The Smyth County Tourism Association Welcomes
Ron Thomason
Ron Thomason joins the The Smyth County Tourism Association (SCTA) as its Volunteer Recruitment, Training, and Retention Program Coordinator. The creation of this position is made possible through the SCTA's latest Appalachian Regional Commission (ARC) grant award. (See related story below).

Ron will work with community organizations, educational institutions in the region, the state tourism corporation, regional tourism officials, statewide volunteer program advisors, and SCTA staff to design the new program. He is a former Merillat executive, who came to Smyth County in 1977 to establish the company in Virginia. He retired in 2005 and continues to reside here with his wife Carol Lyn. He has three sons: Carl, Chad, and Ron. He also has six grandchildren.

The program will include cross-training with the many tourism-related attractions and points of interest in and surrounding Smyth County, education on area history, familiarization tours, map reading, basic computer and Internet skills, customer service, hospitality & travel counseling, and additional information pertinent to operating a state-certified visitor's center in Virginia.

Participants who complete the program will be eligible to become tourism counselors and community ambassadors for the Towns of Chilhowie, Marion, and Saltville, and for the unincorporated communities of Smyth County. The program is organized through the H.L. Bonham Regional Development & Tourism Center. Current volunteers at Smyth County organizations and attractions without a volunteer commitment to the tourism center at this time are still urged to participate as they can benefit from the program's attractions cross-training, education, and skills training.

To learn more about the program and to participate, contact Ron at (276) 646-3306 or email ron@VisitVirginiaMountains.com

Smyth County wins Second ARC-NEA Grant in Gateway Communities Competition
The Appalachian Regional Commission (ARC) and the National Endowment for the Arts (NEA) have announced the 2008 winners of the grants competition to promote natural and cultural heritage tourism development in Appalachia’s “gateway communities” — communities that border national and state parks and forests.

“We’re very fortunate to receive this grant award,” said Director of Tourism Barbara DeBord. “One of the most pressing challenges in carrying out the work of the Smyth County Tourism Association and operating the state-certified H.L. Bonham Regional Development & Tourism Center is having the human capital to keep it thriving and moving forward,” DeBord continued. “There’s an opportunity here for every Smyth County citizen who cares to get involved in his or her community, to help make a real, positive difference for our future. There’s a lot of good work still to be done and this grant can help us to do it.”

The competition, called the Appalachian Gateway Initiative: Natural and Cultural Heritage Tourism Development, is part of ARC’s effort to promote asset-based economic development in Appalachia and include the arts in tourism development projects. The ARC contributed $100,000 and the NEA contributed $30,000 to the competition.

Thirty-five proposals requesting $450,000 in grant funds were submitted by communities and organizations located in nine Appalachian states.

The following were grant recipients:

• Smyth County, Virginia, for a proposal to develop a volunteer recruitment, training, and retention program.
• The Chestnut Creek School of the Arts in Galax, Virginia, for a plan to increase tourism and preserve the region’s cultural heritage by offering art, crafts, and nature classes.
• Calhoun County, Alabama, a gateway to the Talledega National Forest, for training and technical support to complete a tourism assessment.
• Lincoln Memorial University for technical assistance to coordinate a three-county tourism assessment for Claiborne County, Tennessee, Bell County, Kentucky, and Lee County, Virginia, all of which are gateways to the Cumberland Gap National Historic Park.
• Ohio Valley Regional Development Commission's Appalachian Adventure Trail for a proposal to install directional signage to showcase recreational and heritage assets in Pike, Jackson, Vinton, Athens, and Meigs Counties in Ohio.
• Alleghany Highlands Economic Development Corporation for training and technical support to coordinate a planning workshop for the western highlands region of Virginia for a plan to develop a Web site and trip itineraries for the Nature Viewing Trail, a self-guided driving tour of natural and historic sites in 21 Tennessee counties in the Cumberland Plateau.
• The Tennessee Overhill Heritage Association for a plan to document the foodway traditions of McMinn, Monroe, and Polk Counties and support small businesses by showcasing products for purchase.
• The Appalachian Resource Conservation and Development Council for its Quilt Trail, which winds through six counties in northeast Tennessee and features 70 hand-painted murals of traditional quilt patterns on barns and other structures.

Training and technical assistance for the winning applicants will be provided by the Conservation Fund and the National Trust for Historic Preservation Heritage Tourism Program.

For information on how you can participate in the Smyth County Tourism Association’s new Volunteer Recruitment, Training, and Retention Program, please contact Ron Thomason at the H.L. Bonham Regional Development & Tourism Center at (276) 646-3306 or ron@VisitVirginiaMountains.com today.

Virginia Mountains Most Beautiful People of 2008

Beautiful People	Big Tom Buchanan	Carrie Sparks	Doris Hogston
Eleanor W. Jones	Evelyn Lawrence	George Buchanan	Janice Orr
Joy Brooks	Pam Pickle	Raymond Cross	Richard Walker

The winners of the 2008 Virginia Mountains Most Beautiful People promotion are: “Big Tom” Buchanan, Carrie Sparks, Doris Hogston, Eleanor Walker Jones, Evelyn Lawrence, George Buchanan, Janice Orr, Joy Brooks, Pam Pickle, Raymond Cross, and Richard Walker.

