Sarah Howard named Visit Pleasant Prairie Executive Director

PLEASANT PRAIRIE  — Visit Pleasant Prairie Board of Directors is pleased to announce Sarah Howard as Executive Director, effective Nov. 3.

Howard began with Visit Pleasant Prairie shortly after its inception in 2019 as Director of Marketing and Communications and was promoted to interim Executive Director in June 2022. Heavily invested in Visit Pleasant Prairie and the entire community, Howard has been instrumental in building the foundation on which Visit Pleasant Prairie is based.

In her role, Howard will continue to conceptualize and spearhead initiatives within Visit Pleasant Prairie including the Halloween and Christmas Holiday Lights Tours. The recent inaugural Halloween Lights Tour that Howard presented was a huge success, welcoming thousands of visitors and community members to Pleasant Prairie to view 20 spectacular home light tours of Pleasant Prairie residents. The Christmas Holiday Lights Tour is set for Dec. 12-26.

Additionally, Visit Pleasant Prairie is pleased to announce that after Howard’s successful conceptualization and subsequent launch of a pop-up biergarten that took place over a period of three days in July, her advocacy for a brick-and-mortar beer garden with permanent bathrooms, seating and an entertainment stage is planned to come into fruition in 2023.

“Sarah’s vision, expertise and drive clearly make her the best person to lead Pleasant Prairie’s tourism efforts.”

– Mike Pollocoff, Pleasant Prairie board chairman

The Lake Andrea Beer Garden, located across the lake from the Pleasant Prairie RecPlex, is scheduled to be available for the public to enjoy in 2023 pending final approval from the Village’s Board of Trustees. It will provide visitors another reason to enjoy the unique beauty of Prairie Springs Park, as it serves as one of the many drivers for Pleasant Prairie being a destination for all to enjoy.

Howard’s investment and knowledge within this industry goes beyond Kenosha County with her involvement as a Task Force Committee Member and Conference Planning Committee Member within Destinations International, the global association for Destination Marketing Organizations (DMOs), which Visit Pleasant Prairie is designated as. Chosen as one of only 20 people to serve on this exclusive international Task Force, Howard brings her expertise while gleaning how other members from around the world drive destination economic impact, job creation, community sustainability and quality of life to their destinations to apply to Visit Pleasant Prairie.

Howard will continue to work hand in hand with the Visit Pleasant Prairie Board.

“Sarah’s vision, expertise, and drive clearly make her the best person to lead Pleasant Prairie’s tourism efforts; and the economic development derived from tourism to improve the quality of life in our Village,” Pleasant Prairie board chairman Mike Pollocoff said. “The Board of Directors are excited for her future with Visit Pleasant Prairie.”

Howard is a graduate of Saint Mary’s University of Minnesota and has served on their Alumni Board of Directors and was noted as being the youngest alum to be appointed to that position.

She lives in Pleasant Prairie with her family and has been a resident of Kenosha County for nine years and Pleasant Prairie for almost five of those years.