Tina Grange, Carbon County Tourism Specialist, visited the Carbon County Commissioners on Wednesday evening to highlight and donate to two local museums. Grange had previously given a similar donation to the Helper Museum and wanted to continue the action twice more.
Grange stated that museums are part of the working engine of tourism in the Carbon Corridor, conceived as a local asset. The Carbon County Office of Tourism was excited to present two donations to two local Price museums. The first went to Tim Riley for the USU Prehistoric Museum and was in the amount of $10,000.
The Prehistoric Museum saw over 20,000 visitors in 2023, is open seven days per week and also houses the county’s visitor center. In 2023, free admission for local middle and high school students was announced and the museum has supported the county with events, tourists and the like.
Riley thanked Grange and the rest of the county for the generous donation, stating that the museum is happy to be part of the community in a myriad of ways. The money will go a long way with helping to create exhibits, he stated.
Next, a donation of $5,000 was presented to the Bryner Pioneer Museum. Many may not know of it, but Grange said that there are a good amount of visitors that seek it out for both the pioneer and Bryner history alone. The museum operates solely on donations and volunteers and the donation is going toward 2024 museum goals.
Museum Director Sue Christensen encouraged the community to visit the museum as well as the Price City Hall to view the exhibit stationed there.
Commission Chair Larry Jensen said that the Transient Road Tax (TRT) funds are what fuels these donations. They do not come out of normal tax dollars, but from the people that visit the area, stay in the hotels and eat at the restaurants. There is a very active advisory board that decides how to spend the funds.
Commissioner Jensen thanked Grange for her efforts, while Grange stated that it would not happen with the advisory board and the commissioners, who make the final decisions on the board recommendations.