Message from the Pilot

With the start of a new year, it's a good time to look ahead to the future and make plans to take the actions that will ensure 2011 can be the best it can be. One action I ask that all of you take is participating in your committee teleconferences. I understand that you, the volunteers that make up this organization, are busy people. But without your commitment to participating in your committee's meetings, it's difficult to move forward with this year's work plan. More simply put, without your participation in teleconferences, the effectiveness of the entire MRPC is diminished. We need you—your experience, insights and judgment. When your committee is having a teleconference—be on the line.

Another area where I think we all can do a better job is keeping up with what's happening in other Mississippi River states. New interpretive centers, new statewide tourism campaigns, events, special marketing initiatives—the individuals who make up our state delegations are busy people, tackling a lot of challenges and executing exciting plans. One of the best things about belonging to an organization like the MRPC is the opportunity to learn from other peers and discover best practices and useful ideas. In 2011, make it a point to stay up-to-date on what's happening along the Great River Road National Scenic Byway in all ten states.

Let's take action to make 2011 the best it can be for the MRPC. I look forward to working with you in the New Year.

Thanks to the Wisconsin MRPC for Hosting a Powerful 2010 MRPC Annual Meeting!

Cheers to WI MRPC State Chair Al Lorenz and the Wisconsin Commission for their hard work to make our visit to La Crosse for the 2010 Annual Meeting last September a memorable one. The speakers were particularly interesting and the meeting generated an outstanding amount of idea sharing and important discussions. This energy carried through to the four technical committee's sessions, resulting in a truly productive meeting. Click here for notes from the sessions led by the Byways Resource Center.

An article in the Winter edition of VISTAS, an electronic enewsletter produced by America's Byways Resource Center, mentions the strategy session at the 2010 MRPC Annual Meeting.

  2010 Award Recipients - Announced at 2010 Annual Meeting

Congratulations to all of the following award winners.

The 2010 Pilots Award went to Tennessee for their work through the Mississippi River Corridor - Tennessee (MRCT). Special recognition goes to John Sheahan, past chairman of the MRCT, and Executive Director Diana Threadgill. During the twelve-month reported period, the MRCT received designation as a National Scenic Byway. Additionally, the MRCT is near the successful completion of a $2 million EPA Clean Diesel Emerging Technologies grant that will provide significant and positive impacts in air quality from the reduction of emissions from push boats on the Mississippi River. In 2010 they produced a new Great River Birding Guide for their six counties in West Tennessee and a unique River Times magazine that highlighted the various assets in the region. They also began work on the development of a MRCT River Center and Blueway on the Forked Deer River at Dyersburg in Dyer County.

The Distinguished Service Award went to Frank Nickell from Missouri. He has chaired the MO MRPC since 1997. Under his leadership, Missouri received the Pilot's Award in 1998 and 2001. He serves on the Cultural & Heritage Committee and was instrumental in forming the network of Great River Road Interpretive Centers. In Missouri, Frank oversaw the signing of the Missouri GRR from Iowa to Arkansas, designation of a Missouri GRR Birding Trail, and commissioner tours with multidisciplinary reviews of the resources along Missouri's GRR. His leadership produced interagency cooperation within Missouri to identify and promote resources of the Mississippi River Valley.

Special Recognition went to three past pilots who attended their last national meeting as state commissioners: Gene Enke (IA), Don Frerichs (MN) and Andy Golfis (MN). Thanks to all three for their leadership, friendship and service totaling more than 50 years. We hope each of you will stay involved with the Mississippi River Parkway Commission in some capacity for years to come!

New Interpretive Centers

Two new interpretive centers were approved to the Great River Road Network of Interpretive Centers last September: the Buffalo Bill Museum and the Grist Mill. Click here to learn more about the 70 GRR interpretive centers.

If you have a possible interpretive center in your county or parish that might be interested in joining the GRR network of interpretive centers, click here for a look at the criteria and deadlines or talk with a Culture and Heritage Committee member.

2011 Work Plan

Click here to view the 2011 MRPC work plan.

Resolution Initiated by the MRPC Transportation Committee

Click here for a copy of the MRPC resolution regarding the CAPX2020 Power Line route proposal along portions of the MN and WI Great River Road.

Current Legislative Database

The National Office just completed a 10-state database of elected officials. It includes selected state and federal agencies, governors and representative's district maps, U.S. Senate and House members, state senators and reps, and U.S. Senate and House committee lists and chairs. Click here to access mailing addresses, emails and telephone numbers.

Great River Road Interest and Inquiries

In 2010, the National Office processed requests for materials and related information about the Great River Road to 3,167 people. The media generated from our press conference in Louisiana last spring resulted in a significant interest for information.

The promotional website, www.experiencemississippiriver.com, saw nearly 150,000 unique visitors with the average time spent on the site almost 2 1/2 minutes (industry average is less than 20 seconds). The vast majority of web visitors are finding the site through search engines. The highest ranking internal pages are: River Facts, Great River Road, River Cities, and Along the Road. The top five states for our web visitors might surprise you: Illinois, Minnesota, Wisconsin, California and Texas. This certainly confirms there is interest in the Great River Road from across the country.

Be a Fan of The Great River Road

In spring of 2010, we launched a Facebook fan page for The Great River Road. The national office posts information a couple times weekly about events, attractions, communities, history and anything of interest to a visitor. Like our page at http://www.facebook.com/GreatRiverRoad and then comment on things happening in your area.

Other News

Mark Kross from the MO MRPC was recently appointed Group Chair of the Planning and Environmental Group of the National Transportation Research Board in Washington, D.C.

The Columbus-Belmont State Park in Kentucky is now a certified historic site along the Trail of Tears, National Historic Trail, and Kentucky State Parks is a certified partner.

Chicago Magazine story featuring the Upper Mississippi River - Great River Road

Did you know there's a new tourism partnership along portions of the Great River Road called Travel Mississippi River? It's a grassroots initiative comprised of convention & visitors bureaus and chambers of commerce along the Mississippi River in Iowa and Illinois, voluntarily working together to promote the Great River Road and Mississippi River product.

Upcoming Meetings and Deadlines
Note all committee and board teleconferences will utilize the same conference line (866) 476-8702 and PIN 879564#.

Marketing Committee Teleconference - Tuesday, February 22 at 9:00am

Culture and Heritage Teleconference - Monday, February 28 at 11:00am

Transportation Committee Teleconference - Thursday, March 10 at 10:00am

Environment, Recreation and Agriculture (ERA) Teleconference - Tuesday, March 29 at 10am

There will be a spring membership webinar on Friday, April 8 beginning at 10am. The webinar will be accessible by phone and internet. Look for an upcoming email with an agenda and access details. The webinar is open to all commissioners and technical members.

Board Teleconference - Friday, April 15 at 9:00am

2011 Annual Meeting in Little Rock, Arkansas - September 29-October 1

The MRPC Endowment Fund — This year, consider a gift to the MRPC Endowment Fund. Click here for more information.

Please contact the National Office with information for future enewsletters.