Dateline: April 15, 2004
STARS grant to benefit Saints' Roost Museum
By Roger Estlack, Clarendon Enterprise
The
Saints’ Roost Museum’s tenth annual Col. Charles Goodnight Chuckwagon
Cookoff is one of the first rural tourism events approved for matching
reimbursement funds from a new Texas Department of Agriculture program
designed to help rural communities leverage their tourism marketing
dollars.
TDA
announced last week that 15 rural Texas communities were approved to
receive a total of $127,963 in matching reimbursements in the first round
of funding for TDA’s new Hometown STARS program.
Hometown
STARS (Supporting Tourism and Rural Success) funding for the September 26
Chuckwagon Cookoff will provide $4,442 in matching funds for promotional
packets, advertising, direct mail, posters and signs. The cookoff annually attracts about 1,000 visitors to
Clarendon, and funds raised by the event support the continuing operations
of the Saints’ Roost Museum.
The
grant application was submitted on behalf of the museum by the City of
Clarendon through the Clarendon Economic Development Corporation.
Hometown
STARS was launched with TDA’s “Texas Yes!” program in late 2003.
“Texas Yes!” is a broad-based membership program open to rural
communities, businesses, and organizations.
The goal of the “Texas Yes!” program is to spotlight and
promote rural Texas. Funding
for the Hometown STARS program is provided through a grant from Gov. Rick
Perry in support of TDA’s rural tourism promotional efforts.
“Tourism
is an important way for rural communities to bring in new dollars and
share the diversity and beauty of our great state,” said Agriculture
Commissioner Susan Combs. “The
Hometown STARS program offers a hand to rural communities as they create
fresh ideas and new opportunities through their tourism efforts.
The range of projects approved for funding provides a wonderful
example of the take-charge attitude alive in rural Texas today.”
Hometown
STARS is a competitive dollar-for-dollar matching reimbursement program
open to “Texas Yes!” community members.
Eligible communities apply for the funds by submitting a tourism
event promotion proposal to TDA. Proposals
are reviewed and scored by the Hometown STARS Review Team, an independent
panel with expertise in marketing, media, tourism and rural communities.
TDA makes the final award decision based on this input.
Of
the 15 proposals submitted for the first round of Hometown STARS funding,
all were approved for either full or partial funding.
Other
rural events funded in this round include the following:
City
of Cactus – matching reimbursement funds for brochures and print and
broadcast advertisements to promote the city’s Diez y Seis de Septiembre
Celebration.
City
of Crowell – matching reimbursement funds for print and broadcast
advertising, promotional literature and direct mail to promote the
city’s stargazing opportunities.
City
of Dumas – matching reimbursement funds to spotlight the city’s High
Plains Ag Expo, Aug. 24-26.
City
of Eden – matching reimbursement funds to promote the Fall Fest in
Concho, Texas, Sept. 24-26.
City
of Hearne – matching reimbursements for billboards, promotional
materials, direct mail, and Web site enhancements for the Crossroads Music
Festival, Sept. 25.
Hemphill
County – matching reimbursement funds to promote “Break Away from the
Ordinary,” a tri-county effort designed to spotlight Hemphill, Lipscomb
and Roberts counties. Promotional
materials will encourage visitors to discover the art, music, and history
of the region, located near the Canadian River adjacent to the Texas High
Plains. Materials will spotlight the Texas Prairie Rivers Musical in
Canadian, the Canadian Arts Alliance, the Naturally Yours Dance Platform
in Lipscomb County, and the High Plains Youth Art Show in Roberts County.
City
of Hico – matching reimbursement funds for banners, brochures,
advertising, and posters to promote the city’s 1st Annual Texas Steak
Cook-off and Tourist Trap event, scheduled to take place May 22, 2004.
Karnes
County – matching reimbursement funds to promote the Karnes County
Sesquicentennial Celebration, May 1, in honor of the county’s 150th
year.
City
of Madisonville – matching reimbursement funds to promote the city’s
annual Texas Mushroom Festival Oct. 15-16.
City
of Miami – matching reimbursement funds to promote the city’s Annual
Cow Calling Festival, June 4-6 in Roberts County.
City
of Perryton – matching reimbursement funds to promote Ochiltree
County’s Pioneer Days Festival held the third weekend in August.
City
of Quanah – matching reimbursement funds for posters, fliers,
advertising, direct mail, and billboards to promote the musical show
“Pump Boys and Dinettes,” which will be May 29-30.
Reagan
County – matching reimbursement funds for posters, advertisements,
direct mail, billboards, and banners to promote the Classic Sheepdog
Trials to be held in Big Lake in November.
City
of White Deer – matching reimbursement funds for banners and brochures
to promote the city’s annual rodeo.
The event is held the last weekend in July.
The
Hometown STARS program provides up to $15,000 in matching reimbursements
to rural Texas communities that are members of “Texas Yes!” to offset
the cost of their tourism promotion efforts.
Application deadlines for the next round of funding will be announced in April. For more information, go to www.TexasYes.org or call (866) 4TEX-YES (866-483-9937).