newsletter - winter 2006

Progress Notes
Organization Forms to Implement
Master Plan for Tourism and Recreation
Early 2006
Volume 1, Issue 1
Developing a Master Plan to guide
and direct tourism and recreation projects
in Davidson County was a milestone for our
county. Throughout the process many
ideas and concepts were identified by the
over 400 community volunteers who
participated in the project. To ensure key
opportunities and goals were realized, a
group organized to coordinate the
implementation of those recommended
projects.
others from throughout our county.
At the first meeting of the TRIP
board in September 2005, the group
adopted by-laws, elected officers and
members (see list on the following page),
and contracted with Paul Kron with the
Piedmont Triad Council of Governments to
conduct a workshop to further focus the
group on key opportunities that should be
addressed over the next five years.
Key Goals &
Opportunities
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TRIP board
membership
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Tourism Recreation Investment
Partnership for Davidson County, or TRIP,
was formed from the Tourism Development
Partnership board, the Master Plan
Steering Committee , members from the
Tourism and Recreation Task Forces, and
Implementation Teams will be
formed to further develop individual
mission statements and implementation
steps for key projects.
County website
awarded grant
2005 Photo
Contest
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Wine & Civil
War Trails
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DC Cycling Map
Submitted
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TRIP Logo
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TRIP Identifies Key Opportunities
and Goals in Master Plan
On November 16th, Paul Kron met
with TRIP members in an intensive
workshop to prioritize opportunities
outlined in the Master Plan for Tourism and
Recreation. The group identified key
opportunities and chose to focus on these
key areas over the next 1-5 years.
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Develop a master plan for a complex or
facility which would serve multiple uses and
multiple audiences. It could provide space
for large events like high school
graduations, host a farmer’s market or
equestrian events, as well as sporting
tournaments;
Inside
This Issue
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Special points of
interest:
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• Implementation Teams offer
opportunity for volunteer
involvement
Enhance existing parks and recreation
facilities and develop new park sites;
Extend an invitation to visitors through
enhancement of the county wide tourism
website and development of training
opportunities for employees in businesses
which serve tourists
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Conduct a marketing study to
determine a story or brand for our county to
entice visitors
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Develop new assets which include
museums to celebrate our heritage and
sites to preserve our history;
Continued on page 2
• Website provides
information about
attractions, events,
photo contest, cycling
route and Master Plan
• Yadkin Valley Wine Trail
feature Childress
Vineyards and
Weathervane Winery
• Civil War Trails include
Thomasville sites and
soon sites in Lexington
TRIP Elects First Board
Officers and members of the first
TRIP Board of Directors are:
• President - Vickie Holder, General
Manager, Thomasville Furniture
• Vice President - Catherine Hoffmann,
Curator, DC Historical Museum
• TDP Past President - Gene Klump,
VP, LSB the Bank
• Secretary/Executive Director, Jo Ellen
Edwards.
• Crystal Baird, Director, DCCC
Planning & Library Services
• Bill Colonna, Planning Director, City
of Thomasville
• Cecil Conrad, BBQ Center and
Lexington Tourism Authority
• Sherman Cook, Owner, P & B Travels
• Guy Cornman, Planning Director,
Davidson County
• Doug Croft, Director, Thomasville
Chamber
• Miles Croom, representing Depot
Renovation Committee
• Bruce Davis, Director, Lexington
Recreation Department
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Billy Freeman, Director, Thomasville
Recreation Department
Tommy Gibson, EHS & Public
Strategies Manager, Alcoa, Inc.
Jim Graham, President, Beallgray
Farms, Inc.
Robert Hairston, representing the
Hairston Family
David Hart, Director of
Communications, Richard Childress
Racing
Rodney Hamilton, Century 21,
Thomasville
Randy Holmes, DC Schools and DC
Recreation Department Board
Donnie Holt, Lexington City Schools
Billy Joe Kepley
Buddy Kiger, DC Schools
Tim Loflin, Denton FarmPark
Robert Lopp, Director, DC
Cooperative Extension Service
Bill Medlin, Director, The Lakes
Project
Doug Meredith, DC Horsemen’s
Association
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Edgar Miller, Government Relations,
Conservation Trust for NC
Paul Mitchell, Attorney
Andy Morris, Uwharrie Real Estate &
Denton City Council
Charles Parnell, Director, DC
Recreation Department
Dr. Gaston Penry
Donnie Richardson, President,
Lexington SportsPlex & Richardson
Ernie Irvan Motorsports
Ben Ross, President, Davidson Vision
Mark Scott, Director, Thomasville
Tourism
Erik Salzwedel, Executive Director,
Arts United
Robert Sells, Realtor, DC
Frank Stoner, Executive Director,
Uptown Lexington, Inc.
