One of the highest honors given by VisitMercerCountyPA (the destination marketing organization for Mercer County) is the Bill Knecht Tourism Award. VisitMercerCountyPA is excited to announce Representative Mark Longietti has been selected to receive the 2022 Bill Knecht Tourism Award for his efforts in Travel and Tourism statewide and in Mercer County.
Mark Longietti is a PA State Representative who represents the Shenango Valley area of Mercer County. He served as a member of the House Tourism Committee for 14 of his 16 years in the legislature and was Minority Chairman of that committee for 4 years, from 2017 to 2020.
Longietti helped to enact legislation to assist travel and tourism promotion in PA and through the passage of Act 18, he helped to secure millions in funding to increase tourism assets and marketing in Mercer County. These funds have been used to assist the development of attractions such as Keystone Safari and Zipline Park, Carried Away Outfitters, Mercer County Wine & Brew Trail, Launch Sites on the Shenango River Water Trail and many more. In addition, these funds allowed for the implementation of a successful co-op advertising program that helped individual tourism assets such as WaterFire Sharon, hotels, attractions, events and shopping to market and draw visitors to Mercer County. Over 6 million visitors come to Mercer County annually.
Also, Mark’s efforts can be seen in community tourism developments at Buhl Park, restorations at Riverside Park in Greenville, walking and bicycle trails along the Shenango River and others. His outstanding leadership and commitment is consistent with the legacy left by Bill Knecht, who was the owner of Wendell August Forge and gave dedicated service for many years on the VisitMercerCountyPA board of directors. Bill Knecht was instrumental in establishing a strong tourism program in Mercer County.
VisitMercerCountyPA will present the award at their annual meeting on June 8th, 2022, at 5:30 pm. This meeting will be held at the Irons Mill Farmstead in New Wilmington, PA.
For more information, contact VisitMercerCountyPA at 724-346-3771.
