Mannix Porterfield
Register-Herald Reporter

Put a brand on Raleigh County’s tourist attractions — the New River Gorge.

In so doing, locals and visitors alike can start thinking regionally, in the same fashion the Great Smoky Mountains brings to mind a large swath of Tennessee, not a single entity, Terrell Ellis explained Tuesday to the Raleigh County Commission.

“So much of our identity here in Raleigh and surrounding areas is identified with tourists that come in and out of the gorge area,” she said. “It seems to be an appropriate brand.”

Her firm, Terrell Ellis and Associates, was hired to develop a brand for the 4-C Economic Development Authority, of which Raleigh is a member.

“The whole goal of this process is to create an identity for the 4-C region that the outside world is going to be able to identify with,” Ellis said.

“For example, when you think of going to the Great Smoky Mountains, you don’t necessarily think about maybe one city or county, but a region of Tennessee. And that’s what we’re trying to accomplish here.”

Ellis suggested a special New River Gorge logo be attached to the commission’s Web site and other forms of communications, including official stationery and documents, so the idea begins to stick.

Commission president Pat Reed assured Ellis the idea has been discussed and is one the commission can support.

Afterward, Reed said the logo could be some extra for the Web site and official correspondence that can promote both the New River Gorge and local attractions within the county.

“We will be branded very similar to the Great Smoky Mountains,” she said. “We feel it will be a plus for us.”