CRAIG — The Moffat County Tourism Association and the Local Marketing District are working hard to put Craig and Moffat County on the map.
The MCTA board elected new officers for 2019, and all four have renewed their to service Moffat County’s tourism industry.
During a meeting held Wednesday, Jan. 9, Shannon Moore was re-elected board chair. Co-chair John Husband, treasurer Rebekah Greenwood, and secretary Cindy Looper were also re-elected.
According to Moore, MCTA is exploring the idea of a new visitor’s center building. The board is in the preliminary stages of planning the retention of the current visitor’s center for office space or training and using the old Abbey Carpet building on the 400 block of East Victory Way as the next possible visitor’s center.
She said the original presentation for the idea came from the Craig Chamber of Commerce, and MCTA wants to partner with the chamber to explore the idea.
“This is a very early stage of this idea and project, but we do want to explore the future options of sharing services, space, and operating in a more cohesive fashion with our partner organizations,” Moore said.
Though MCTA is not officially the lead organization for a countywide wayfinding initiative, the association is working with partner organizations in Craig and Moffat County to assist with the initiative. MCTA is aware the city of Craig and Moffat County will be applying for grants, exploring best practices and areas for the signage, and working with Colorado Department of Transportation to comply with any regulations.
“This is a project that has been identified in multiple studies, and several organizations are taking action,” Moore said.
MCTA will hold a committee meeting at 2 p.m. Feb. 7 at the Bank of Colorado office building. MCTA will hold its regular board meeting at 3 p.m. Feb. 14 in the same location.
Local Marketing District
The LMD also has on its radar moving the current visitors center into the old Abbey Carpet building, but several other initiatives were recently funded using hotel and motel tax revenue. These include the following.
• The Bear River Young Life Car Show was granted $3,500.
• Grand Old West Days was granted $16,000. This will be the second year the event will be held at the fairgrounds.
• Whittle the Wood Rendezvous was granted $15,000 to help subsidize several bands, as well as stage costs, such as lights and sound.
• Colorado Great Northwest Fiddle Competition was granted $2,465 for expenses. This is the first year the event will be held in Craig. For more information, call Pam Foster at 970-824-6416.
• Moffat County Balloon Festival was granted $15,000, mostly for balloon pilot expenses, such as hotels, food, and fuel.
• The Craig Historic Ghost Walk was not funded a requested $1,200 and was referred to the MCTA for possible funding.
Contact Clay Thorp at 970-875-1795 or cthorp@CraigDailyPress.com.