Dan Lennon - New Tourism director can boast show business pedigree

Dan Lennon, director of Missouri's Division of Tourism.
Dan Lennon, director of Missouri's Division of Tourism.

Missouri's new director of the Division of Tourism knows how to draw a crowd.

As a member of a musical family, Dan Lennon entertained for more than a decade at the Lawrence Welk Resort Theater in Branson.

And, as a veteran in the marketing and tourism industries, he plans to enhance efforts to promote tourism in Missouri.

If Lennon looks familiar, you may have seen him perform as a member of the Lennon Brothers Swing Music Show. Along with brothers Dan and Bill - and Bill's wife, Gail - they performed regularly at the Lawrence Welk theater from 1994-2002.

Lennon is one of 11 siblings, and he shared the Branson stage with a group of his sisters, The Lennon Sisters, who were featured on television's "The Lawrence Welk Show." Sisters Janet, Kathy, Peggy and Dianne were the original members.

"Back then, sister Dianne was dating Lawrence Welk Jr., who liked their sound and arranged for them to sing for his dad while he was sick in bed," Lennon said. "They debuted during Christmas of 1955 and were on the show for 12 years."

Performers from the television show also barnstormed the Midwest, Lennon said, and he and his brothers toured as a folk-rock band specializing in music from the 1940s.

"After Lawrence Welk died in 1992," Lennon said, "his son was searching for a venue to promote his father's legacy and founded the theater in Branson. He talked to Kathy, and a bunch of us moved there in 1993. We call it the "Branson conversion.'"

The "bunch" totaled 29 members of the extended Lennon family, including spouses and children. And, during the next decade, 19 of them performed at the Lawrence Welk theater. And they're not done; The Lennon Sisters (now a trio with two of the originals, Kathy and Janet, and sister Mimi) continue to perform in Branson.

Lennon and his wife, Ginny, are the parents of two children and live in Columbia.

During the decade when Lennon performed at the Lawrence Welk Resort Theater, he also directed the venue's marketing. A native of the state of California, he has a bachelor's degree in English and a master's in applied linguistics, both from UCLA.

In 2003, he became vice president of marketing and public relations for the Branson Convention and Visitors Bureau (CVB), and another decade later joined the Missouri Division of Tourism in 2013 as director for strategic communication. He was elevated to director in April.

Lennon expects to continue and enhance the agency's "Enjoy the Show" theme unveiled in 2013. The theme's five components are: arts and culture, outdoor recreation, nightlife and entertainment, family fun, and sports.

He also plans to explore some niche markets, including international marketing, joining with other states in cooperative marketing and marketing specialized activities, such as attracting motorcycle enthusiasts.

In addition, he is promoting what he calls "authentic experiences," such as agri-tourism and farmers' markets or a Highway 36 experience traveling through towns associated with Mark Twain, Walt Disney and other notable Missourians.

Lennon believes his experience as an entertainer has helped him to understand and meet people's expectations.

And he believes his marketing background at the Lawrence Welk Resort Theater and Branson CVB will help him direct Missouri's tourism promotion. "It's the same principles," he said, "but on a larger canvas."