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Kosciusko County Convention, Recreation and Visitors Commission approved giving $19,000 to the Lake City Skiers for the hull of a new team boat Wednesday.
Tracey Patrick, with the Lake City Skiers, attended the meeting and thanked the KCCRVC for its previous support. Lake City Skiers also asked the commission to consider a grant of $105,072.95 for the purchase of a new boat, since the old boat is deteriorating and becoming unsafe to use.
Labor to put the boat together has been offered for free for Lake City Skiers, and there was also discussion of the possibility of transferring the motors from the old boat to the new boat since they are still in good condition.
There is a time constraint, considering the necessity of providing a reliable boat for national boat tournaments hosted in Warsaw and the Worlds Tournament in 2027.
The commission suggested seeking out funds from other foundations and grants from multiple sources.
“Like Mark said, we want to help, but with the budget we have, I think seeking out the different (grants) is what I would suggest,” said commission member Lyle Schrock.
The commission approved a grant of $19,000 to pay for half of the hull of the new team boat.
Echoes of the Past
Chris Morehouse represented Echoes of the Past at the meeting and gave the commission an update that the bathroom project has been completed at the grounds. Morehouse asked for a grant of $9,700 for the permanent bathrooms, which will provide facilities for participants at events, including tourists.
The commission mentioned the budget for Echoes of the Past provided by Morehouse, but she explained that almost all of the funds are already allotted for different expenditures and a large source of revenue, the planting of a field, will soon be gone as well.
The full grant of $9,700 was unanimously approved by the commission.
Community Arts Program
The commission heard from Lori Wildman and Mike Lewis of the Community Arts Program, who asked the KCCRVC to grant $23,000 for a digital and print marketing campaign for the July 2025 through June 2026 event season.
Wildman and Lewis had several prongs to the marketing plan, including business cards for CAP staff, 5″x7″ information cards for regional hotels and the County Visitors Bureau, full or quarter-page advertisements in a magazine for seniors and regional area newspapers and a video production of the Christmas concert, to be filmed in full and aired on regional television.
“The challenge is the cost of advertising is not cheap and it keeps going up,” said Lewis. He mentioned CAP already advertises on most area community calendars at no cost.
The commission asked about CAP’s target demographic for the performances and the advertising.
“The demographic is K to gray. It’s a community program for all those interested in performance,” Lewis said. He also mentioned that in presentations to younger people, including students, it is hard to sell something when there is nothing to show.
The commission approved a grant of $4,000 to CAP for print advertisements and informational cards. Members recommended asking media studios about the possibility of making short videos for promotional content instead of filming an entire concert to be aired on television.
Chris Renzema Concert At Grace College
Alicia Meyer, director of student involvement at Grace College, brought a request for a grant of $5,000 for targeted digital marketing on social media platforms to advertise for a concert by musical artist Chris Renzema.
The commission did not make a motion after Meyer’s initial presentation, but later in the meeting commission member Kathy Ray proposed a grant of $2,500 for digital tourism at Grace College. The motion passed unanimously.
Oakwood Foundation and Kosciusko County Historical Society
Sally Mahnken, of the Oakwood Foundation Chautauqua-Wawasee, asked for three grants of $500 each to help pay for advertising for workshops. The Kosciusko Pottery Workshop, Kosciusko Stained Glass Workshop and Revitalization of the Miami Culture publicity sponsorships were all approved.
Greg Steffe, director of the Kosciusko County Historical Society, requested $500 for an aggressive marketing campaign to advertise the Haunted Jail Tour. Steffe believes the event could raise as much as $6,000 or even $8,000. The commission approved the grant.
In other business, the commission:
• Heard an update from Megan Davis of the City-County Athletic Complex about the programs offered there and the challenges staff are currently facing, such as the facility and tools needing repairs.
• Heard an update from Cori Humes of the CVB, who discussed the state tourism budget being slashed from $20 million to $3 million. She said state tourism work would continue, but on a much smaller scale.
• Signed the memorandum of understanding presented by County Auditor Alyssa Schmucker from the town of Etna Green Mural Project.
• Agreed to vote on budget matters in July instead of May in 2026 in order to have more tourism data available.
• Approved an additional appropriation of $100,000 for the rest of 2025, with the understanding that not all of the appropriated funds must be used within the year.
• After discussion, amended the KCCRVC budget for 2026 for the CCAC to $200,000 and the grants budget to $300,000.
The next meeting of the KCCRVC will be held at 9 a.m. Wednesday, Sept. 10, at the county courthouse.
