By MATT PIKE
St. Joseph Post
The Highway 36 Heritage Alliance has been honored with the Innovator Award during the Missouri Governors Conference on Tourism in Kansas City.
St. Joseph Convention and Visitors Bureau spokesman, Christian Mengel, says it’s cool that the state recognizes the alliance with an award that's an innovator award
"Given that the organization is built on the back of innovators and innovations, like the invention of sliced bread, and Walt Disney, the Pony Express, Walter Conkrite, and Mark Twain, they're all tied to Highway 36 in these smaller cities and smaller communities," Mengel tells KFEQ/St. Joseph Post. "So, the fact that the state recognizes the work that they're doing is significant."
Mengel says it's huge for this region to know that it’s on track in getting people here and getting people to educate themselves on what this region has offered to the greater history of America.
Mengel, says it means a lot for this group to be honored among the state, especially as one of the smaller communities
"One, to even be recognized among that group and in front of those destinations as doing import work is huge, but two, to win an award in that group it says so much to what you're doing," Mengel explains. "And you know that the work that you're doing is paying off because it's the state that's recognizing that significance."
The Innovator Award is a fitting title for Highway 36, which has been called “The Way of American Genius” for having multiple communities along the route with direct ties to historic innovations and people that made significant impacts on American culture
Mengel, says the award is fitting with all of the innovation along the Highway 36 corridor, and not just the Pony Express
"You go a little bit to the east JC Penney was from Hamilton, you go a little farther east Chillicothe was where sliced bread was invented, which is a phrase, the greatest thing since sliced bread, something that everybody in American can reference," Mengel points out. "You keep going east, of course Walt Disney, everybody in the world has ties to Walt Disney, born in Marceline, you keep going east you've got Mark Twain from Hannibal."
Mengel says there are all these massive ties to American culture along that corridor that can be put on a map that helps unify all these small communities.
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