George Sowers
Radford Thomas, Director, Lexington
Chamber & Tourism Authority
Jason Walser, Director, Land Trust for
Central NC
Dr. Max Walser, DC Commissioner
Key Opportunities & Goals Continued
Continued from page 1
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Further the development of the
central business district of each
community through revitalization and
promotion
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Create thematic trails through the
county that tie attractions and
destinations together
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Foster the development of
partnerships between destinations,
organizations and surrounding counties
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Some projects involve ready assets
or opportunities while others will require
research and planning as a first step
towards implementation.
Develop a master plan for a county
wide greenway system for bike, walking,
hiking and equestrian use
Develop a master plan for a blue
way system along our streams and
waterways for paddling activities
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Promote existing attractions;
expand existing events and
development of new events
To volunteer: send an email to
[email protected]
or call 249-7256
Page 2
PO Box 1711, Lexington, NC 27293.
Emails are welcome at
[email protected].
In the upcoming months, the TRIP
board will identify individuals who will
lead project focused teams. These
teams will develop implementation
steps for each of these key
opportunities.
Residents with an interest in these
project areas may contact a board
member or Jo Ellen Edwards, Executive
Director of Tourism Recreation
Investment Partnership at 249-7256 or
Progress Notes
Reaching Potential Tourists Through the Web
Increasingly, the internet is a
major tool used by tourists to plan day
trips, weekend trips and even week
long vacations. They look to websites
to provide them with information about
what they can do on their trip or
vacation. They want to know about the
attractions they can visit, the events
that will be occurring while they are
there, and general information about
the community they are coming to visit.
www.davidsoncountync.com is a
site, funded by Davidson County, which
presents a snapshot of our entire
county to our potential visitors.
The website currently contains
information about our ‘anchor’ tourist
attractions including a listing of all of
our barbecue restaurants, an updated
calendar of events, and a brief history
of our county. It also contains links to
over 60 other sites which provide them
with additional information.
The recently completed Master
Plan for Tourism and Recreation
recommended the site be upgraded to
provide a high quality, user-friendly
interface with powerful interactive
capabilities. These features
could include a tour of
attractions or view menus
from barbecue restaurants.
A goal of the current and redesigned site will not only provide
visitors with information, but also
provide local residents with
information. The events calendar is
used by the media and by
organizations when planning events.
Information about events and
destinations also help our
residents re-discover fun
things to do in their own
county.
TRIP and Davidson
County were recently
Residents can find
Visit our website...
awarded a grant under the
information about the annual
davidsoncountync.com
NC Department of
“Capture the Spirit of
Commerce Tourism
Davidson County” photo
Matching Funds Program to
contest, entries from previous photo
redesign the site and add some of the
contests and downloadable versions of
recommended features. Visitors to the
the Master Plan for Tourism and
site can see additions to the existing
Recreation and the proposed cycling
site as early as the spring and the
map.
redesigned site should be available in
late summer 2006.
2005 “Capture the Spirit of DC” Photo Contest
Entries are
now being
accepted in
the 2005
“Capture
the Spirit of
Davidson
County”
photo
contest!
Begun as a way to increase
awareness of the beauty of our county
and to develop a catalog of photos, the
contest is now in its fourth year.
Past contest entries can be seen
in promotional pieces such as the
Visitor Guide, city and county websites,
Davidson County FOCUS magazine, ads
and other brochures about our county.
