1985
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Robert Billington starts the Blackstone Valley
Tourism Council at his kitchen table in Cumberland, Rhode Island
and goes out to speak to over 150 civic groups and clubs about
his idea of making the Blackstone Valley a tourism destination
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Publish the first brochure on Blackstone Valley
historic sites 1986
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First room tax is implemented by the state on
hotels to share with state tourism districts
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1986 |
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Blackstone Valley Tourism Board of Directors
hires Bob Billington as the Council’s first full time director
in September
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Federal government authorizes the Blackstone
River Valley National Heritage Corridor (named in 1999 for the
late U.S. Senator John Chafee)
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Publish first brochure on Holidays in Pawtucket
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Publish first brochure on Holidays in the
Valley
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Publish first brochure on the Blackstone
Valley’s Historic Mills
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1987 |
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The Tourism Council moves to the Northgate
Tollhouse in Lincoln, home of the Blackstone Valley Historical
Society
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Create the first Blackstone Valley Banner Tour,
a self driving tour of the nine Blackstone Valley communities
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Welcome the first interns from Johnson & Wales
Department of Travel and Tourism
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Develop the Blackstone Valley Passport Sample
Tour Packet
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Publish first brochure on Springtime in the
Blackstone Valley
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Publish first brochure on Summer Events in the
Blackstone Valley
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Publish first brochure on Christmas in the
Valley
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1988 |
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Launch slogan: Destination Blackstone River
Valley – Something New, Something Different
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Schedule seven bus tours of the Blackstone
Valley highlighting the area as a tourism destination
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Fulfill 10,000 mail requests for information
about the Valley
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1989 |
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Launch Blackstone Valley Tourism One, a 16 foot
rubber raft secured through Navy surplus
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Hire first part-time staffer to co-ordinate
interpretive canoe trips, bus tours and railway trips thru a
contract with the Blackstone River Valley National Heritage
Corridor
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Begin fall foliage sightseeing tours aboard the
Providence & Worcester Railroad
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Release The Fiber That Wove America’s Spirit,
with soundtrack by Pendragon, the first promotional videotape of
the Blackstone Valley
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Establish Travel Experiences trade show in
conjunction with Conway Tours
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Create 8-foot tall William Blackstone character
to appear at special events and march in parades
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Publish Blackstone River Valley Fresh Water
Fishing Guide, first fishing guide for the Valley
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1990 |
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Begin the first cruises on the Blackstone River
using glass-bottom boat supplied by Luther Blount
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Launch three-year “Let’s Build a Boat” campaign
to raise $50,000 and purchase a 49-foot Explorer riverboat
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1991 |
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Hold first Steamboat Muster at the State Pier,
School Street in Pawtucket
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Move Tourism Council headquarters to larger
office space at Blackstone Valley Electric Co. building on Route
116 in Lincoln, RI
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1992 |
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Write and publish first comprehensive tourism
guide for the Blackstone Valley
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Organize Turn it Around with Tourism conference
at Bryant College with Dr. Pat Manheim of Johnson and Wales
University
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Initiate Events of the Week, a regular media
release sent to over 300 media outlets
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1993 |
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1994 |
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Sign the Blackstone Valley-Amber Valley Compact
in Belper, England with delegation from Blackstone Valley
traveling to Amber Valley to celebrate the signing and
participate in “twinning ceremony” with Belper, England
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Develop River Classroom program on the Explorer
Riverboat, offering history, ecology and wildlife education to
students
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1995 |
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Purchase the Blackstone Valley’s first trolley
in 60 years in partnership with the Conway Gray Line Bus Company
of Cumberland
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Begin selling 1st edition, Cumberland by the
Blackstone – 250 years of Heritage by Dave Balfour and Joyce
Hindle Koutsogiane on behalf of the Town of Cumberland
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1996 |
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Host 45-member Thornton’s Brass Band from the
Amber Valley, England
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Move Tourism Council headquarters to 171 Main
Street, Pawtucket
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Open the first year-round, full time Visitor
Center in the Blackstone Valley
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1997 |
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Establish plans for the first Blackstone Valley
Watershed Council
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Coordinate the World Canal Conference held in
the Blackstone Valley
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Develop Christmas trolley tours through
Blackstone Valley neighborhoods
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Launch second riverboat, the Spirit of
Blackstone Valley
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1998 |
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Blackstone River receives the prestigious
designation of American Heritage River
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Establish Rhode Island Rivers Day, celebrating
the Blackstone River’s impact on the community and honoring its
volunteers
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Lay keel for the British-built canal boat
Samuel Slater, to be docked on the Blackstone River for day
cruises and floating bed and breakfast accommodation
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1999 |
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Launch the Hope and Renaissance – two
European-style ferry boats to shuttle commuters between
Providence & Pawtucket
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Initiate the Polar Express Train Excursion with
permission from author Chris Van Allsburg and publisher Houghton
Mifflin
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Move Tourism Council headquarters to permanent
office at 175 Main Street, Pawtucket across from historic Slater
Mill
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Celebrate grand opening of the Blackstone
Valley Visitor Center which also includes a visitor information
kiosk, the Slater Mill Gift Shop and Gallery, the Pawtucket Arts
Collaborative Gallery, a movie theatre, RIPTA bus station, and
Tourism Council offices
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2000 |
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2001 |
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Host 28 person tour group from the Amber Valley
of England – Belper, England is the hometown of Samuel Slater
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Begin Central Falls Landing project
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Three thousand parents and children are carried
away aboard the Polar Express train ride
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2002 |
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2003 |
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Create first Easter Bunny Express train ride
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Partner with the Great American Cleanup along
the Blackstone River, in cooperation with nine Blackstone Valley
communities
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Create DeTours, self-guided maps featuring
themed tours in the Valley.
