June 4, 2010 – Harrisburg, PA – The work of telling the stories of Pennsylvania’s heritage was recognized recently in Harrisburg. Governor Ed Rendell inducted HeritagePA, a resource network for Pennsylvania’s officially-designated state and national Heritage Areas, into the Keystone Society for Tourism. The honor is the highest awarded by the Commonwealth for leaders in the tourism industry. Pennsylvania’s 12 heritage areas are a key component of the state’s tourism industry and are administered by the PA Department of Conservation and Natural Resources (DCNR). A visionary in destination leadership and community development, HeritagePA received the Enterprise Award recognizing the program as a champion of cooperative alliances that have spurred economic development through significant financial investment to anchor attractions across the state.

Established in 1989, the Pennsylvania Heritage Parks Program, now known as HeritagePA, is a smartly built, multi-faceted regional strategy guided by five interrelated goals including economic development; partnerships; cultural conservation; recreation and open space; and education and interpretation.

Pennsylvania’s heritage regions are about the eras of steel and iron-making, coal mining, the oil boom, canal and railroad-building, the blazing of early roads and highways, and life on the frontier. They are about the influx of immigrants, the challenges and triumphs of a determined people, the birth of liberty and independence. They are about transforming a frontier and forging a nation into an industrial giant. They tell the stories of why Pennsylvania became the heart of America and the state that built a nation.

Understanding the power of heritage-based development, DCNR created the program as both a means and an end to enrich the quality of life in Pennsylvania by conserving and enhancing the Commonwealth’s resources and promoting its heritage for tourism development.

Heritage area managers from throughout the state were present to accept the award, a unique original work of art created by a member of Pennsylvania’s Artisan Trails Program. In addition, a keystone medallion on a ribbon of the state’s emblematic colors of blue and gold indicating the year and category of induction was received by each heritage area manager. “These individuals are visionaries and inspirational leaders that are revitalizing the state’s communities while highlighting the tourism assets,” said Mickey Rowley, the commonwealth’s deputy secretary for tourism. “Their efforts are essential to ensuring the Commonwealth remains the fifth most visited state in the nation.”

A plaque inscribed with the awardee’s name will be placed on permanent display in the offices of the Department of Community and Economic Development. HeritagePA President Jane Sheffield commented “this is a testament to the value of the Heritage Area Program and its contribution to Pennsylvania’s economy.”

Inductees are selected from nomination applications which are reviewed, ranked, and submitted for approval by the Pennsylvania Tourism Office in consultation with the Governor’s Tourism Partnership.

Photo (above): Inside the Governor’s residence, Rep. Thaddeus Kirkland, Chairman, Tourism & Recreational Development Committee, PA House of Representatives and Mickey Rowley, Deputy Secretary for Tourism and Marketing, Department of Community & Economic Development presented heritage area mangers keystone medallions. From left, Rep. Kirkland, Marilyn Black, Oil Region Alliance; Kurt Zwikl, Schuylkill River Heritage Area; Terri Dennison, PA Route 6 Heritage Corridor; Phillip Swank, Endless Mountains Heritage Region; Jane Sheffield, Allegheny Ridge Heritage Area; Mark Platts, Susquehanna Gateway Heritage Area; Natalie Gelb Solfanelli, Lackawanna Heritage Valley Authority; Michael Wennin, Lumber Heritage Region; Deputy Secretary Rowley; and Olga Herbert, Lincoln Highway Heritage Corridor.

Harrisburg , PA – Members of Pennsylvania 's twelve state and nationally-designated Heritage Areas and Corridors today announced that they have formed the HeritagePa Association to serve as a statewide resource network for their organizations. The collaborative effort is intended to strengthen and expand each region's productivity and contributions.

HeritagePA President Jane Sheffield, Executive Director of the Allegheny Ridge Heritage Area in western Pennsylvania , said the new organization “will serve as a resource for professional leadership, experience, coordination and advocacy within the Heritage Areas' community. Uniting and creating a forum for sharing best practices and developing strategies to better honor our past and build our future reflects our similarities and common values and goals.”

HeritagePA is a non-profit outgrowth of the state Department of Conservation and Natural Resources' Heritage Areas Program, which formally designates Heritage Areas within the state and provides funding and other assistance. The Program helps regions promote innovative community revitalization and economic development through tourism, enhancing visitor experiences, sustaining public-private partnerships, and encouraging the conservation of each region's natural, historic, scenic and cultural resources.

Founding members of HeritagePA include: Allegheny Ridge Heritage Area, Delaware and Lehigh National Heritage Corridor, Endless Mountains Heritage Region, Lackawanna Heritage Valley, Lancaster-York Heritage Region, Lincoln Highway Heritage Corridor, Lumber Heritage Region, National Road Heritage Corridor, Oil Region National Heritage Area, PA Route 6 Heritage Corridor, Rivers of Steel National Heritage Area and the Schuylkill River National and State Heritage Area.

“ Pennsylvania 's twelve Heritage Areas and Corridors represent a large portion of our state, with millions of citizens and billions in economic impact to our Commonwealth,” said Sheffield . “By working together, we can strengthen and grow each of our Heritage Areas so that these benefits continue and expand. Plus, we want to speak as one voice and clearly make the case for our heritage areas' impact and value to Pennsylvania 's economy.”

HeritagePA was established through a state grant in 2007, and representatives from each of the groups have been meeting regularly in Harrisburg over the past year to establish the new resource network. A new website for the organization has been established at www.heritagepa.net , which contains both primary information and links on each Heritage Area or Corridor, as well as a members-only section where each Area can share information.