The Myer family is thrilled that their 102-room Comfort Inn & Suites on Gretna Road was recently named Inn of the Year by the Choice Hotels International, Inc., franchisor of the Comfort Inn brand. It’s the “best of the best” among the 1,995 member properties, said Bruce Haase, executive vice president of global brand operations. The hotel was judged on guest satisfaction, quality and unannounced on-site inspections. It has been a past finalist for “Comfort Inn of the Year” five times.

Also this year, the Comfort Inn at Thousand Hills, also owned by Myer Hotels, was in the top five finalists for “Comfort Inn of the Year.” “To have two properties in the same town in the top five is incredible,” said Vice President of Marketing Chris Myer. General Manager Steve Graber celebrated the award with owners Carroll and Janice Myer, Chris and Sonja Myer, and Gail Myer. Myer Hotels owns five hotels in Branson. Visit www.myerhotels.com.

Source: BLACC CVB

The team at Luigi’s Pizza Kitchen announces a grand opening event on Monday, April 20 at the new Luigi’s restaurant, located at 3452 W. 76 Country Boulevard in Branson, next to the Dutton Family Theatre, across from White Water and Mickey Gilley’s.  Community members are encouraged to come see the new location and enjoy a complimentary slice of pizza from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m.

Luigi’s on the 76 Strip will be giving away free slices of pizza Monday afternoon (one per person) with no purchase necessary. Additionally, from 3 p.m. until closing time, Luigi’s is offering large specialty (classic or gourmet) pizzas for 50 percent off.  These specials cannot be combined with other offers, discounts or coupons and are available at the 76 Strip location for dine-in or carryout orders only.

It might seem strange that a local, independent restaurant owner would give food away and cut his prices in half during what many consider to be harsh economic times.  Chris Jordan, owner of Luigi’s Pizza Kitchen in Branson and Nixa, has a philosophy of his own.

“Above all else, we are enthusiastic, positive and grateful. We’re excited about our new location because it’s going to open so many more doors for us, and we know that we wouldn’t have been able to do this without the support of the community at large. The locals keep us in business and give us the opportunity to grow and expand.  This is our way of celebrating a new beginning, saying thanks to the community that has supported us for more than 10 years, and introducing ourselves to people who may not know about us yet,” Jordan said.

Gift of Hope, Inc. has recently acquired My Neighbor’s Pantry, a local food pantry serving over 1,800 people monthly in Northeast Taney County. The Pantry has been in operation for the past six years, however the building used for its operations has recently been leased to another entity leaving the Pantry in a position to shut its doors.

In recent months Gift of Hope’s Board of Directors has been considering expanding its programs to include a food pantry. When they became aware of the situation My Neighbor's Pantry was facing, the Board recognized an immediate means of expansion through a mutually beneficial acquisition. Gift of Hope founder, Anthony Collier, states, “We saw an opportunity for Gift of Hope to expand its outreach to families in need and are excited about this acquisition and the ways in which we can continue to grow this program in the future.”

Gift of Hope, Inc. has been serving the needs of children and families in Taney county for over 20 years. Currently Gift of Hope sponsors programs to provide children with school supplies, food and clothing. In addition, Gift of Hope provides assistance to qualified families in need of help with rent, utilities, food, and Christmas gifts, particularly during the winter months when the need can be the greatest in Taney County.

My Neighbor’s Pantry will reopen its doors as a new program of Gift of Hope, Inc. at its new location at 10275 East State Highway 76 in Forsyth on Tuesday, March 17, 2009 under the direction of Robin Collier. The Pantry’s hours of operation will be 12:00-3:00 p.m. Tuesday through Friday.

For more information about Gift of Hope’s My Neighbor’s Pantry or how you can help contact Robin Collier at (417) 546-8098 or visit www.giftofhopeinc.org.

The city of Branson Finance Department will be holding two liquor training sessions in the coming weeks for servers, cashiers and bartenders. This training is required of all businesses selling liquor in the city of Branson or businesses that are in the process of obtaining a liquor license.

