Submitted photo From left are Elkins Depot Welcome Center board members Kris Wilmoth and Adam Williams, Welcome Center founder Ed Griesel, Elkins Mayor Jerry Marco, and the Welcome Center’s Executive Director Anne Beardslee, Marketing Director Ben Duvall-Irwin and AmeriCorps member Emily Higgs.

ELKINS — Elkins Depot Welcome Center is celebrating its 20th anniversary this year with a special event in June.

The Welcome Center will be celebrating its anniversary with the public at the first Our Town concert in the Elkins Town Square in June.

The brainchild of community leader Ed Griesel, the Elkins Depot Welcome Center CVB, Inc, opened its doors to serve tourists and local citizens on April 6, 2006, a Welcome Center press release states.

After almost a year of planning, and the recognition of the need to help tourists and local residents, the Center — staffed entirely by volunteers — began to distribute brochures and maps, give directions and direct people to area businesses and attractions.

“This county owes Ed Griesel a debt of gratitude for his inspiration and hard work in seeing this project to fruition,” Welcome Center Executive Director Anne Beardslee said in the release.

“Without his determination, working with other community members and selflessly contributing his time, this entity may not exist today.”

Since opening 20 years ago, the Welcome Center has greeted more than 603,000 visitors, distributed more than 450,000 maps and brochures and provided more than 25,000 hours of volunteer service. While giving an update to the Elkins City Council in March, Welcome Center volunteer manager Wanda Schoonover said the Center saw at least 19,193 guests from around the world in 2025 alone.

During the past 15 years, the Welcome Center has been able to hire an executive director and a director of marketing. This year a Depot and volunteer manager has been added to run the day-to-day operations of the Welcome Center. A variety of AmeriCorps workers have also been important members of the Center’s staff during the last 15 years.

The Center has also hosted 15 Annual Ramps and Rail Festivals, with the 16th event set for April 25. Another way the Center gives back to the community each year is the placement and maintenance of the Christmas lights in Town Square, the release states.

This year, Welcome Center officials plan to focus its ad campaign on the area’s fairs and festivals, such as the Mountain State Forest Festival and Coalton Days. A new video campaign highlighting the area’s events will be utilized.

Also this year, the Center will also roll out a new Visitors Appreciation Card, which will reward visitors who come to Randolph County and incentivize them to spend their money locally. The card provides exclusive offers and discounts at participating counties. Cards can be picked up at the Welcome Center or at participating businesses.

On April 2, Elkins Mayor Jerry Marco was joined by members of the Elkins Depot Welcome Center in declaring April 6 as “Elkins Depot Welcome Center’s 20th Anniversary Celebration Day.”

“(The) Elkins Depot Welcome Center CVB has become an accredited, state-wide recognized destination marketing organization,” the mayor’s proclamation states. “(The center) has become the primary tourism marketing entity and was instrumental in the increase of tourism dollars in Randolph County reaching $95 million in 2025.”