Feb 12, 2008
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Contact: Leigh Cockram
Director of Marketing/Recruiting
Martinsville-Henry County Economic Development Corporation
276.403.5940
lcockram@yesmartinsville.com
Martinsville-Henry County Visitor Center Attains State Certification
Martinsville, VA (February 12, 2008) – The Martinsville-Henry County Economic Development Corporation (EDC) is pleased to announce that the Martinsville-Henry County Visitor Center has attained state designation as a “Certified Local/Regional Visitor Center”.
The Visitor Center, which officially opened in November of last year and is housed along with the Southern Virginia Artisan Center at 54 West Church Street, in Historic Uptown Martinsville, has become Virginia’s 57th local tourism facility to be certified. Mark Heath, President of the EDC, is “proud of the work David Rotenizer and his team have done in partnership with the Southern Virginia Artisan Center” to accomplish this milestone.
The Virginia Tourism Corporation, the official state tourism agency, administers the program requirements to meet this certification. Criteria to certified visitor centers include, being open to the public at least five days per week including Saturday and Sunday, displaying brochures from the entire region and having staff attend orientation training.
The Martinsville-Henry County Visitor Center along with the Southern Virginia Artisan Center is open seven days a week from 9:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m., has brochures, not only from Martinsville-Henry County, but from across Virginia and Rockingham County, NC and has a trained staff. Currently, the staffs of both the Visitor Center and the Southern Virginia Artisan Center are in the process of being cross-trained. Patrick Henry Community College along with the Artisan Center Advisory Committee have worked alongside the M-HCEDC Office of Tourism to make the center as unique and successful as it has become. “Our working together is a wonderful combination and each can compliment the other with helping to draw visitors to the location,” stated Rotenizer. Brennell Thomas, believes, “this is a testament to what working together as a team can accomplish.”
In the hopes of attracting even more visitors, the Office of Tourism has lobbied VDOT to place directional signage that will alert travelers on Routes 58 and 220 to the center. “Based on previous experience and discussions with other tourism professionals, these signs do an incredible job of bringing in visitors. The traveling public view these signs as legitimate and worthy of a stop,” remarked Rotenizer. Rotenizer hopes “VDOT will assign a team to assess our needs soon, especially since we received the state’s certification which is required in order to qualify for state sanctioned signage.”
Other benefits of being a Certified Local/Regional Visitor Center include markings of the center on state highway maps, recognition in the annual state travel guide, presence on the state’s tourism and travel website (www.Viriginia.org), and a presence in each of Virginia’s 13 welcome centers and other 56 visitor centers where each will display the Martinsville-Henry County Tourism brochure.
The mission of the Martinsville-Henry County Economic Development Corporation is to create new job opportunities and expand the tax base for the area. The organization strives to support and develop local industry, as well as market Martinsville-Henry County globally as an exceptional place to live, work and play.
The EDC is a public-private partnership between the City of Martinsville, Henry County, the Martinsville-Henry County Chamber of Commerce, the Martinsville-Henry County Chamber’s Partnership for Economic Growth (C-PEG) and the Harvest Foundation of the Piedmont.
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