AL-TN-MS Rural Tourism Conference: Rooted in Rural

The AL-TN-MS Rural Tourism Conference is an annual regional event that rotates among Alabama, Tennessee, and Mississippi, bringing together tourism professionals to share strategies for promoting rural destinations with limited budgets.

The goal of this project was to position Athens-Limestone County as a standout host location while creating a strong, cohesive visual identity for the 2025 conference. In 2024, Athens-Limestone County Tourism submitted a competitive bid to host the event. I designed the full bid presentation, including branding mockups, conference vision, and marketing strategy concepts. Working alongside elected officials, tourism professionals, and economic development leaders, our presentation successfully secured the winning bid, marking the first time the conference was hosted in Athens.

Following the successful bid, I led the complete branding and visual development for the 2025 conference, titled Rooted in Rural. This included the conference logo, program, postcards, color palette, patterns, and advertising materials. Using Adobe InDesign, Illustrator, and Photoshop, I created a cohesive visual system that reflected the region’s character and reinforced the conference’s mission across all touchpoints.

The final branding supported a highly successful event, welcoming 400+ attendees, securing 9
sponsorships, and receiving strong post-event feedback, with many attendees describing it as the best conference overall—demonstrating the impact of thoughtful, strategic visual design on engagement and event perception.

𝗖𝗢𝗡𝗙𝗘𝗥𝗘𝗡𝗖𝗘 𝗣𝗥𝗢𝗚𝗥𝗔𝗠 : https://issuu.com/athenslimestonechamber/docs/2025_rtc_program