Photos will be accepted through
January 31, 2006. This year, entries
will be judged based on the following
categories:
Volume 1, Issue 1
• Our heritage - an old barn, a
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historical structure or building, a
historical location or a reenactment
Our landscape - our water, our
countryside, our sunsets, our hills,
valleys or mountains
A public event - BBQ Festival,
Thresher’s Reunion, Everybody’s
Day are examples
A destination - such as Childress
Vineyards, Lake Thom-a-Lex, The Big
Chair, or a BBQ restaurant
The following sponsors will
award these prizes:
• Arts United Young Photographer
Award: $75
• The Dispatch Front Page Award:
$75
• TFI Destination Award: $75
• Denton FarmPark Event Award:
$75
• DC Historical Museum Heritage
Award: $75
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DC Integrated Solid Waste
Management Award for Best
Land, Water, or Sky: $75
Photos of contest finalists will
be featured in an exhibit at Arts
United and on our website,
www.davidsoncountync.com from
February 21 through April 1, 2006.
The public is invited to the
exhibit opening on Tuesday, February
21 from 5-7 at Arts United, 220
South Main Street, Lexington. You
can cast a vote for your favorite photo
on line or at the exhibit.
Contest guidelines and entry forms are
available at Arts United, Uptown Lexington,
the DC Historical Museum, Denton
FarmPark, the Lexington, Thomasville and
Denton Chambers of Commerce and
www.davidsoncountync.com.
Page 3
Promoting the Yadkin Valley Wine Region
The 2003 designation of the
Yadkin Valley as an American Viticultural
Area provided our region with a unique
opportunity to market and attract visitors .
Funded by a grant from the
Golden Leaf Foundation and other
regional tourism partners, a recently
launched campaign promotes wineries in
the Yadkin Valley Appellation as a group
and invites the potential visitor to come
explore our region.
The campaign links Davidson
County’s two wineries - Childress
Vineyards and Weathervane Winery and 15 other wineries in the Yadkin
Valley Wine Region with wine lovers
from across the south and the world. It
also profiles other assets including our
scenic rural beauty, music and arts
related events and recreational
opportunities.
“Drink our Views, Sip our
Wines” is the theme of the marketing
campaign which includes a web portal,
brochures,
postcards and
print ads. These
ads which are
designed to look
like postcards
sent home to
friends, have
been appearing in publications such as
Southern Living and Our State as well
as major newspapers across the south.
The campaign also takes the message
of the region to major wine festivals
across the south thorough appearances
and tasting.
visitors to the region, increased visitor
spending, and increased related
tourism employment.
With award winning wineries
situated in the beautiful Yadkin Valley,
there is no need to drive to New York or
California! Take time to discover the
wineries of the Yadkin Valley!
Brochures are available at
local Chambers, Childress Vineyards
and Weathervane Winery!
For more information call
1-888-YV-WINES or visit
www.yadkinwines.com
Goals of the campaign
include: a heightened recognition of
the Yadkin Valley as a travel
destination, increased number of
Developing North Carolina’s Civil War Trails
North Carolina’s
Civil War Trails are the
latest link in a series of
trails that meander
through the states of
Virginia, Maryland,
Pennsylvania, West
Virginia, South Carolina
and the District of
Columbia. The trails now
include over 400 documented sites and
bring growing numbers of tourists to
these states.
The Civil War Trails began as
an effort to enhance understanding of
the Civil War experience by interpreting
and linking sites. Originally focused on
sites in eastern North Carolina, the
program is now focusing on sites in
Western NC. While battlefield sites
comprise many of the original northern
locations; sites in Davidson County will
portray what citizens were doing during
the war.
Page 4
Locally, markers have been
installed at the Thomasville Depot, now
home of the Thomasville Tourism
Commission, which was a major stop on
the NC Railroad. Thomasville was also
refuge for sick and wounded
Confederate soldiers outside the war
torn eastern section of the state. Late
in the War, Union soldiers joined the
wounded Confederate soldiers. The
other marker is placed at the
Thomasville City Cemetery on 205
Memorial Park Drive, Thomasville. It is
the only known site where Confederate
and Union soldiers who died in the
hospitals of the city are buried together.
The soldiers were wounded at the Battle
of Averasborough near Smithville and
brought to Thomasville by train for
medical attention. Some remained
here, buried side by side while others
recovered enough to return home.
