Branson has some new ideas about how to draw in tourists and make the city a little greener. City leaders are interested in creating a Nature Center along Highway 76 and Fall Creek Road. This project would be modeled after the nature center in Springfield.

Alderman Rick Davis says he believes it can only help Branson. “We have so many visitors from out of town. 30,000 cars a day travel past this sight so it could really make a big difference in educating people about one of the reasons people come to Branson, the natural beauty,” said Davis.

That’s why Davis is trying to gather supporters of the project. Retired High School teacher Clark Harris is one them. He’s also the current chairman of the Branson Zoning Board. He says the center will generate interest from schools. “It’s often a concern of teachers how do you get students out into nature. How do you get them to relate to nature and to connect to nature,” said Harris.

Harris says a nature center would also offer people a chance to learn more about conservation and wildlife.” You get this great diversity of animals and plants that are there and you can see it all at a very short difference. It’s history, it’s nature. It’s all together and its what the Ozarks is all about,” said Harris.

Davis says funding is the roadblock for this project. He says the size of the nature center will depend on the amount of money available.
“If you ask citizens locally, generally speaking yeah, they think it’s a great idea. I’m sure they don’t want to see an increase in taxes to pay for it.”

Davis says the city plans to apply for federal and state grants to generate the funding. He says the city is also open to making partnerships with local companies. Harris says he’s just happy to see the idea is moving forward. “It’s going to take a while but i can see it being something really great for everybody, visitors and residents alike,” said Harris.

Davis says the city already held one town meeting about this issue in March. The community seemed to respond well to the idea. He says the city will continue to keep everyone informed as plans move forward.

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The Voice of Branson Allen Edwards is the next guest on the Gene Williams Country Music TV Show that is taped live in Branson, Mo., telecast nationwide to more than 100 markets and can also be seen in Canada.
“My friend Allen Edwards is known as the voice of Branson. He is a former Houston law enforcement officer and now in his 15th season in Branson. Allen headlines breakfast, lunch, and dinner shows at the World’s Largest Golden Corral, in his own dining showroom. His is a great talent,” said Gene Williams, the star and creator of the Telly Award-winning show that was taped live at the 50’s at the Hop Theatre at the Shoppes at Branson Meadows.

The TV show with Edwards will be telecast April 18 and 19.

Williams will be taking a short break from the hectic schedule he has had for eight years in Branson due to health problems. A hiatus from taping his live show to help fix the problem has been recommended. The Gene Williams Country Music TV Show will continue to be aired in Springfield, Branson, Little Rock, Jonesboro, Ark., Nashville, St. Louis, Decatur, Ill., Ada and Ardmore, Okla., Sherman/Denison, Texas, plus on RTN which is over 100 stations including 11 of the top 30 markets in the nation.

Williams began his country music television show in Arkansas almost 50 years ago and for the past eight years has taped the show in Branson live before a studio audience. Guests have included Ed McMahon, Mickey Gilley, the Oak Ridge Boys, Roy Clark, Johnny Lee, Barbara Fairchild, Sons of the Pioneers, the Osmonds, Johnny Cash’s band The Tennessee Three, the Blackwood Brothers, Helen Cornelius, Leona Williams, Charlie Louvin, Mary Lou Turner, Cal Smith, Stonewall Jackson, Norma Jean, “Diamond” Dave Somerville, Little Jimmy Dickens, Porter Wagoner, Jim Owen, Buck Trent and Wanda Jackson.

Williams’ co-host Katie Lynn has received the Branson Entertainment Awards Best Support Vocalist twice for her work in the “Mickey Gilley Show.” She has worked with Gilley for more than eight years and also worked with Jim Owen for seven years. In addition to her singing career, she is a real estate agent. She and the guest stars perform weekly on the television show with the Country Junction Band.

Who: Branson Airport officials, area emergency response agencies

What: Emergency Disaster Drill

When: Saturday, April 11th, 2009

7:30 a.m. – 1:00 p.m.

Where: Branson Airport

A drill simulating an airline disaster will take place at the Branson Airport on Saturday, April 11 at 7:30 a.m. Airport personnel, along with area police, fire, emergency responders and some 75 volunteer “victims” will take part in the drill. The Branson Airport is the nation’s first privately developed and operated commercial service airport and will open May 11, 2009.

