ELKINS — Elkins City Council has approved spending the maximum funds allowed to promote Elkins in an out-of-state marketing campaign in partnership with the City of Buckhannon and the West Virginia Department of Tourism.

During Council’s July 24 meeting, the eight council members present voted to approve the expenditures, currently $6,643 for FY 2026, as amended under the city’s Home Rule authority, to promote Elkins alongside the West Virginia Department of Tourism in a marketing campaign. Third Ward Council member Christopher Lowther and Fourth Ward Council member Andrew Carroll were not in attendance at the meeting.

In 2019, the City of Elkins exercised its Home Rule authority through Ordinance 258 to increase its annual per capita spending limit under West Virginia Code 8-12-5(52) for advertising the municipality and entertaining visitors from $0.25 to $1.00. As Elkins’ 2025 population is 6,643, the city may spend up to $6,643 in FY 2026 for “advertising the city and other marketing purposes.”

The campaign, which the City of Buckhannon will also be participating in, would see advertisements promoting Elkins and Buckhannon at Tysons Corner Center, a 2.1 million square-foot shopping center in McClean, Virginia, which sits just outside of Washington, D.C.

In the resolution presented to Council, Mayor Jerry Marco explained what the Department of Tourism’s Cooperative Advertising Program entailed, including how the program will match the City “dollar for dollar.”

“Per a recent conversation with Secretary of Tourism Chelsea Ruby, I was made aware of a CO-OP regarding advertising for our community,” Marco stated in the resolution. “Secretary Ruby’s office will match 50 percent of the funds if communities are willing to collaborate. Secretary Ruby’s staff manages the advertising campaign and does most of the ‘heavy lifting’ for this initiative. Secretary Ruby is very dedicated to supporting the Elkins and surrounding areas, especially with Corridor H becoming more of a reality in the near future.”

Marco also stated that, after a conversation with Buckhannon Mayor Robbie Skinner, Skinner

“approved his financial commitment at a recent meeting” and was waiting for Elkins City Council to approve the endeavor on their end.

During the July 24 meeting, Fifth Ward Council Member Cody Thomas asked if Buckhannon would also be contributing up to $6,643 to the campaign, to which Marco explained that Buckhannon’s contribution would be around $1,000 less due to their population size.

In a mock-up that was presented to the Elkins City Council, the Department of Tourism stated that the financial input of both Elkins and Buckhannon would equal $13,000 and, with the program’s ability to match dollar-for-dollar, the entire advertising campaign would equal a $26,000 investment.

Thompson then added that he believed the campaign to be a great idea as Tysons Corner Center is in an affluent area and people in the city “love to be out of the city.”

Fourth Ward Council Member Nanci Bross-Fregonara voiced some concerns she had heard from constituents regarding marketing in the form of local wayfinding over advertising.

“The number one thing that I hear is not so much getting the D.C. or Pittsburgh folks here, it’s getting people off Randolph Avenue or crossing the street from the Train Depot and coming downtown,” Bross-Fregonara said. “That’s what their greatest concerns are.”

Bross-Fregonara suggested that, when this topic is presented next year, Council really needs to think about coming up with wayfinding signs and directing people downtown.

“The towns are focusing specifically on Tyson Corner Center, so the WV Tourism Team has looked into advertising options across the property,” the Department of Tourism’s mock-up to council states. “The final campaign will include selected opportunities from the following slides and a complementary digital media campaign. Combining on-site signage with digital and social media helps us reach this audience in multiple ways, providing an effective one-two punch!”

According to the mock-up, the types of on-site advertising formats the Department of Tourism is looking into at Tyson’s Corner Center for the campaign include:

• Digital ad panel networks

• Large format digital spectaculars

• Large sky banners

• Illuminated wallscapes

• Static backlit networks

“We’re so excited that the Cities of Elkins and Buckhannon are exploring our Cooperative Advertising Assistance Program,” the mock-up states. “We’re eager to work together, and our goal is simple: We want to keep West Virginia top-of-mind for travelers as they dream about, consider and book their next vacation. Through joint advertising campaigns, we’re reaching these travelers with the message of Almost Heaven and leading them to the folks who make our visitors’ experiences so memorable – you!”