Experience Butler County celebrates agencies bringing people in
PROSPECT — Volunteering for the Zelienople Historical Society has kept Adel Fatur busy, and those hours paid off twofold Thursday, May 8, when Experience Butler County named her the county volunteer of the year.
Earning the award at the annual Toast to Tourism event was a small respite for Fatur, who is in the midst of organizing events celebrating the Zelieonople Historical Society’s 50th anniversary, which the society also earned grant money to help pay for Thursday.
Fatur said the recognition was nice, but getting some grant money to support the work she and the other administrators of the historical society are doing is the true reward.
“We have events planned for May, June, July, August and September to celebrate the historical society,” she said. “I love it.”
Experience Butler County, formerly the Butler County Tourism & Convention Bureau, hosts the Toast to Tourism each year to not only award grant funding to its partner agencies that are planning projects, but to recognize the people making them happen.
Amy Pack, president of Experience Butler County PA, said the agency was awarding $50,000 worth of grants to 14 agencies this year, and people can expect to see the product of some of those dollars put to use before next year’s toast.
“The grants are awarded by criteria of either creative projects, marketing projects or capital projects,” Pack said. “They have to enhance the visitor experience and locally tie in accommodations, because the longer people stay, the more they get to do and experience with us.”
The agencies and programs that received grant money are Burgh Bits and Bites Food Tour, Buttercup Woodlands Campground, Cranberry Township, Glade Run Lake Conservancy, Johnny’s Distillery, Moraine Preservation Fund, Moraine State Park Regatta, North Country Brewing Co., Pittsburgh Flying Disc, Playthings Etc., Studio Z Yoga, SurfsUp Adventures, The Legendary Neff Haus and Zelienople Historical Society.
The amount per grant varied by each agency that received money, but Pack said they have to be spent before next June.
Aside from the grant award announcements, Experience also gave awards to agencies and projects based on other criteria. Those awards didn’t come with funding.
The RLA Meeting & Conference Facility earned the Environmental Excellence Award; Jacob Hagofsky of Buttercup Campground earned the Rising Star Award; Joe Vivirito of Mars Bethel Golf earned the Unique Vision Award; Hannah Landry of Shubrew earned the Manager of the Year award and Scott Summers of Grist House earned Employee of the Year.
Additionally, Todd and Keith Wehr, the former owners Bear Run Campground, received the 2025 Butler County Tourism Ambassador of the Year Award, for their collaboration on activities at the campground as well as at Moraine State Park.
Following a short video featuring interviews of peers of the brothers Wehr, Todd and Keith spoke at the microphone.
“When we put this together a few years ago, it was a dream and the dream continues,” Todd Wehr said. “It was nice to get in with the tourism industry in a real way.”
Dennis Quigley received the Destination Development Award, recognizing his work advocating for Butler County campgrounds. Quigley transformed Yogi Bear's Jellystone Park at Kozy Rest in Harrisville into an award-winning resort that attracts families every season, according to a news release from Experience Butler County.
Quigley said he almost missed the Toast to Tourism Thursday, because he was scheduled to meet with White House officials in Washington, D.C. Even after the meeting got canceled and Quigley thought he was attending the event for his son to be recognized, Quigley had an issue with his trailer on the drive back to Pennsylvania that cost him three hours.
The surprise that he was the one being recognized was worth the trouble, and Quigley commented that Experience Butler County and tourism in Butler County have come a long way since he helped found the bureau in 2002.
“It’s growing immensely,” Quigley said of tourism in the region. “We first started it in Cranberry and now it covers everything here.”
Experience Butler County also awarded its scholarship for the year, which went to Butler County Community College student Mikayla Turner.
Following remarks from the Wehr brothers and Quigley, Pack teased next year’s Toast to Tourism event, saying it will take place at the Penn Theater in Butler. She added that next, year Experience’s foundation is going to give away grants for preservation and education projects in addition to the creative, marketing and capital project grants that are usually awarded.
Pack said the expansion of grants next year further promotes Experience Butler County’s mission of making the county a place to visit.
“We want to embrace all the reasons why we experience Butler County, because everyone in our partnership makes up the reasons why people come to Butler, why they return to Butler and the memories they make while here,” Pack said.
