President Brandon opened the meeting at 12:25 and Bob Miller led the Pledge and Prayer.
ATTENDANCE:
Members - 36 members were in attendance which represents 44.30 % of our membership
Guests - 6 students of the month; our speaker Karl Pietrzak; Mark Albright, prospective member; Rebecca Countess, Haley Rohrbaugh, Beth Keva guests of Club from the CGA law firm
ANNOUNCEMENTS: Brandon announced that he'll be arranging a date and time for a meeting of the Fundraising committee once he hears from those wishing to be part of the group.
STUDENTS OF THE MONTH: Mary Kay Bernosky explained the significance of the 4 Way Test and presented coins to each of the students. Brandon then asked each student to share their impressions of Rotary over the past several weeks.
LONGEVITY PRESENTATION: Peg Sennett presented awards to two additional Rotarians - Walt Maust, 50 years and Mary Kay Bernosky, 11 years.
BADGE PRESENTATION: One of our newer members, Austin Carroll, has agreed to assist Wendell with the Sargent At Arms duties. As such he was given a special badge to signify his position. The Club gave Austin and Wendell a round of applause for their work week in and week out.
PROGRAM: Karl Pietrzak, President of Destination Gettysburg
Destination Gettysburg is the official marketing agent of Gettysburg. They include Hanover in their efforts.
Karl emphasized several points:
Advocacy - for tourism industry in the Region
Audience - there are several different types of tourists including leisure, Groups, International, Educational. 3 -4 million travelers per year. They want to attract younger
visitors and are having some success in lowering the average age now to 51 yrs old.
Marketing - they utilize social media (FaceBook, twitter, TicToc, billboards, and print media
Adams Co Pour Tour - there are 20 partners including brewers, distillers, and vintners
Adams Co Crop Hop/Stop - the tour provides an agricultural experience especially for those unfamiliar with all types of farming, crop growing, farm animals and farm life.
They have held 563 tours since the spring
Tourism - data from 2019 shows that tourism create 5300 jobs; brings in $753 million in revenue; and $80 million in tax revenue. Tourism in the US is rebounding and
predicted to keep increasing
Covid - they are rebounding from the effects of covid over the last year and a half. 2019 data show they are up 54% from March of 2020 to March of 2021. They keep an
eye on covid trends for planning and to provide safe experiences for all visitors.
The presentation was well received and we are glad to see that things are beginning to return to normal especially for small business and tourism in the region.
NEXT WEEK'S PROGRAM: SENATOR DOUG MASTRIANO