Hospitality Hero--Glennda Merritt-Alcorn

Presentation of the Texas Mountain
Trail Hospitality Heroes Award by Drew
Stuart to Glennda Merritt-Alcorn at the
historic Hudspeth County Courthouse
in Sierra Blanca last week

Our Texas Mountain Trail organization recognizes people of the region who go above and beyond in their service to travelers.  Drew Stuart, TMT Board Member from Salt Flat nominated Glennda Merritt-Alcorn, and we were pleased last week to present the award to her at the historic Hudspeth County Courthouse in Sierra Blanca.  Drew Stuart:

"The woman I mentioned as a nominee for Hospitality Hero is Glennda Merritt-Alcorn, of Dell City and Sierra Blanca. Glennda has served for 6-plus years as administrator of Northern Hudspeth County EMS. In those years, Glennda has transformed the service from a rugged rural operation into a modern, professional ambulance service, pursuing and securing grant funding for new equipment, establishing sources of revenue, recruiting and providing training for responders and overseeing daily operations - all while responding personally to emergency medical calls at all hours of the day and night. For much of her time with EMS, Glennda worked purely as a volunteer.

The vast majority of the calls to which NHC-EMS responds are traffic accidents on Interstate 10  (there's generally at least one each day), and, as a direct result of Glennda's tireless work, travelers to our region are assured of reliable, professional ambulance service in the event of an accident or medical emergency in Hudspeth County.

EMS work can be exhausting and, at times, emotionally difficult (and sometimes thankless) - I think it would be wonderful to acknowledge Glennda's service to the region and to travelers in West Texas!"  

Thank you, Glennda, for all you do and congratulations! 

Hospitality Heroes Award to Bill Blaziek

Our Texas Mountain Trail awards "Hospitality Heroes" designations to folks who've offered distinguished service to the region, or who've provided outstanding support to travelers.  Earlier this month, the latest award was given to the El Paso Convention and Visitors Bureau retiring General Manager, Bill Blaziek, for his support of regional partnership and cooperation, and support of our non-profit Texas Mountain Trail's efforts to market the region to travelers.

L to R: TMT Board Member, Leesy McCorgary; TMT Emeritus Board President,
Bernie Sargent; Bill Blaziek, El Paso CVB; TMT Vice President, Rebecca Diaz

Previous award winners include:
--Van Horn's Ralph Gilmore, of the Crossroads Coffee Shop, now of the Hotel El Capitan for outstanding friendliness and hospitality to travelers
--The staff of Marfa Public Radio, for their lifesaving coverage during the 2011 wildfires
--The staff of Big Bend Ranch State Park, for their care to travelers during the extremely cold 2010-11 holiday season
--Hyatt Place in El Paso (Airport location) for their "early adopter" willingness to participate in new programs for residents and travelers, and exceptional support of our Texas Mountain Trail organization
--Rep. Dee Margo, for his efforts in the state legislature to secure funds for historic preservation and heritage tourism
--The people of Van Horn for their care of stranded travelers when I-10 is closed due to bad weather

Congratulations to Bill on his retirement, and thanks to all the folks in Far West Texas who make traveling through our region a great experience!

"Dining Along Historic Highways" Icebox Cookies from Van Horn, 1934

We'll be serving these cookies (with pecans!) at the Hospitality Heroes Award presentation on August 27th!  Come join us!

Click on the images for a closer view!

Van Horn, the Crossroads community for our own Texas Mountain Trail, has its history determined by its location.  Through time, it has always been a place travelers passed through...whether by foot, horseback, wagon, train, bicycle or automobile.  It was also an important stop on the historic highways--the Bankhead Highway and the Old Spanish Trail!  (There will be a November 7th meeting in Van Horn about the Texas Historical Commission's Historic Highways project--specifically, the Bankhead Highway survey.  Click here for details!)

We found this recipe from 1934 in a Van Horn Hospital Auxiliary cookbook, and wanted to share it with you! 

Click here to view a lovely three page .pdf about Van Horn's legacy in welcoming travelers, plus, the entire recipe! 

Eggs, butter, brown sugar!

Mixing in dry ingredients!

Add pecans, form into loaf and rest in the icebox!

Slice, then bake!

 

Hot and ready to eat!

