Published: April 30, 2008 06:01 pm            

GLYNN: Greeters needed for the tourist season

At the brink of another tourist season, Niagara needs help.

It’s not about money. Forget the constant confusion over the signs. Even the hi-tech parking meters are not a factor.

Instead it’s an effort to recruit volunteers for the Niagara Greeters Program, designed to welcome visitors to the region and provide them with information for their stay. The program is sponsored by the Niagara Tourism and Convention Corp.

“The success of this program depends on volunteers willing to give their time and expertise to promote the many resources the region has to offer,” said Louise Yots, the Greeters Program coordinator. Last year, volunteers greeted more than 12,000 visitors.

There are many retirees in the community whose knowledge of the city and its surroundings could make a difference whether visitors extend their stay.

If you’re interested in, you can attend one of three orientation sessions at the Niagara Falls Public Library, in the second floor meeting room, from 1 to 3 p.m. or 6:30 to 8:30 p.m. Wednesday and May 10, from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m.

For additional information, call Yots at 282-6718.

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ON THE WATERFRONT: Next time you’re visiting Youngstown, take a short drive down Water Street and check out the improvements to the village property adjacent to the marina and yacht club.

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OFF THE PRESS: “Greetings from Niagara Falls: Wish You Had Been Here,” by Jessie A. Turbayne (Schiffer Publishing Ltd., 126 pages, paperback, $19.95) features more than 120 early hand-colored and black and white views, an extensive collection of postcards from the Honeymoon Capital during the first half of the 20th century.

It would make a wonderful gift for former residents as well as anyone with fond memories of such treasures as the Home of Shredded Wheat, the Oakes Garden Theater, Falls Street at night, the Great Gorge Trolley, the Sleepy Time Motel, at Pine Avenue and 70th Street, and the Steel Arch Bridge, among other favorite tourist spots.

The book also should appeal to postcard and memorabilia collectors.

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IN THE SPOTLIGHT: Susan Campbell, a former Niagara Gazette reporter, won the first place award for feature writing in the New York State Press Association’s 2007 Better Newspaper Contest. Campbell is now editor of the Niagara-Wheatfield Tribune.

She was cited for an article about a program presented by residents of Crestwood, a nursing facility in Wheatfield.

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ACROSS THE BORDER: Crowne Plaza, the hotel chain, is rapidly gaining a high profile in the U.S. and Canada.

In Niagara Falls, N.Y., the Crowne Plaza & Suites (the original Niagara Hilton) is a beautifully renovated centerpiece of current downtown development.

• The landmark Brock Hotel in Niagara Falls, Ont., near the Rainbow Bridge, has been renamed the Crowne Plaza Fallsview.

• The former Ramada Plaza hotel in downtown Hamilton, Ont., is being rebranded as an upscale Crowne Plaza.

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WHAT’S HIS FACE?: That billboard facing motorists entering the U.S. via the Whirlpool Rapids Bridge features a “Welcome” to the City of Niagara Falls although the message is just from the “Mayor,” minus any first or last name.

Paul A. Dyster might be the modest and unassuming type but he deserves a little more recognition than that.

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QUOTE OF THE DAY: “More and more of our imports are coming from overseas” — a customer at a Lewiston restaurant who prides himself on being an expert on free trade.

By the way, he’s right. In fact, it’s 100 percent, if you take a closer look.

        

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