Page 30 The Dispatch/Maryland Coast Dispatch December 20, 2013 Make New Year’s Eve Reservation OPEN FRIDAY, SATURDAY AND SUNDAY 11 A.M.-10 P.M. YEAR-ROUND ADDITIONAL HOLIDAY HOURS: OPEN DAILY AT 11 A.M. FRIDAY, DEC. 27-JAN. 5 CHECK OUT OUR NEW MENU CRAB ALLEY’S OYSTER/BULL FRENZY SATURDAY • NOON-3 P.M. $25 PER PERSON WEEKEND CELEBRATION FOR TWO $55.95 (FRIDAY, SATURDAY AND SUNDAY) Complement Your Meal Each With A Glass Of Wine And A Dessert To Share WINE Chardonnay • White Zinfndel • Pinot Grigio Cabernet Sauvignon • Pinot Noir ... ALL YOU CAN ENJOY ... RAW OYSTERS, BEEF, HAM, TURKEY, CHICKEN WINGS, MEATBALLS AND COLE SLAW ALSO ... $5 (12) RAW OYSTERS $10 (20) STEAMED OYSTERS $10 (20) STEAMED CLAMS $7 FRIED OYSTER SANDWICH $5 OYSTER STEW $5 (5) OYSTER ROCKEFELLER . . OCTourism Strategic Plan Process Begins FROM PAGE 13 allows for the award of the RFP by the end of February, hold sessions with stake holders February through March and have the strategic plan presented for review and approval by the end of April. In August, Abbott explained to the Tourism Commission for the past three years $40,000 has been budgeted as a line item in the tourism budget to work with Equation Research, which is a full-service strategic research agency. Three years ago, an Equation Research study was conducted regarding Ocean City’s Rodney the Lifeguard marketing campaign. Last year upon the town’s advertising firm’s, MGH, suggestion the town decided to use the budget allocation toward purchasing additional media buys over conducting a study two years in a row. This year, Abbott kept the line item in the budget thinking a study would be conducted every other year. The discussion continued during a subsequent Tourism Commission meeting when Knight pointed out the Maryland Office of Tourism Development (MOTD) had recently revised its strategic plan and Ocean City should look to the working document as a guide. The MOTD’s vision statement for 2015 is “Maryland’s tourism industry, and the efforts of the Office of Tourism Development, shall be recognized as a vital economic engine for the State of Maryland, generating revenues, sustaining jobs, improving the State’s image and leveraging investments in Maryland’s tourism assets. The Office of Tourism Development will pursue its mission – increasing tourism expenditures – with a focus on accountability and results. The plan lists and outlines three goals of funding and finance, destination marketing, and product development and infrastructure.” In speaking with the state, Abbott gathered Ocean City’s own tourism strategic study can be narrowed down compared to the state’s document, which would ultimately lower the cost, as she initiated conversation among commission members in what the city’s focus should be in crafting a RFP. “Personally, I have been railing this for years. We are basically crisis managing every year without our own map to go forward, and putting it off another year puts us into another year of crisis management, so I believe time is of the essence,” said Greg Shockley, owner of Shenanigan’s Irish Pub and member of the Maryland Tourism Development Board, at that time. The Tourism Commission was in consensus to send a favorable recommendation to the full Mayor and Council to send out a RFP for a tourism strategic plan facilitator. The council this week moved that process forward. SOUP Cream Of Crab • Maryland Crab SALAD Garden Salad • Caesar Salad FRESH.LOCAL.SEAFOOD FAT LOCAL CRABS MARYLAND’S FRESHEST SEAFOOD, FROM OUR DOCKS TO YOUR TABLE ENTREES All Entrees Are Served With Your Choice Of One Side ALL-YOU-CAN-EAT SPECIALS! HAPPY HOUR FOOD AND DRINK SPECIALS (At The Bar) ANY SOUP AND SANDWICH COMBINATION $14.95 Voted Best Steamed Crabs And Crab Soup 9703 Golf Course Road, West Ocean City, Md. Crab Cake: Single Lump Crab Cake Served With A Red Pepper Remoulade Catch Of the Day: Fresh Catch Seasoned And Grilled Sirloin: 8-oz. Marinated Sirloin Chicken Breasts: Blackened And Topped With A Mango Salsa LUNCH SOUP AND SANDWICH SPECIALS DESSERT TO SHARE Warm Brownie Sunday Or Funnel Cake Strawberry Sundae 410-213-7800 • WWW.CRABALLEY.COM Full Menu Available • Groups Or Parties Welcome Plenty of Parking • Waterview Dining Available