The emergency response disaster drill is a requirement by the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) in order to maximize safety at the airport in the event of an emergency . This requirement to test airport/airfield emergency response is a condition precdent to U.S. airports’ operating certification by FAA standards. Each certificate holder must coordinate its emergency plan with local law enforcement agencies, rescue and firefighting agencies, medical personnel and hospital organizations, principal airport tenants and all other entities that have responsibility under the plan.

Media are invited to photograph/videotape the drill and attend a briefing by Branson Airport officials following the exercise.

On Saturday, April 11, from 7:00am to 7:00pm, the Branson Veterans Task Force will honor the Persian Gulf War veterans at the Factory Merchants Mall (Red Roof Mall) in Branson, MO.

Opening with a continental breakfast from 7:00am-8:00am, the day-long event features hourly (on-the-hour) prayer by local members of the clergy followed by a Moment of Silence to honor those who served in that war.

“We invite people to stop by and help us honor these young veterans,” said Tom Goldsworthy, chairman of the event. “The local clergy have generously volunteered their time to lead us in prayer and we hope to have a group of people in attendance each hour.”

Located next to Auntie Anne’s Pretzels, displays will include the Battlefield Cross and a Missing Man Table. The Missouri Veterans Commission will host a booth to answer questions regarding veteran benefits and issues.

The Branson Veterans Task Force hosts veteran events throughout the year. For more information, visit www.bransonveterans.com or call 417.337.8387.

(Branson, MO) – The walls of Skaggs Family Health Clinic are crawling with frogs, lizards, and insects. Not literally; the amphibians and bugs are the creative work of 19 second, third, and fourth graders at Branson Elementary.

The framed paintings hang in the waiting room of Skaggs Family Health Clinic, and are among the best of over 400 paintings submitted. Branson Elementary East Art Teacher, Regina Seaman, says, “Every year the students compete in an art contest. First place winners in each class get to have his or her painting hung in the Table Rock Lake Art Gallery. The paintings decorating the walls at Skaggs are the second place winners from each class.”

The theme of frogs, lizards, and insects compliments the lessons each grade is learning in class. The fourth graders are learning about frogs, the third graders are studying lizards and their habitat, and the second graders are talking about insects in their classes.

Skaggs Family Health Clinic Manager, Lori Leochner, says, “This is a family clinic, so it was only appropriate to have children’s artwork hanging in the waiting area. It also teaches the students a lesson on sharing and helps build their self-esteem.

Skaggs Family Health Clinic is located on the 5th floor of Skaggs Outpatient Center, 545 Branson Landing Blvd., Branson, MO.

The Downtown Branson Main Street Association’s (DBMA) director for the past year has resigned.

Dawn Erickson will become a consultant and volunteer for the organization, according to DBMA President Jeff Justus. Erickson will continue to produce reports for DBMA’s government-related economic development projects, supervise the national marketing program, and assist with upcoming special events such as Plumb Nellie Days and the annual fiddle contest.

“We are sorry to see Dawn leave the organization, but she has assured us that she will remain involved,” said DBMA Chairman Jeff Justus. “She said she plans to return to free-lance communications and economic development projects.”

Responsibilities handled by Erickson will be covered by DBMA’s board members and staff. The director’s position will be left open at this time, Justus said.

“Over the past year, we have done our best to adapt to a changing economy,” Justus said. “Non-profit organizations are going to take a beating in this recession, and we have made significant changes in how we spend a shrinking supply of investment dollars.”

For more than 20 years, DBMA has provided revitalization opportunities for the downtown business community through government grants and programs. It conducts an effective annual national marketing campaign to attract visitors to Historic Downtown Branson. It hosts several tourism-related special events each year, and creates strategic partnerships among government entities, business organizations and private enterprise to achieve the goals of the community. DBMA also provides administrative service for the Community Improvement District which operates a free public trolley service in the historic district.

“By operating DBMA as tightly as we can during these tough times, we will survive for the long haul as an organization,” said Shawn Pingleton, a member of the Board of Directors.

Additional information about DBMA is available by contacting Jeff Justus, 417-334-3107.

ALL STAR Benefit Concert
In Memory of Tom (Tommy) Paden to help his family during this time of loss.

Date: Sunday, April 19th
Time: 2:00pm
Price: $20 minimum
Location:
Clay Cooper Theatre
2215 W 76 Blvd
Branson, MO
(Across from Walmart)

Artists Performing:
Clay Cooper, Bob Nelson, Buck Trent, Rankin Brothers, SIX, and more.

