Selected
Article:
Delta Workspaces / A look at
executive environments in our
region
Webster
Franklin
Tunica County Convention and Visitors’ Bureau
by
Jeff Piselli
DBJ Contributing Writer
What
a visitor sees:
As visitors (about 75,000 each year) come into the Tunica
County Visitors’ Center on U.S. 61, they see a well-kept,
modern brick building. But when they walk in the front doors,
things begin to happen. Visitors are immediately greeted
by some of the friendliest, most charming southern ladies
imaginable. If a visitor has questions, Jeanette Rico, Ann
Munson and Louise Burchfield have the answers. Whether it’s
directions to a casino, information on shopping opportunities,
places to eat, where to see the Mississippi River, or where
to seek medical care, no visitor goes away with unanswered
questions.
What
a visitor doesn’t see...
is the incredibly intense working environment where some
of the finest tourism development professionals in the South
work their magic. It’s the Tunica County Convention
and Visitors’ Bureau. Led by Webster Franklin, this
staff of eight full-time employees is the oil that keeps
the Tunica tourism machine running in top form. Working
with an annual budget of about $ 3.5 Million, the CVB creates
targeted advertising that brings tourism to the Mississippi
Delta. It’s top-notch sales reps travel the country
to bring tour buses and conventions to Tunica. It was voted
the best CVB in the state of Mississippi for three years
in a row. They also don’t see the nights and weekends
CVB staffers put in at local and regional events as well
as out-of-state conventions to make Tunica a household name.
What
Webster sees:
When Webster Franklin looks around his office, he sees a
combination of the old and the new. “What sticks out
the most, I guess, are the mementos of my past work experience,”
said Franklin. “I see photographs of my years at the
Bush White House, when I was an aide to Vice President Quayle.”
On the wall in front of his desk Franklin sees mementos
of the transformation of Tunica County from one of the poorest
areas in the country into the third-largest gaming destination
in the United States. “But even more important, are
pictures of what means the most to me; my family,”
he said. When Franklin looks out his office windows, he
sees success. “I see a 600-room hotel that sprang
from a cotton field, the Grand Terrace. I see Highway 61,
which brings more than 12 million visitors each year into
the Delta to enjoy the great tourism opportunities we’ve
become famous for.” Those visitors fuel a job market
that employs approximately 16,000 in the tourism industry
alone, that’s in a county with a total of 9,200 residents.
From the window facing South, Franklin can see the almost
finished Tunica National Golf and Tennis Club. Designed
by golf legend Mark McCumber, the course is already getting
rave reviews from golfing professionals, and play hasn’t
even started yet. Inside the clubhouse at the center of
the property are four clay tennis courts, the only ones
south of Washington D.C. And when Webster Franklin closes
his eyes, he sees the future. “I see new housing,
grocery stores, industry, and a regional tourism destination
that reaches from deep in the Mississippi Delta all the
way to Memphis. I see a time when we’re all working
together to benefit the entire area.” DBJ
Where
located:
Tunica County Visitors’ Center
What
a visitor sees:
As visitors (about 75,000 each year) come into the Tunica
County Visitors’ Center on U.S. 61, they see a well-kept,
modern brick building. But when they walk in the front doors,
things begin to happen. Visitors are immediately greeted
by some of the friendliest, most charming southern ladies
imaginable. If a visitor has questions, Jeanette Rico, Ann
Munson and Louise Burchfield have the answers. Whether it’s
directions to a casino, information on shopping opportunities,
places to eat, where to see the Mississippi River, or where
to seek medical care, no visitor goes away with unanswered
questions.
What
a visitor doesn’t see...
is the incredibly intense working environment where some
of the finest tourism development professionals in the South
work their magic. It’s the Tunica County Convention
and Visitors’ Bureau. Led by Webster Franklin, this
staff of eight full-time employees is the oil that keeps
the Tunica tourism machine running in top form. Working
with an annual budget of about $ 3.5 Million, the CVB creates
targeted advertising that brings tourism to the Mississippi
Delta. It’s top-notch sales reps travel the country
to bring tour buses and conventions to Tunica. It was voted
the best CVB in the state of Mississippi for three years
in a row. They also don’t see the nights and weekends
CVB staffers put in at local and regional events as well
as out-of-state conventions to make Tunica a household name.
What
Webster sees:
When Webster Franklin looks around his office, he sees a
combination of the old and the new. “What sticks out
the most, I guess, are the mementos of my past work experience,”
said Franklin. “I see photographs of my years at the
Bush White House, when I was an aide to Vice President Quayle.”
On the wall in front of his desk Franklin sees mementos
of the transformation of Tunica County from one of the poorest
areas in the country into the third-largest gaming destination
in the United States. “But even more important, are
pictures of what means the most to me; my family,”
he said. When Franklin looks out his office windows, he
sees success. “I see a 600-room hotel that sprang
from a cotton field, the Grand Terrace. I see Highway 61,
which brings more than 12 million visitors each year into
the Delta to enjoy the great tourism opportunities we’ve
become famous for.” Those visitors fuel a job market
that employs approximately 16,000 in the tourism industry
alone, that’s in a county with a total of 9,200 residents.
From the window facing South, Franklin can see the almost
finished Tunica National Golf and Tennis Club. Designed
by golf legend Mark McCumber, the course is already getting
rave reviews from golfing professionals, and play hasn’t
even started yet. Inside the clubhouse at the center of
the property are four clay tennis courts, the only ones
south of Washington D.C. And when Webster Franklin closes
his eyes, he sees the future. “I see new housing,
grocery stores, industry, and a regional tourism destination
that reaches from deep in the Mississippi Delta all the
way to Memphis. I see a time when we’re all working
together to benefit the entire area.” DBJ
