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Madison Hill draws 800; EDC pushes tourism grants, Hoover Ridge planning and grant‑writer support
Summary
The Economic Development Committee heard that Madison Hill events drew more than 800 attendees and significant vendor sales, and assigned staff to pursue tourism grant funding, create a festival booking page, explore the Hoover Ridge Event Center and survey departments for grant‑writing needs.
The Madison County Economic Development Committee on May 12 highlighted tourism successes and assigned staff to expand event infrastructure and funding support after Molly Wilshire reported strong turnout at recent Madison Hill events.
"Madison Hill events had over 800 attendees and significant revenue for vendors," Wilshire said, citing event attendance and vendor sales as evidence of local tourism potential.
Chairman Jim Jewett and committee members discussed using tourism grants for directional signage to Hoover Ridge and other assets, asked staff to coordinate with the tourism committee on grant applications and directed the development of an integrated Madison Hill Festival booking page for vendors and lodging.
The committee also discussed the Hoover Ridge Event Center project and outreach to a travel‑sports startup to attract tournaments and related events. Members asked staff to survey county departments, including the school system, about grant‑writing needs to determine whether the county should hire a dedicated grant writer or secure outside grant‑writing support.
Other community events discussed included Tour de Madison and finalizing the MADISON 250 July 2 agenda; an event‑planning action list in the minutes names specific participants to invite (for example, the school band, Legion color guard and local historical society) and assigns finalization tasks.
What’s next: staff will pursue tourism grant opportunities, build the festival booking interface for the county website and report back on grant‑writing options and Hoover Ridge planning.