The honorees are each featured individually, along with the reasons for their nominations, on Smyth County’s regional tourism web site, www.VisitVirginiaMountains.com. They may also be part of future promotional materials for the area. Congratulations to each of our recipients! It is through people like you that our community shines.

It's Christmas Time at the Tourist Information Center!
The H.L. Bonham Regional Development & Tourism Center is beautifully decorated for the season with the help and creativity of the community. The outside of the center was decorated by Kyra Bishop, Kim Walker, Leslie Brewer, and George Dixon, all from Berry's Home Centers, and Ron Thomason, the new Volunteer Program Coordinator for the Smyth County Tourism Association. Located throughout the center are four, live Fraser Firs generously donated by Country Roads nursery (Mill Creek Road), owned by Louis, Shawn & Loretta Conklin. The Towns of Chilhowie, Marion, and Saltville and Smyth County each have a tree. They were decorated by: Heather Gillespie, Manuel Street (Smyth County tree), Charlie Bill Totten, Freda Dinsmore (Saltville tree), Mindy Dyer, Donnie Coley, and Tammy Coley (Marion tree), Kelly Spencer-Hill, and Virginia Farris (Chilhowie tree). Ornaments for the Chilhowie tree were created by Mary Ryan and Lynne Denny. Ornaments for the Saltville tree were provided by the Museum of the Middle Appalachians. Virginia Farris has provided a unique holiday display: A beautiful homemade white Christmas dress worn by a mannequin, greeting visitors as they enter the tourism center. The staff of the Smyth County Tourism Association would like to say Thank you and Merry Christmas to all those who brought the spirit of the holidays to the community’s tourism center this year. Your talents, efforts, and time are appreciated so much!

Kyra Bishop, Leslie Brewer, George Dixon, and Ron Thomason take care of outside decorations.	Kelly Spencer-Hill and Virginia Farris with the Chilhowie Tree
Saltville Tree decorated by Charlie Bill Totten and Freda Dinsmore	Marion Tree decorated by Mindy Dyer, Donnie Coley, and Tammy Coley
Smyth County Tree decorated by Heather Gillespie and Manuel Street	Mannequin with dress created by Virginia Farris

YOUR NEW BROCHURE IS HERE, SMYTH COUNTY!
We would like to say Thank you to our community-minded advertisers and sponsors:

The Bank of Marion The Town of Marion Hungry Mother State Park Lincoln Theatre Town House Grill Lifetime Wellness Center Museum of the Middle Appalachians Pretty Girl Station Riverfront Cafe´ Appalachian Realty Sheridan Ridge Settler's Museum

Return to Roots.org/SWVA Online Food City Town of Saltville Manaytique Kelly's Cabins (Jim Kelly) Exxon Gas Station, I-81, exit 50, Atkins SmythNet Lincoln House Bed & Breakfast Nature's Powers Scenic View Golf Course

Smyth County is Featured in The Big Blue Magazine

The November/December 2008 & January 2009 issue of The Big Blue Magazine features Smyth County on the cover and as the cover story, titled "Mountain Road Trip, A Quiet Reflection of a Smyth County Journey". The Big Blue Magazine is the premiere travel magazine for the Blue Ridge Plateau region of Virginia. Pick up your copy at the H.L. Bonham Regional Development & Tourism Center at exit 35, off I-81 in Chilhowie.

Emory & George Service Plunge 2008
The staff at the H.L. Bonham Regional Development & Tourism Center would like to say
Thank you to the following Emory & George students, faculty, and staff who participated in the Service Plunge on Saturday August 30, 2008. Your community service work to restore the fence surrounding the visitor information center is greatly appreciated! It’s this kind of dedicated team work that makes our community a wonderful place to be.

"Thank you" to:

• Aris Wringer
• Anderson Fisher
• Barrie Bergun
• Stephanie Louthian
• Darius Harrell
• Faith Walker
• Kyle Clark
• Brent McDonald
• Robby Archer
• Duke Terry
• Laura Lacey
• Emily Sikes
• Chip Winterham
• Preston Jennings
• T.J. Frazier

My Virginia Mountains
Check Out What Folks Are Saying; Become a Travel Writer
Check out the VisitVirginiaMountains.com web site blog to see what people are saying about visiting Chilhowie, Marion, Saltville, Smyth County, and the Virginia Mountains region. Share your own photos of the area on our Visitor’s Submitted Photos page. Tell visiting family and friends they can also share their experience by writing on our blog. It’s a way to show your photos and video of our beautiful community. And, you can cultivate your writing skills at the same time. It’s easy, just log on to http://www.visitvirginiamountains.com, click on My Virginia Mountains to get started.

FREE!...
Virginia Mountains Magnets Now Available Inside the Tourist Information Center
Pick up free promotional magnets at the H.L. Bonham Regional Development & Tourism Center. The new magnets can help get the word out about our community’s tourism web site to help promote our area. Please stop by and grab a few to give to visiting friends and family or locals who may not have visited our web site yet. The magnets feature a beautiful view from Whitetop Mountain and can make lovely stocking stuffers. Also available at the center are free postcards, maps, and brochures on attractions and points of interest across the entire Commonwealth of Virginia. Plan your travels at the tourist information center at I-81, exit 35, in Chilhowie, across from the Exxon station or online at www.VisitVirginiaMountains.com.

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