It was certainly a surprise to see that Casey Ferry is leaving the Warren County Visitor’s Bureau.

In roughly three years Ferry has made a mark on the county through her position as executive director of the WCVB whether it was creating new ways for area residents and visitors to appreciate the region’s artists, helping create a new disc golf attraction in the county, working to bring in Kinzua Rocks the Wake on the upcoming Labor Day Weekend or simply finding ways to quantify where tourists are coming from and how much they are spending. All of the things we’ve listed, by the way, happened just this year.

Ferry leaves the visitor’s bureau for a position with the PA Route 6 Alliance, an organization that she has previously been a board member of and which has been active in Warren County, including Youngsville’s designation as a Heart and Soul Community. She’s also a board member of the Warren County Children’s Museum, the PA Wilds Planning Team, the WCCBI Chamber Operations Board and the executive committee for Warren Worx. Despite the new job, Ferry will continue to be a presence in the area.

That’s good, as far as we’re concerned. Ferry has proven to be an asset when it comes to helping boost tourism in the county. For all the talk and money we’ve spent over the past couple of years regarding branding, there remains no better way to bring people into Warren County than good, old-fashioned face-to-face cheerleading. Ferry has excelled in that role over the past three years. We have no doubt she will do the same over the entire 11-county region that comprises the PA Route 6 Alliance.

Ferry’s departure comes at an interesting time as Warren Worx officially launches its branding initiative in early September. The Warren County Visitor’s Bureau is likely to play a big role in making that initiative a success as well as making sure existing initiatives started over the past couple of years don’t fall through the cracks. And, while Ferry had established a good base of activity with the visitor’s bureau, we also recognize that new initiatives still need to be developed to further boost tourism here.

It’s wonderful that Ferry will continue to be part of the mix in her new position. But the real question now is who fills the large shoes she leaves at the Warren County Visitors Bureau.