February 2013

From Kentucky’s Vacation Crossroads

We hope everyone is staying warm and healthy this winter. We at the tourist commission are excited

about all the adventure tourism opportunities available in Laurel County this winter. We are also

planning for a full schedule of tourism events for this spring, summer and fall. If you know of

others that would benefit from receiving this newsletter please give us a call at 606-878-6900 or

drop us an email at tourism@lltc.net or better yet, stop in and visit with us. Our office is located

just off exit 41 of I-75.

London– Laurel County Trail Town at Full Throttle

The London-Laurel County Trail Town task force is moving full steam

ahead at obtaining trail certification for London and Laurel County. Recreational

trails can really boost a community's tourism traffic. Trail Town is a program ad-

ministered by the Kentucky Department of Adventure Tourism. Our Trail Town

program is designed to help transform downtown London into a more inviting and

memorable tourist destination for visiting outdoor enthusiasts as well as a better

place for Laurel County residents to live, work and play.

Literally, tens of thousands of

outdoor enthusiasts visit Laurel Coun-

ty each year. Many come to enjoy the

beautiful trails of the Daniel Boone

National Forest or to ride their bikes

on Laurel County’s smoothly paved

and lightly traveled cycling roads. In

warmer months lots of visitors paddle

their canoes and kayaks down the

Rockcastle and Cumberland Rivers.

The London-Laurel County

Trail Town task force will be hosting

a ―trail cleanup‖ at 10 AM on Satur-

day, February 23. If you would like to

volunteer to help with the trail cleanup and/or would like to be part of the Trail

Town task force please email us at rodney@laurelkytourism.com.

London-Laurel County Tourist Commission

2013 Redbud Ride to be Bigger and Better than ever

If early registration

numbers are an indication,

the 2013 Redbud Ride will be

bigger than ever. We have

registered 110 more cyclists

than on this same date last

year. On this date in 2012 we

had 245 cyclists registered

for the event. We currently

have 355 registered. We had

a total of 779 registered cy-

clists in 2012 from 19 states.

That was up from the 669

cyclists from 22 states that

registered in 2011. We think

this could be the year we

could break 1000 participants

in the event. In past years,

96% of the participants in the

Redbud Ride have been tour-

ists.

Kentucky State H.O.G Rally coming June 6-8

The HOGS are coming, the

HOGS are coming. About 2,000

HOGS will visit London and

Laurel County on June 6-8.

However, this is not an agricul-

ture event. London will be host-

ing the 2013 Kentucky State

Harley Davidson Owners Group

(HOG) Rally. Reports are hotels

in Laurel County are already

taking lots of reservations from

motorcycle tourists. To find out

more about the rally or to volun-

teer for the event go to

www.kystatehogrally.com.

Free Kayak Rolling Classes

If you are interested in experiencing whitewater like the narrows of the Rockcas-

tle or the Cumberland River below the falls, right now is the best time to get that

kayak Eskimo-roll down pat. Mike Hale of Mike’s Hike and Bike is offering

FREE kayak rolling classes this

winter. The first 3-hour class

was taught on Sunday, January

27 at the heated pool of Micro-

tel Inn and Suites in London.

Twelve people attended the

class. So come down and bring

your kayak and nose plugs

(please make sure your kayak is

clean) for the free roll sessions.

Don’t have a kayak? No prob-

lem, bring yourself and your

towel and Mike can get you in-

to a boat to give it a try. Call

Mike at 859-200-8199 to see

when the next class is scheduled.. Thanks to Microtel Inn & Suites for making

their pool available.

National Junior Golf Tournament comes to London, Kentucky, August 2013

Crooked Creek Golf Club to host PNC Bank Junior Championship presented by

London and Laurel County

BRASELTON, Ga.- The American Junior Golf Association (AJGA) will head to

London, KY, for the first time when Crooked Creek Golf Club hosts 144 players for

the PNC Bank Junior Championship presented by London & Laurel County, August

4-8, 2013. The event was announced at a press conference on January 10. Top jun-

ior golfers from around the country and world will travel to London to compete in

this 54-hole stroke play event.

―The AJGA is thrilled to bring a brand new event to London, Kentucky.

With the tremendous support of PNC Bank and the local city and county, we’re

looking forward to a tremendous tournament and hopefully a new tradition,‖ said

Matt Larson, AJGA Midwest Regional Director.

Prior to the event, an 18-hole TaylorMade-Adidas Golf Qualifier will be

held Sunday, August 4, at Crooked Creek Golf Club. The TaylorMade-Adidas Golf

Qualifier will give juniors from our area and around Kentucky an opportunity to

―play their way in‖ to this prestigious tournament, or build status for entry into a

future event.

