City of Great Bend Community Coordinator Christina Hayes announced that with efforts made by the Convention and Visitors Bureau, as well as the Great Bend Knights of Columbus, Great Bend is currently in a close race to being voted as the location for the 2017 Knights of Columbus Bowling Tournament.  

Even though Emily Goad, the new CVB director, didn’t officially start until Monday, the city had her busy with recruitment efforts in Lawrence for the past two weekends, Hayes said. 

Each Saturday, Goad along with local Knight Patrick Burnett have traveled to Lawrence, the 2016 Tournament host location, to greet bowlers and promote Great Bend for next year’s tournament site. This three-weekend tournament brings teams from all across the state to the host location.  

The bowlers show up and get to vote for where they want next year’s location to be. “We have noticed that the bowlers are not the only people attending this event,” Goad said. Because of the way the tournament has been set up, family members, spouses and even grandchildren seem to attend this tournament for the weekend of fun

“This is a great opportunity to get those visitors into town and give them the chance to Explore Great Bend shopping, dining, attractions and hotel features,” Goad said.

Last weekend’s votes brought Great Bend in the second place spot, with only seven votes behind Topeka. The final votes will be cast this Saturday, and Goad will be there to push Great Bend over the edge into the first place spot.

For additional information or questions, contact Goad at 620-792-2750 or cvb@visitgreatbend.com.