JAMESTOWN, N.D. (NewsDakota.com) – Jamestown Tourism accepted the Trailblazer Award for Tourism Innovation Wednesday afternoon at the North Dakota Travel Industry Conference in Minot.

But, Jamestown Tourism Executive Director Searle Swedlund says the award was accepted on behalf of the community of Jamestown. He says they credit the late Mary Faith Young who really set the groundwork for the Talking Trails in Jamestown.

The Trailblazer Award acknowledges the spirit of perseverance and creativity in developing unique North Dakota offerings and is given to an attraction, event, person, group, company or organization that has been innovative in improving visitor experiences in North Dakota.

“This could include private-public partnerships, collaboration between entities, creating unique packages, engaging community members, etc.,” North Dakota Tourism states on their website.

Swedlund says when they started the Talking Trails in 2016, they had no idea it would be as big as it’s grown to today.

Swedlund says the Talking Trails in Jamestown will continue to grow and that they’re “never really done.”

Since the project launched in September 2016 with over 70 recordings and creative signage, more than 7,000 people have listened to a story.

“The project goal was to connect visitors with the history of Jamestown, but the result was something more,” ND Tourism states. “The community got involved and engaged in the project in new ways. The best part of this project was connecting the community to its own stories, making story-tellers ambassadors for tourism.”

Top photo: Jamestown Tourism Accepts 2019 Trailerblazer Award. Photo: Searle Swedlund