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August 12, 2008

Area chambers combine efforts to bring visitors to region

By GINA KINSLOW The Glasgow Daily Times Tue Aug 12, 2008, 11:48 AM CDT

GLASGOW — Two local chambers of commerce joined forces last year to attract more tourists to the area and it paid off.

The Glasgow-Barren County and Cave City chambers won an award at the Kentucky State Fair for having the best “Pride of the Counties” booth.

“We worked together and it was a great partnership last year,” said Carol DeGroft, executive secretary of the Cave City Chamber of Commerce.

The Pride of the Counties exhibit is sponsored by Kentucky Farm Bureau Insurance companies and gives each of the state’s 120 counties an opportunity to show what they have to offer.

“Each county reveals its unique society and industry in displays of items ranging from historic objects and crafts to local treasures and commercial commodities. Fairgoers will be able to learn many interesting and historical facts about the Bluegrass State,” according to the Kentucky State Fair Web site.

Last year, the booth featured Butterscotch, the interactive pony which makes its home at the Jesse James Riding Stables in Cave City, plus Chasmosaurus, a toy dinosaur from Dinosaur World, also in Cave City.

Children can also dig for fossils from a bucket of sand.

“The kids can pretend they are paleontologists. They can dig in the bucket and take home a fossil to keep. We have everything from ancient shell animals, sponges and all kinds of fossils in there,” DeGroft said.

The booth is manned by not only representatives from both chambers, but also by members of the local tourism commissions who distribute literature and answer questions about the area.

“We give out hundreds of pounds of brochures,” said Ernie Myers, executive vice president of the Glasgow-Barren County Chamber of Commerce. “It is literally that many.”

The brochures feature information about the area’s tourist attractions.

“Folks are really impressed ... with the offerings that Barren County has,” Myers said.

One of the things Myers says he hears while manning the booth is comments regarding Barren County’s growth.

“We hear a lot of people who say, ‘I was down there in the 1950s and went through there not too long ago and things are really looking great,’” Myers said. “That sort of thing.”

DeGroft said people are often surprised by the number of attractions in the area.

“I tell a lot of the visitors to the Cave City area that if they base themselves in Cave City, they can stay for two or three weeks and not see everything that the area has to offer,” she said.

This year, Butterscotch and Chasmosaurus will be returning to the State Fair, but once a county wins the competition, it can’t take the honor a second time, Myers said.

This year’s booth will feature information about special discounts at various area attractions.

“We’re going to be sharing the word about the September discounts to Kentucky residents,” DeGroft said.

When Kentucky residents show their driver’s licenses at area attractions, they’ll be eligible for various discounts.

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