Road Ahead Partnership - 1st Quarter 2017 Update Summary

~ FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE ~

The Rt. 66 Road Ahead Partnership has released the 2017 1st Quarter Update Report.  2016 was a busy and productive year for theRoad Ahead and 2017 is off to a good start as the organization works to achieve the goals it has set for itself. The full version of theUpdate Report can be found on the Road Ahead’s website at: https://sites.google.com/site/66roadahead/.Several highlights from the report regarding the outcomes the Road Ahead is working to Achieve include:Increased Collaboration• The Road Ahead’s Board of Directors held its first meeting February 16-17, 2017. Representatives were present from each ofthe states through which Rt. 66 runs.• Dora Meroney, president of the Old Route 66 Association of Texas, was appointed Chair of the Road Ahead’s State AssociationAdvocacy Working Group• Dries Bessels, The Netherlands, agreed to become Chairman of the Road Ahead’s International Advisory Group• The Road Ahead’s Tribal Advisory Group held its 1st teleconference meeting and began work to identify goalsEffective Promotion• HR66 was introduced in Congress to establish a Rt. 66 100th Anniversary Commission• The Illinois General Assembly passed – 115 to 0 – a bill to establish an Illinois Rt. 66 100th Anniversary Commission• A new Road Ahead Facebook pages was launched• A new Road Ahead website was completed and will be launched in April after final proofing is completedPurposeful Preservation• A “Quick Reference Guide” designed to provide Rt. 66 stakeholders with historic preservation basic information, includingavailable resources, has been uploaded to the Rt. 66 Road Ahead website.Increased Economic Vitality• Pontiac, Illinois was chosen as an initial case study to use in the creation of a local economic development toolkitQuality Research & Education• Work is ongoing to construct two “toolkits” on education or research on Route 66National Historic Trail Task Force• HR801 was introduced in Congress to designate Rt. 66 a National Historic Trail – It has 11 co-sponsors• The Task Force continues its work to recruit additional co-sponsorsFinancial Sustainment Task Force• To provide potential corporate sponsors with concrete examples of branding/marketing opportunities, the Task Force hasinitiated discussions/planning with the Academy for Digital Entertainment at Breda University in The Netherlands to develop anaugmented reality-based gaming/marketing app. It has also initiated discussions/planning with the Arts Technology Program atIllinois State University to develop an augmented reality-based directional/gaming app.Questions or requests for additional information may be forwarded to:Bill Thomas, Chairman, The Rt. 66 Road Ahead Partnershiptheroadahead@gmail.com