County Tourism

The Carroll County Tourism Office and the agriculture marketing specialist of the Department of Economic Development are updating the "Christmas Trees & Holiday Greens in Carroll County" brochure.The brochure will be distributed to visitors at the Carroll County Visitor Center, state welcome centers and special events.Christmas tree farm owners interested in being included in the brochure should contact the Tourism Office at 410-857-2983 or the agriculture marketing specialist at 410-386-2070 for an application.

A major motion picture -- "Species 2" -- is to be filmed this summer in a Columbia warehouse.Filming of some of the sequel to a 1995 science fiction-horror film will take place from June through August in a warehouse-turned-sound stage in the Gateway Commerce Center off Route 175, County Executive Charles I. Ecker announced yesterday at a county tourism news conference.Virtually all of the film will be shot in Maryland and in Washington, officials at the film's production company, MGM/United Artists in Los Angeles, said in a telephone interview.

Team officials say more fans turned out for the Baltimore Ravens second summer in Westminster, but Carroll County tourism officials reported a 50 percent decrease in the number of people stopping by their information booth during the five-week training camp that ended last week. And most local merchants say the team's presence at Western Maryland College had little or no impact.The Ravens returned to Westminster last month as part of a contract that will bring the National Football League team to the WMC campus for the next four summers.

State grant money may push Carroll County above par in the golf industry.With six public and several private golf courses, the county leads the state in the number of greens per golfer and will use the state money to tout its golf resources.Yesterday, the county Office of Tourism received $4,840, the first of two state grants that will total $20,000. Barbara Beverungen, the county tourism director, is already planning a golf brochure.Golf can generate a larger portion of the state's $5.7 billion tourism industry than it now does, said George Williams, director of the Maryland Office of Tourism.

If Annapolis and Anne Arundel County tourism officials have their way, Marylanders may soon have to contend with throngs of out-of-state visitors to see the county's attractions.That is because the Maryland Tourism Development Board awarded a $48,000 grant yesterday to the Annapolis and Anne Arundel County Conference and Visitors Bureau to help local officials reach a wider national market.The board approved the grant in recognition of the visitors bureau's marketing, advertising and development programs, said Andrea Thomas, a spokeswoman with the Maryland Department of Business and Economic Development.

Carroll County is learning to sell itself to more and more tourists."Look at your product and play it to the hilt," Mike Fish, Central Region consultant for the Small Business Development Center, said at a meeting of the Carroll County Tourism Association yesterday.The numbers from the county Office of Tourism are encouraging.More people have stopped at the Visitor Information Center in Westminster in the first six months of this year than for all of 1993 and 1994."Through May 1994, we had 190 visitors," said Sharon Kirk, who manages the center on East Main Street in Westminster.

Tourism should be second nature to Karen S. Justice, who began work last month as the Howard County Tourism Council's executive director.Ms. Justice is the daughter of a traveled telephone company manager and has lived in 11 states and two foreign countries. With her husband of 24 years -- a military man -- she's moved more than a dozen times."Tourism was fun as an avocation," she said. "So I made it a vocation."Ms. Justice, 46, was selected from more than 100 applicants. She will work at the tourism council's rather inconspicuous offices in a former courthouse behind Ellicott City's Thomas Isaac Log Cabin, near Main Street and Ellicott Mills Drive.

Nearly a half-million "Catch Your Breath Bills" will start circulating in Carroll County next month.The bills, about the size of a dollar, are redeemable at many county businesses for a variety of benefits -- from discounts to desserts."

When the state sent its mobile tourism brochure unit to the Pennsylvania Dutch Farmers Market in Westminster, it took Rich Gilbert only five minutes to have it open for inspection by the Carroll County Tourism Association.Mr. Gilbert, who operates the unit for the Maryland Office of Tourism, hands out free information and drums up business for events as he takes to the road for festivals that attract crowds of thousands across the state."You have a ready audience who wonder what they can see on their way home and what they can do when they come back," he said.

As they rode through the rolling hills of Western Maryland, members of the Carroll County Tourism Task Force touted the benefits of their industry on the community.About 50 people, sporting "Tourism Works" buttons, boarded the EnterTRAINment Line train Wednesday to discuss ways to generate more tourism dollars in the county."We are trying to network with all businesses to let them know how they are affected directly and indirectly by tourism dollars," said Tom McPherson, general manager of Days Inn in Westminster.

