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Chamber hears from Harlan County Ridge Runners' President  March's regular chamber meeting was held at the Masonic Lodge in Evarts, Kentucky. Chamber President Roger Fannin said the meeting is part of a move to bring the chamber out into the County and make the chamber's initiatives more visible to the community."I think it's good to take our meetings out into communities like Evarts to show merchants we are very serious about promoting their businesses and we want to be more involved in helping," said Fannin. "A lot of things are going on here, and we have to support this as the Harlan County Chamber of Commerce." "We need all Harlan County Businesses to support the chamber, because there is strength in numbers," added Ralph Souleyret, chairman of the Chamber's membership committee. "Numbers mean success. Numbers mean clout. Numbers force action. Numbers get things done. Politicians love numbers." Fannin introduced March's speaker, Evarts councilman Preston McLain who is more widely known as the president of the ever-growing Harlan County Ridge Runners ATV Club. The Ridge Runners formed in late 2004 around the same time that the Kentucky Mountain Crawlers, a Harlan County 4x4 truck club, began working on the tourist attraction that later became Black Mountain Recreational Park. Through the club's determination, the Ridge Runners convinced the Harlan County fiscal court that ATVs could also be a successful platform of tourism for Harlan County. Since then, the Ridge Runners have aggressively promoted their sport and club, helping to bring in thousands of off-roading tourists and growing their own membership to over 600. Their involvment in the ATV side of Harlan County's off-road tourism industry helped the county earn the Number Two spot in a feature by Honda Red Rider Magazine titled "The Best Places to Ride, Period. The park has had a strong impact on Evarts, which lies within a mile of one of the park's two trailheads. McLain shared some economic-impact statistics he had gathered, as well as presented a short video that he helped produce in conjunction with Kentuky Outdoors, an outdoor-interest website which supports the club. Interesting Facts: The average ATV party consist of 5 people. The average stay was for 3-nights ... RV campers staying the longest 4-5 nights. Other trip related activities include, shopping, dining out, movies and sight seeing. The average amount spent per day per rider is $187.93. This number is $59.44 per day if camping. Related Links: Harlan County Ridge Runners www.kyoutdoors.com/hcrr Kentucky Mountain Crawlers www.kymc.org Black Mountain Recreational Park Official Site www.harlancountytrails.com |