White named county’s first director of Office of Tourism

Pulaski County is pleased to announce that Peggy White has been hired to lead the County’s first Office of Tourism as its new Director starting January 4, 2021. The Office of Tourism will come at a time where tourism businesses are finding themselves in both a challenging yet opportunistic time due to the novel Coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic. The department will be funded primarily through lodging tax revenues collected from local hotels, motels and bed & breakfast as required by Virginia Code.

“We are excited to announce that Peggy White will be officially joining the Pulaski County Team and employing her experience and talents to take our tourism and community engagements to the next level for the benefit of both the County and our small business community”, stated Jonathan D. Sweet, County Administrator. “The time is now to dial up and dial in our focus on tourism, strategic marketing and robust quality of life programming that will bolster our county’s and our businesses’ standing and profitability in the marketplace.”

The Pulaski County Office of Tourism will officially open on January 4, 2021, and will be located at the Pulaski County Visitors Center. The new Director will be tasked with developing public interfaces, preparing tourism and visitor information, producing promotional materials, liaising with local businesses and media, budget management, and will represent the County in various markets. Most counties, cities and towns in Virginia have their own established tourism department dedicated to promoting their locality.

“I’m genuinely excited and ready to take on the challenge of creating the first ever Pulaski County Tourism Department”, Peggy White, Incoming Director of Tourism. “I want to continue to promote and showcase one of the most welcoming and beautiful counties in the state of Virginia and cannot wait to get started.”

Peggy White has a degree from Hollins University in Business and Economics. She comes to the County by way of the Pulaski County Chamber of Commerce, having served as its Executive Director since 2008, as well as serving as the Designated Marketing Official (DMO) for Tourism from 2008 to present. Peggy has also served the community as a Board Member to the Lewis-Gale Hospital, SWVA United Way, Virginia Cooperative Extension, Rotary Club of Pulaski, Pulaski Grow, Bike Virginia, People Inc., Pulaski Encouraging Progress Steering Committee and the Pulaski County Partners Coalition. Peggy was a recipient of the Golden Apple Award from the Pulaski County Public Schools, received the Wall Street Journal Award and an award from the Economic Honorary Society.