Oklahoma: A Story Through Her People

SHAWNEE
CONVENTION &
VISITORS BUREAU
by Mike McCormick
Below: International Finals Youth Rodeo.
PHOTOGRAPH COURTESY OF RODEOBUM.COM.
Bottom: Mabee-Gerrer Museum of Art—
Arts Trek!
Tourism is alive and well in Shawnee and
Pottawatomie County. Statistics show that
dollars spent by tourists provide a significant
economic impact regionally and throughout
the state. Behind the oil and gas industry and
agriculture, tourism is ranked as the third
leading industry in Oklahoma. One of the
biggest reasons tourism is doing well in
Shawnee and Pottawatomie County is because
of the Shawnee Convention & Visitors
Bureau. Its executive director is Kinlee Farris,
a seasoned veteran of the tourism industry.
Shawnee Convention & Visitors Bureau was
born in late 1994 when voters in Shawnee
agreed to a modest hotel/motel tax of $1 a
night per room, including those staying in
RVs overnight as well. Several years later
community leaders realized the revenue from
that small tax was not sufficient to support
the type of growth which could be realized
with additional revenue. Voters were asked,
and they agreed, to increase that to a rate of
five percent. The community has not looked
back since, and has experienced exponential
growth over the past decade.
Mike Jackson is operations manager
of the Heart of Oklahoma Exposition
Center, the largest facility in Shawnee
drawing an estimated average of
15,000 people monthly.
“There are a lot of events they (the
CVB) financially support,” Jackson said.
Among them are calf roping, barrel
racing and others. The CVB also
provides welcome bags and information
for visitors. “They help with our motels.
They play a huge role with the
International Finals Youth Rodeo.”
They help with the media for the IFYR,
which is considered
the richest youth rodeo
in the world. 2014
was the twenty-second
consecutive year for
the event that provides
more than $200,000
in prize money and
other awards for the
winning contestants.
Jackson also pointed
out the CVB helps with
large RV rallies, a number of which Farris and
Expo staff member Stephanie Gideon help
recruit. Right after 2014s IFYR in July, a 500-
unit RV rally descended upon the Expo Center,
and following it was the National Junior
Beefmaster Show with more than 400 head
of cattle and contestants from thirteen states
attending. The 2014 Central District Livestock
Show was another large event, drawing huge
numbers of youth and parents. Jackson said
the National Barrel Horse Association has at
least six events annually and the State 4-H
Horse Show also was held at the Expo.
Donna Merkt of the Mabee-Gerrer Museum
of Art in Shawnee echoed Jackson’s remarks.
“The Shawnee CVB and the museum have had
a fruitful partnership for over a decade. The
CVB works diligently to promote the museum
and their other partners.” Merkt, the museum’s
curator of education, added, “The CVB provides
strong tourism development for the museum,
promoting the museum’s activities and events
in ads, on their webpage, on social media,
in print media and signage, and at tourism
events, allowing the museum to focus
valuable time and dollars on education,
exhibitions, and preservation. “The CVB is a
primary supporter of the annual Arts Trek
Festival, promoting artists and performers
in the Shawnee area. Support from the
CVB assisted in getting this festival off the
ground, helping it grow from 1,000 visitors
in 2010 to 3,000 visitors in 2014,” she stated.
Due to leadership and assistance provided
by the CVB, in cooperation with local tribal
nations, the Jim Thorpe Games came to
Shawnee in June 2014. The event drew thousands
to the community and surrounding areas.
An estimated 1,600 Native athletes, representing
more than seventy Native American Nations,
converged on our community for the competition
held throughout the week of June 8-14.
Farris spent many hours working with people
both locally and outside the city to bring
the games here from Oklahoma City where it
has been hosted the past couple of years. It
shows the cooperation it took from many entities
and the many hours Farris spent working
with them. The games featured eleven sports
and in 2014 an Oklahoma Native American
High School Football Game was added. Among
O K L A H O M A : A S t o r y T h r o u g h H e r P e o p l e
180