By BOB AMICK
Special to the Herald Times
RBC | RBC Historical Society was selected by the Colorado Tourism Office for a CHAMP grant to conduct a countywide Craft Mentor strategic planning seminar on Friday and Saturday March 2-3 at the Old West Heritage Culture Center (OWHCC), 517 Park Ave, 9:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. The schedule is flexible for those who are only able to attend a certain part of the session but wish to participate and share ideas. The seminar is free and open to all. Light refreshments will be provided. For more information, or to register, please RSVP to [email protected], or call 970-274-6557.
CRAFT Mentor exists to stimulate the development of high-quality cultural, heritage, agricultural and outdoor adventure tourism experiences for travelers in Colorado, catering to all organizations or businesses wishing to advance a specific tourism-related goal or strategy. See: http://industry.colorado.com/craft-mentor for more information.
CSU Professor Constance Deveraux, Ph.D. conducted a highly successful strategic planning process in 2015 for the OWHCC and will return to serve as mentor and facilitator for guiding the visioning process that seeks to engage historical society members and community adults and youth in determining the future programs and outreach efforts of the RBCHS, the White River Museum and the OWHCC. Heritage culture and agritourism are among the leading economic development engines in Colorado, particularly for small rural communities. Domestic and International visitors are particularly attracted to old west heritage and agricultural historical venues and tend to spend more time and funds in such venues than other tourism attractions.
Accomplishments to date include: Pending designation of Meeker’s National Historic District, farmer’s markets, cowboy poet’s gatherings, history camps for youth, outreach programs at sheepdog trials and much more. Future proposed projects include Community Hearts and Soul community engagement, historic trails and antiquities programs.
https://www.colorado.com/sites/default/master/files/RioBlancoCaseStudy.pdf
