Myers sees two decades of growth and change

By ANNA MITCHELL
anna@readthereporter.com

For 19 years, Brenda Myers has been the president and CEO of Hamilton County Tourism. Now, she is retiring.

Myers started her journey in 2005, launching grants programs and building interest in Hamilton County Tourism. Moving forward in developments, she took advantage of new technology and grew their social media platforms.

Through the pandemic, Myers turned towards the community, supporting their needs and making Hamilton County a great place to live when no one could visit.

Hamilton County Tourism recovered from the pandemic with the help of a $3 million donation. By focusing on their staff and starting renovations tourism continued to grow. Now they have even bigger events and expansions planned.

“I am leaving the organization at a time when it’s about to take its next leap, and I love that,” Myers said. “I know that sounds counterintuitive, but we just established this capital improvement fund with which we’re going to be able to reinvest significant dollars back in the community. It still has an amazing team, and it just has nowhere to go but up. I really feel like we have a stable base. It just got reaccredited. And it’s just a beautiful time to hand the reins over to someone else.”

Since 2005, Myers has seen Hamilton County grow by leaps and bounds in both budget and population. They went from 186 hotel rooms to over 5,000. When she arrived, Myers said their budget was $880,000. Next year, they will have a combined budget of around $14,000,000.

Myers wanted to make Hamilton County, first, a great place to live and, second, a great place to visit. She found that balance and prioritized her own community, making her volunteers and staff members feel welcomed and at home.

“The team that I work with – and I mean this. I’m not just saying this – we are a family. We are a family,” Myers said. “And I’m going to miss the day-to-day family interaction, the humor and the inside jokes and all of that. And I know that I’ll still have lunch with them and everything, but there’s something about not being there every day, you know. And I’m going to miss that.”

Myers put a lot of work into Hamilton County tourism. Nickel Plate Express Executive Director Emily Reynolds likes to tell people that she saved the Nickel Plate Express. She not only saved the train but continued to nurture it and serve the volunteers and workers there.

“The Nickel Plate Express was Brenda’s baby,” Reynolds said. “This is her vision and her hard work to put this train together, but since I’ve been here, she spearheaded a volunteer recruitment campaign, schedules all of my volunteers, brings my staff food every time she’s in here. And it’s just that amazing support system that I can go to for guidance and help. I always trust what she can help me with.”

Myers retirement party took place July 25. Many people attended, expressing their love for Myers and their appreciation for the work she has put into the community. She could not cross the room without someone coming up to shake her hand or give her a hug.

The Nickel Plate Express gave attendees free rides in her honor. It took passengers from the retirement party on a quick caboose ride. Emily Reynolds gave her a piece of the Nickel Plate Express because of all the work she put into it.

“We said, ‘you should take a piece of the railroad home with you because you saved this railroad,’ then I cried because what she’s done for Hamilton County and for us is just remarkable,” Reynolds said. “I’ve never met a better person than Brenda Myers. She’s the most encouraging, supportive, kind person, and it’s never about her. It’s always about supporting others and never taking the limelight.”

Although she is retiring, Myers still plans to keep busy with volunteering so she can be with the community she loves.