Cambria Tourism Board selects 2 nominees
The three current members of the Cambria Tourism Board approved on Feb. 9 more than $10,000 — maybe much more — in grants toward funding activities and actions designed to bring more overnight guests into Cambria, improve the quality of their visits and, in the process, support the town’s history and traditions.
The members also nominated two Cambria lodging owners — Linda Ennen, owner of J. Patrick House, and Tim Hayden, owner of Creekside Inn — to join the board that allocates fees collected specifically from lodging guests to help foster the town’s tourism industry and overnight stays. Soon, county supervisors are to consider approving the nominations.
The new members of the Cambria Tourism Board (CTB) would fill vacancies created Dec. 15 when former members Pragna Patel and Bram Winter resigned. Patel sold her lodging property (El Colibri Boutique Hotel & Spa), and Winter (Cambria Pines Lodge) got bumped upstairs to the parent agency, the San Luis Obispo County Tourism Improvement District Advisory Board, which oversees the seven local tourism boards in the county.
Current CTB members are: Jim Bahringer of Fog’s End Bed and Breakfast; Michelle Latham of 9 Iron Inn; and Linda Finley, who serves as the group’s solo member at large.
The board now meets at 1 p.m. on the fourth Tuesday of the month at Heritage Oaks Bank, 2255 Main St. The marketing committee meets there on those days at 11 a.m., and the event and outreach committees meet there at 1 p.m. on the first Tuesday of the month.
In other actions Feb. 9, according to managing assistant Jill Jackson, CTB members approved:
▪ A $3,800 grant to Beautify Cambria for the research, design and prototype of an original cigarette-butt disposal tube. Once the prototype is approved, the tubes would be attached to Cambria’s custom-created, plant-topped, wooden trash and recycling receptacles.
Cigarette butt disposal has been a prime goal for Beautify Cambria, which also spearheaded creation and installation of the wooden receptacles throughout downtown.
▪ A $5,000 grant to support the Cambria Historical Society’s efforts to promote the town’s sesquicentennial celebration in 2016.
On Tuesday, Feb. 23, county supervisors are to present a proclamation to society officials, in honor of the 150th anniversary of Cambria’s establishment.
▪ A grant to American Legion Post No. 432 to help fund the July 4th fireworks, assuming fire conditions have improved sufficiently for the annual professional pyrotechnics to proceed. They were canceled last year (although the celebration continued without them), because of fire hazards worsened by the drought.
The original grant request was $12,500, but the amount that CTB will contribute depends on discussions with the San Simeon tourism board and the legion post.
BlendFest
Jackson noted in a Feb. 9 email interview that some tickets were still available to the BlendFest at the Coast event Saturday, Feb. 20. Afternoon and evening tastings will be held Saturday at the upscale, oceanfront Hearst warehouse in Old San Simeon Village. Guests who stay in Cambria or San Simeon lodgings will save $10 on each ticket to Saturday’s event. To learn more, go to http://bit.ly/1XwpRfp.
Details: call 395-2595 or email admin@visit cambriaca.com.
This story was originally published February 17, 2016 at 11:04 AM with the headline "Cambria Tourism Board selects 2 nominees."