03/12/2007
Courtesy Is Funded
MetroNews
Kanawha County
TO HEAR COMMENTS WITH DIRECTOR JENNIFER DOUGLASS, CLICK THE 'LIVE' ICON.
The Courtesy Patrol, the roadside assistance program in West Virginia, will be funded through the Division of Tourism as part of legislation approved in the final hours of the regular legislative session late Saturday night.
The state share of the operating cost for the Courtesy Patrol will now come out of the State Tourism Grant Program.
It's a move that Courtesy Patrol Director Jennifer Douglass says makes sense. She says, in many ways, drivers for the Courtesy Patrol serve as ambassadors for West Virginia. "That can do nothing but boost and encourage travelers that, maybe, were only in our state as they were passing through because they broke down, to have a good first impression of us to bring them back to our state."
Governor Joe Manchin must sign the legislation that Douglass says passed both the House of Delegates and the State Senate on a unanimous vote.
"I'm excited about that and I'm excited about working with tourism and, as I've said all along, it is a transportation program and it's a national award-winning program but the program has a lot to offer and it's very multi-faceted," says Douglass.
Up to now, the $4.5 million for the program had come out of the Road Fund, the money used to pay for road construction and road maintenance. Douglass admits there have been times when she worried about the future of the Courtesy Patrol. She says the move to the Division of Tourism may bring more stability to the program.
"It's a strong indicator that there's where we're moving and, maybe, where we'll be from here on out," says Douglass. The tourism money would be an allocation to the Courtesy Patrol as opposed to a grant that requires an application process. "It's a very tourism-friendly project and I think, together with tourism, we'll be able to do some great things and be able to promote our state in a great way."
Douglass says she's already spoken with the Commissioner of Tourism. She says meetings will be scheduled to work on the transition, a change that could go into effect as early as July first of this year.
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