November 2016 Issue: 1 In This Issue What's the LRTA Doing for You? Member News It's time to say Happy Holidays! It's the most wonderful time of the year! We enjoyed seeing you at the Annual Meeting on November 1! Thank you to Hart's Turkey Farm for the fabulous food and accommodations! Any specials or packages for the holidays? We want to know so we can promote you! Email us today! Industry News & Events Travel News Signature Sponsors Happy Thanksgiving! Amy, Kim, Jo, and Ann LRTA Staff Thank you to Hart's Turkey Farm for hosting our Annual Business Meeting and 80th Birthday Celebration on Tuesday, November 1st. In the afternoon, the Association held a Marketing Presentation with Amy Landers, LRTA Executive Director; Vicki Cimino, Director of the Division of Travel and Tourism and Lori Harnois, Director of Discover New England. Each of the Directors spoke about their current marketing plans reviewing how they are bringing visitors to New Hampshire; statistics and trends. After time to network, the Annual Business Meeting was held with presentations for the Mildred Beach and Mel Borrin Scholarships and the Annual Tourism Award. Congratulations to Andrew Button, owner of Annalee Dolls and his entire staff for being the receipent of this year's Tourism Award.
Jim Morash provided the toast honoring the Association's the 80th birthday caption cake donated by Lakes Region Community College Hospitality and Culinary Program. The Association was also recognizing member businesses that have been owned and operated by the same family for over 50 years. Greg Goddard was the emcee who presented the history and old photographs to recognize each of these families. Here's the press release for a full recap! TUESDAY TOUR ON FACEBOOK We hope you have been following and liking our photos on facebook. Each Tuesday, we have been posting on the 16 businesses that have been owned and operated by the same family for over 50 years. People really like to see the old photography and we are seeing a lot of feedback from visitors enjoying the Lakes Region. We would like to continue providing history and content to visitors, please send it to alanders@lakesregion.org PHOTOGRAPHY AND VIDEOS We are working on developing new videos for 2017. We currently have videos on the website that we also use for email blasts; press releases; UTube and other marketing efforts. These videos are available to you to utilize as well. This year, we will work on additional videos that we will break down by demographics families; couples; active and soft adventure. We are also building our photo library by season. We are putting together a target list of photos that we need. We will allow members to use these photos as a new member benefit. Fall Facebook Tour by the Numbers! Photo Contest / Facebook Ad Campaign Total Reach: 315,350 Total Engagements (for example - like, share, comment, click): 15,529 New Facebook Likes During Campaign: 1462
Total Entries: 2,198 Christmas at the Castle November 19 & 20 and November 25, 26 & 27 Hours: 10:00am - 4:00pm Enjoy a vintage Christmas at the Lucknow Estate, this year with more decorations than ever before. Last year's event brought us record breaking numbers, so act now! Skip the lines at the door by pre-purchasing your tickets. Click here to buy tickets today. Black Friday Rail Jam On Friday, November 25th, skip the shopping frenzy and work off that Thanksgiving dinner with some healthy competition at the Black Friday Rail Jam! But if you're still hungry, there will be tacos! Sponsors include Mountainside Outfitters, GoPro, Head, Oakley, and more! Annual Holiday Craft now in New Location! Don't miss the Lakes Region Holiday Craft Fair at the Belknap Mall, 96 Daniel Webster Hwy., Belmont, on Nov 26-27, Sat & Sun 10am to 4pm. This fair was formerly held at the Opechee Conference Center in Laconia. Many of the same exhibitors will be displaying their beautiful arts & crafts at the Belknap Mall. The photo features beautiful lighted wine bottles with tissue collage by Joanne Cordero and Ellen Nunes who will be exhibiting in the fair. Some of the other exhibits will include holiday decor, soy candles, gorgeous quilts and table decor, goat milk soaps, delicious gourmet dips, gift baskets, American girl doll clothing, wood turned items, wood burned items and demonstration, Ben's NH maple syrups, alpaca clothing, knits and crocheted items, jewelry, wool sweater mittens, unique lights, gourmet coffees, and lots more!!! Music of Tim Janis! Find unique and quality holiday gifts!!! See you there!!! Info Joyce (603) 528-4014 www.joycescraftshows.com TANGER OUTLETS IN TILTON ANNOUNCES EXPANSION
PLANS The project will add a new Five Guys Burgers & Fries and an expanded Starbucks Coffee to the Center Tanger Factory Outlet Centers, Inc. announces today the launch of an expansion project at the Tanger Outlets in Tilton, New Hampshire. The construction project will add approximately 6,000 square foot to the center and will house expanded dining options, including a Five Guys Burgers & Fries and a larger Starbucks Coffee that will include a drive-thru. Construction is expected to be completed in the first half of 2017, with Five Guys Burgers & Fries opening in the spring and Starbucks Coffee opening in the summer. Once the project is complete, Tanger Outlets in Tilton will have over 250,000 square feet of leasable space and house over 50 designer and brand name outlet stores. Meredith Rotary Club Announces 25th Annual Senior Christmas Dinner The Meredith Rotary Club will host the 25th Annual Senior Christmas Dinner on