Annual Meeting of the Historic Hills Group to be held in Centerville

Volunteers and other activists involved with the Historic Hills, a nine county tourism region in southern Iowa, will hold their annual meeting and luncheon at Manhattan’s Restaurant in Centerville on Thursday, January 26, 2006. Throughout 2005 the Historic Hills group has been active in advocating for regional transportation improvements, improved marketing, regional red bud tree planting, improved community entryway signage, as well as many other initiatives The annual meeting program will include a continental breakfast, seminars on culinary tourism and historic preservation, a buffet lunch, annual report, and awards presentation. The culinary tourism seminar will bring together professionals from the foodservice industry and the public to brainstorm about food and its connection to the southern Iowa tourism experience. The historic preservation seminar will be led by Jerome Thompson, curator for the State Historical Society of Iowa, and will focus on how local groups can identify, preserve, and market their historic sites. The seminars will run from 10:00am to 11:50am followed immediately by lunch. The public is welcome to attend and the registration fee of $11.50 covers the continental breakfast, seminars, and buffet lunch. Pre-registration is required, however, by Monday, January 23rd. To register, contact John McCurdy at Chariton Valley Planning and Development in Centerville, call 641-437-4359 or email jmccurdy@charitonvalleyplanning.com.