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).
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