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2004 |
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Develop Cylcleblackstone.com website promoting
four accessible bike trails for recreational activities along
the canals and pathways of America’s industrial birth
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Launch interactive web calendar,
Eventblackstone.com for the listing and promotion of Blackstone
Valley events
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Join with the John H. Chafee Blackstone River
Heritage Corridor and Chamber of Commerce establishing the Civic
Art project Blackstone Canoe Trail, presenting artists'
renditions of the history, culture and natural beauty of the
Valley depicted on sponsored canoes situated throughout the
Valley
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2005 |
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Coordinate Preserve America’s Footsteps in
History event, “Five Centuries in Three Days,” a culmination of
the Preserve America communities award
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Produce BlackstoneCanoeTrail.com website
showcasing Civic Art and prompting community participation to
follow the trail, find the canoes and discover the Blackstone
Valley
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Obtain licensing by Warner Brothers to host the
Blackstone Valley Polar Express – one of five organizations
nationwide now permitted to hold the event
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2006 |
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Receive United Nations World Tourism
Organization (UNWTO) Ulysses Prize
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Attain UNWTO SBest certification
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Open Blackstone River State Park Visitor Center
off I-295 in Lincoln
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Host RI Tourism Sustainability Conference
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Complete first Blackstone River Valley National
Heritage Corridor Tourism Economic Impact study with assistance
from the Travel Industry Association of America
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2007 |
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BVTC is recognized by the National Geographic
Society as a sustainable tourism development pioneer on the
Center for Sustainable Destinations website
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Receive world-wide publicity in Dubai, UAE, by
the World Travel and Tourism Council, winning top Tourism for
Tomorrow Destination award
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Release first completely Rhode Island Green
Visitor Guide for the Blackstone Valley using all
environmentally-friendly methods and materials, and highlighting
eco-friendly destinations, activities and environmental
principles
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Launch “Free Sundays” aboard the Explorer
riverboat, sponsored for public enjoyment by the Citizens Bank
Foundation
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2008 |
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Keep Blackstone Valley Beautiful program is
certified by Keep America Beautiful
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Win $50,000 Preserve America grant for the
Broad Street Regeneration Project
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Announce Broad Street Regeneration Project with
Mayors of the involved municipalities of Pawtucket, Central
Falls and Cumberland
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Introduce Tour Your Own Backyard themed public
familiarization tours highlighting the heritage, culture,
natural history and scenic beauty in our own backyard
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Bring to market “Blackstone Valley Salsa” and
“Blackstone Valley Dynamite Sauce,” making our tasty “local
flavor” truly tangible
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Export Sustainable Tourism Planning &
Development Laboratory to Cedar Rapids, Iowa
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Initiate Events of the Week, a regular news
release emailed to over 300 media outlets and linked to a
widening network of websites.
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Blackstone Valley joins FaceBook and Twitter –
Become a Fan and Follower!
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2009 |
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Sustainable Tourism Planning and Development
Laboratory is accepted as partner to: Global Sustainable Tourism
Alliance of the United Nations Foundation; Rain Forest Alliance;
United Nations World Tourism Organization.
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One hundred eighty participants from across the
U.S. come to participate in the Council’s Civic Tourism II
Conference, based on Sustainable Tourism concepts
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Create Achievement in Rhode Island Sustainable
Tourism Award (ARISTA) to acknowledge the efforts of qualified
non-profit organizations incorporating sustainable practices
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2010 |
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Sustainable Tourism Laboratory continues to
build its portfolio of workshop seminars with a focus on
responsible tourism and sustainable tourism development
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The Secret Ingredient Food Tour becomes a
regular Wednesday night culinary event
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Traditions and cultures of Asia and America
come together for The Rhode Island Cherry Blossom Festival with
a parade, dancing, demonstrations and May Breakfast
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Blackstone Valley Leisurely Bicycle Tours rolls
out in September providing a fun and relaxing way to experience
the heritage, culture, nature and recreational opportunities
offered in the beautiful Blackstone Valley
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