Saluting the Hospitality Heroes of Van Horn

Sometimes, rarely, when the weather around Van Horn looks like this the roads get treacherous and I-10 needs to be closed for the safety of motorists.  When that happens, the entire town of Van Horn appears to spring into action.  The Convention Center is readied for overnight stays...cots are put up, a television is rolled into the main room, toys and games for the kids are pulled out of the closet.  And the employees of the Town of Van Horn, Culberson County, Culberson Hospital/EMS, Culberson-Allamoore ISD and the local office of Texas Department of Transportation work AROUND THE CLOCK to make sure everyone is safe from the storm.

We're sending out invitations now for our presentation of our Texas Mountain Trail Hospitality Heroes Awards to employees of all five entities.  The awards presentation will be at the start of the Van Horn City Council meeting on Tuesday, August 27, at 7pm.  Light refreshments will be served.  Join us in saluting these heroes!

Here's a link to the event information.

Our Hospitality Heroes! Hyatt Place El Paso Airport

Danny Padilla (l), accepts the Texas Mountain Trail
Hospitality Heroes Award from Executive Director, Beth
Nobles (c), Director of Sales, Rebecca Diaz (r)

Every year, we award one or two regional businesses or attractions well-deserved special recognition, our Texas Mountain Trail Hospitality Heroes Award.

Our friends at the Hyatt Place El Paso Airport location have earned it!  They exemplify the best in hospitality and service--qualities that distinguish all our Texas Mountain Trail Hospitality Heroes Award winners.

The property was the first to participate in our cycle-friendly accommodations program, and was the launching location for Adventure Cycling Association's first Big Bend Loop tour last fall.  Click here to see their 2013 Big Bend tours...Adventure Cycling is  offering three Big Bend Loop tours this year, and they're visiting with the Hyatt Place about using their facility again.

The property has provided in-kind support that's allowed us to build partnerships and develop programs to bring travelers to El Paso and the rest of Far West Texas--like our Far West Texas Wildlife Trail, the Peak Fitness Challenge, and others.  In short, they've been an important part of every program we've launched.

Bike parking in rooms allowed
in this Texas Mountain Trail
cycle-friendly property!

From the early days of our organization, the Hyatt Place has supported our Texas Mountain Trail non-profit with leadership provided by Rebecca Diaz, their Director of Sales.  Rebecca served on our board for several terms, and is currently our Vice President and a member of our Executive Committee. 

All that support is most appreciated, but there's more:  without fail, the entire staff of this property is friendly, service-oriented and interested in providing the best stay possible for all its guests.  THAT makes our region just a little bit better for the traveler.   Congrats, and thank you!

Also, we'd like to note that we featured the menu items offered by the Hyatt Place for health-conscious visitors...check out our link to that entry!

Skyline of Van Horn: Hotel El Capitan

Photo by Dan Baeza, www.danbaeza.com

There's a little hub of history around one corner in Van Horn, which happens to be the precise "Crossroads of the Texas Mountain Trail."  The corner is where each leg of the figure 8 driving route organized to highlight Far West Texas prior to the World's Fair in 1968 in San Antonio meets.  Read more about the origins of the Texas Mountain Trail here.

The corner (Hwy 90, 54 and Broadway Street) has the historic Hotel El Capitan, one of our Texas Mountain Trail cycle-friendly properties; the Clark Hotel Museum; and winner of our first Hospitality Heroes Awards, the Crossroads Coffee Shop.  If you want to get off the freeway, take the SECOND exit at Van Horn on I-10 and head north just two short blocks, and you'll be there!

Thanks to Dan Baeza, for sharing his photos of Van Horn with us all week!

Hospitality Heroes: Big Bend Ranch State Park

Big Bend Ranch State Park staff members receive the Hospitality Heroes Award!

When we announced we were going to honor people in the region who went out of their way to deliver extrordinary service to visitors, this story from Facebook friend, Derrick Birdsall stood out and we felt was most deserving of recognition.  So early last month, we presented staff members of Big Bend Ranch State Park with our Hospitality Heroes Award:

o        "Over the first week of January, the staff and crew at Big Bend Ranch State Park came to the rescue! I was traveling with a group of friends in the Big Bend Country. We spent three days camping at the National Park and the plan was to spend three days at the State Park. At some point in the National Park, someone was able to hop online on their smart phone and see that the weather was deteriorating rapidly. We were all experienced hikers and campers, but the thought of spending three nights in zero degree weather was not appealing to us at all. Enter the Park staff and the bunkhouse! Barrett Durst and his staff went out of the way to make sure that we were safe and sound inside the bunkhouse while we rode out the epic storm. Fighting freezing temperatures (and pipes!), the staff kept our group warm and safe in what could have otherwise been horrific weather conditions outside. Three days that could have been quite uncomfortable were instead rather pleasant.

