Angie Pedersen, who served the Greene County Chamber as the contracted coordinator of last month’s successful Bell Tower Festival, has accepted the permanent position of tourism and events coordinator for the Chamber.
Chamber president Omega Sang made the announcement July 13. “We’re very excited to have Angie’s enthusiasm, energy and expertise as we move forward with building tourism as an important part of our local economy,” Sang said.
Pedersen will promote all of Greene County’s tourism assets – the Mahanay Memorial Carillon Tower, the Lincoln Highway, the Raccoon River Valley Trail, Thomas Jefferson Gardens, Deal’s Orchard, John 15 Vineyard, RVP~1875-History Boy Theatre and others – with the same drive that resulted in her family business, RVP/History Boy Theatre, being named the Outstanding Tourism Business in 2013 by the Iowa Tourism Office.
“We had several excellent candidates for the tourism and events position, but Angie has proven success,” Sang said. “With Angie at the helm we’re confident tourism will grow.”
Pedersen will also work on events like the August 13 Hot August Nights, always inviting and incorporating Chamber and community volunteers. “The more people we have helping, the more we can accomplish. There are few things more satisfying than working together to pull off a really great event. That’s one of the things I’m most looking forward to as I begin this new phase of my career,” Pedersen said.
Although the position was originally announced as a 40-hour a week job, that expectation has been reduced to allow Pedersen time to continue working with RVP/History Boy Theatre. “RVP~1875 is one of our premier attractions and we don’t want that to change. We’re very glad we were able to accommodate RVP’s needs and the Chamber’s needs, too,” Sang said.
“When Tim Verdin talked about the Bell Tower last week, he used the phrase ‘go big or go home’ in telling what the designers of the tower must have thought 50 years ago. That’s what we’re doing with tourism and events going forward. Just like the Bell Tower, we’re going big,” Pedersen said.
