New Destination: Muncie director wants to take Muncie tourism to new heights

Destination: Muncie announced their new director this past April. IPR’s Thomas Ouellette reports on how LaShanta Vaughn plans on elevating tourism in Muncie to new heights.

LaShanta Vaughn has only been in her new position for just over a month, but is already making plans to reignite the tourism industry in Muncie.

She wants to show newcomers that Muncie isn’t just a college town.

“A lot of times you hear about Ball State University. And that’s it. And we stop there, but you don’t hear about, you know, the arts and the culture that we have here that is far, like, more extensive than many smaller cities in the state of Indiana and across the globe,” said Vaughn.

Formerly known as the Muncie Visitor’s Bureau, the office has seen much turnover in its leadership over the past several years, including interim CEOs, periods without an official leader, and the last director removed by the board that oversees the non-profit late last month.

According to Vaughn, the first big step for Destination Muncie is being seen.      

“I feel that Destination Muncie has been somewhat dormant for many years,” she said. “And what I mean by that is that we have not been visible as visible as we should have been as you know, leaders within the tourism industry.”

Vaughn says that the agency is currently working to ensure that the internal structure of Destination: Muncie is a solid one and that resources they receive are being directed to the right places.

Though Vaughn has been working in Muncie for the past several years at the Horizon Convention Center, she lives in Indianapolis.  When asked, she says she’s remaining in Indy for now, but would like to live in Muncie “in the near future.”

Thomas Ouellette is our reporter and producer.  Contact him at thomas.ouellette@bsu.edu.