Detailed Schedule: First Ever Real Rural Tourism Symposium

Detailed Schedule
June 26th, 27th, 28th

Knox County, Texas

June 26th Thursday

Step I: Get to know your neighborhood: What your Neighbors are Doing, What Your Neighbors are Doing and What We Could Do Together!

Focus on Crowell & Seymour

• 2 pm – Hospitality Center set up at Courthouse to greet out of town attendees, get them to their accommodations, guide if necessary, answer questions.
  
  Register & count; assign drivers
  
• 4 pm- Welcome everyone, quick overview of what we are going to see, do, accomplish
  
• 4:10 pm – Introduce car pool drivers
  
• 4:15 pm- Load ‘em up, move ‘em out
  
• 4:45 pm- Arrive Crowell Activity Center
  
  Carolyn Henry will tell story of why, how, how funded and how operating. Compare to our need and opportunity for meeting place in County.
  
  Stacy Henry – will present story of Pease River Partners and their Tourism and Conservation partnership, private land and 12,000 acre Teacup Mountain Wilderness Area
  
• 5:15 pm – walk across to Crazy Lady Trading Post – presentation by Rusty and Malinda – Putting it all together – Story of their combined, store, catering location, lodge, hunting outfitter, processing plant and now resident taxidermist
  
• 5:45 pm- leave for Longhorn Steakhouse
  
• 6:05 pm- arrive, dinner, presentation on Destination Dining
  
• 7:05 pm- leave for Comanche Springs
  
• 7:15 pm – tour & presentation by 3RF and Seymour EDC Director and Chamber Director on Science and Tourism
  
• 9 pm – 9:50 pm – sky viewing
• 9:55- 10:30 drive back to Courthouse

June 27th Friday

Step II: Discover Your Own Assets! Use What You Have, Where You Are, Who You Are; Keep It Real & Keep It Simple!

• 8 am- Hospitality Room at the Courthouse – Coffee & Morning Snacks
  
• 9 am- Tour details; assign drivers
  
• 9:15 am- Hit the road!
  Hwy 6 to Knox City
  Note Brazos River Bridge
  
• 9:30 am – Knox City- park in front of Old City Hall building
  Marla Hawkins will host : Awnings, Murals, Tractor Art, Watermelon Festival, renovation of old City Hall
  
• 9:45 leave KC
  Note Dillon’s, Gillespie Cemetery, Johnson’s Memorial Cemetery
  
• 10:05 am – Munday- park in front of school- Karen Longan will host- streetscape, school park, old church renovation to theatre, Quilt Show
  
• 10:20 am- leave Munday- note streetscape, church as drive by
  Stay on Hwy 222, go under overpass of Hwy 277, note Lake Creek Golf Course
  Turn on Hwy 266 then right on FM 1608 to Miller Creek Lake
  
• 10:40 am- awning and chairs and refreshments are set up on peninsula; Bob Rogers & Dick Wilberforce will present on “ Real Simple, Real Popular” Nature Tourism programs
  
• 11:15 am- leave for Goree- right on FM 266 under overpass, park on side of Memorial Building – restrooms inside- may visit Domino Hall & Old Jail while waiting-Tammie Trainham will present on “Rebirth of a Town” keeping it real, using what you have, HOW?
  
• 11:30 – Hwy 266 toward Vera – note Hefner Cemetery
  @ intersection of Hwy 82 turn left, then right on County Rd 3185
  
• 12:05 pm – Arrive Leak Farms- Todd Leak will host - 26,000 native plants- “Real Diversification- Real Agri-Tourism”
  
• 12:35 pm- leave Leak Farms, left @ Leak gates, 1 mile west, 1 mile north to Vineyard, 2 miles back to Hwy 82, turn West
  Note Vera cemetery, church, community center
  W side of Vera Hwy 82 curves left, stay right, dirt road to Ranger Creek Lodge
  
• 12:50 pm – lunch at Ranger Creek- presentation by Randy Walker- “Real Story of Ranger Creek”
  
• 2:15 pm- left @ CBar ranch gate out on County Rd 3150- turn W on Hwy 82 then left on Hwy 267-to Rhineland- St. Joseph’s Church- Mrs. Dot Myers will host tour of famous Church and story of the community “What they had, Where they were & Who they are”
  
• 2:45 pm- leave Rhineland, Hwy 267 North to Hwy 82 West-
  
• 2:50 pm- The Narrows – scenic view- RF tells story and invites to see Benjamin- “Real Town using what it has- this Hwy”
  
• 3:00 pm- Hwy 82 West to Benjamin-
  
• 3:05 pm – arrive Benjamin-Court House - shopping, refreshments, reception – Redford Ranch, Santa Fe on the Brazos, Museum, Veteran’s Memorial
  
• 4:00 pm- Dennis Duke- “Welcome to Benjamin-What We are Doing with What We Have”
  
• 4:15 pm- What We Saw- Impressions, Reflections, Comparisons, Ideas
  
• 5:15 pm- “Our Heritage, Our History, Doing it Our Way” – introduction to Truscott, TX
  
• 5:30 pm- assign drivers and load ‘em up, move ‘em out
  
• 6:00 pm- arrive Truscott- Group I: Stage Coach & Wagon Rides & Tours, Group II: Truscott Brine Lake
  
• 6:45 pm- Switch groups I & II
  
• 7:30 pm- Cowboy Dinner at the Community Center
  
• 8:30 pm- Songs & Stories of the Old West- MC Bob Rogers; featuring Mr Tibb Burnet, Benjamin, TX and Andy Wilkinson, Artist in Residence, The Southwest Collection, Texas Tech University
  
• 10 pm- Get along Home!
  
• 10:30 arrive Court House

June 28th, Saturday

Sell Your Hometown…..without Selling Your Soul
Assessing, Soul-searching, Planning, Developing & Marketing in Your Hometown

• 8 am- Meet any carpoolers- Hospitality Room – coffee and breakfast snacks
  
• 8:30 am – travel to Stanfield’s Big Honker Lodge – Knox City-
  (8 am- Hospitality center at Stanfield’s open with coffee and breakfast snacks)
  
• 9:00 am- Welcome by Mayor Jeff Stanfield – Owner Stanfield’s & Big Honker Lodge
  Presentation on Stanfields, largest waterfowl outfitter in United States and the role of tourism business in a community and the community’s role in the tourism business
  
• 9:45 am - Assesment Team Report and Recommendations – “What’s real, real simple, real honest and your real opportunities” Facilitated Discussion
  
• 10:45 am -What’s really going on- What we did with what you have- What works- What doesn’t!
  
• 11:45 am -Resource Team – “What you really need, What we really can do to help.”
  
• 12:30 pm – LUNCH
  
• 1:15 pm- Let’s Do Something- Putting it all together-for real.
  
• 2:00 pm- Heading Home! Start your own Real Rural Success Story!