The director of travel promotions for Oklahoma Tourism and the editor of ROUTE Magazine recently were named to the Promotion Working Group of the Route 66 Road Ahead Partnership.
According to a news release from the group, the changes came in the wake of Promotion Working Group chairman Bill Kelly stepping down from that post. Kelly also retired from the Illinois Route 66 Scenic Byway after 10 years there. He will remain with the partnership as treasurer.
According to a news release today from the byway about Kelly’s retirement:
During that time, Kelly oversaw the deployment of more than 50 interpretive statues, kiosks and wayside exhibits all along the Illinois Route 66 corridor. […] Kelly also worked with the Route 66 Corridor Preservation Program to help secure federal funding for several restoration projects on Illinois Route 66. Kelly worked with state Rep. Tim Butler on two Route 66 bills in the Illinois General Assembly. The bills creating an Illinois Route 66 motorcycle plate and establishing an Illinois Route 66 Centennial Commission passed unanimously and were signed into law. Illinois was the first state to introduce legislation to prepare for the 100th birthday of the most famous road in the world in 2026.
Geoff Ladd, assistant director of the byway, has been named acting executive director until a committee looks for a new one.
Jennifer Mullins, director of the travel promotion division for the Oklahoma Tourism and Recreation Department, was named the chairwoman of the Promotion Working Group.
Brennan Matthews, the editor of ROUTE Magazine, also joined the Promotion Working Group.
Here is more from the news release:
Mullins brings to the Road Ahead more than 19 years of experience in advertising, marketing, and branding, and holds a degree in Journalism with emphasis on advertising from the University of Oklahoma. […]
Matthews holds a graduate degree in Development Studies and his professional journey includes 15-plus years of senior management, six of which were focused in the nonprofit sector; 19 years of freelance magazine and newspaper writing and eight years of editor-in-chief with Destination Magazine, East Africa’s leading monthly travel and lifestyle magazine. Matthews is the editor of ROUTE Magazine, a leading American publication that focuses on U.S. road travel, Route 66 and vintage Americana.
Matthews noted, “As well-known as we think Route 66 is, there is still a lot that can be done to promote the road both domestically and internationally, and I look forward to helping with these efforts.”
The release states the organization’s Promotion Working Group’s goal to reach out to key people — especially those in state tourism offices — in other Route 66 states to join the group.
(Images courtesy of Route 66 Road Ahead Partnership)