Sunday, December 4, 2016 at Interlakes Elementary School. Senior citizens over 55 years of age from Meredith, Moultonborough, Center Harbor, and Sandwich are invited to reserve a seat for the occasion "The Senior Christmas Dinner is always a fun day that is free of charge for all participants," according to Betsey Donovan, co-chairman of the event. Reservations are required for this event and seating is limited to 300 people. To make reservations, please contact the Meredith Rotary Club (Monday, Wednesday or Friday) at 603-279-7600 from 10am to 4pm, or call the Meredith Chamber of Commerce at 603-279-6121 (Monday through Friday 10am to 4pm) beginning November 1, 2016 and ending December 1, 2016 - until all seats are reserved Throughout the years, The Meredith Rotary Club has donated more than $2 million into the Lakes Region community for charitable projects, area improvements, scholarships, and for individuals and families in need. For additional information, visit their website at www.meredithrotary.org. Hermit Woods Gives Back with Annual Food Drive Now through November 30th, bring a non-perishable donation to Hermit Woods Winery and enjoy a 15% Discount on all items in our shop including wine, food, and gifts! After a very successful food drive last year Hermit Woods has decided to make it a yearly tradition. This year they will be expanding their drive to include all of November. "Over the years our customers have become like family to us, bring your family to meet our family, and help a family in need!" says Bob.
You can learn more about Hermit Woods Food drive by visiting their website: www.hermitwoods.com/2016-food-drive/, or calling 603.253.7968. Bank of New Hampshire Helps Keep Bicycles and Riders Safe in Laconia Bank of New Hampshire is proud to contribute to the Laconia Area Bicycle Exchange (LABE) with their recent donation of $500. The Laconia Area Bicycle Exchange is an all-volunteer non-profit which provides a means of inexpensive alternate transportation in the form of refurbished bicycles to adults and children who would benefit from greater mobility as it relates to work, family, and personal life. They are focused on assisting those who cannot afford an automobile and/or who do not have a valid driver's license, as well as children from low-income families. "The donation from Bank of New Hampshire is critical to ensuring that riders and bicycles remain safe and secure," stated John Rogers, Founder of the Laconia Area Bicycle Exchange. "It is important for us to also provide helmets and bike locks at no cost to individuals receiving a bicycle however these are items that need to be purchased new this grant will provide the necessary funds to purchase these items." Currently LABE is seeking anyone interested in joining its Board of Directors. For more information, call 603-630-7571. Date & Time: 9am-11:30am December 1 Location: Red River Theatres in Concord Come hear from President Scott Lawson as he discusses best practices and other ways you can be prepared for when OSHA comes knocking at your door. OSHA Announces New Penalties As of August 2016, new maximum penalties now range from $12,471.00 to $124,709.00 per citation.
Most companies will likely never see an OSHA inspector, just based upon the law of large numbers. If you do, it will likely do so because of an employee complaint, a Special Emphasis Program like machine guarding or silica, or because of a serious industrial accident. See below for a few examples of the reasons OSHA may show up at your door: Focus Inspections: * General Schedule * Complaint * Accident * Fatality * Special Emphasis National & Special Emphasis Programs: * Noise in the Workplace * Powered Industrial Trucks * Isocyanides * Hexavalent Chromiun * New Recordkeeping Requirements Travel Community Welcomes Expansion of Customs Preclearance U.S. Travel Association President and CEO Roger Dow issued the following statement on U.S. Customs and Border Protection's (CBP) announcement of new future customs Preclearance locations: "Preclearance marries top-notch security and efficiency to improve the entry experience for U.S. visitors, and the travel community applauds its expansion. We are excited to hear that international airports in Bogotá (Colombia); Buenos Aires (Argentina); Edinburgh (Scotland); Osaka (Japan); Reykjavík (Iceland); Mexico City; Milan; Rome; Rio de Janeiro; São Paulo and Saint Martin (Sint Maarten) have begun the Preclearance approval process. The addition of these countries to Preclearance will be a welcome development for our entry system, and we thank CBP for its commitment to growing the program. "Preclearing passengers at foreign airports before they even board a plane to the U.S. is great for both national security and our economy. Airports participating in Preclearance must uphold CBP's rigorous security standards, which ensures that precleared passengers are thoroughly vetted prior to their arrival. Preclearance also helps reduce the workload for U.S. customs agents at domestic ports of entry, allowing them to focus on lesser-known travelers.
"Giving travelers an innovative, convenient and efficient entry process with Preclearance sends the message that they are welcome here-and those who feel welcomed are more likely to visit again. From both an economic and diplomatic standpoint, modernizing the customs and entry process for legitimate international visitors helps the U.S. remain globally competitive as an attractive, welcoming destination. We hope to hear many more announcements like today's in the future." courtesy ustravel.org