Record number of tourism grants distributed to Fayette businesses, nonprofits
GO Laurel Highlands distributed a record number of grants totalling over $1 million through the Fayette County Tourism Grant Program.
On Monday, county tourism-related businesses and organizations gathered at the State Theatre Center for the Arts in Uniontown for the awards ceremony.
“It’s not easy to operate a business or a non-profit or a for-profit in this world today,” said Ann Nemanic, executive director of GO Laurel Highlands. “All of you are to be commended for taking the initiative about, ‘How I can improve my business, my for-profit, my non-profit?’ and you did it by applying for a tourism grant.”
Nemanic said since the grant program started in 2016 through funding generated by the county’s hotel tax, 616 grants have been awarded totalling just over $8 million.
This year, she said, 55 grants totalling $1,020,673 were awarded.
The awardees will receive their checks in early January and have until Dec. 31, 2024, to spend the funding.
The grant committee received 70 applications this year with the county commissioners making the final approval of the grant awardees.
“The commissioners have recognized how important everyone here is, and their businesses and organizations are an integral part of economic development toward Fayette County,” Nemanic said.
Commissioner Dave Lohr thanked those involved in the awards ceremony including GO Laurel Highlands, the Fayette County Chamber of Commerce and the State Theatre for hosting the event.
“There’s so many people, so many moving parts to this,” Lohr said. “I know you’ll put the money to good use and we’ll probably have more than $1 million next year because we keep on growing because of your efforts.”
Commissioner Scott Dunn said county officials want to continue to promote travel and tourism in Fayette County, developing assets like The Sheepskin Trail.
“As we build more trails, more people are going to be here, we’re going to have more tourists, we’re going to need more things for them to do, more places for them to stay, and more food for them to eat,” Dunn said.
Commissioner Vince Vicites said the decision to enact the hotel tax was one of the best decisions he’s made in his tenure as that money has maximized efforts to attract tourists to the county.
“It keeps growing, and I think it will continue to grow,” Vicites said. “Our plan is working and thanks to all of you. You’re a part of the plan.”
Grant recipients include: $24,500 to Dunbar to build a pavilion along the side of The Sheepskin Trail; $39,071 to Jumonville for the construction of an indoor climbing wall for campers and visitors at the retreat center; $7,500 to The Perennial Project to be used for a directional artistic wall in Brownsville and $40,000 to Neubauer’s Flower and Market House for advertising in target markets in Baltimore, Washington DC, Erie, Ohio, West Virginia and Maryland.
A new grant awardee this year is the Crawford School of Terror in Connellsville, which received a $6,600 grant for marketing.
Suzie Flesik, owner of the haunted attraction, said she joined the Fayette Chamber of Commerce this year, learned about the grant program and decided to apply.
“I’ve never received a grant for any of my businesses — we’ve never even taken out a loan — so it was worth a shot and might as well try for it,” Flesik said.
She said the grant money will go toward marketing efforts for the horror attraction’s upcoming ninth season like having a commercial filmed, noting marketing has been a weak link for the business.
“We never had the means to put money into much advertising,” Flesik said. “This is a big deal for us.”
To see a complete list of grant recipients and their projects, visit www.golaurelhighlands.com/grants.