Road Ahead Partnership - Update to Promotion Working Group

Road Ahead Promotion Working Group Comprised of State Marketing Professionals

In the fall of2019, Jennifer Mullins, Oklahoma’s Director of Travel Promotion, became the newChairman of the Route 66 Road Ahead Partnership’s Promotion Working Group. In just 3 months, she has completed the taskof recruiting members from the seven other Route 66 state tourism departmentsas new members of Working Group.

Thesetourism professionals will join the current members of the Road Ahead’sPromotion Working Group, Bill Kelly, formerExecutive Director of the Illinois Route 66 Scenic Byway Program and BrennenMatthews, Editor of Route magazine. This marks the first timerepresentatives from tourism departments in all eight Route 66 states havecommitted to working together to promote the Mother Road.

“I am deeplyhonored to have the opportunity to work collaboratively with my counterparts onways to promote and increase visitation, both domestically and internationally,for Route 66,” Mullins said. “The Mother Road is such an important andfascinating part of our nation’s history and culture, and such a key piece ofour state’s tourism economy.  Thousandsof tourists visit Oklahoma each year to drive the highway. They stop in ourcities and towns, bringing in millions of dollars and helping create jobs inboth urban and rural areas.  With state leadership that recognizes thecultural and tourism significance of the Route, and who is committed tosupporting economic development, historic preservation, and marketinginitiatives, we have begun to see real momentum.  My goal is to bring thatenergy and collaborative enthusiasm to my role withinthe group to collectively effect real change on a national level.”

The first order of business for the newly formed Promotion WorkingGroup will be setting goals, based on the challenges and needs associated withpromoting Route 66.

The new tourism department members of the Route66 Road Ahead Promotion Working Group include:

JanKemmerling, Director of Tourism, Illinois

AshleySneed, Marketing Coordinator, Missouri

JenniferMullins, Director of Travel Promotion, Oklahoma

BridgetteJobe, Director of Tourism, Kansas

BradSmyth, Tourism Director, Texas

ErinLadd, Marketing Director, New Mexico

TimDeClaire, Senior Director of Marketing, Arizona

JenniferWalker, Director of Brand Advertising, California

Established in 2015, with the support of theNational Park Service and the World Monuments' Fund, The Route 66 Road AheadPartnership’s mission is to revitalize and sustain Route 66 as a national andinternational icon through partnerships focused on promotion, preservation, researchand education, and economic development.

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Contact:

Bill Thomas, Chairman

Rt. 66 Road Ahead Partnership

rt66theroadahead@gmail.com

217-648-5077

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