CLEARFIELD – Visit Clearfield County, the county’s tourism promotion agency, held its annual partner awards last night at the Race Street Brew Works, located at the Alliance Park, formerly the home of FCI and now owned by Clearly Ahead Development, the county’s economic development organization.
VCC Director Holly Komonczi noted they enjoy working with their partners to find different ways to promote them and encourage partners to work together. She noted that this event is a good networking opportunity for partners to meet and get ideas.
She introduced Bob Striker, owner of Race Street Brew Works, who announced the creation of a new beer to co-market with Visit Clearfield County. Striker said it is a light ale aimed to be palatable for everyone.
There will be three labels showcasing the Backwoods, Backroads, Backwaters theme of VCC: Backwoods Blonde Ale, Backroads Blonde Ale and Backwaters Blonde Ale. Striker added that the ale can have ingredients added to it to make it a seasonal selection, as well.
He also noted how VCC has helped them promote the brewery, which offers something a little different, a little bit urban, for a rural area.
Komonczi added that having something unique draws people to the area, and working together, businesses can direct people there, or find that people come to their business at the suggestion of others.
The awards presentation included six awards presented to partners, which have made an impact in tourism promotion.
The first award was to a non-profit organization, which has reached out to VCC to help with events and showcase the natural beauty of the area. This award was then presented to Pennsylvania Wildlife Habitat Unlimited and accepted by Bill Mackereth and Rick Uren.
The Collaboration award was presented to Parker Dam State Park and accepted by Deanna Schall. Komonczi noted how the park has worked hard with VCC to market events year-round and to draw people who are outdoor enthusiasts as well as those interested in learning about their rural area.
Scott Brubaker and Annette Roy accepted the Recreation award for Clearfield County Geocache Trail committee. Komonczi said the easiest thing to market is recreation, and this group has helped VCC create and maintain geocache trails, beginning in 2010.
Brubaker noted there are 866 geocaches in the Clearfield zip code area, more than 1,400 in the DuBois area and 1.7 million in the world. He said it gives people the opportunity to explore their local area and find things they may not have noticed before.
The Out-of-County Partner award was presented to Benezette Wines and accepted by Doug Ruffo. Komonczi said visitors do not recognize boarders and VCC appreciates the partners from other areas. She said Benezette Wines is always reaching out to VCC for help and offering help in return.
When the awards began, Komonczi said, the Got It award was one of the hardest to award at first. Now, as more partners get involved, the hard part is picking who to give it to. This year the award was presented to Buck’s Pizza and accepted by Josh Benton. Komonczi said Buck’s is always advertising, always reaching out and trying new things.
The final award was the Mover and Shaker Award. Komonczi noted that the partner doesn’t just provide a few people, but an entire army, creates leadership programs and even offers interns to help out at the offices as needed. Jackie Syktich of DuBois Business College accepted the award, and she noted that the staff members of VCC are the real movers and shakers of the county.