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The Group Travel Leader Going on Faith Select Traveler

Sweet in Central Pennsylvania

 

Gettysburg

Last summer marked the 150th anniversary of the Battle of Gettysburg and Abraham Lincoln’s Gettysburg Address. Meeting groups can soak up that history during events throughout the town of 8,000 residents.

The new museum and visitors center at the Gettysburg National Military Park provides plenty of space for meetings in a historical setting. Guests can enjoy a private viewing of the rare Cyclorama painting of Pickett’s Charge of the Battle of Gettysburg and the 12-gallery museum. Several Fortune 500 companies use the history of the area as a training ground for leadership development.

“They take a group of five to 100, in classrooms and on the battlefield, learning how decisions were made in those crucial moments and how to apply that toward corporate boardrooms,” said Carl White, media relations manager at the Gettysburg Convention and Visitors Bureau. “The resume of companies that come here is incredible. It’s been our niche.”

The Eisenhower Hotel and Conference Center is Gettysburg’s largest event center. It’s named in honor of President Dwight D. Eisenhower, whose home is preserved at the Eisenhower Historical Site, adjacent to the military park. The Wyndham Gettysburg is just one of the region’s many hotels.

Aside from its historical significance, the area is also notable for having the nation’s fifth-largest apple industry, with 20,000 acres of apple orchards. Tours of orchards in conjunction with meetings at regional wineries have become popular.

www.gettysburg.travel

 

Altoona

Altoona has a rich railroad history. The Altoona Railroaders Memorial Museum has three floors of exhibits covering the history of the rails.

One of the biggest tourist attractions is Horseshoe Curve, a three-track railroad curve on the Norfolk Southern Railway’s Pittsburgh Line completed in 1854 to lessen the grade on the Allegheny Mountains. A trackside observation center allows visitors to watch trains go by. The track and dramatic countryside was used to film part of a recent Denzel Washington thriller, “Unstoppable.”

The Revolutionary War-era Fort Roberdeau is a leading attraction in the area and offers meeting space in White Oak Hall. Located in the countryside, the fort is near Amish farms where visitors can shop for fresh produce and baked goods.

“We have a lot of fun, inexpensive activities for families,” said Jennifer Fleck, marketing and membership manager for Explore Altoona.

Some of those are taking in a baseball game with Altoona’s minor league team or hitching a ride at Lakemont Park on Leap-the-Dips, the world’s oldest wooden roller coaster.

The Blair County Convention Center, connected to the Courtyard by Marriott, is one of the largest meeting spaces. Groups can also hold smaller meetings downtown at the Altoona Heritage Discovery Center.

www.explorealtoona.com