Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: FRIDAY, June 1, 1990 TAG: 9006010279
SECTION: VIRGINIA PAGE: B-3 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: By PAUL DELLINGER SOUTHWEST BUREAU
DATELINE: FORT CHISWELL LENGTH: Medium
Virginia's Southwest Blue Ridge Highlands Inc. will finance its program by tapping non-tourist businesses to become "patron" members for $200 a year.
Seven patrons - none of them even located in Southwest Virginia - already have signed up, Ed Crossan, patron membership chairman, told members at a meeting of the organization Thursday at the Factory Merchants Mall.
They are Virginia Impression Products Co. Inc., American Telephone & Telegraph, the Virginia Society of Certified Public Accountants and the Moseley Group of architects, planners and designers, all of Richmond; two publishing companies, H.W. Wilson Co., Bronx, N.Y., and Independence Publishing Corp., Havertown, Pa.; and Miles Mennell and Associates, a Bristol, Tenn., public relations firm.
What do they get out of it?
Crossan, who is with the marketing division of AT&T, said patron members can get free publicity in the 19 counties and four cities covered by the Highlands group. They can display their promotional materials at meetings of the organization and write articles in its quarterly newsletter.
They also will get publicity through tourism programs aimed specifically at them, he said. For example, all Virginia CPAs will be honored during the last week in August in various ways by motels and other tourism businesses during a visitation program aimed at members of the Virginia Society of CPAs.
The ways can range from theater discounts to free breakfasts, whatever each business comes up with, Crossan said. "Let's get creative."
Still another benefit is an internship program through which a patron member can hire a summer intern from one of the universities, colleges or community colleges in Southwest Virginia.
The internship program can benefit both the students, through their on-the-job training, and businesses by providing a pool of future qualified employees.
Andrew Roundtree, a Virginia Tech senior in marketing management, is the first intern to be hired. He will be working for Virginia Impression Products, the first company to enter the patron program.
Mike Fyock, vice president-sales for the Richmond-based company, said the program lets its members support economic development and tourism while hiring summer interns. "Everybody wins."
"It is now time that we look for patrons within the Southwest Virginia region," Crossan said. "I think every county should get 20 patrons," said Casey Cannon, manager of the Comfort Inn at Dublin and head of the group's marketing committee.
The program funded by the patron memberships includes specific visitation guides designed for Highlands members, a hospitality telephone installed in a regional visitors' center at the Factory Merchants Mall, targeting of specific visitor groups for Southwest Virginia, membership decals and brochures.
The Mennell public relations firm, the most recent patron member, made a presentation on how it might design such a brochure for Highlands.
The marketing committee, in about four months, "put this program together on a zero budget," Crossan said. "With 19 counties in Southwest Virginia working together in the cooperative spirit we have now, we're bigger than any attraction the state has."
Crossan said the Highlands group has also joined forces with the Shenandoah Valley Travel Association to promote the entire Interstate 81 corridor and come up with other marketing schemes on zero budgets.
The Highlands members voted to endorse tourism-related courses suggested at a recent meeting in Abingdon of Southwest Virginia's five community colleges. The schools would join Virginia Tech in Blacksburg and Concord College in Athens, W.Va., in offering such courses.
A Blue Ridge Heritage Festival at Factory Merchants Mall was announced for July 14, from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m., featuring folk artists, musicians and others from throughout the region and displays of tourism materials. "We hope that it will give us an opportunity to showcase each of your areas," said Jim Whiten, Highlands president.
by CNB