September 30, 2026
CHARLESTON, W.Va. — The Mon Forest Towns Partnership and the Snowshoe Highlands Area Recreation Collaborative received 2026 Almost Heaven Achievement Awards Tuesday, September 22nd during the Governor’s Conference for Tourism at the Charleston Coliseum & Convention Center.
The Mon Forest Towns Partnership received two awards: Co-Op Campaign of the Year and the Governor’s Award for Regional Tourism Impact. Charles Evans and the Snowshoe Highlands Area Recreation Collaborative received the Future of Tourism Award.
The two awards presented to Mon Forest Towns recognize the partnership’s work bringing communities and tourism organizations together across the eight-county Mon Forest region.
The Mon Forest Towns Partnership represents 12 small mountain towns connected to the Monongahela National Forest and works to promote the communities collectively as an outdoor destination while supporting recreation-based economic development throughout the region.
“This is a testament to the strength of our coalition,” said Josh Nease, executive director of the Mon Forest Towns Partnership. “Our convention and visitors bureau partners are key to showcasing all the Mon Forest region has to offer.”
Through coordinated marketing efforts, Mon Forest Towns has introduced its 12 participating communities as one cohesive outdoor destination to new audiences, generating more than seven million impressions this year alone.
“One of the greatest strengths of the Mon Forest Towns Partnership is the ability to take the work our CVBs and gateway communities are already doing and amplify it beyond our individual destinations,” said Chelsea Faulknier, executive director of the Pocahontas County Convention and Visitors Bureau.
The Governor’s Award for Regional Tourism Impact is presented to groups that initiate regional tourism development efforts involving two or more parties and demonstrate cooperation across county lines to strengthen a region’s identity as a travel destination.
The Co-Op Campaign of the Year recognizes the best single or multi-partner group advertisement submitted through the West Virginia Department of Tourism’s Cooperative Advertising Program.
The Future of Tourism Award, presented to Charles Evans and the Snowshoe Highlands Area Recreation Collaborative, recognizes an individual or business that has made an outstanding contribution to West Virginia’s tourism workforce development through job training programs, internships, apprenticeships or educational programs.
The three awards recognize different aspects of tourism development in the Mon Forest region, including regional marketing, collaboration across county lines, recreation and workforce development.
“But marketing is only part of the story,” Nease said. “Every day, we’re working with residents and partners to build thriving communities through our connection to the Monongahela National Forest while caring for the landscape that unites us.”
The awards were presented as part of the 2026 Governor’s Conference for Tourism, an annual gathering of West Virginia’s tourism industry.
