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Depot benefits from program

Submitted photo Elizabeth Morrison, Davis & Elkins Hospitality graduate, center, is pictured with Samantha Helman, AFHA AmeriCorps member and volunteer manager, left, and Elkins Depot Welcome Center Executive Director Anne Beardslee

Submitted photo Elizabeth Morrison, Davis & Elkins Hospitality graduate, center, is pictured with Samantha Helman, AFHA AmeriCorps member and volunteer manager, left, and Elkins Depot Welcome Center Executive Director Anne Beardslee

ELKINS — Opening up experiences for Davis & Elkins College Hospitality Club students, the Elkins Depot Welcome Center welcomes young professionals from D&E.

Through a partnership with Melanie Campbell, assistant professor of hospitality management and the Welcome Center, students are given the opportunity to step into the world of visitor services. Students gain real-life experiences through a professional experiential-learning environment and learn about the unique history of Elkins and the railroad.

Community immersion and connecting students with downtown Elkins provides them with a comprehensive understanding of local tourism and the many facets of operating a welcome center in conjunction with a tourist attraction.

Interacting with more than 15,000 visitors in November and December alone, the Elkins Depot Welcome Center helps show students the vital impact of a welcome center, its value in promoting downtown businesses while also serving the community through the involvement with events and partnerships with Randolph County schools, Appalachian Forest Heritage Area, Elkins Main Street, Durbin & Greenbrier Valley Railroad, Mountain Arts District, the Randolph County Development Authority and the Elkins-Randolph County Chamber of Commerce.

The mission of the Welcome Center is to create a complete tourist experience for the visitor. The simple suggestion of a city map can change the whole experience for a visitor by easing travel anxiety, and D&E students are able to observe and initiate recommendations and conversations with tourists. Students assist the Welcome Center’s trained staff and volunteers and encourage visitors to walk downtown and through the doors of local businesses.

In addition to learning how a welcome center serves the public, students are educated on the importance of having a variety of resources available for tourists in different forms to accommodate the ever-changing technological advances of the modern world. Maintaining an online presence through social media and the management of a blog and website in addition to having in-hand brochures, magazines and printed materials from all over the state  is important to different audiences. Providing directions  recommendations and a clean and welcoming environment, a welcome center serves as a first point of contact for many tourists, and first impressions matter. A pleasant and informative visit allows for the visitor to move on to their next attraction, whether that is a restaurant or shop, a show at a local theater or a scenic train excursion.

“The Depot experience is a great opportunity afforded to our students of the Hospitality Management program. Students have the opportunity to visit this wonderful location and experience hospitality services here in our community as well as gain hands-on experience for internships,” Campbell said. “Students can choose to go on a busy Saturday during fall leaf season, Mountain State Forest Festival time or the Polar Express season. We are grateful to the leadership of the Depot team.”

Elizabeth Morrison completed her internship in November, accumulating 80 hours with the Welcome Center. Her dedication and passion for hospitality were apparent through her time spent with volunteers and staff.

“Liz is gifted with the public and was an incredible asset throughout her time at the center,” said Tom Rosier, Welcome Center volunteer.

In addition to Morrison, other D&E students continue to contribute their time to the Welcome Center.

“Annually, the entire Introduction to Hospitality Class is required to job shadow at the Welcome Center in the fall.  I take the students around town the second week of class and introduce them to local attractions,” Campbell said. “We stop at the Welcome Center so students understand Elkins’ hospitality and tourism opportunities for traveling guests. In addition, students are able to connect and network with hospitality and tourism sites here in Elkins. Then students are asked to go back to the Welcome Center to work side by side with the volunteers and staff and welcome guests to our community as part of the practicum for the class requirements.”

“It is a win-win for all of us,” Elkins Depot Welcome Center Executive Director Anne Beardslee said. “Students, volunteers and staff all learn from one another. We love connecting and look forward to continuing this partnership.”

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