Leadership Orleans 2024: Tourism and Recreation Day
On Thursday, July 11th, Leadership Orleans partnered with Orleans County Tourism for their Tourism and Recreation Day. The students spent a full day learning about the importance and impact of Tourism in Orleans County.
The Tourism and Recreation day started at the Oak Orchard Light House at Point Breeze where participants boarded four pontoon boats and cruised the Oak Orchard River as far south as Captain's Cove Motel and Marina and then back to Boone & Crockett's Riverside Café. They were treated to a delicious breakfast buffet and a introduction by Boone & Crockett's general manager, Mike Pilon. Shortly after breakfast, George Lacey, owner of Captain's Cove gave a short presentation about his business.
Dawn Borchert, Director of Orleans County Tourism, gave a detailed presentation about Tourism in Orleans County which included, the evolution of tourism in our county, our staff, visitor metrics/economics, including bed tax collected by year, visitor spending and the positive impact the fishing industry has on Orleans County revenues. Following her presentation, everyone boarded the boats again and cruised back to the Oak Orchard Lighthouse for a tour given by Larry Albanese. He spoke about the history of the lighthouse and students were allowed to climb to the top for a higher view of Lake Ontario and the Oak Orchard Harbor.
The first part of the afternoon was spent at the Orleans County Marine Park. Orleans County Sportfishing Coordinator, Ron Bierstine, talked about fishing in Orleans County, our tributaries, and types of fish species. He also gave fly fishing demonstration and allowed students to practice as well.
Lunch was provided by Greenlief's On-The-Go mobile food truck which consisted of delicious burgers, chicken sandwiches, hot dogs, fries, and more.
Lynne Menz, Coordinator/Creative Director of Orleans County Tourism, talked about her role in branding, advertising, collateral and ad designs. She also introduced the class to the organization she created in 2009, the Oak Orchard Neighborhood Association (OONA) and most recently, Friends of Orleans County Marine Parks that host a successful weekly summer concert series in this park for the past 15 years.
To end the first part of the afternoon, Nicole Mahoney, from Travel Alliance Partnership and author of "Stronger Together: Building World-Changing Business Collaborations" gave a presentation. She discussed key factors of being successful in the Tourism industry and how they can be applied to any industry. She highlighted the three types of collaborators: promoters, doubters, and protectors. We then did group activities and discussions to figure out what type of collaborator we are and how we can effectively apply this to our work. Ironically, the class was split equally between the three profile types, echoing Nicole's analysis.
The day ended with a trip to the Oak Orchard Dam in Waterport, NY which consisted of a tour of the dam and its history as well as short presentations from Ron Bierstine and DEC officer Nate Godson. Ron and Nate talked about fishing the dam, the safety and rules of the dam, and answered questions from students.
The session ended at 4:15 and despite the morning rains, was an informative day for students that allowed them to get out of the office for the day to spend time enjoying the Orleans County Recreation.
Thank you to the following people who made the Tourism & Recreation Day for Leadership Orleans happen:
- Skip Helfrich, Leadership Orleans Program Director
- George Lacey, owner of Captain's Cove Motel & Marina, provided 3 pontoon boats and skippered one.
- John Fitzak, Orleans County Legislature and skippered a pontoon boat
- Ken DeRoller, Retired Orleans County Legislature, skippered a pontoon boat
- Ken Martin, President of the Friends of Orleans County Marine Parks, provided and skippered his pontoon boat
- Chuck Nesbitt Sr., retired NY State Assemblyman and LO volunteer
- Mike Pilon, Boone, and Crockett's Riverside Café General Manager
- Larry Albanese, Oak Orchard Lighthouse Vice President
- Nicole Mahoney, CEO of Travel Alliance Partnership
- Ron Bierstine, Orleans County Sportfishing Coordinator/ Marine Park Dockmaster
- Dawn L. Borchert, Orleans County Tourism Director
- Lynne Menz, Orleans County Tourism Coordinator/Creative Director
- Nate Godson, DEC Officer
- 2024 Leadership Orleans Class
To learn more information about Orleans County Tourism explore our website, email info@orleanscountytourism.com, or call 585-589-3100. To request a travel or fishing guide please click here.