Three more markers are to be
installed during 2006. They include:
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the Old Courthouse on Main Street
in Lexington which was occupied by
soldiers of the 9th Pennsylvania
Cavalry.
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A site on Abbott’s Creek on
Business 85 near DCCC where
Confederate President Jefferson
Davis spent the night of April 17,
1865 and met with NC Governor
Zebulon Vance, making Davidson
County the Capital of the
Confederacy as well as North
Carolina.
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The Olde Homestead on South
Main Street which served as
headquarters for Union Major
General Judson Kilpatrick for two
months.
More information is available
at www.civilwar-va.com/
northcarolina
Progress Notes
Renovations Enhance Local Family Destinations
This spring, families will find a
new face on three popular destinations
across our county!
At Boone’s Cave Park in the
West Davidson area, the first phase of
renovations are complete! These
include a new park entrance, new
restrooms, walking and hiking trails
which surround the park, and a
caretakers cottage staffed by a full time
park attendant. Coming improvements
will include signage which will provide
information about Davidson County
around the time Daniel Boone would
have been a visitor at the park.
At Lake Thom-a-Lex, off
Yokeley Road, a partnership between
the cities of Lexington and Thomasville
and Davidson County along with a state
grant , led to
improvements
of over
$500,000
which include a
playground
sure to put a
smile on any
child’s face, new picnic shelters, new
ADA accessible fishing piers, new
bathrooms and new landscaping and
parking.
Finch Field in Thomasville is
currently undergoing major renovations
which, when completed, will include a
new entrance, grandstands to seat
1,200, dug out and press box. The
facility will also include a new
playground, volleyball court, picnic
areas. This $1.5 million project was
also funded by a partnership of many
local foundations along with a state
parks and recreation grant. Finch Field
will show off it’s new look in late
summer when it hosts the five day
2006 North Carolina American Legion
Baseball Tournament.
Logo Expresses TRIP’s Vision
Like an individual’s
photograph, a logo provides a
recognizable identity for an
organization.
The new TRIP logo expresses
the group’s desire to bring recreation
and tourism professionals together to
partner and invest in existing facilities
and the development of new venues
which will serve both residents and
potential tourists alike.
a sports facility, a partner walking along
the path towards development or
enhancement of facilities as well as a
visitor walking into one of Davidson
County’s many tourist destinations!
The logo features an individual
walking along a path. That person
could represent a resident walking into
Designed by Davidson County
native, Lydia Sumcad, the logo appears
on the organization’s letterhead,
newsletters, businesses cards, and
other publications.
Routes Submitted for DC Cycling Map
A map helps you to plan a trip and
soon you and visitors to Davidson
County will be able to use a map to plan
your bike ride through our county!
Together with the Piedmont Triad
Council of Governments, avid cyclists
from across Davidson County met over
a six month period to identify potential
‘rideable’ bike routes throughout our
county.
The proposed routes have been
submitted to the NC Division of Bicycle
and Pedestrian Transportation for
Volume 1, Issue 1
development into the first marked,
published and official Davidson County
Cycling Route!
The availability of a cycling map
can be a benefit to Davidson County.
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Road shoulders are widened when
road improvements are made.
Routes are coordinated with
neighboring county routes.
Tourism revenues increase.
Routes include short distances or
ones that can take multiple days.
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The map identifies safe routes, as
well as landmarks and
destinations.
A draft of the
map is available on
the recreation page
of our website, www.
davidsoncountync.
com and can be
printed for use
today!
Cycling can bring
tourists to our
restaurants and
businesses
Page 5
PO Box 1711, Lexington, NC 27293
TRIP Goals & Mission
Tourism Recreation Investment
Partnership for Davidson County, also
known as TRIP, was organized in
September 2005 to accomplish the
following goals and purposes:
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To secure funding for and to manage
the implementation of the Davidson
County Tourism and Recreation
Development Master Plan.
To be advocates for items or issues
which would increase tourism and
economic development in Davidson
County
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To be advocates for planning parks and
recreation sites which will benefit both
tourists and residents
To be advocates for preservation of
natural areas
To be advocates for preservation of
historical tourist destinations
To build tourism partnerships between
tourism agencies and attractions
To build recreation partnerships between
recreation departments, agencies and
attractions.