BY JEFF CHUDZINSKI 

North Country This Week 

MASSENA — Town of Massena tourism director Don Meissner has continued to promote the town as a destination for professional fishing, but he believes there is even more to offer in the future.

During the town board’s meeting on June 15, Meissner presented a commercial that was filmed for promoting the Major League Fishing tournament that came to Massena last year.

According to Meissner, the ad was run as part of the national television coverage throughout the weekend.

“It’s fishing in the beginning, but it’s about the experience of coming to this town and what it can mean not only to our town and the future of our town, but the future of these people that might come and discover what we are here,” he said.

According to Meissner, Massena is becoming a destination for many from all across the country to visit for the large number of fishing tournaments hosted in the North Country.

“I don’t mean to constantly say the same thing, but I constantly feel the same thing. This area is special, and I’ve devoted my whole life to come to this point. I’m trying to bring everything that has been part of my life, 30 years of doing television and doing radio, and this is where it’s brought me and I hope to be able to make that difference,” he said.

Though the tournaments are a draw for many in the region, funding is critical to ensure they can be run properly and supporting events go off without a hitch.

That’s where Linda McQuinn comes in. McQuinn is the town grant writer and has assisted with promotion and fundraising for many of the tournaments that come to Massena.

According to McQuinn, door to door efforts are being undertaken right now to cover some of the larger expenses, like artist fees and fireworks.

McQuinn presented a budget to the town board during the meeting for this year’s tournaments, which included funding available through the Empire State Development. Matching contributions from the town were also included.

McQuinn also presented what was called a “capture strategy” to the board.

“The reason that I decided that this would be apropos is because we’re about six weeks away from the deadline for the consolidated funding application. There are a number of projects that will be appropriate for this particular funding round. I’ve suggested that Massena look at the capture strategy because if we don’t try to go after these monies, other municipalities will take advantage of it,” McQuinn said.

One of the larger tournaments planned is the Tackle Warehouse Pro Circuit Championship in August.

The event will take place at the Massena Intake and is expected to bring hundreds of visitors to the region.