1	Arkansas Dept. of Parks & Tourism An Overview
2	Parks & Tourism Mission
3	Parks & Tourism History: 1927 - Act 172 created the State Parks Commission 1933 - CCC and NPS begin work on first parks 1936 - 1st state park, Petit Jean, dedicated 1937 - Ark. Publicity Advisory Commission created, and funding for employees established 1955 - State Publicity and Parks Commission combined the two previous commissions 1969 - Name changed to State Parks, Recreation and Travel Commission, which remains today 1971 - Act 38 Gave considerable emphasis to travel & recreation Created the Ark. Dept. of Parks & Tourism (cabinet level) Expanded the department’s efforts Director is appointed by the Governor
4	History Commission’s Past: 1905 - History Commission Created 1963 - Became a State Agency 1971 - Became a part of Parks and Tourism 1991 - Arkansas Black History Commission was created; operates in connection with History Commission Great River Road History: 1938 - U.S. Congress created the Miss. River Parkway Planning Commission 1961 - Arkansas Great River Road created Keep Arkansas Beautiful Commission History: 1989 - Keep Arkansas Beautiful established by Executive Order of the Governor 1993 - KArB became a division of Parks & Tourism 1996 - KArB received funding from Amendment 75 1997 - Act 1278 superceded the Executive Order & recreated the KArB Commission
5	Department Boards & Commissions State Parks, Recreation & Travel Commission Arkansas History Commission Arkansas Black History Commission Mississippi River Parkway Commission Keep Arkansas Beautiful Commission Entertainers Hall of Fame Board Outdoor Recreation Grants Advisory Committee Scenic Resources Preservation Coordinating Committee Prairie Grove Battlefield Commission Plantation Agriculture Museum Advisory Committee Arkansas Post Museum Advisory Committee Arkansas Museum of Natural Resources Advisory Committee
6	Parks & Tourism Department Organization
7	Administration Division Organization
8	Parks Division Organization
9	Tourism Division Organization
10	History Commission Organization
11	Keep Ark. Beautiful Organization
12	Employees by Division Parks: 1,421 Tourism: 78 Admin. Services: 67 History Commission: 29 Great River Road: 2 Keep Ark. Beautiful: 4
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15	Arkansas State Parks
16	Parks Programs & Services Program Services exists to fulfill our 1927 legislation which calls for parks to have: educational, recreational, health, camping and out-door life advantages… Today, programs, workshops and events attract people from across the nation and make memories that last a lifetime Over 80 full-time and part-time interpreters and other park staff present 50,000 programs a year Arkansas State Parks is Arkansas’s largest resource-based, non-traditional education organization. In FY-2009, we presented 13,760 programs to more than 300,000 schoolchildren. Law Enforcement/Emergency Services
17	"Outdoor Grants" Outdoor Grants: To promote local park development, Parks offers 50/50 matching grants up to $250,000 to cities & counties, $45,000 Fun Parks grants for communities with 2,500 people or less, and Trails for Life grants up to $35,000 for a standard health and fitness trail and up to $70,000 for a custom health and fitness trail related project (such as a connecting trail between two existing trails that provide a health and fitness component.)
18	Amendment 75 at State Parks FY 2009-FY 2010 System-wide utility systems replacements, road and parking improvements Swimming pool replacements/additions Campground renovations/additions Lodge renovations at DeGray and OFC Cabin Renovations/additions Historic Structure renovations at Historic Washington Golf Course renovation at DeGray Marina Improvements Relocation of Lake Fort Smith State Park Day-use area renovations Shoreline stabilization Barrier-free & multi-use trails Visitor Information/environmental education centers Interpretive exhibits/galleries
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20	Tourism Division
21	Arkansas Welcome Centers
22	Marketing Arkansas Tourism Marketing through agencies (Cranford Johnson Robinson Woods & Aristotle) Key marketing efforts $ 3.1 million - print ads (Fall/Winter 2009 – Spring Summer 2010) $1.9 million – broadcast (Fall/Winter 2009 – Spring Summer 2010) $1.1 million – CJRW Online (Fall/Winter 2009 – Spring Summer 2010) $1.2 million - Web sites (all) $1.075 million - fulfillment $432,567 - State Parks ad budget
23	Advertising cont’d
24	Tourism Programs & Services Great River Road: Charged with preserving & promoting all tourism & historic aspects along the Great River Road Research & Information Services Section: Conducts surveys & other research Handles 1-800-NATURAL & fulfillment operations Operates 13 Arkansas Welcome Centers Group Travel Section: Recruits meetings, conventions & reunions Attends tour operator trade shows Provides group travel leads to the industry Handles sport and motorcycle marketing
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26	History Commission
27	Keep Arkansas Beautiful Commission
28	Arkansas.com Web sites AND…… 17 – Landing Pages Department’s Freedom of Information Site: adptfoi.com Commission Web site: http://commission.adptonline.com ArkansasGroupTravel.com ArkansasHotDeals.com ArkansasKids.com ArkansasMediaRoom.com ArkIndustryInsider.com Family-weekend-Getaways.com Fishing-Arkansas.com NaturalStateGolfTrail.com RelocatetoArkansas.com SeeArkansasfirst.com Watersports-Arkansas.com BirdinginArkansas.co Reunions-101-com
29	ArkansasStateParks.com Web sites Crater of Diamonds - CraterofDiamondsStatePark.com DeGray Lake Resort - Degray.com Historic Washington - HistoricWashingtonStatePark.com Ozark Folk Center - OzarkFolkCenter.com Petit Jean - PetitJeanStatePark.com Queen Wilhelmina - QueenWilhelmina.com Mount Magazine State Park – MountMagazineStatePark.com Adventure State Parks – AdventureStateParks.com History and Heritage State Parks – HistoryStateParks.com Mountain Parks State Parks – MountainStateParks.com Lake & River State Parks – LakeandRiverStateParks.com