Fairlea, WV (WOAY) – West Virginia’s new secretary of tourism, Kayla Kessinger, made a public appearance at the State Fair of West Virginia in Greenbrier County on Thursday, days after being appointed to the role.
Kessinger appeared alongside Gov. Patrick Morrisey for West Virginia Day at the fair. The Fayette County native spoke with WOAY about her early priorities as she steps into the position.
“My first priority is getting to know all of the incredible people at the tourism department,” Kessinger said. “They’ve been doing some remarkable things over the last couple of years, and I can’t wait to get in there, learn from them, work with them.”
She pointed to an upcoming event as her most immediate focus. “We also have the tourism conference coming up at the end of September. So that’s going to be priority number one, making sure that goes really well. And we use that as an opportunity to really promote all of the incredible things that West Virginia has to offer.”
Morrisey, who appointed Kessinger to the post, spoke to what he expects her to bring to the job. “I want to make sure people come to know someone who’s really going to be a superstar in bringing a lot of the local tourism groups together and to selling West Virginia not only to our state but to the world,” he said.
