By COLE REIF
Great Bend Post
Members from Kansas Tourism, under the Department of Commerce, stopped by Great Bend Wednesday morning to present the city with a ceremonial check worth $3,468. The grant will assist in the production of the Great Bend Brit Spaugh Zoo Look Books.
Kansas Tourism Director Bridgette Jobe said she appreciated Great Bend using their valuable resource, the free zoo, as a way to attract visitors.
"How can we help tell the story of Great Bend in a better way?" said Jobe. "I think what really attracted us to this project is bringing in young children. One of the things we're really trying to do with Kansas Tourism is getting children to fall in love with Kansas at an early age. That's what we loved about this Zoo Look Book."
Expected to come out this year, the hardcover Look Books will detail the history of the Great Bend zoo. Great Bend Convention and Visitors Bureau Director Christina Hayes said a professional writer was hired to write stories and gather pictures.
"When complete, the zoo will be able to sell the copies of the books and make a little bit of money," said Hayes. "Also, if the city has a giveaway or promotional idea we can give the book away."
The Brit Spaugh Zoo usually welcomes between 30,000 to 60,000 visitors each year, with the majority of them being from out of town.
"These are competitive grants," added Jobe. "The idea is to help new projects get off the ground. It's a really great benefit that Great Bend has here with the zoo."