and will help sponsor the 5K Run/Walk/Cycle in August or September this year.
3. The Fred Sessions Update – LC Tourism Commission has held two “Fred Sessions” behind them. Musical Moonshine Media was in charge of steaming the session. Many more sessions will be announced or you can Check out the Website Lawrence County Tourism or Facebook.
5. Approval of Jan. 2023 Minutes – Susie Chambers, Secretary – Motion by Chris Jobe 2nd by Keith Chaffin. None Opposed. (See Below for January minutes)
6. Approval of Jan. 2023 Financial Report -Brenda Hardwick, Treasurer – Motion by Susie Chambers 2nd by Keith Chaffin. None Opposed.
7. New Business
1. Upcoming Events/Travel Shows – The Commission discussed a Swap Meet in Paintsville and Fishing in March.
Adjourn- Motion by Keith Chaffin 2nd by Debbie Hill.
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The next LC Tourism Meeting will be on Monday March 20, 2023 at 5:30PM.
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Lawrence County Tourism Minutes, Jan. 16, 2023
Prepared by: Susie Chambers, Secretary
The Lawrence County Tourism Committee met on Monday, January 16, 2023 at 5:30 pm at the Fred Vinson Tourism Office. Members in attendance were Chairman Wes Kingsmore, Keith Chaffin, Chris Jobe, Debbie Hill, Brenda Hardwick and Susie Chambers. Others present were county judge Phil Carter, Jenna Sammons and Susan Salyer.
Wes called the meeting to order and gave the opening prayer. Since we dispersed with most business at our December meeting we approved the minutes for November and December with a motion by Chris and a second by Keith. All in favor. Approval of November and December financials was also needed. Our ending November bank balance was $23,559.11. Our ending balance for December was $22,526.16. Susie made the motion to accept the financials for both months with a second by Keith. All in favor.
Under new business we voted to make Jenna Sammons our tech committee chair. With a motion by Susie and a second by Brenda we voted unanimously to have her chair this committee and help us with our website and other social media. We feel having young people involved in our community is essential to our further growth. Next we set up a budget meeting for Jan. 30th at 6 pm at our tourism office. Keith made the motion for this meeting with a second by Susie.
There was $789.97 left in the Bicentennial checking account. With a motion by Keith and a second by Susie we voted with all in favor of moving this money back into our general tourism account. Phil told us they would be appointing a new tourism member at the fiscal court meeting on January 17th.
The fishing expo is coming up on Feb. 25th in Williamson, W. Va. Keith will organize our participation. With a motion by Chris and a second by Susie we allocated $250.00 for this event. All in favor.
EHN has asked for our help with a travel show in Cincinnati on the weekend of Feb. 20th. Wes can attend and we voted with a motion by Brenda and a second by Susie to pay Wes’ expenses for this trip. All in favor.
We received $43,689.00 from the ARPA grant we applied for. These funds have to be used for specific things and we have to keep good records of our expenditures.
It was announced that there would be a winter cleanup at Yatesville Lake on Saturday, Jan. 21st from 10-2. The Mustang Rall will be coming back to Louisa on May 5th. The group hopes to have 100+ cars this year.
We decided to wait until warmer weather to have an event honoring Fred Vinson rather than on his birthdate. Our newest music endeavor will start on Feb. 16th at our tourism office. These will be called the Fred Sessions and will feature musicians doing a live set of acoustic music. Keith made a motion to allocate up to $5,000.00 (if needed) to cover the cost for these sessions. Most of this amount would be for videography and the sessions will be live streamed
as well. Susie seconded this motion and all were in favor. The first acts will be David & Teresa Prince and also Rachel & Connor. Both couples have performed at our music in the park events and are excited for this new venture.
We need a replacement banner for the kiosk at Buchanan. Keith made a motion to proceed with this and Chris seconded the motion. We voted with 5 yays and 1 nay. Debbie was not ready for Noah to come down!
We also had a motion by Brenda and a second by Debbie to donate $1,500.00 to the Mountain Movers Theater. All in favor. As Wes said, ‘they are our biggest attraction in our county
right now’. People have been attending from our surrounding communities and also other states.
Chris thanked tourism for supporting the Christmas event at Fallsburg. We also received a thank you note from the Blaine Resource Center.
With no further business there was a motion to adjourn by Chris with a second
by Debbie. All in favor.
Our next regular monthly meeting will be on February 20th at 5:30 pm at our
tourism office.
