Chamber awarded heritage grant

Published 10:32 pm Wednesday, February 8, 2012

The Alabama Black Belt Heritage Area recently announced its awarding of grants to several counties throughout the Black Belt region during the month of January.

Awarded annually, the County Partnership Grants were awarded through the Center for the Study of Black Belt, or CSBB, at the University of West Alabama in Livingston. This year, the Selma-Dallas County Chamber of Commerce was selected as a grant recipient for Dallas County.

“As the Black Belt Heritage Area we have 19 counties we support,” said Alabama Black Belt Heritage Area interim executive director Wimberly Comer. “The object is to award $500 to each of the 19 counties to partner and initiate projects. Our board of directors goes through all the grants to select a representative.”

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The center partners with projects in the Black Belt that shape a sustainable future for the region through preservation, interpretation and marketing of unique cultural, historical and natural assets.

Selma Tourism director Candace Johnson said the grant is very important to promoting the area, especially through the Internet.

“This is for the tourism office to use toward reprinting the first ever Selma Official Visitor Guide and redesigns for the next edition,” Johnson said. “The grant is very important in the marketing of our area and will help us reach people worldwide who are interested in Selma …”