―PNC is committed to supporting programs that encourage the growth and

development of tomorrow’s leaders,‖ said John L. Gohmann, regional president of

PNC Bank. ―When private and public organizations work together for our commu-

nities as we are to host this exciting golf tournament, everyone wins.‖

―We expect to have over 500 families (visit),‖ said Rodney Hendrickson, co-

executive director of the London-Laurel County Tourist Commission. ―Many will

come the week before to play practice rounds. Hotel and restaurant owners will love

this.‖

―The city and county pledge their full support,‖ London mayor Troy Rudder

said as he was joined at the press conference podium by Laurel County Judge Exec-

utive David Westerfield. ―We know Crooked Creek can host a quality tournament

and know that the community will be here to support it.‖

Lori Acton

1957-2013

It is with great sadness that we

say goodbye to Lori Acton.

Lori, the executive director of

the Laurel County Public Li-

brary passed away suddenly on

January 28. Lori had taken an

active roll in the London-Laurel

County Tourist Commission’s

strategic planning sessions. She

had an unwavering passion for

London and Laurel County,

always striving to give her

community what she felt was

needed and deserved.

New Cycling Website Coming Soon

If you are looking for the safest and most scenic places to ride your bike in Lau-

rel County or if you are looking for the best mountain bike trails in the county we

can help. London Downtown Inc. has voted to use part of the profits from last

year’s Redbud Ride to fund a website devoted to Laurel County cycling activi-

ties. The website will:

Have maps, photos and

cue sheets of our best

cycling routes.

Have maps, photos and

cue sheets of our best

mountain bike trails.

Promote London’s Con-

nectivity Plan and Well-

ness Park.

Promote The Thriller

Ride and Redbud Ride.

Host the Cumberland Valley Cycling Club’s website.

Have a link to our local bike shop.

The site will primarily be used to entice cycling groups to visit Laurel County for

their weekend cycling vacations. The website will be modeled loosely on a cy-

cling website promoting the Finger Lakes area of upstate New York. According

to tourist commission executive director Rodney Hendrickson the tourist com-

mission gets ―lots of requests from cycling clubs looking to come to Laurel

County for their weekend trips.‖ Much of this is a result of the success of the

Redbud Ride and more recently the Thriller Ride. Tourists have visited Laurel

County to participate in these first class events and are eager to come back. Lau-

rel County truly has become the ―Cycling Capital of Kentucky.‖

Local Tourist Commission Sponsors

Reds Caravan stop in London

The London-Laurel County Tourist

Commission recently helped sponsor the

Cincinnati Reds Caravan stop in Lon-

don. The Reds caravan was hosted by

WANV Cool Gold 96.7 FM radio on

January 25th. Reds players Todd Fra-

zier, Billy Hamilton and Logan

Ondrusek as well as Reds TV announcer and former Reds pitcher Jeff

―Cowboy‖ Brantley visited with several local Reds fans. Dick Williams, Reds

Vice President, and several other Reds front office staff also made the trip to

London.

The photo is of 6’8‖ Reds reliever Logan Ondrusek with tourist com-

mission executive director Rodney Hendrickson.

Calendar of Events

February 7, 5:30 PM— Redbud Ride Planning Meeting, London Communi-

ty Center.

February 11, 5:30 PM– Leadership Tri-County Banquet, Honoring Bob

Mitchell, Corbin Technology Center.

February 15, 9:30 AM– Laurel County Interagency Council Meeting, UK

Cooperative Extension Service office.

February 16, 7:00 PM– Rotary International Dinner, London Community

Center.

February 15-24– Indianapolis Boat, Sport and Travel Show, Indiana State

Fairgrounds.

February 19, 11:30 AM– London-Laurel County Tourist Commission

Meeting, Heritage Hills Banquet Hall.

February 21-23– Laurel County United Way Auction, London Community

Center

February 23, 10 AM– Trail Town Trail Cleanup Day, Daniel Boone Na-

tional Forest.

February 23-24– Sheltowee Trace Hike Challenge backpacking weekend,

Route 32 to Clear Creek Trailhead.

February 25–27– Kentucky Travel Industries Association (KTIA) Legisla-

tive Day, Frankfort, KY

February 28– Eastern Highland South Region Tourism Meeting, Laurel

County Tourist Information Center.

March 5– London-Laurel County Chamber of Commerce Banquet.

March 7-8– Kentucky Sports Authority, Team Kentucky Meeting, Murray,

Kentucky

March 13– Wayne Supply Health Fair, Corbin, Kentucky

March 13-15– Kentucky Association of Convention and Visitors Bureau

Conference, Cave City, Kentucky

March 19– London-Laurel County Tourist Commission Meeting, Heritage

Hills Banquet Hall.

March 29– Good Friday

March 31– Easter Sunday