2 GROUPS LINK TO AID LAKE TOURISM

                         Roanoke Times
                 Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.

DATE: WEDNESDAY, February 24, 1993                   TAG: 9302240243
SECTION: VIRGINIA                    PAGE: B2   EDITION: NEW RIVER VALLEY 
SOURCE: 
DATELINE:                                 LENGTH: Short
2 GROUPS LINK TO AID LAKE TOURISM
The Smith Mountain Lake Partnership and the Smith Mountain Lake Chamber of Commerce have joined forces to promote tourism.
"We will have one organization that will be able to pull together the entire business community to accomplish more in promoting the lake outside the lake area," said Executive Director Chuck Crow.
President Ed Waters hopes the merger will better "promote the interests of its members and the community as a whole." Waters organized committees to handle the transition.
Two programs at the lake will be cut this year.
The 15-member board of directors voted to not hold the annual spring festival because there was too little time to organize it. "All of our time had been locked up in our merger," Crow said.
The Miss Smith Mountain Lake Pageant will be canceled because of budget constraints, but it could be back next year, he said.
But many events are scheduled, such as the spring golf tournament, the Wine Festival, the Smith Mountain Lake Fall Festival and the tagged-bass fishing contest.
A travel writers' "familiarization" plan also will be held in June and September. The Chamber of Commerce/Partnership already sent out 1,400 Smith Mountain Lake invitations to travel writers offering to pay "all of their expenses once they get there," Crow said.
The organization has about 200 paying members but hopes to gain 80 new members by the end of the year through an aggressive recruiting program.

by Archana Subramaniam by CNB