Joplin Convention and Visitors Bureau director to retire

(From the City of Joplin)

For the thousands of annual visitors to the City of Joplin – and even those living in our community – there are fewer recognizable figures than Patrick Tuttle.

A longtime contributor to the Joplin region through his professional work and personal service, Tuttle developed his impressive career through dedicated involvement and care. Now, after 15 years serving as Director of Joplin’s Convention and Visitors Bureau, he has announced his plans to retire at the end of this year.

“Throughout my career, the common thread for me is that I have worked to develop regional partnerships,” said Tuttle, reflecting on his years with the military, higher education, events management, and civil service. “Learning and sharing the stories of people along the way has been amazing.”

Born in San Antonio, Texas, Tuttle was just four years old when his family relocated to Rolla, Missouri following his father’s retirement from the U.S. Air Force, and then Joplin soon after. His grandfather ran the former Jenkins Music Store at 4th and Main Streets. Tuttle attended Parkwood High School and St. Mary’s Catholic Church. When he was 18, he followed in his father’s footsteps and joined his brothers in military service. He went on to have a 20-year career in the Air Force focused on international protocol, supply management, and recruitment/career counseling.

After leaving the service, Tuttle returned to the Joplin area and developed an impressive resume in leadership development and community engagement. He worked for Crowder College as a resource for industry partners, teaching supervisory skills and team building to their employees. He was the executive director of the 2002 Route 66 Music Festival and later led the Joplin Sports Authority. Tuttle also served multiple terms on the Joplin and Oronogo City Councils.

His list of community involvement is even more extensive. He has served on committees that developed the Wildcat Glades Conservation and Audubon Center, the Route 66 Mural Park, the Mercy Park and Butterfly Mural, Boomtown Days, the Rotary Sculpture Garden, Joplin’s 125th and 150th celebrations, the Route 66 Centennial and America 250 celebrations, and was director of the Mother Road Marathon. An avid biker, he helped develop the regional portions of U.S. Bicycle Routes 66 and 51 and contributed to the development and funding of Joplin’s MOmentum Bike Park. He has also been an advocate for the development of the Joplin Trails system.

For the Route 66 Centennial, the partnership he and his staff forged with the World Street Painting Foundation developed three galleries of 3D art by artists from nine nationalities. These 29 works of art have been popular with residents and guests alike.

“The City has been fortunate to have Patrick’s energy and reach steering its visitor efforts for so long,” said Joplin City Manager Nick Edwards. “He has brought vision and creativity to the position and has helped make Joplin a destination for international audiences. I am thankful for his contributions in the tourism realm as well as the expertise he has brought to so many other operations.”

A person of involvement and action by nature, his arrival at the Convention and Visitors Bureau could not have come at a better time. Just 83 days after starting in his new position, Joplin experienced the historic 2011 tornado, and he and his team went to work assisting volunteer groups with finding lodging, extensively documenting the condition of the City and its recovery, and managing resources, priorities, and high-level appearances as disaster recovery continued.

As the City redeveloped and tourism stabilized, Tuttle focused on growth. “Though no tourism-related assets were directly in the tornado path, it was important for us to have a seat at the table in the redevelopment efforts to assure, where possible, tourism interest could be included. Such as the telling of Joplin’s recovery story in Cunningham and Mercy Parks,” said Tuttle.

“Joplin has a great history, wonderful people in hospitality, and amazing regional partners. Those regional partnerships have been unbelievably valuable to us. Moving the history of the Tri-State Mining District to the existing Route 66 Tri-State Corridor is the best example of this. Cooperative efforts were made to get people to slow down and spend more time within our region.”

As Tuttle looks ahead to his December 11th retirement date and reflects on the career he has had with the City of Joplin, it’s those countless visitors and the stories they’ve shared about Joplin’s history and its appeal that will stay with him, even when his time is fully focused on his personal life – time for travel with his wife Dana, time with his grandchildren and great-grandchildren, genealogy research, and of course, cycling.

“I have developed a close rapport with people from so many countries, many of which are repeat visitors who are now coordinating tours and bringing others to town,” Tuttle said. “It has been a very fulfilling career in a community that means so much to me. It has been a team effort to promote the greater Joplin region out to the world.”

The City will conduct a national search to fill the position later this fall.