There will be two sessions on Friday, February 20 at 9:30 a.m. and again at 3 p.m. in the Council Chambers of Branson City Hall. Another day of training will be available on March 26 at 9:30 a.m. and 1:30 p.m., also in the Branson City Hall Council Chambers.

The Community Partnership of the Ozarks will be conducting the liquor training, which is expected to last about 1 ½ hours. The cost is $5 per person, payable at the time of the training. It’s recommended that persons wanting to attend the session call the Community Partnership of the Ozarks at 417-888-2020 to reserve seating.

Under the new ordinance approved by the Board of Aldermen in October, liquor license holders are now required to provide alcohol education programs to all their employees who serve or sell alcohol within 90 days of the employees’ hire date. The intent is to have more responsible sellers of alcohol to minimize the risks of selling to underage and intoxicated buyers.

For additional information on the training or the new liquor ordinance, contact Carl Garrett, supervisor of licensing and tax compliance at 417-334-3345 extension 318.

BRANSON, MO. – Branson’s first and only Internet radio network, BRANSON WORLD RADIO, is pleased to announce the welcome addition of the Cromwell Radio Group to it’s growing list of air radio affiliates. With their main studios at WMCI(FM) in Mattoon, Illinois, Cromwell Radio is a group of 23 radio stations in Illinois, Indiana, Kentucky, and Tennessee, and will be broadcasting “BWR Newsradio” to their listeners, as part of our national Branson vacation promotion.

“BWR Newsradio”, a locally produced News program, is a daily 5 minute feature on the events and happenings in Branson, and the Ozarks of S.W. Missouri AND N.W. Arkansas. The focus of “BWR Newsradio” is on the special shows, guest stars, area events and developments across the Ozarks. In addition to the hourly web casts on BRANSON WORLD RADIO, “BWR Newsradio” is broadcast on air radio stations in key market areas throughout the Midwest.

Rated as the #2 Hot Country Radio Station on the Internet, BRANSON WORLD RADIO is heard over the “Live365” Network. With thousands of stations and more than 4 million listeners a month, Live365 is the world’s largest Internet radio network. Live365 is a two-time winner of the Best Radio Website Award from the Web Marketing Association, a two-time winner of the People’s Voice award for Best Music Site at the Webby Awards (2001, 2002), a winner of the Webby’s People’s Voice Award for Best Radio Site (2004), and has received Best-of-Web designations from Forbes.com and the San Francisco Chronicle. Since 1999, BRANSON WORLD RADIO now serves air radio stations in more than 50 markets, and has established a loyal Internet fan base in 43 states and 33 countries around the world.

Find out more about this powerful marketing opportunity for the 2009 season by contacting us through the BWR website at www.bransonworldradio.com, Email at [email protected], or call us (870) 743-1311.

BRANSON, MO. – Branson’s first and only Internet radio network, BRANSON WORLD RADIO, has recently been named the #2 Hot Country Radio Station on the Internet. With thousands of stations and more than 4 million listeners a month, BRANSON WORLD RADIO is broadcast on “Live365”, the world’s largest Internet radio network. Live365 is a two-time winner of the Best Radio Website Award from the Web Marketing Association, a two-time winner of the People’s Voice award for Best Music Site at the Webby Awards (2001, 2002), a winner of the Webby’s People’s Voice Award for Best Radio Site (2004), and has received Best-of-Web designations from Forbes.com and the San Francisco Chronicle. Since 1999, BRANSON WORLD RADIO now serves air radio stations in more than 50 markets, and has established a loyal Internet fan base in 43 states and 33 countries around the world.

Find out more about this powerful marketing opportunity for the 2009 season by contacting us through the BWR website at www.bransonworldradio.com, Email at [email protected], or call us (870) 743-1311.

BRANSON, MO. – Branson’s first and only Internet radio network, BRANSON WORLD RADIO, is pleased to announce that “BWR Newsradio” on line services are now powered by Google.

