News Talk 94.1/AM 1600 Where The Upper Cumberland Talks
The Fentress County Chamber of Commerce is launching a tourism rebrand with a new seal designed to update the visual appeal of the county’s marketing materials.
Chamber Executive Director Jacob Rosenbaum said the county initiated the effort two years ago with the Tennessee Tech Center for Rural Innovation and the Tennessee Department of Tourism. He said the new seal includes a horseback rider looking over one of Fentress County’s many scenic vistas. He said the seal portrays the rugged beauty of Fentress County.
“In the modern age, everyone has been upgrading their website, their social media presence, and their brand,” Rosenbaum said. “The expectation of the general public is that pretty much anywhere worth going is going to have good-looking marketing materials.”
Rosenbaum said the seal also includes the county’s “Big South Fork Country” slogan. He said much of the focus has been placed on a resurgence in the county’s brand as the home of the Big South Fork and the trail riding capital of the southeast.
He said when people see the seal on the updated website and in publications, Fentress County will look like a more favorable vacation option.
“Fentress County’s actually a fairly prominent tourism destination,” Rosenbaum said. “We have several parks. We’ve got the Big South Fork National Recreation Area, we have Pickett State Park, we have Alvin C. York Historic State Park, and these parks see hundreds of thousands of visitors every year.”
He said the work began several years ago as part of an attempt to redo the county’s website. He said tourism revenue has increased steadily each year since 2019, with the exception of 202 during the COVID-19 pandemic. He said the county brought in some $7 million in tourism dollars in 2019, compared to some $8.5 million in 2023.
“We have worked with the state and their parents to acquire new visual assets, photo and video assets, and to complete this rebranding process so that we can actually take our existing online platforms and turn them into a professional-grade online experience for potential visitors,” Rosenbaum said.
Rosenbaum said the Cumberland Plateau cuts right through the middle of Fentress County, creating many of the scenic vistas represented in the illustration used on the seal. He said the county’s Tourism Committee continues to work to find wats to generate widespread interest in everything Fentress County has to offer.
