Locals honored for growing outdoor recreation economy, nature tourism
Clinton County CleanScapes director Elisabeth Lynch-McCoy, third from left, accepts the PA Wilds Conservation Stewardship award and congratulations from PA Department of Conservation & Natural Resources Secretary Cindy Dunn, center, and, from left, DCNR PA Wilds director Meredith Hill, Mark Adams representing State Senator Joe Scarnati, Deborah Pontzer with U.S. Congressman Glenn Thompson’s office, and PA Wilds Center board officers Sam MacDonald and Shane Oschman.
Quiet Oaks Campground owners Dave and Carla Flack, center, recipients of the PA Wilds ‘Business of the Year’ Award, receive congratulations from, from left, Williamsport/Lycoming Chamber director Jason Fink of the PA Wilds Center Board, Mark Adams with State Senator Joe Scarnati’s office, Deborah Pontzer with Congressman Glenn Thompson’s office, DCNR Secretary Cindy Dunn, and Shane Oschman with the PA Wilds Center board.
Bellefonte Councilwoman and Downtown Bellefonte Inc. board member Melissa Hombosky accepted the PA Wilds ‘Event of the Year’ Award for the ‘Bellefonte Under the Lights’ dinner.
PHOTOS PROVIDED BY CLINTON COUNTY TOURISM There was a good Clinton County contingent at the dinner. Seated from left are Clinton County CleanScapes director Elisabeth Lynch-McCoy and Quiet Oaks Campground owners Carla and Dave Flack. Standing from left are Clinton County Commissioner Jeff Snyder, Chamber/Tourism Director Julie Brennan, Commissioner Pete Smeltz, County Planner Katie de Silva, Tiadaghton State Forest forester Tom Casilio, LaKeshia Knarr from the PA Wilds Center, Joe and Stephanie Waltz, Clinton County Community Planner Gabe Caprio, Bonnie Hannis with the Tourist Promotion Agency, DCED Deputy Secretary Rick Vilello, and CleanScapes board member Joanne Heimer.
Clinton County CleanScapes director Elisabeth Lynch-McCoy, third from left, accepts the PA Wilds Conservation Stewardship award and congratulations from PA Department of Conservation & Natural Resources Secretary Cindy Dunn, center, and, from left, DCNR PA Wilds director Meredith Hill, Mark Adams representing State Senator Joe Scarnati, Deborah Pontzer with U.S. Congressman Glenn Thompson’s office, and PA Wilds Center board officers Sam MacDonald and Shane Oschman.
Quiet Oaks Campground owners Dave and Carla Flack, center, recipients of the PA Wilds ‘Business of the Year’ Award, receive congratulations from, from left, Williamsport/Lycoming Chamber director Jason Fink of the PA Wilds Center Board, Mark Adams with State Senator Joe Scarnati’s office, Deborah Pontzer with Congressman Glenn Thompson’s office, DCNR Secretary Cindy Dunn, and Shane Oschman with the PA Wilds Center board.
Bellefonte Councilwoman and Downtown Bellefonte Inc. board member Melissa Hombosky accepted the PA Wilds ‘Event of the Year’ Award for the ‘Bellefonte Under the Lights’ dinner.
PHOTOS PROVIDED BY CLINTON COUNTY TOURISM There was a good Clinton County contingent at the dinner. Seated from left are Clinton County CleanScapes director Elisabeth Lynch-McCoy and Quiet Oaks Campground owners Carla and Dave Flack. Standing from left are Clinton County Commissioner Jeff Snyder, Chamber/Tourism Director Julie Brennan, Commissioner Pete Smeltz, County Planner Katie de Silva, Tiadaghton State Forest forester Tom Casilio, LaKeshia Knarr from the PA Wilds Center, Joe and Stephanie Waltz, Clinton County Community Planner Gabe Caprio, Bonnie Hannis with the Tourist Promotion Agency, DCED Deputy Secretary Rick Vilello, and CleanScapes board member Joanne Heimer.
DUBOIS -- Clinton and Centre counties were in the spotlight at the recent PA Wilds Awards Dinner in Dubois.
Two of 12 Champion of the PA Wilds awards went to Clinton County interests, and another to a Centre County event, as more than 200 people gathered for the event.
Quiet Oaks Campground in Cross Fork received the 'Business of the Year' Award, and Clinton County CleanScapes was recognized with the Conservation Stewardship Award.
In Centre County, the Bellefonte Under the Lights program received the Event of the Year Award.
-- Quiet Oaks Campgrounds in Clinton and Potter Counties was honored for their investments and growth in their property serving travelers in both counties as well as their commitment to leveraging the Pennsylvania Wilds as part of the overall experience. Owners Dave and Carla Flack purchased the 13-site campground in 1985 with Dave's parents, to give people a camping option that allowed pets. In 1998, when Dave retired from the Air Force, the couple moved back to the area and took over the business full-time. Since then, they've added about 25 campsites and six cabins.
This year, they embarked on a project to add up to 40 more campsites, an investment of about $100,000.
In addition to year-round camping, Quiet Oaks is host to several regional and national events that generate a tremendous amount of visitor/tourism traffic and provide a platform for many local nonprofits to raise needed funds. Just one of those events, Smoked Country Jam Bluegrass Festival, brings in more than 2,000 people annually and is a benefit for the Lupus Foul8ndation.
-- Clinton County CleanScapes was honored for its ongoing commitment to mobilizing areas to restore public landscapes and waterways for the past two decades.
Serving Clinton and Lycoming counties, the mission of CleanScapes, a nonprofit organization and Keep PA Beautiful affiliate, is imperative to the Pennsylvania Wilds core value of maintaining nature-based tourism. Holding four or more events each year, the group locates and removes tons of trash from remote forests, trails, rivers and streams.
The organization has, since 2000, completed more than 124 cleanup events, trained over 4,569 volunteers that removed more than 2,432,460 pounds of trash, 13,131 tires and 49,,245 pounds of scrap metal from the natural environment.
-- Bellefonte Under the Lights was honored for its positive social and economic impact on the region. Meant to highlight some of the underutilized assets in Bellefonte, the event was developed as a community dinner alongside the Spring Creek waterfront, under strands of bistro lights. The dinner brought together neighborhoods in a way that was unexpected.
Selling out in under two hours in its first year, the dinner brought together residents and tourists alike, and through the event, Downtown Bellefonte Inc., the community's Main Street program was able to put more than $10,000 back into the downtown economy. In its second year, the event again sold out quickly. Organizers look to offer Bellefonte Under the Lights as an annual event to help stimulate the local economy and capitalize on unique community assets.