Tourism Board chair receives
Ocean City award
Greg Shockley,
chair of the Maryland Tourism Development Board and proprietor
of Shenanigan’s Irish Pub and Grille in
Ocean City, received the Spirit of Ocean City Award from the
Ocean City Chamber of Commerce at the first annual Chamber of
Commerce Grand Ball, held Sept. 11 at the Clarion Resort Fontainbleau
Hotel.
Margot Amelia,
executive director of the state’s Tourism
Office, presented a proclamation from Gov. Martin O’Malley
that saluted Shockley and his ongoing efforts to boost tourism
in Maryland.
The Spirit
of Ocean City Award honors individuals who have been
active and successful in both the Ocean City business community
and in their endeavors to enrich the entire Ocean City community.
The initial award was made in 1997.
Shockley
was president of the Ocean City Hotel-Motel-Restaurant Association,
a founding member of both the Boardwalk Development
Association and the Ocean City Development Corporation. He was
also a board member of the Restaurant Association of Maryland.
In 2008, he was appointed by Gov. O’Malley to the state’s
Tourism Development Board.
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Deadline for
OTD tourism awards just two weeks away
Submit
your nominations for the 2009 Maryland Tourism Awards. The
Tourism Office has created these awards to recognize the outstanding
achievements of individuals, organizations and businesses that
help to develop and promote tourism on a regional and statewide
basis.
Gov.
Martin O’Malley is scheduled to present the awards on
Thursday, Nov. 5, at the 2009 Maryland Tourism and Travel Summit
in Ocean City.
Award
categories reflect the Tourism Office’s mission to boost
jobs and economic impact in the tourism industry while enhancing
Maryland’s image as a travel destination. The categories
are: green/sustainable tourism; economic impact; cultural heritage
tourism; promotion of the state as a travel destination; and
volunteer efforts.
The
deadline for receipt of nominations is Thursday, Oct. 1 at
5 p.m. Individuals, private businesses, government organizations
and nonprofit groups are eligible to receive awards. Check
online for more information and a nomination form.
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State expert discusses outdoor-marketing strategy
Connie Yingling, public relations coordinator
at the Tourism Office, moderated a Sept. 10 panel discussion
about the best ways to market the outdoors, especially to women,
during a breakfast meeting at Historic Savage Mill hosted by
the Howard
County Tourism Office. Two dozen members of the hotel
and group sales industry attended.
About 52
percent of adventure travelers are women, Yingling said, citing
a study by the Adventure Travel Trade Association.
Adventure travel refers to camping, biking, birding, canoeing,
kayaking and other such activities. Chad Fritzinger, coordinator
for L.L. Bean’s Outdoor Discovery School in Columbia and
a member of the panel, said that 65 percent of the school’s
participants in kayak excursions are women.
Yingling noted that the number of women who fish and hunt is
not comparable with these percentages. Research by the National
Shooting Sports Foundation, she said, shows the prime reason
for this is not a matter of interest, but rather a lack of knowledge
and skills. Few women have relatives or mentors to teach them
the basic skills for these activities.
Maryland’s Department
of Natural Resources, she said,
runs a three-day seminar in Garrett County every October to teach
outdoor skills. She also noted that the Tourism Office’s
annual travel guide, Destination
Maryland, includes a 15-page “Maryland
Outdoors” section.
A specialist in the outdoors market and a member of four outdoor-writer
organizations, Yingling often works with travel and outdoor writers
to promote Maryland. She wrote a recent article for The Business
Monthly about this subject.
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Appalachian heritage, art on display at annual Frostburg festival
Frostburg
State University (FSU)’s Appalachian
Festival,
Sept. 18-19, brings together a variety of performers and craftspeople
to celebrate the landscape, history, food, music and art of the
Western Maryland and the surrounding region.
Now in its
fourth year, the festival opens Friday at the Lane University
Center, 1-4 p.m., with a symposium, “Appalachia:
People and Place,” that highlights the work of FSU’s
faculty and students. Mountain City Traditional Arts in downtown
Frostburg will host a clogging and flat-footing workshop, 5:30-7
p.m., featuring live Appalachian music. The Palace Theatre in
Frostburg kicks off the Appalachian Film Festival at 8 p.m.
Saturday
will be a day of presentations, workshops, arts and crafts
demonstrations, and live musical performances. All daytime
events are free. At 8 p.m., the Palace Theatre presents Jean
Ritchie and Sons in concert. Ritchie is known as “the mother
of folk music.”
Zane & Hugh
Campbell and Friends will also perform. The Campbell brothers
are nephews of legendary old-time/bluegrass
singer and songwriter Ola Belle Reed, and grandsons of the recording
artists known as the Red Fox Chasers. The Campbell family came
to Cecil County from North Carolina Blue Ridge during the Great
Depression.
Call
301-687-3124 (1-866-849-9237 toll-free) or visit FSU’s
web site for festival information and concert tickets.
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Fort
McHenry stirs emotions, NPS official says
“I was surprised by the power of this place,” says
Gay Vietzke, the National Park Service superintendent at Fort
McHenry in Baltimore. “I didn’t appreciate how vibrant
this place could be.”