LEITCHFIELD-- As the long-awaited Grayson County Tourism Center comes closer to a reality, donations from the community have been pouring in to help the process along.

At the regularly-scheduled meeting of the Grayson County Tourism Commission on Tuesday, tourism Executive Director Ilsa Johnson presented the commissioners with a long list of donors who had given either cash or goods and services such as furniture, wallpaper, appliances, a projection screen and advertising. So far, the total cash value of all the donations and pledges is above $34,000.

Meanwhile, the work on the office areas of the new center is nearing completion and Johnson said she should be ready to occupy her office within a week or so. She said while the office of the Grayson County Chamber of Commerce is also ready, she does not expect the chamber to be ready to make the move until the beginning of next month. It is also expected that the Tourism Commission could begin meeting in the new facility as early as next month.

Work continues on the back portion of the building which will house extensive meeting room facilities and Johnson said the whole building should be ready for a Grand Opening celebration by the time June rolls around.

In other business, Johnson asked the commission to approve money for her to purchase items for the office, including shelving, a filing cabinet, a desk and visitors chairs. Johnson explained she had been assured she would be able to purchase seconds from Styline Corp. at very reasonable prices. The commission approved up to $800 for the items.

The question of what to call the new building came up and the possibility of having a contest for the public to name to building was put forth. Because the state supplied supplied a tourism grant to help with the purchase of the building, there is a requirement that the word "tourism" be in the name. Other that that it is open to suggestion. Because the building will be shared by tourism and the chamber as well as Leitchfield/Grayson County Industrial Development, a name including all three entities would seem to be be awkward.

Johnson presented the commisson with final numbers from the three trade shows it attended. While the numbers were down from last year at Louisville and Cincinnati, it still showed a great deal of interest in the area. It was agreed by all that the numbers of registrations from the show in Indianapolis did not justify the cost of attending that show in the future.