new visitors as well as the growing number
that were repeat customers to the restaurants, motels, inns,
wineries, museums, and recreational sites. It seemed the more
they promoted, the more people came. Pretty soon it would be a
challenge to keep up with the demand, so city and county
officials started shopping around for what they would like
their tourism and visitors center
to be like. Nancy said they “went around to
to be like. Nancy said they “went around to
Nanci is a good community partner with a
genuine interest in the community at large and the long range
vision to understand that the same factors that affect all
businesses have an impact on tourism and economic development
in the Bedford area.
- Lee Ann Carr
Executive Director & CEO
Bedford Area Chamber
of Commerce
Executive Director & CEO
Bedford Area Chamber
of Commerce
Nanci’s ability to soak in the
history, the hidden treasures, and all the varied elements that
make up a community and instill in others that same enthusiasm
for discovery makes her a true tourism professional. Her work
is much more than a job. She invests not only her time, but her
spirit. It is her creativity, her commitment, her sense of
place, and her passion that make her such a success. More than
that, she is a friend to many and everyone knows that as long
as she is at the helm, people will continue to learn about what
makes our area unique. She is an asset and a blessing, not only
to this community, but to everyone who calls her friend.
- April Cheek
National D-Day Memorial
National D-Day Memorial
anything, and just get right back on the
Interstate or 460 and leave. So we thought it was really
important to be on the highway and then to be able to direct
the travelers, let them know there are things downtown, let
them know that there are other things in the community. I think
we have been very successful in being able to do that . . . But
if you come in and don’t see anything right off the road,
then you think there is nothing here.”
As she did in Franklin with the Barrett’s
Landing waterfront project, once they met with an architect and
had some city owned land to work with, she got busy writing
grants. This resulted in $1,086,000 in T-21 grants. The total
costs would be $2.3 million including land, the building, and
construction. The city and county split the difference, and pay
with the revenues they are getting from meals and lodging
taxes. The city
several places. In fact, they came back
and had a plan drawn for what they thought the visitors center
would be. It’s not like it is now, but was your typical
3,000 square foot square box visitors center, but it was
nothing like it eventually came to be. It certainly
didn’t have any community outreach and participation
areas to it,” like the present one does.
“We went to a lot of the neighboring
localities like Lexington, Roanoke, and Lynchburg. The location
here was an important factor. Some folks through we should stay
downtown . . . I spent a lot of time coming out here long
before any of this was built, just watching the way travelers
left the D-Day Memorial. They would get right up her to the
corner, they would look and not really see
Nanci has succeeded in bringing our
community to the “next level” as far as tourism is
concerned. I have worked with Nancy on a couple of different
projects and she is a true visionary. The difference between
Nanci and other visionaries is that she knows how to make
things happen.
- John P. Messier
Southern Flavoring
Southern Flavoring
acquired land adjoining to that they
already owned to total about three acres in all. The
visitor’s center cost $1.7 million.
She said the experience of building
Barrett’s Landing came in handy. She was able to apply
for the same kinds of grants for the visitor’s center.
But she got more hands on than that. “I worked with the
architects and I was the project manager,” she said with
a smile. “That was fun and interesting, and I think it
showed a lot of trust from my bosses. I’m certainly not
in the construction business, but they
Nanci is a true professional and a
delight to work with. She is always ‘ahead of the
curve’ on everything she is associated with. We are truly
fortunate to have her energy and enthusiasm at work in the
Bedford area.
- Sue Montgomery
Bedford County Economic Development Director
Bedford County Economic Development Director
