Mayor Tom Hoechst - Letter to the Editor

Earlier this spring, I had the privilege of meeting several travel writers visiting our area working on their next great story.  This past week, the New York Amsterdam News, an African-American newspaper founded in 1909 in New York City, completed a five week series on our region as part of their travel section.  Lysa Allman-Baldwin authored the series and did a fantastic job.

On behalf of our community, I want to publicly thank Lysa and also remind the people of our region about the strong attributes and potential our communities have as a first-class tourist destination for visitors.  I would also like to commend the staff of the Alton Convention and Visitors Bureau for all of the work they do, including piquing the interest of travel writers.  Sometimes we are so consumed with our thoughts and busy lives that we overlook all of the good our region has to offer.

I was very impressed as I looked at our area through the eyes of an outsider and I encourage everyone to read the articles.  The five part series can be viewed online at www.VisitAlton.com/clips.

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