DARKE COUNTY VISITORS BUREAU AWARDS SIX GRANTS IN 2018

GREENVILLE, OH - The Darke County Visitors Bureau released the names of the recipients of the 2018 Darke County Tourism Grants. This year, six recipients were chosen (up from four in 2017) - The Annie Oakley Festival Committee's Cowboy Mounted Shooting Contest, Versailles Poultry Days, Main Street Greenville's Popcorn & Prohibition event, the Bradford Ohio Railroad Museum's Run for the Rails 5K, the Fort Greene Ville Muzzle Loader's Wayne's Legion Historical Encampment at the Gathering at Garst, and the Treaty City Motorcycle Club's "Best of Ohio Summer Series."

"We set a record for the number of applications received for our grant program, which is now in its tenth year," said Matt Staugler, executive director of the Darke County Visitors Bureau. "The board felt that due to the quality of the applicants and the increased number of applications, we'd commit more resources to supporting events that bring visitors to Darke County. Geographically, we're also touching several communities around the county, which is great to see." Since its inception, financial commitments from the Tourism Grant Program have totaled over $23,000 to local organizations and events.

The Tourism Grant Program is designed to enable event organizers to be more successful by subsidizing their marketing budgets to reach more potential visitors. Funds are available to non-profit organizations sponsoring special events and programs in Darke County. Grants are awarded on a competitive basis.

"We were very pleased to see a lot of new applicants this year, and we always encourage organizations who are looking to start new events in Darke County to take advantage of this opportunity for support and expertise from the Visitors Bureau," continued Staugler.

To learn more about these events as well as other festivals and activities taking place in Darke County, please visit www.VisitDarkeCounty.org.