Barrett is the new head man at the Park and I'm sure that his energy and enthusiasm (he was working overtime and on his day off when we left) will help bring the Ranch the attention it deserves."

OOur Texas Mountain Trail Facebook page is here!  Join us!

O

Marfa Public Radio, Hospitality Heroes!

The staff of Marfa Public Radio receives their Texas Mountain Trail Hospitality Heroes Award on June 2; presented by TMT Board Member Mercer Black and Executive Director Beth Nobles (photo by DJ Sanders)

Texas Mountain Trail is in the business of supporting and promoting travel to Far West Texas, with an eye to creating lasting experiences for visitors.  We also want to recognize folks in the region who do more than is expected, so earlier this year, we began our "Hospitality Heroes" recognition program.

This spring, our region was hit by high winds and fire, and the folks at Marfa Public Radio provided timely and accurate coverage allowing residents and visitors to get out of danger.  So at our June 2 launch party of the Far West Texas Wildlife Trail map, we were more than happy to recognize their work as "Hospitality Heroes."

Remarks by Texas Mountain Trail board member, Mercer Black:     

"On April 9th, a fire started just a couple miles west of Marfa in an abandoned rock shop along Hwy 90 a stone’s throw from the home of Rachel Lindley, one of the two full-time employees of Marfa Public Radio. And so, just like that, West Texas and the world was made aware of a spark made fire made wildfire in dang near real time.

Rachel’s husband phoned in from the house with a direct visual of the happenings. Marfa Public Radio General Manager Tom Michael made the necessary contacts with officials, Tom and Rachel went on the air, their crack shot team of vigilant volunteers mobilized, and we sat glued to our radios as the fire raced across northern Presidio county and entered Jeff Davis county, headed straight for our neighbors.

It was during this time that I think that I, not a crier, broke down the first time. Tom reported eyewitnesses watching AEP trucks driving up and down Hwy 17 cutting fences, trying to save cattle and wildlife. I was so thankful to know that someone was doing something, anything. And I was so thankful for Marfa Public Radio. When you sit a mere 25 miles away from your family knowing that there home and everything they have worked for is in such imminent and extreme danger, there really no explanation for the feeling of powerlessness. Marfa Public Radio gave me just a little bit of knowledge, a little bit of power. And that went a long way.

And then, in some cruel twist of fate, the radio went out. KRTS Marfa Public Radio FM 93.5 broadcasted dead air, as the fire reached the area around the station’s broadcast tower.
I think all of us had a moment of a panic, as our only source of reliable information had been ripped from us. And then, there was the collective AHA as we remembered KRTS’s streaming online feed. So many people flooded the “Listen Now” feature of the website, that Tom and team had to pull off a miracle on a Saturday afternoon – increasing the allowable streaming bandwidth so that all the eager people could tap back in to the news.

They did it. After a short period marfapublicradio.org was streaming live. Letting us know what roads were closed. Which areas were being evacuated. If we could get to our families and friends to help. For which of our friends and families’ homes it was too late. And, most importantly urging us all to use precaution, to remember that lives are more important than property.

A member of the Texas Mountain Trail board stated at our April meeting with much passion that it is her absolute belief that Marfa Public Radio saved lives during those first couple days of the Rock House Fire. There was unanimous agreement amongst our board.

Mind you that all of this was going on during the station’s Spring pledge drive, the main source of funding for this PUBLIC radio station. There was no mention of this. The KRTS team plugged on as journalists and as members of this community, saving lives, and giving us a little bit of power in a seemingly powerless situation.

It is for that reason that it is my great pleasure to present Tom Michael, Rachel Lindley and the many, many dedicated volunteers at Marfa Public Radio with the Texas Mountain Trail Hospitality Heroes Award.

Thank you, all. From the bottom of my heart and those of the Texas Mountain Trail board."

You can listen to Marfa Public Radio (93.5 FM) whereever you are--online at http://www.marfapublicradio.org/