The Orioles are awaiting three governmental approvals in Florida this afternoon that would secure them a new spring training home for the next 30 years. The Orioles and Sarasota County officials have reached a tentative agreement that would relocate the club's spring training headquarters from Fort Lauderdale, in the southeastern part of Florida, to Sarasota on the state's western coast, starting in February. As part of the potential deal, $31.2 million in state grant money and a county tourism tax would be used to fully renovate 22-year-old Ed Smith Stadium, which hosted the Cincinnati Reds from 1998 to 2009, and dilapidated Twin Lakes Park, the Orioles' current minor league complex.

A move from Towson Town Center into rent-free space in downtown Towson next month promises to make the county's tourism office more visible, but officials are eyeing another relocation to an even more prominent location eventually - the Hampton National Historic Site. The agency's storefront visitor center on the mall's ground floor costs $1,000 a month to lease and rarely drew more than 75 people a month. A tourism advisory council, appointed earlier this year, strongly recommended a more visible location.

Victoria Goodman, Howard County's director of communications for the past eight years under former executive James N. Robey, is moving to a new post after her retirement at the end of the month. Goodman will be executive director of the Blossoms of Hope cherry tree-planting program run by Howard County Tourism Inc., starting Feb. 12. The campaign has planted more than 1,000 trees in the county as an attraction for spring tourists. The trees are designed to bloom simultaneously about two weeks later than the display in Washington, Goodman said.

The Carroll County Office of Public Safety Support Services and Carroll County Health Department will hold a workshop for residents with special needs and their caregivers on how to prepare for emergencies from 8 a.m. to noon Wednesday at Westminster Senior Center, 125 Stoner Ave. Kristin Cox, secretary of the Maryland Department of Disabilities, will open the workshop. The event is geared toward individuals who face challenges, such as evacuating a wheelchair user or obtaining prescription medicine during a blizzard.

Cancer Coalition to hold meeting The Howard County Cancer Coalition will hold its annual Partnership Meeting today at the offices of the Howard County Health Department, 7178 Columbia Gateway Drive, Columbia. Dr. Jeanette Linder, radiation oncologist and assistant professor at the University of Maryland School of Medicine, will speak about "Cancer: It's a Family Disease." Dr. Penny Borenstein, Health Officer at the Howard County Health Department, will speak about "The Local Perspective."

The March 19 Opening Day at the Carroll County Sports Complex arrived after weeks of chilly, wet weather, prompting organizers to wonder whether players would be tossing snowballs instead of softballs. "My money was on snowballs," said Jeff Degitz, bureau chief of the county Department of Recreation and Parks. The weekend tournament, the first of a booked-solid season at the Westminster facility, went off with the standard equipment and a few shivering players. For softball enthusiasts, few places offer a better venue to play ball than the 76-acre complex along Route 97, a few miles north of the county seat.

George Washington may be known for cutting down a cherry tree, but Howard County doesn't think his namesake city should monopolize the flowering trees' brilliant spring display. In a ceremony at Centennial Park in Ellicott City yesterday, Howard County Tourism planted 20 cherry trees purchased by community leaders, businesses and individuals. It was the first step in an effort to plant 1,000 cherry trees throughout the county over the next few years. Organizers hope the project will beautify local communities, raise money for charity and establish the county as a place to view cherry blossoms each year.

Carroll County offers visitors and residents of all ages a variety of historical sites and contemporary activities they can attend year-round. From the Carroll County Farm Museum and Union Mills Homestead to the Carroll County Arts Council and Piney Run Park, there is something for everyone. Activities abound, from church dinners, art exhibits and family film shows to firemen's carnivals, strawberry festivals and Christmas house tours and craft shows. It is the job of Barbara Beverungen and Heather Johnson - manager and marketing assistant, respectively, at the Carroll County Tourism Office - to promote the attractions and events.

New member appointed to zoning appeals board Michele Johnson of Mount Airy has been appointed to the Carroll County Board of Zoning Appeals to complete the term of Ronald Hoff, who has resigned. Johnson has a master's degree in planning and specializes in transportation planning. She worked for several years as transportation planner in the Federal Highway Administration. In recent years, Johnson has been involved in local transportation issues and was on the citizens commission that helped plan the new Parr's Ridge Elementary School.

Democratic Club sets forum tomorrow at senior center Carroll County Democratic Club will hold a forum for Democratic candidates at 7 p.m. tomorrow at Westminster Senior Center. The forum is open to the public. The senior center is at 125 Stoner Ave. Information: 410-795-0144. Tourism calendar seeks events for 2003 listing The Carroll County Tourism Office is preparing the 2003 Tourism Calendar of Events. The calendar will cover activities from Jan. 1 to Dec. 31. The Tourism Office will print and distribute 100,000 copies.