I was recently appointed to the Missouri Tourism Commission by Senate President Pro Tem Tom Dempsey. The commission meets four times a year, with the goal of leading Missouri to become one of America’s best tourist destinations. Promoting Missouri as a tourism destination also helps the economy by creating jobs as well as bringing in revenue from the many visitors to our state.

I have always felt that Missouri offers a multitude of vacation opportunities, not only for our own citizens, but for visitors from all over the world. Representing the Lake of the Ozarks area, I can see first -hand how important tourism is to our district and to our state. Missouri is easily one of the most picturesque states, from the national forests to the Ozark mountains, there is natural beauty everywhere you look.

Missouri also has an incredible state parks system. There are a great number of camping, hunting and fishing areas, with rivers and streams for lots of recreational activities. Missouri is also known for its cave systems, with most caves offering tours and camping nearby.

If the outdoors is not your thing, Missouri offers professional sports teams, water parks, museums, wineries, festivals, great concert venues, an extensive passenger train system and lots of other options for vacationers.

I’m honored to be chosen to represent the tourism industry in our state, and I look forward to working on this commission.

Always feel free to contact me throughout the year with any comments, questions, or issues by calling my office at (573) 751-5713 or by visiting my website at www.senate.mo.gov/brown.

Thank you for reading this and for your participation in state government.