Tourist commission awarded more than $104,000 in ARPA funding

The Lake Cumberland Tourist Commission accepted a check on Tuesday for $104,357. The funds were American Rescue Plan Act dollars awarded when Lt. Governor Jacqueline Coleman visited neighboring Pulaski County.

The ARPA check presentation took place at the Pulaski County Courthouse as both Russell County and Pulaski County tourism received funding. Tourism Director Danielle Wilson accepted the funds on behalf of the commission and Crystal Moore, the commission’s administrative assistant, and Russell County Judge-Executive Randy Marcum were also on hand to greet the lieutenant governor.

Wilson applied the tourist commission for the grant late last summer. There is a strict criteria as to what the funding can be used for and Wilson said the funds will allow the commission to revive ideas that were put on hold during the pandemic.

Among the upcoming projects will be the hiring of a couple of research companies to help determine where Lake Cumberland visitors are coming from and where they’re going while they are in Russell County, entering new digital advertising markets and upgrading the commission’s website at lakecumberlandvacation.com.

Tuesday’s check presentation came on the heels of another announcement earlier this week where the commission and other tourism entities around Lake Cumberland received news of a $175,000 multi-jurisdictional grant from the Kentucky Department of Tourism. That grant will be used to design and install a wayfinding system complete with directional markers covering all 101 miles of the lake.

From left: Crystal Moore, administrative assistant for the Lake Cumberland Tourist Commission, Lt. Gov. Jacqueline Coleman, Danielle Wilson, executive director of Lake Cumberland Tourist Commission, and Russell County Judge-Executive Randy Marcum.