CLEARFIELD – This year’s 100-Mile Yard Sale was a huge success and organizers thank everyone who participated and helped keep the tradition going after the sudden death of founder Ray Savel in March.
During Wednesday’s Clearfield County Recreation and Tourism Authority meeting, Director Josiah Jones said that he met people from around the country who attended and many more who said it was their first time at the sale.
He credited the heavy marketing on Facebook and Web sites by both Visit Clearfield County and Quehanna Industrial Development Authority.
Also, the giveaway packages for the sale were a hit and Jones thanked organizers, including the Comfort Inn for donating the rooms.
The board also heard a presentation from representatives of the Bilger’s Rocks Association, Barbara McCracken and Dennis Biancuzzo.
They talked with the board about plans to renovate the existing concession building at the rocks and to add an educational center for children and adults alike.
Biancuzzo said they have sign-in books at the site and while they know the books don’t capture everyone who visits, it gives them a good idea of how well the site is doing.
For example, since April they’ve recorded visits from Russia, Canada, Germany, Denmark, Columbia, Mexico, Ukraine and other countries as well as states across the country.
They’ve had about 1,600 unique guest signatures in 2018 alone and see 300-400 at special events. In 2017 there were 1,675 unique signatures. He guessed that number could mean a signature represents about four to six people if one person per family signs.
They added that there are few places that offer completely free family entertainment where people can stay all day.
In addition to the renovations and classroom, the association is looking at developing a master site plan in 2019 and making the site more “user friendly” with better signage, more parking and so on.
Later in the meeting, the board discussed the request for a $25,000 grant from the association and it was noted that the authority has already spent all their grant and sponsorship money budgeted for the 2018 fiscal year.
The final amount of sponsorship money was given to the Veritas Film Festival in an executive committee vote after last month’s meeting, which was ratified by the full board.
After some discussion the board voted to award the grant at the beginning of next year under the new budget. Board member and commissioner John Sobel abstained from the vote due to being a member of the Bilger’s Rocks Association.
The board also learned during the meeting that marketing is continuing to show results with more visits to the Web site and Facebook page and a broader demographic being reached.
Two seats on the board are coming open at the end of the year. Anyone interested in serving a five-year term on the board is asked to submit a letter of interest to the Clearfield County Commissioners.
