New Visitor Center Gives CVB 'Visibility'
July 28, 2016 at 4:25 p.m.
If Linda Arnold has her way, Kosciusko County tourism will continue to steadily grow.
Arnold and the CVB decided they could promote the county most effectively by moving their office to a new building on U.S. 30. Arnold said there are three words that say it all: "Visibility, visibility, visibility," she said.
"This is where we need to be. We are the only visitor center on U.S. 30."
Arnold, the director of the Kosciusko County Convention and Visitors Bureau, has been promoting the county since 1988. The CVB was started in 1986.
Arnold said the staff was looking to move about three to five years ago. They looked at different sites until they chose the current one by the Warsaw Bob Evans restaurant and SYM Financial. They currently rent space from the Warsaw Chamber of Commerce in the downtown area.
The CVB is a four-person operation.
Besides Arnold, Mary Kittrell is sales manager. Kittrell's duties include convincing motorcoaches and meetings to come to the county. Arnold said she hopes the motorcoaches will want to stay overnight, too.
"We're just now getting into the motorcoach market. It's growing," she said.
Melodie Rogers is the morning visitor center coordinator. The evening visitor center coordinator has yet to be hired, Arnold said. However, the current staff is doing well in the meantime, she said.
"We all just work together. It's a team effort," she said.
The new building will provide tourists with several opportunities. The first room a tourist enters will be a 24-hour foyer. It will have a touch-screen computer where customers can access information on local accommodations. A phone system will also be available for visitors to call hotels and make reservations. Local attractions will be added later. If a person needs a printout, Arnold said, that will be available at no charge.
"What we have to do is be the very best for the visitor. We want them to come back," she said.
During business hours, brochures will be available in the reception area. Information on the county and the state will be contained in oak racks.
"We're going to be seeking brochures from other attractions and bureaus in the state," Arnold said.
In the back is a conference room for the CVB's seven-person commission and 11-person board. The conference room will not be available for public use.
Four people on the CVB commission are appointed by the county commissioners. Two are appointed by the county council and one is appointed by the mayor. The board is voted on internally.
Other rooms include a small kitchen and two offices. One office will be for Arnold and the other will be for Kittrell. A workroom will also be in the new building. The room will include a copier, a fax machine and a computer. In addition, the new CVB building will have an extra large basement for storage.
"Before we started the project, we visited other bureaus. Their advice was to have lots of storage room," Arnold said.
Inside security for the building was wired by Frank Rhodes. Milestone Construction, Syracuse, are doing the construction of the building. Miller & Sons put in the plumbing for the building. Many other local county businesses have worked on the building through subcontracts with Milestone Construction. Arnold said awarding local companies subcontracts was an important consideration when awarding the construction job.
SYM Financial sold the grounds to the CVB for $125,000; The building cost $250,000. The budget for the CVB for 1999 is $265,000. Money does not come from the county council's general fund. It is solely a tax that is collected from overnight visitors.
Regardless of where the money comes from though, Arnold said, it was a win-win situation.
The money the CVB uses gets visitors to come into the county. Tourists spend money on retail shopping, gas, hotel accommodations and other expenses. The county makes money and may use the extra money for improvements that attract more visitors who spend more money.
Arnold said visitors include singles, families, as well as motorcoach tours. However, she said, now that the CVB office is where travelers can see it, she can't guess how much more traffic the office will see.
"We do get families. I don't know what to expect here, we've always been downtown," she said.
Arnold said they will have 50,000 visitor's guides to give out next year to fill the need they expect.
CVB will officially open its new doors to tourists Jan. 4. An official open house will not be held until late January. And so far, Arnold said, the project is going well.
"Public reaction has been fantastic. I've never heard any negativism," Arnold said. "This has been my goal, to get a visitor center in a visible location. Now I'll stick around and enjoy it."
The CVB's number is 800-800-6090. [[In-content Ad]]
If Linda Arnold has her way, Kosciusko County tourism will continue to steadily grow.
Arnold and the CVB decided they could promote the county most effectively by moving their office to a new building on U.S. 30. Arnold said there are three words that say it all: "Visibility, visibility, visibility," she said.
"This is where we need to be. We are the only visitor center on U.S. 30."
Arnold, the director of the Kosciusko County Convention and Visitors Bureau, has been promoting the county since 1988. The CVB was started in 1986.
Arnold said the staff was looking to move about three to five years ago. They looked at different sites until they chose the current one by the Warsaw Bob Evans restaurant and SYM Financial. They currently rent space from the Warsaw Chamber of Commerce in the downtown area.
The CVB is a four-person operation.
Besides Arnold, Mary Kittrell is sales manager. Kittrell's duties include convincing motorcoaches and meetings to come to the county. Arnold said she hopes the motorcoaches will want to stay overnight, too.
"We're just now getting into the motorcoach market. It's growing," she said.
Melodie Rogers is the morning visitor center coordinator. The evening visitor center coordinator has yet to be hired, Arnold said. However, the current staff is doing well in the meantime, she said.
"We all just work together. It's a team effort," she said.
The new building will provide tourists with several opportunities. The first room a tourist enters will be a 24-hour foyer. It will have a touch-screen computer where customers can access information on local accommodations. A phone system will also be available for visitors to call hotels and make reservations. Local attractions will be added later. If a person needs a printout, Arnold said, that will be available at no charge.
"What we have to do is be the very best for the visitor. We want them to come back," she said.
During business hours, brochures will be available in the reception area. Information on the county and the state will be contained in oak racks.
"We're going to be seeking brochures from other attractions and bureaus in the state," Arnold said.
In the back is a conference room for the CVB's seven-person commission and 11-person board. The conference room will not be available for public use.
Four people on the CVB commission are appointed by the county commissioners. Two are appointed by the county council and one is appointed by the mayor. The board is voted on internally.
Other rooms include a small kitchen and two offices. One office will be for Arnold and the other will be for Kittrell. A workroom will also be in the new building. The room will include a copier, a fax machine and a computer. In addition, the new CVB building will have an extra large basement for storage.
"Before we started the project, we visited other bureaus. Their advice was to have lots of storage room," Arnold said.
Inside security for the building was wired by Frank Rhodes. Milestone Construction, Syracuse, are doing the construction of the building. Miller & Sons put in the plumbing for the building. Many other local county businesses have worked on the building through subcontracts with Milestone Construction. Arnold said awarding local companies subcontracts was an important consideration when awarding the construction job.
SYM Financial sold the grounds to the CVB for $125,000; The building cost $250,000. The budget for the CVB for 1999 is $265,000. Money does not come from the county council's general fund. It is solely a tax that is collected from overnight visitors.
Regardless of where the money comes from though, Arnold said, it was a win-win situation.
The money the CVB uses gets visitors to come into the county. Tourists spend money on retail shopping, gas, hotel accommodations and other expenses. The county makes money and may use the extra money for improvements that attract more visitors who spend more money.
Arnold said visitors include singles, families, as well as motorcoach tours. However, she said, now that the CVB office is where travelers can see it, she can't guess how much more traffic the office will see.
"We do get families. I don't know what to expect here, we've always been downtown," she said.
Arnold said they will have 50,000 visitor's guides to give out next year to fill the need they expect.
CVB will officially open its new doors to tourists Jan. 4. An official open house will not be held until late January. And so far, Arnold said, the project is going well.
"Public reaction has been fantastic. I've never heard any negativism," Arnold said. "This has been my goal, to get a visitor center in a visible location. Now I'll stick around and enjoy it."
The CVB's number is 800-800-6090. [[In-content Ad]]