Pocahontas CVB receives prestigious awards

Marlinton, W.Va. –

The Pocahontas County Convention and Visitors Bureau received statewide recognition during the Governor’s Conference on Tourism in Shepherdstown earlier this month. CVB director Cara Rose describes the conference.

“The conference is held annually around the state,” she said. “This year, we visited Shepherdstown, in the Eastern Panhandle. It’s an opportunity for people in the hospitality industry to meet one another, to also learn about what the state’s annual marketing program will be for the coming year. The attendees to the Governor’s Conference are wide range. It would include everybody, from convention and visitors bureaus, attractions, restaurants, the gaming industry, the whitewater industry, the state Division of Tourism, the Hospitality and Travel Association – everybody attends this conference.”

A conference committee presents seven advertising/public relations awards to the multitude of groups. Remarkably, the Pocahontas County CVB won two of the awards this year. Rose talks about the accolades.

“We are very happy to report that, this year, the Pocahontas County Convention and Visitors Bureau won two of the Stars of the Industry Awards,” she said. “They are granted annually at the Governor’s Conference. We won two of the advertising/public relations awards. The first was for the best internet or e-magazine article. This particular article was written by Liz Jensen. She wrote an article about motorcycling in West Virginia. In order for her to write this article, she traveled, on her own motorcycle from Canada into West Virginia and toured our county. She wrote a 7,000 word article for motorcycle.com. We did submit that for the award and we won that.

“We also won the Best Broadcast award. That was for the Bizarre Foods with Andrew Zimmer. The Best broadcast award is awarded to either a TV or radio coverage. Obviously, if anybody has seen Bizarre Foods, that featured the Roadkill Cookoff and Autumn Harvest Festival last year, they would understand why we won. It was an outstanding piece. It not only promoted our event in Pocahontas County, but it really did showcase West Virginia, as well.”

The director describes the CVB work involved in earning the awards.

“Well, it takes a lot of work,” she said. “We build relationships with the media and that really does take a lot of effort, on behalf of those of us in our office. Gail Hyer, primarily, built the relationship with Liz Jensen. She contacted the office and Gail coordinated her trip. Of course, with the Bizarre Food program, that took about six months of coordination, just to make that all come to fruition for the event. So, you know, we work very hard. We build these relationships. We reach out to them. They reach out to us. It just takes a little bit of time.

“These awards really do highlight our county. It’s an opportunity for us to showcase all the work that we do and let the industry throughout the state know what we’re doing. So, you know, it’s really an honor to win these and we do receive a beautiful glass vase that we are displaying here at our office. It’s just a pat on the back for the hard work that the industry produces.”

Rose says things are looking up for Pocahontas County tourism.

“Our summer has been good,” she said. “The hotel/motel tax has been steady, if not up slightly – which is a good sign. We’re hoping for a lot of snow, of course, through the winter months – hoping that Snowshoe will open Thanksgiving week – keep our fingers crossed.”