Tourism board sign plan hits snag from MoDOT

Nevada Daily Mail

Nevada's tourism board would like to install signs on the outskirts of Nevada and at other strategic locations to direct travelers to their new office in the Carnegie Building. However, the state does not seem to agree.

"Joe Charles told me that the state says we can't do this," Charlene Winfiel, tourism coordinator said, during Tuesday's monthly meeting of I.M.P.A.C.T. Nevada Tourism board. Winfiel said that as of late Monday, Charles told her that he had not heard anything new from the Missouri Department of Transportation.

She said that Mayor Jim Rayburn told her that he would call MoDOT and see what he could find out.

"The signs at the Carnegie Building are up now," she said.

Winfiel told the board that with the potential of Jim Novak's baseball museum being open, Champion Diamonds and the Griffons, Nevada has a good connection with baseball that can attract visitors to town.

She said that she has been talking with Novak's son and granddaughter about helping them to get the museum operating.

"That was Novak's dream -- to have it open and any proceeds above the cost of operating the museum go to little league baseball," Winfiel said.

"With their permission I would like to produce a nice promotional piece on the museum," Winfiel said, adding that she would like to have Pat Chambers and Dr. Jason Meisenheimer take a look at the collection and help her with the project. Meisenheimer suggested that something on the museum could be included in the Nevada Griffons display at the National Baseball Congress museum in Wichita.

Winfiel said that with the baseball museum, Nevada is getting close to having enough things to see to get tour buses to spend the night here.

In a related matter, Winfiel told the board that she is trying to put together a Nevada night at a Springfield Cardinals game. Other area towns have done this and had good participation.

"There are 10 or 15 area people who regularly go to games there now," Pat Chambers, said.

Winfiel told the board that on Oct. 12 the Kaysinger Basin Business Conference would hold their annual conference at Cottey College, with the keynote speaker being the founder of PenMac. This event, which is designed to help small business owners, always has a good draw, Winfiel indicated.

"They do a lot of statewide advertising on the Missouri Network, which will give Nevada a lot of exposure," Chambers said.

In other business, the board elected Jesse Ornelas as president and Pat Chambers as vice president.

They also voted 6-0, with Terry Ramsey abstaining, to recommend that the city council re-appoint Terry Ramsey to a third term on the tourism board.

Ornelas told the board that Jim Rayburn asked for I.M.P.A.C.T. Nevada to reconsider re-appointing Ramsey to another term on the board, adding that some people had concerns about her serving another term.

"He wanted everyone's input on what they think would be in the best interest of the board," he said.

Winfiel told the board that the ordinance establishing the tourism advisory board only required that three of the seven members come from the motel, hotel and restaurant industry. There are no term limits included or residency requirements. The city manager and the chamber director are non-voting members.

"The Vernon County Historical Society has a tremendous impact on bringing people here," Pat Chambers said.

"We have a person with experience and I think that we should reaffirm our interest in having her on the board if she is interested," he said.

Ramsey is active in several historical and travel related organizations, including the Missouri Travel Council, the Southwest Missouri Tourism Alliance as well as working with a group to establish a national heritage area in eastern Kansas and western Missouri.

"It doesn't sound like there is anyone more qualified," Ornelas said.

"This is just an advisory board and the council can appoint anyone they want," he said.