Monday, December 30, 2019

Calitri reports: Sears home in Cincinnati Ohio, home to Clermont County Tourism office


Calitri reports: Sears home in Cincinnati Ohio, home to Clermont County Tourism office


A while back I was doing some research on Beatrice Lask, who identified over 500 Sears Houses in Cincinnati, and came across an article published in the Cincinnati Enquirer dated January 30, 1993.

So, off to Google Maps I went, to see if I could spot the house. Surely it wouldn’t be too hard, since it was on Main St. in Batavia, which is a fairly small village. I did find it pretty quickly, and what a great Sears House it turned out to be.

https://www.discoverclermont.com/clermont-news/8215/


The Ivanhoe was offered in the Sears Modern Home catalogs between 1912 and 1918, but we do know of other instances of Sears selling a house kit for a design that was no longer shown in the catalog. Hopefully the family would have a pretty good idea of the year of build, but I did find the original owner, James Ashburn, listed on “Main St.”, with no house number, in the 1920 Census, which was conducted on the 8th and 9th of January, 1920 in Batavia. That might mean the house was completed prior to 1920, or that the original owner lived in a different house on Main St at the time.

Many thanks to Mark Calitri, Executive Director of the Bureau, for letting me take photos of a lot of the original interior details of the house, like the fireplace with the Rookwood tile, with the triple door bookcases on each side. This makes me feel like a newspaper photographer! (Just kidding.)



Visit Owensboro is the official destination marketing organization for Owensboro and Daviess County Kentucky. www.visitowensboro.com Mark Calitri serves as President/CEO.

Thursday, December 26, 2019

Mark Calitri reports: Downtown hotel should boost tourism, officials say But indoor sports facility needed

Mark Calitri reports: Downtown hotel should boost tourism, officials say
But indoor sports facility needed
• By Keith Lawrence Messenger-Inquirer
• Dec 24, 2019
https://www.messenger-inquirer.com/news/local/downtown-hotel-should-boost-tourism-officials-say/article_24dc1d47-5698-5047-bb00-787ae949884f.html
Construction on the 120-room Home2 Suites by Hilton and the 200 apartments attached to it across Second Street from the Owensboro Convention Center should begin in the spring.
And Matt Hayden, who's building the complex with Jack Wells, said the 10- to 12-story project should be ready to open in April 2021 -- if not sooner.
The new hotel is important for the continued growth of tourism in Owensboro, Hayden and Mark Calitri, president of the Owensboro-Daviess County Convention & Visitors Bureau, said recently.
"In order to attract larger conventions, we have to have at least 350 rooms downtown," Hayden said. "The new hotel will take us to 389 -- 150 at the Hampton, 119 at the Holiday Inn and 120 at the Home2 Suites. That gives us a little cushion."
The new hotel will also bring the total number of hotel rooms in town to more than 1,500.
Mayor Tom Watson said, "The new hotel will be something to hang our hats on. It will create more convention business."
"The new downtown hotel will be transformative for Owensboro and adds another diamond in our crown," Calitri said. "The CVB sees the next few years as crucial for Owensboro as our market has already successfully absorbed the opening of two new hotels with no real decline in hotel occupancy. Our challenge is to be proactive and continue to aggressively pursue innovative ways to attract new visitors and sports and convention groups to fill the hotels.

Sunday, December 8, 2019

Mark Calitri reports: 'Sportstown USA': Owensboro 2020 will see major events


Mark Calitri reports: 'Sportstown USA': Owensboro 2020 will see major events



In 2004, Sports Illustrated named Owensboro "Kentucky's Sportstown USA."

And the Owensboro-Daviess County Convention & Visitors Bureau plans to highlight that designation in 2020.

"We are determined to live up to the title of Kentucky No. 1 Sportstown," Mark Calitri, president of the Owensboro-Daviess County Convention & Visitors Bureau, said recently. "We earn this title by aggressively pursuing top events across a broad spectrum of sports."

And 2020 should see that effort kick into high gear.

Last week, the CVB announced that the Kentucky Scholastic 3D Archery State Indoor Championship will be at the Owensboro Convention Center from Feb. 27 to March 1.

More than 500 archers are expected to compete for a state championship in their division and class.

Chris McDonald, coordinator for the tournament, said it's moving from Madisonville because it needs a larger venue.

"Owensboro has the perfect venue and so much to offer our families that travel for competitions," he said in a news release.

Laura Alexander, the convention center's general manager, said the tournament's economic impact on the city should approach $400,000



https://www.messenger-inquirer.com/news/local/sportstown-usa-cvb-says-will-see-major-events/article_2bb6dcba-8069-5694-9240-6455d74be295.html



Visit Owensboro is the official destination marketing organization for Owensboro and Daviess County Kentucky. www.visitowensboro.com Mark Calitri serves as President/CEO.

Friday, December 6, 2019

More than 30 international tour operators and travel planners from Brazil and Europe will be in Owensboro on Thursday, Dec. 5, checking out the city's attractions.


More than 30 international tour operators and travel planners from Brazil and Europe will be in Owensboro on Thursday, Dec. 5, checking out the city's attractions.

Mark Calitri, president of the Owensboro-Daviess County Convention & Visitors Bureau, said Chris Gendek, of Visit Owensboro Destination Services, is in St. Louis this week for the Travel South International conference, talking to the tour operators and planners about Owensboro.

Chris Joslin, executive director of the Bluegrass Music Hall of Fame & Museum, is also at the meeting, playing bluegrass and telling the tour operators about the Hall of Fame.

Dave Kirk, the CVB's destination management director said a full day of activities is being planned for the visitors from Brazil, Germany, Italy, Denmark, Belgium and The Netherlands.

They are scheduled to arrive at the Holiday Inn Riverfront and Hampton Inn & Suites Downtown Owensboro/Waterfront at 11:15 a.m. Thursday.

After lunch at Moonlite Bar-B-Q Inn, they'll tour the Hall of Fame and sit in on a jam session.

Then they'll tour O.Z. Tyler Distillery and throw axes at Escape Today.

The visit will end with dinner at the Owensboro Museum of Fine Art catered by City Walk.

Kirk said Owensboro's proximity to St. Louis made the visit possible.

"They're going to several places in Kentucky," he said. "But we're the first stop, and we'll get to make the first impression."

Kirk said many of the people on the tour have been to New York City and Chicago.

Now, they're looking for something different and authentic, he said.

https://www.messenger-inquirer.com/news/local/plus-international-tour-operators-coming-thursday/article_9ee05bc6-2860-5990-b40b-a9e4ad151d65.html#utm_source=messenger-inquirer.com&utm_campaign=%2Fnewsletters%2Fheadlines%2F%3Frefreshed123%26-dc%3D1575547209&utm_medium=email&utm_content=headline
https://www.messenger-inquirer.com/news/local/plus-international-tour-operators-coming-thursday/article_9ee05bc6-2860-5990-b40b-a9e4ad151d65.html#utm_source=messenger-inquirer.com&utm_campaign=%2Fnewsletters%2Fheadlines%2F%3Frefreshed123%26-dc%3D1575547209&utm_medium=email&utm_content=headline