The Henry County Tourism board has selected Kelly Wolf, owner of Caffeine and Carbs in Geneseo, as the RISE grant (Research in Illinois to Spur Economic Recovery) contractor.
Wolf will be tasked with building a workable plan to identify strategies to reestablish tourism in the county. Through a combined effort with county municipalities, business partners and Henry County government officials, the HCTB revitalization plan has continued.
During the ongoing nine-month project, Wolf will continue meeting with tourism and hospitality industries in order to obtain input that they hope will improve area tourism and begin to develop strategies that will connect assets, festivals and hospitality service in a sustainable manner. The hope is to cultivate the county’s tourism industry.
In early 2021, the Henry County Tourism Board lost its funding following a decision by the Henry County Board Executive Committee. The decision came on the heels of the City of Kewanee voting to end their tax sharing agreement with the tourism board. Kewanee had previously shared its hotel tax money in exchange for the board promoting Henry County and Kewanee as tourism destinations. When Kewanee withdrew their money, the board lost $30,000.
The move to create a new, more robust tourism bureau was launched earlier this year, spearheaded by Economic Development Director Jim Kelly and Henry County Administrator Erin Knackstedt.