The “Cajun” Wade Benson Landry is the next guest on the Gene Williams Country Music TV Show that is taped live in Branson, Mo., telecast nationwide to more than 200 markets and can also be seen in Canada.
“Wade is not only my guest but he also is joining my band, the Country Junction Band,” said Gene Williams, the star and creator of the Telly Award-winning show that was taped live at the 50’s at the Hop Theatre at the Shoppes at Branson Meadows.

“Wade is the ultimate entertainer and one of the best. He has performed with some of Country music’s giants, such as Jimmy C. Newman, Loretta Lynn, The Oak Ridge Boys, Dolly Parton, Porter Wagoner, George Jones and Tammy Wynette and Mel Tillis and appeared regularly on television shows such as PBS Live from the Grand Ole Opry, the 1980 CMA Awards Show, the Anheuser-Busch Special Reach for the Stars with Bob Hope, NBC’s Tonight Show, Nashville Now and the Academy of Country Music Awards Show. In Branson he is the headliner for the only Cajun Swing show.”

The TV show with Landry will be telecast April 11 and 12. For more information go to the website genewilliamscountry.com. Williams will be taking a short break from the hectic schedule he has had for eight years in Branson due to health problems. A hiatus from taping his live show to help fix the problem has been recommended. The Gene Williams Country Music TV Show will continue to be aired in Springfield, Branson, Little Rock, Jonesboro, Ark., Nashville, St. Louis, Decatur, Ill., Ada and Ardmore, Okla., Sherman/Denison, Texas, plus on RTN which is over 100 stations including 11 of the top 30 markets in the nation.

Thursday, April 9, 2009

The Keeter Center at College of the Ozarks

Networking begins at 11:30 am with lunch and program to follow.

Cost is $15.00 per person.

Our speaker will be SCORE Counselors to America’s Small Businesses Dick Erickson and Tom Keohan

Lunch Sponsor
CenturyTel
(417) 334-9253

Dessert Sponsor
Fidelity Logic
(417) 334-9660
Please RSVP by Noon on Wednesday, April 8, 2009

Phone: 417.334.3050
Email: [email protected]
Fax: 417.334.5501

THE Reunion Friendly Network (RFN), a national organization dedicated to educating veteran military reunion planners will be in Branson at the invitation of The Branson Lakes Area Convention and Visitors Bureau and the host hotel, Lodge of the Ozarks from April 20-23, 2009. The event will feature the area as a “Reunion Friendly” destination with many attractions of interest to military reunions. Local hotels, restaurants, attractions and shops, will have the opportunity to showcase this prime location for events of this type.

RFN services more than 8,000 qualified military reunion planners, representing all branches of military service, from WWII to the present day, who run reunions annually. An average military reunion involves direct payments to the hotel of approximately $40,000, with an economic impact of approximately $500,000 on the community. As a niche market, these military reunions add well over $6 billion dollars to tourism within the United States.

The Branson ConFAM event will be the 195th in the 18 year history of The Reunion Friendly Network, educating more than 4,000 veterans in the basics of planning a reunion, while giving them the opportunity to visit military reunion friendly destinations for their reunions. Leaders within the hospitality industry have praised RFN’s unique style of bringing together military reunion planners and hotels. Between ten and fifteen ConFAMS are held annually, usually at the request of a convention and visitors bureau, a hotel management company, or a chain of hotels seeking to target the desirable military reunion market. Joining the host city’s exhibitors will be those from other states throughout the country, as well as volunteer Military Reunion Planners from all over the United States who plan military reunions ranging from 40 attendees to 900 attendees.

Following two days of the planning seminars and exhibitor marketplace, Branson co-sponsors will continue to showcase to the military reunion planners two days of Familiarization as a “Military Reunion Friendly” destination.

The Reunion Friendly Network President Paul Spiewak, Charlene Adamson, Executive Vice President, and Gale Helser, Director of Communications, have determined that Branson is an ideal destination for military reunions and are delighted to accept this city’s invitation. Military Reunion planners from every area of the country, as well as exhibitors from the local region and other states will converge for this event. As one military reunion planner recently promoted RFN and their “Reunion Friendly” destinations, “…cities which subscribe to RFN’s services go out of their way to entice the military reunions to their area.” Branson is no exception!