Highport Marina – Selected as the Official Best of in the category of Texas Marinas. As recipient of this award, Highport Marina received National Recognition not only for their marina, but for all of Lake Texoma. Local and National Television shows and features on the Official Best of website, put the spotlight squarely on Lake Texoma.
Denison – Music on Main was one of 10 winners of the 2015 LEVITT AMP Grant Award program. Denison will receive a $25,000 matching grant to make 2015 Music on Main spectacular. Music on Main is a series of outdoor concerts beginning the first week of June and running weekly thru July each year. Winners were selected by popular vote, so kudos to this Texoma community who really got out the vote!
Tanglewood Crossing – In a year where Lake Texoma struggled with low lake levels, this new retail center is doing quite well. First on board were Tanglewood Real Estate Company, Chapin Title Company and Beaches N Cream restaurant. Then a Health Care Center, Bayless & Hall Insurance Company and a chiropractor joined the list of tenants. The newest tenant is a convenience/Liquor store. Tanglewood Crossing is located at the entrance to Tanglewood Resort off Hwy 289 in Pottsboro.
Lake Texoma – It seems every year Lake Texoma faces a challenge. Most recent memory recalls floods, blue green algae, zebra mussels, years when every summer holiday became storm central and now drought. Marinas and local service organizations like the community service committee of the Greater Texoma Association of Realtors, took advantage of the situation, cleaning up beaches, hauling off tons of trash and debris to make beach a areas clean and ready for summer visitors. Marinas moved boathouses and dredged out areas to keep their customers afloat. When boat ramps became too shallow neighboring marinas offered shuttle services. When times are tough, neighbors in Lake Texoma step up to the plate and help each other. That makes Lake Texoma a winner!
Lake Texoma Lodge and Resort - Open since 1955, this sleepy little resort has come alive! Once known as the Honeymoon Lodge, the Cronemiller family has brought the stone-walled villas back to life as a special place for families to enjoy Lake Texoma. Other improvements include the newly renovated restaurant, 3 Brothers Bar & Grill and the Tiki Lounge. I even understand there is a brewery coming in 2015. While it can’t take the place of the State Lodge which closed in 2008, it sure does help.
Barbara Pope – One of three female anglers on a fishing trip with Chris Carey of Striper Express, breaks the Oklahoma Striped Bass weight record! Photos of these three lovely ladies holding that huge striper graced the pages of fishing blogs, forums, news alerts, newspapers and magazines all over the country. If anyone had any doubt that Lake Texoma was alive and well and producing big striped bass, well Barbara smashed that myth to bits.
Craft Beverage Alliance – As part of the GO TEXAN Winery Trails, the Lake Texoma area has long been a popular destination for those who enjoy wine tasting, vineyard tours, festivals and events. Now 903 Brewery and Iron Root Republic distillery have joined with local growers and wine producers to create a Craft Beverage Alliance. Events, tastings and tours of these facilities are big tourism attractions, sure to bring a new audience to the Lake Texoma Area.
Texoma Casino – Opening in 2014, this 8,500 square foot facility has over 300 electronic gaming machines, located in Kingston, OK close to the shores of Lake Texoma. It couldn’t have come at a better time! With the closing of Lake Texoma State Park and the lack of progress on the Pointe Vista development, Marshall County was experiencing deep economic distress. Hopefully the opening of Texoma Casino will be the flash point for other new enterprises in the area.
So as we say good bye to 2014 and look forward to the adventures 2015 will bring, we extend a hearty congratulations to all of these individuals, companies and service organizations for their ingenuity in facing difficult situations and finding creative solutions.
