Tennessee Governor Bill Haslam is pictured above during a visit by President Barack Obama at Pellissippi State Community College on Friday, January 9. (File photo by Rob Welton)
Tennessee Governor Bill Haslam and Economic and Community Development Commissioner Randy Boyd recently announced that 29 communities will receive close to $1 million in Tourism Enhancement Grants to assist communities with tourism infrastructure assets. Anderson County received a $40,000 grant.
“We want to congratulate all 29 communities on receiving Tourism Enhancement Grants,†Haslam said in a press release. “These grants showcase how great the partnership is between tourist development and economic development. With the support of these grants, each community will be better equipped to succeed in our state, and I look forward to seeing these Tennessee communities thrive.â€
The grants assist counties and cities in improving local assets to increase the economic impact of tourism.
“I am pleased to announce these 29 communities that have been awarded the Tourism Enhancement Grant,†Boyd said. “It is always exciting when communities choose to invest in economic development initiatives to grow and succeed in our state. Tourism development is economic development, and with the assistance of the Tourism Enhancement Grant and our partnership with Commissioner Kevin Triplett and the Department of Tourist Development, each community will be able to invest in their assets and grow their local economy.â€
The Tourism Enhancement Grants were jointly funded by the Tennessee Department of Economic and Community Development and the Tennessee Department of Tourist Development with the assistance of the Appalachian Regional Commission.
“We celebrate with each community receiving the Tourism Enhancement Grant,†Tennessee Department of Tourist Development Commissioner Kevin Triplett said. “Tourism development is an important part of every community, but in some cases we were finding a lack of infrastructure to fully take advantage of some tourism opportunities. We appreciate our great partners at TNECD for coming to the table with this initiative for communities to enhance their local tourism assets.â€
An advisory committee made up of staff from the Tennessee Department of Economic and Community Development, the Tennessee Department of Tourist Development, the Tennessee Department of Environment and Conservation, and the Tennessee Department of Agriculture selected the 29 communities from a pool of 61 grant applications.
The grants awarded include:
- Anderson County—$40,000
- City of Bolivar—$50,000
- City of Brownsville—$50,000
- Carroll County—$50,000
- City of Cleveland—$50,000
- Decatur County—$43,000
- City of Etowah—$50,000
- Fentress County—$27,000
- Town of Gainesboro—$45,270
- Greene County—$44,898
- Hamblen County—$7,000
- Hamilton County—$20,000
- City of Henderson—$5,250
- Johnson County—$47,168
- City of Lafayette—$50,000
- Lauderdale County—$20,000
- City of Livingston—$50,000
- City of Manchester—$41,510
- City of McMinnville—$28,500
- Meigs County—$20,000
- Metropolitan Lynchburg—$50,000
- Monroe County—$20,000
- Robertson County—$5,050
- Scott County—$48,707
- Smith County—$50,000
- City of Tiptonville—$31,262
- Unicoi County—$20,000
- Wayne County—$25,000
- City of Winchester—$35,000
Each application was supported by the community’s senator and representatives in the Tennessee General Assembly.
Copyright 2016 Oak Ridge Today. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Jocelyn Wesolowski says
Let’s hope they don’t use it for more Manhattan Project nonsense.
Dave Smith says
Tourism Enhancement Grants are intended as assistance to communities that are lacking “tourism infrastructure assets.”
Not sure what you intend by “Manhattan Project nonsense,” but you could perform a service to readers by investigating Anderson County’s proposed tourism asset plan and posting a synopsis here in a comment. Or not.