Frank O’Brien was worried because the world had gone weird.
Something called a coronavirus forced closures of our schools, most businesses, and government offices, and even public parks, and it also shuttered the tourism industry throughout the world. In West Virginia and Ohio, shut down notices were issued on March 13th, 2020, for all “non-essential” businesses like retail shops, fitness centers, and other operations considered recreational, and mask mandates, quarantine orders, and social distancing protocols were ordered by all levels of government.
O’Brien never saw anything like it during his 19 years in the television news industry, and as the executive director of the Wheeling Convention & Visitors Bureau since 2008, he had only witnessed the region’s tourism dollars grow.
“There was a time when no one knew what to think,” O’Brien recalled. “No one knew if normal would ever be normal again, and it wasn’t a great time for our future. Most people know the CVB is funded through the hotel rooms that are rented in Ohio County, and during the pandemic, that revenue went down to zero.
“But we’ve bounced back very nicely, and no one could have predicted the vision that Bob Peckenpaugh would bring to Oglebay. He has implemented his vision with the help of the Oglebay Foundation, and in my opinion, he has created a brand new Oglebay,” he said. “Wilson Lodge looks better than it ever has, the cuisine throughout the park is top notch, and the improvements at Wheeling Park have made a tremendous difference.”
A new, inclusive Stifel Playground was completed in 2024, improvements at the Wheeling Park Pool – including new splash pad area – have been completed for the upcoming summer season, and a number of special events have been scheduled to take place over the next three months. The Grand Picnic in the Park, in fact, is scheduled for this evening from 6-9 p.m.
“It’s going to be a terrific year at Wheeling Park because of all of the celebrations they will have, and thanks to the contributions that have come in from our community, Fun Fest Fridays are doing to be better than ever, and they’ve made improvements to a number of park areas,” O’Brien reported. “So much of it is long overdue, but raising those funds takes time, too.
“Grand Vue Park has continued to grow and improve over the past several years, too,” he said. “Wheeling’s festival season will begin on June 7th with the (Wheeling Feeling) Chili Cookoff at Heritage Port, and so many of our attractions in this area have experienced a great rebound over the past few years. It’s been great to see.”
No Matter the Challenges
Public events were not permitted to take place for more than a year in all 88 counties in Ohio and in the Mountain State, and the public was strongly encouraged to spend as much time outdoors as possible so the virus didn’t spread as easily as it did indoors.
O’Brien joined most folks who were wondering if humans would ever hug or shake hands again, and most wondered how the world’s “new normal” would impact the global economy.
“The 2020 pandemic was so unprecedented for us. I don’t think anyone had experienced the world being shut down,” O’Brien said. “I just didn’t understand how they could let the whole world shut down; the whole economy. But they did, by mandate, and I was in a state of shock, I believe. No one had any experience with it, and that made it a pretty scary experience.
“Even today, I find it hard to believe we did that whole thing. That virus made us scared of each other,” he said. “There was no one anywhere, and we had to trust the (Centers for Disease Control). There are still a lot of unanswered questions about all of it, and I hope we get answers in the future.”
The most important mystery, however, has been solved, according to the CVB chief.
“Not only has our region’s tourism industry bounced back, but it’s bounced back tenfold,” O’Brien said. “Tourists have rediscovered the Wheeling area because we are located between the major markets in Columbus and Pittsburgh and Indianapolis, and that means there are millions of people in this region that we attract to the Wheeling area.
“When you add all of the events we have in Wheeling and in Oglebay, and all of the live music we have, we have more than a million people who come here for their vacations or for long weekends,” he said. “Plus, The Highlands Sports Complex continues to pack them in, and so does Cabela’s and Guntry, so it’s been great to see people come back and enjoy themselves so much.”
The CVB’s marketing team of Olivia Litman and Michael Biela operates the VisitWheeling.com website, and they also develop marketing campaigns that promote the Friendly City in metro areas in and around Pittsburgh, Columbus, Cleveland, New York, and Charleston, W.Va.
“Back then, we just told people the Wheeling area had been here for 250 years before the pandemic and that we’d be here when travelers were ready to come back to see us,” O’Brien said. “That was the message we sent out, and they sure have come back in a great way. I know I’m appreciative of that, and I know everyone who owns a business in this area is appreciative, too.
“Our region of the world is a pretty great place and we’re happy so many folks have decided to come here and find that fact for themselves,” he added. “We’re a great getaway and more and more people are finding that out.”
