Leadership Tourism Day brings energy to Winchester

“Leadership Tourism Day was more than a tour. It was a full expe­ri­ence, a cel­e­bra­tion of place, and a mean­ing­ful reminder of what makes Winchester-Clark County so special.”

So said Winchester-Clark County Tourism Director Jill Hamlin, describ­ing the event that took place on Tuesday, April 16.

Leadership Tourism Day is part of the Chamber of Commerce Leadership Class held each year. Each month, mem­bers of the class vis­it a dif­fer­ent place, focus­ing on such top­ics as gov­ern­ment, edu­ca­tion, and more.

Leadership Tourism Day 2026 didn’t just hap­pen — it unfold­ed. It moved. It car­ried its own pulse from the moment the group stepped on the trol­ley. What was billed as a tour quick­ly became some­thing big­ger: an expe­ri­ence, a cel­e­bra­tion of place, and a reminder of why Winchester‑Clark County feels like home in a way no brochure can explain.

Hillary Jewell, of the  Clark County Health Department, said she was sur­prised “that I lived in Winchester for over a decade and have worked in Winchester for almost two, yet I had no idea of all the activ­i­ties that Winchester has.”

Jewell added, “Winchester is over­flow­ing with rich his­to­ry. The down­town area has a cell phone tour that teach­es about major his­tor­i­cal events that hap­pened, and the preser­va­tion of major moments is very well done.

“Jill Hamlin is a hoot. She has so much ener­gy and pas­sion for Winchester tourism that you can’t help but to have a great time!”

The tone was set ear­ly. A “con­fi­den­tial” playlist — curat­ed by Hamlin with inten­tion and just enough mis­chief — cre­at­ed that per­fect blend of antic­i­pa­tion and delight. Add in the brand­ed swag and those unapolo­get­i­cal­ly bold “Wear Where You’re From” Hawaiian tourism shirts, and sud­den­ly the day had a per­son­al­i­ty of its own. Not forced. Not gim­micky. Just fun, con­fi­dent, and unmis­tak­ably ours.

And those shirts? They became the heart­beat of the whole thing.

Not every­one loves stand­ing out alone. Totally fair. But stand­ing out togeth­er? That’s dif­fer­ent. That’s powerful.

Moving through town as a bright, uni­fied wave, the group didn’t just look coör­di­nat­ed — they looked like a com­mu­ni­ty in motion. People didn’t see match­ing out­fits. They saw a coun­ty show­ing up for itself. They saw pride. They saw joy. They saw a sto­ry being told with­out a sin­gle word spoken.

Laci Scarboro, with Clark County Community Services, had this to say about her experience.

“Participating in Leadership Winchester’s Tourism Day was a pow­er­ful reminder that our community’s sto­ry is one of resilience, cre­ativ­i­ty, and pride. From vis­it­ing Arts on Main, where I found a beau­ti­ful stained-glass piece cre­at­ed by a local arti­san, to explor­ing the his­to­ry and charm of Hollyrood, every stop reflect­ed the char­ac­ter that makes Winchester so spe­cial. Touring the remark­able col­lec­tions at the Bluegrass Heritage Museum was anoth­er reminder of how intrin­si­cal­ly his­to­ry and cul­ture are woven into this community’s identity.”

Scarboro point­ed out that tourism is “far more than attract­ing vis­i­tors; it strength­ens local busi­ness­es, cre­ates jobs, and builds pride in the place we call home.”

Scarboro not­ed that she sees “every day how a strong local econ­o­my can cre­ate oppor­tu­ni­ty and sta­bil­i­ty for fam­i­lies. When peo­ple choose to vis­it Winchester, sup­port our small busi­ness­es, and expe­ri­ence places like Café 627 near the beau­ti­ful Old Rock Barn, they are invest­ing in the future of our community.”

Tourism wasn’t explained to par­tic­i­pants — it was lived. They tast­ed it, walked it, laughed through it. They saw how his­to­ry, hos­pi­tal­i­ty, arts, retail, lodg­ing, and local fla­vor braid togeth­er to cre­ate a des­ti­na­tion that is unmis­tak­ably Winchester‑Clark County. Every stop added a new lay­er. Every con­ver­sa­tion added tex­ture. Every shared moment added meaning.

And the com­mu­ni­ty noticed. Oh, did they notice!

Phones buzzed all day with mes­sages like, “I see you all!” and “When did we get a trol­ley?” and “I’m so jeal­ous!” (That last one may have come from your hum­ble correspondent.)

That kind of reac­tion says every­thing. Tourism isn’t just some­thing we mar­ket — it’s some­thing peo­ple feel.

It’s ener­gy. It’s curios­i­ty. It’s con­nec­tion. And on this day, it was vis­i­ble every­where the group went.

Leadership Tourism Day also embod­ied the heart of T.O.U.R.I.S.M.: Telling Our Unique Region’s Inspiring Story Meaningfully. And that’s exact­ly what hap­pened. Not through talk­ing points alone, but through lived expe­ri­ence, local part­ner­ships, hos­pi­tal­i­ty, and the authen­tic char­ac­ter that makes our com­mu­ni­ty shine.

Another par­tic­i­pant, Jeremiah Epperson, not­ed that they “learned a lot about the his­to­ry of Winchester and the peo­ple that worked hard to make this city what it is today. Tourism is very impor­tant [for bring­ing] peo­ple togeth­er and pro­vid­ing extra rev­enue for our city. It was a very inter­est­ing day to say the least.”

From local treats to thought­ful details, from sto­ry­telling to spon­ta­neous laugh­ter, the day offered a snap­shot of Winchester‑Clark County at its very best. It remind­ed every­one that tourism isn’t just about attract­ing vis­i­tors — it’s about help­ing peo­ple under­stand a place, invest in it, and feel con­nect­ed to it.

Leadership Tourism Day wasn’t just a tour. It was T.O.U.R.I.S.M. in motion — our region’s inspir­ing sto­ry told bold­ly, joy­ful­ly, and together.

On a per­son­al note, I regret that I was unable to par­tic­i­pate, despite an invi­ta­tion. Jill Hamlin sent me the pho­tos and her notes from the day, along with the con­tact infor­ma­tion of a few par­tic­i­pants so I could write this story. 

And if I may opine just a bit here, I have to com­pli­ment Jill, as well as the team at both the tourism office and the cham­ber. That sense of vibra­cy, excite­ment, and —dare I say it? — FUN, now per­me­at­ing our com­mu­ni­ty, is con­ta­gious. I feel it every day. 

Winchester and Clark County’s best days are ahead of us.

More pho­tos from Tourism Day can be found here. (Thank you, Jill Hamlin).