To  Be Featured at National Tourism Gala

            Resident artist Donny Hickmont, owner of the Walking Horse Gallery on Main St., will showcase his talent and many of his canvasses at the National Tourism Association meeting in Salt Lake City this coming November 12-16. More than 4,500 tourism professionals from across the country will attend.

Hickmont’s appearance is being underwritten by the Greater Montgomery County Convention and Visitors Bureau. He will be part of the Houston and Texas contingent that will host the closing night’s gala at which Donny will work on a canvas in progress and will display many of his popular paintings.

The Houston tourism professionals learned of Hickmont’s talent by virtue of his participation in the Montgomery County CVB’s “Stairway to Texas Stars” gallery in Shenandoah. Several of his pieces are displayed in the new gallery that is gaining statewide notoriety.

Typically the host city for the next year’s NTA event is showcased on the closing night, and that honor falls to Houston in 2001.

The Greater Houston CVB recently hired an internationally renowned special events firm to help create the extravaganza in Salt Lake City. It will be patterned around the Houston 2001 theme “Frontier to Frontier… Cowboys to Space.”           

Melanie Bayless, head of the Montgomery County CVB said, “Donny Hickmont is a perfect representative from our area. He is so talented, and his Texas scenes are sure to excite the attendees, as well as fitting nicely into the theme for the 2001 meeting.”

Bayless also said that the Montgomery County group would serve as the welcoming committee for next year’s conference.