Pike Visitors Bureau elects new board

MILFORD - The Pike County Visitors Bureau has held its first formal membership and board meetings and elected a new board and officers for the organization. The new board will consist of Eric Ehrhardt (Ehrhardt’s Waterfront Resort), Andrea Filone (Mt. Haven ), Sue Holbert (Inn at Lackawaxen), Yvonne Klausmann (Cliff Park Inn), Sean Strub (Hotel Fauchere), Nick Moore (Best Western Inn at Hunt’s Landing) and William Jara (Black Walnut Inn and Westfall Family Restaurant). Officers elected include Strub as President, Ehrhardt as Vice President, Filone as Secretary and Klausmann as Treasurer. Bill Kiger has agreed to serve as the group’s Executive Director. “Formalizing our institutional structure has been the PCVB’s focus this year. Now there is finally an organization whose first and sole priority is the promotion of tourism in Pike County,” said Strub. Ehrhardt commented on the board’s geographic diversity: “The key to the PCVB’s success will be found in its representation of all parts of the county. Our board reflects this, with members from Lake Wallenpaupack , Lackawaxen, Milford and a number of other townships. I look forward to working to create a unified voice for the industry in Pike County.” The board members expressed their appreciation to the PCVB’s founding President, Nick Moore. “Nick’s leadership has been critical to getting the PCVB off the ground,” said Filone, who has been working with Moore since the PCVB was first proposed nearly a year ago. In other PCVB board business, upcoming meetings with the Pike County Commissioners, the Pocono Mountains Vacation Bureau and other tourism-interested organizations were discussed and outreach activities agreed upon. Bill Kiger, a retired tourism marketing executive, will be serving as the group’s Executive Director.I’ve waited a long time for this, but now is the right time for us to pursue a distinct identity for Pike County , with a distinct voice for our tourism industry,” said Kiger. Kiger also reported on the group’s membership efforts to date, which include 40 paid members representing businesses which encompass the majority of the guest rooms in Pike County . “A few are waiting to see how the PCVB develops, but I have not yet spoken to a single Pike County innkeeper who was not supportive of what we are doing,” said Kiger. For more information about the PCVB contact Kiger at 570-296-6753 or by email at info@VisitPikeCountyPA.com.