Webster Parish, Louisiana

Tourism News Archive
July, August and Septmeber, 2005

Notes from Marketing Director Lynn Warnock

September 2005

The Free Spirits held their 24 th annual Autumn Run at the Minden fairgrounds on September 9 th and 10 th. The club, based out of Bossier City, is made up of 30 members. The attendance this year was over 200. Saturday the 10 th included a Poker Run throughout the day, indoor and outdoor games, and the Fantastic Night Light Parade in downtown Minden at 8:15 PM. The Night Parade was the highlight of the Autumn Run with 113 motorcycles cruising through historic downtown Minden. Due to the aging of their membership, they have decided to make the 25 th their last year.

The Tourism office has initiated an exciting new advertising campaign. Beginning in October and running through November, Webster Parish Tourism launches a series of television commercials on Cox Cable featuring events throughout our parish. The commercials will run on TBS, TNT , USA , and KTBS Cable News. The commercials will broadcast into South Arkansas , including Magnolia, El Dorado , and Hot Springs ; East Texas including Marshall and Longview ; and Central Louisiana including Shreveport- Bossier, Ruston , Farmerville, Bastrop , Columbia , and Winnfield. In conjunction, we will also run commercials on KASO Radio and KBEF Radio as well.

The new Webster Parish Brochure is finalized and has been submitted to the printers. We hope to begin distribution in late October. It is truly a beautiful marketing tool and will make you proud.

Do not forget theses upcoming events :

OCTOBER

• Webster Parish Fair Parade at 5:00 PM , downtown Minden
• 4-8 Webster Parish Fair, Minden fairgrounds
• 7 Minden Chamber Board Meeting, Chamber Office, 12:00 Noon
• 7-8 Lumberjack Festival at Springhill
• 87th Annual Springhill Main Street’s Streetrod, Classic Car, and Motorcycle Show, 9am – 3pm in Springhill
• 8 Springhill Main Street’s Antique Tractor and Engine Show at 9am
• 8 Springhill Main Street’s Antique Tractor and Engine Parade at 10am
• 8 WEEF Golf Tournament, The Grove, 8:00 AM
• 15 Town of Sarepta 50th Anniversary Celebration
• 15 Fall Car Show at the Coca-Cola Bottling Co. in Minden
• October 7 th and 8 th Lumberjack Festival in Springhill

 

 

July 2005

I recently attended Tourism Awareness Day in Baton Rouge. This was an outstanding opportunity for me to learn about legislative issues that impact Tourism and the Film Industry Tax Credits. Each tourism director had the chance to discuss these issues with our lobbyist and to meet with our legislators on the House and Senate floor during session. Tourism representatives from throughout the state as a group were recognized in the House and the Senate. I am now receiving weekly updates from our lobbyist reporting the status of current bills as they work their way through the legislative system.

The Minden Air Show guests line up for $1.00 cockpit tours for the historic "Yellow Rose"

The Minden Air Show on Saturday, June 4 th was a huge success this year. With additional advertising on Cox Cable, radio shows, and publicity featuring the Yellow Rose, attendance grew from around 300 last year to over 2000 this year. The committee has decided to make the air show an annual event to be held the first Saturday in June each year. Our goal of developing a major new annual event has become a reality.

On Thursday June 23, I had the opportunity to attend the Coordinating and Development Corporation summer quarter board meeting and conference. The topic, “Tourism/Retirement and the Film/Entertainment Industry Development in the Ark-LA-Tex” was of great interest to me. I had the chance to learn about the marketing activities, budgets, and tax collections of many of our surrounding tourism offices. You can be assured I took a lot of notes! It reassured me that our office is moving rapidly in the right direction. With the completion of our new Webster Parish Brochure, I am confident Webster Parish will proudly compete with other tourism offices in the Ark-La-Tex.

The keynote speaker was Mark Smith, the Director of Entertainment Industry Development with the LA Department of Economic Development. Mr. Smith addressed the need for a Northwest Louisiana Film Alliance to attract the film industry to our region of the state and the economic significance of this effort.

On Thursday morning, June 30, I attended a meeting in Shreveport with Mark Smith and other parties interested in forming this alliance. In attendance were representatives from the music and film industry. This was the first meeting of the alliance to initiate a plan of action. With the guidance of the Department of Economic Development, this new association holds great promise for the future of our region.

As I reported last month, our office has launched a new film website: http://www.websterfilms.com/. This site allows you to submit photographs of locations in our parish you think could be of interest to potential location scouts. This is your chance to get involved in an innovative way to attract a new industry to Webster Parish.

Do not forget the 2005 Triathlon on Sunday, July 24 th.

Lynn Warnock

Marketing Director

See our report next month on the upcoming Triathlon.

 

 

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