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One thing that Jean Clark has never done during her 43 years of promoting local tourism is rest on her laurels. Clark has been one of the most active and visible public officials in the Rockbridge area for decades, launching and overseeing numerous tourism initiatives while serving in various other roles, including being a member of the Rockbridge County School Board for a number of years.
The former Jean Tardy was raised on a dairy farm in Murat and graduated from Lexington High School and James Madison University. She began her career in tourism in 1980 when she was hired to be assistant director of the Lexington Office of Visitor Relations. She worked for most of the next 16 years under then-Executive Director Martha Doss before succeeding Doss in 1996. In 1999, the Lexington Visitor Center joined forces with Rockbridge County and Buena Vista to form Rockbridge Regional Tourism, which Clark was selected to head.
Clark has held this post for 24 years, but announced recently that she would be retiring at the end of this month. The Rockbridge County Board of Supervisors adopted a proclamation Monday honoring Clark for her “43 years of leadership and dedication to the betterment of our community.” Throughout her tenure, she worked “diligently to promote tourism as a cornerstone of the economy in Rockbridge County and the cities of Lexington and Buena Vista.” As County Administrator Spencer Suter remarked, it was quite a challenge to fit all of her accomplishments and roles she’s played into a legalsized document.
Clark, the proclamation stated, “was a driving force in myriad initiatives and projects including the Virginia Horse Center, the Natural Bridge State Park, the Great Midland Trail, the Scenic 39 Road Trip, the Brushy Blue Master Plan, the Fields of Gold Farm Tour, Bike the Valley and Tour de Farm, the Farm to Fork Affair, the Rockbridge River and Ridge Birding and Wildlife Trial, the Upper James River Water Trail, and the declaration of both the James and the Maury Rivers as Virginia Scenic Rivers; … ” It was noted that Clark worked closely with the Virginia Film Office to leverage the area’s history and natural beauty so that the Rockbridge area became the location and backdrop for many films and other videography projects. The movies “Sommersby” and “War of the Worlds” were filmed here, in part, as were portions of the streaming series “Dopesick.”
One of Clark’s most recent initiatives, the proclamation points out, is Rockbridge Outdoors, “a collaborative group of over 40 businesses, individuals, organizations and governmental bodies designed to create, promote and market the ‘big backyard’ that is Rockbridge County,” which is “destined to grow and benefit our community and economy for years to come; … ” All the while she was promoting tourism, Clark also made time “to serve with distinction on many local and regional boards and commissions including the Rockbridge County School Board, the Rockbridge Regional Fair Board, the Miller’s House Museum Board, the Chessie Nature Trail Advisory Committee, the Friends of Natural Bridge State Park, the Virginia Horse Center Blue Ribbon Task Force, the Blue Ridge Parkway Association, the Virginia Association of Destination Marketing Organization, the Shenandoah Valley Battlefield Foundation, the Shenandoah Valley Travel Association, the Shenandoah Valley Beerwerks Trail, and she personally founded and chaired the Shenandoah Valley Tourism Partnership; … ” With all of these pursuits, we’re not quite sure how Clark found time for a personal life but we hope she does in retirement, in addition to finding time, finally, to rest on her laurels. She certainly deserves it. We wish her, her husband Eddie and their family the best as they embark on a new chapter in their lives.