“BWR Newsradio”, a locally produced News program, is a daily 5 minute radio feature on the events and happenings in Branson, and the Ozarks of S.W. Missouri AND N.W. Arkansas. The focus of “BWR Newsradio” is on the special shows, guest stars, area events and developments across the Ozarks. In addition to the hourly web casts on BRANSON WORLD RADIO, “BWR Newsradio” is broadcast on air radio stations in key market areas throughout the Midwest.

Along with it’s listener base, BWR Newsradio also provides Branson news and information to a strong subscriber database through RSS feeds, Newsletters, Windows Mobile, iTunes, iPods, iPhones, My Yahoo, My AOL, and now Google.

Recently named the #2 Hot Country Radio Station on the Internet, BRANSON WORLD RADIO is broadcast on “Live365”, the world’s largest Internet radio network. With thousands of stations and more than 4 million listeners a month, Live365 is a two-time winner of the Best Radio Website Award from the Web Marketing Association, a two-time winner of the People’s Voice award for Best Music Site at the Webby Awards (2001, 2002), a winner of the Webby’s People’s Voice Award for Best Radio Site (2004), and has received Best-of-Web designations from Forbes.com and the San Francisco Chronicle. Since 1999, BRANSON WORLD RADIO now serves air radio stations in more than 50 markets, and has established a loyal Internet fan base in 43 states and 33 countries around the world.

Find out more about this powerful marketing opportunity for the 2009 season by contacting us through the BWR website at www.bransonworldradio.com, Email at [email protected], or call us (870) 743-1311.

Kay Gerken, CRB, GRI, LTG, PMN, SRS, REALTOR® and co-owner of Gerken & Associates Realtors in Branson, Missouri was honored as the 2008 REALTOR® of the Year (ROTY) recently at the Missouri Association of REALTORS® (MAR) Business Conference.

Candidates for ROTY are evaluated on the basis of their REALTOR® Spirit; activity in Civic Affairs; activity in the REALTOR® Association at the Local, State and National levels; and business accomplishments. In her 29 years of real estate service, Gerken has been very active on all levels of the REALTOR® organization, serving on or chairing many committees during her tenure.

An active REALTOR® since 1979, Gerken has either chaired or been a member of nearly all her local board committees. She served as a local director for three years and as treasurer, president elect and president in 1991. Kay was awarded the Tri Lakes Board of REALTORS® REALTOR® of the Year Award in 1992. Currently she serves as an orientation instructor, chair of the local Leadership Academy Task Force, and a member of the Education and Legislative committees.

Active in the REALTOR® association on the state level as well, Gerken served as a State Director for four years, District Vice President for four years and as an elected member of MAR’s Executive Committee for six years. She was elected treasurer in 2002, president elect in 2003 and served as state president in 2004. She currently serves on MAR’s Economic Development Council.

Kay has enhanced her real estate education by achieving the professional designations of Graduate, REALTORS® Institute (GRI), Certified Real Estate Brokerage manager (CRB) and the LTG and PMN designations from the Women’s Council of REALTORS®.

Kay is well known in the community as a political activist, working on several campaigns in both state and local races. She is also an active member of the College of the Ozarks Associates, the Branson/Lakes Area Chamber of Commerce and supports the Christian Action Ministries raising money for those in need in Taney County.

Branson.com is excited to announce that they have released a new section of their site: Branson.com/Gadgets. The free gadgets allow Branson-related websites to display show schedules, Branson area events, and Branson weather.

All of these gadgets automatically stay up-to-date through the Branson.com internal sytems. This allows a Branson website to just copy and paste a gadget into their site and no longer need to worry about their website staying current.

With so many hours spent by countless businesses attempting to keep current with Branson show schedules, events and weather, this will take the burden off of a website’s need to update constantly and allow them to focus on other areas of their site.

To get Branson.com Gadgets for your site, go to www.Branson.com/Gadgets.

For more information or questions please call: 417-334-2360