Area Projects Win National Recognition

The Martinsville-Henry County EDC's Tourism & Film Division and Anstey Hodge Advertising Group are pleased to announce that interpretive signage along the Martinsville-Henry County Textile Heritage Trail in Fieldale was recently selected as the recipient of a MarCom Gold Award. The 2012-2013 Martinsville-Henry County Activity Guide was also recognized with an honorable mention. 

The MarCom Awards, presented by the Association for Marketing and Communication Professionals (AMCP), is a creative competition for any individual or company involved in the concept, writing and design of print, visual, audio and web materials and programs. The projects were among more than 6,500 entries from throughout the United States, Canada and several other countries in the 2013 competition. A look at the winners shows a range in size from individual communicators to media conglomerates and Fortune 500 companies.

According to a release from the AMCP, "MarCom Awards is administered and judged by the Association of Marketing and Communication Professionals. The international organization consists of several thousand creative professionals. The Association oversees awards and recognition programs, provides judges and sets standards for excellence."

The release states "Judges are industry professionals who look for companies and individuals whose talent exceeds a high standard of excellence and whose work serves as a benchmark for the industry. Winners were selected from over 200 categories in seven forms of media and communication efforts- marketing, publications, marketing/promotion, public service/pro bono, creativity and electronic/interactive."

This is the second MarCom Award received by the EDC as the Martinsville-Henry County Activity Guide won a Gold Award in 2011.

"We are honored to receive this award and honorable mention," said Jennifer Doss, Director of Tourism for Martinsville-Henry County. "It's easy to look at an interpretive sign or brochure and take for granted how it came to fruition. Both of these projects took a small army of staff, community partners and volunteers behind the scenes to research content, write copy, acquire photography and graphics, layout the design and proofread the projects. We are grateful for the assistance provided by each entity involved to make both projects a success."

Doss added, "Since the signs along the Textile Heritage Trail tell the important story of industries that built our community in the 1900s all the way up to the modern-day textile industries that are still at work here, we wanted to make sure that the information was as accurate as possible. We are very appreciative to the Bassett Historical Center, Martinsville-Henry County Historical Society, industry leaders and countless local historians for sharing their wealth of information and ensuring that all stories featured on the signs are accurate."

The Textile Heritage Trail located in Fieldale, Virginia is part of the larger Smith River Trail System managed by Henry County Parks & Recreation (HCPR) and is also a site of interest along the Southern Textile Heritage Corridor. The interpretive trail was constructed as a partnership between the EDC, HCPR and the Dan River Basin Association and opened to the public in 2013.

"We are fortunate to work with Martinsville-Henry County and promote their many tourism attractions. I'm thrilled that the work we have done together has received such recognition," said John Anstey, principal of Anstey Hodge Advertising Group.

Copies of the Martinsville-Henry County Activity Guide and information on area attractions and events are available online at www.VisitMartinsville.com and at the MHC Visitor Center at 54 West Church Street in Martinsville.