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Illinois Route 66 Scenic Byway Announces Selfies On 66 Grand Prize Winner
Aug 01, 2016

For the last year, the Illinois Route 66 Scenic Byway has encouraged travelers to share their Selfie photos along Illinois Route 66, and each month our social media followers have voted for their favorite, and will continue to do so. The monthly photo with the most likes/comments/shares won an Illinois Route 66 commemorative license plate and baseball hat. Once per year, the Byway lets voters choose from the 12 monthly winners, and the photo that gets the most likes/comments/shares wins the grand prize: a basket full of Illinois Route 66 memorabilia, gift certificates, and more! This year, our very first grand prize winner is Lenny Scinto from the Chicagoland area (see the winning selfie taken in Pontiac, IL). Congratulations!

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Voting Begins on the Grand Prize Winner for the Selfies on 66 Contest
Jul 06, 2016
It's time to vote on our grand prize winner for the Selfies on 66 contest! Here are our 12 monthly winners from the past year: It's up to you to tell us which one you like best. Place your vote on our Facebook, Instagram or Twitter pages, and we'll send the person with the most votes our grand prize (which includes a Route 66 poster, sign, and swag from some of our Illinois communities!). Then keep the contest going by submitting your selfie at selfieson66.com! #MyIL66
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Cruisin’ with Lincoln on 66 Visitors Center First Anniversary Includes Economic Impact Assessment
Apr 27, 2016
The Sound of Illinois Chorus performed "Get Your Kicks on Route 66" and other favorites to kick off (appropriately) the one year anniversary of the opening of the Cruisin’ with Lincoln on 66 Visitors Center, located on the ground floor of the McLean County Museum of History in Bloomington, Illinois on April 25th. The Museum also provided free admission to the new permanent exhibit gallery, Making a Home, which explores the experience of living, working, farming, and creating community in McLean County.
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Route 66: The Road Ahead Initiative announces Name & Logo Contest
Feb 25, 2016
The Route 66: The Road Ahead Initiative has announced a Name & Logo Contest, designed to produce a name and logo for the new organization it is creating. The past two years, a group of Rt. 66 stakeholders, facilitated by the World Monuments Fund and the National Park Service, have been working to establish a new organization dedicated to fostering collaboration amongst all Route 66 stakeholders, with a specific mission to: Revitalize and sustain Route 66 as a national icon, for the benefit of all Route 66 communities, travelers, and businesses/attractions, through collaborative partnerships focused on promotion, preservation, research/education, and economic development.
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Pontiac Breaking Ground for New Hotel
Dec 04, 2015
Pontiac’s newest hotel has taken the first big step towards its completion, which is expected in 2016.  A group of city officials, representatives from the Pontiac Area Chamber of Commerce, the Pontiac Hotel Developers, LLC, Hotel Development Services of Oxford, Ohio, and the hotel’s new management team, Monchino Management LLC of Herrin, IL, conducted the ground breaking ceremony on Wednesday, December 2nd at the site of the new hotel near the Interstate 55 interchange. 
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Route 66 Collaboration Workshops Final Report
Nov 24, 2015
The Route 66: The Road Ahead Steering Committee has completed its review and analysis of feedback collected from the over 300 Rt. 66 stakeholders who took part in this past summer's series of Collaboration Workshops. Based on its discussions, the Steering Committee has produced the Collaboration Workshops Final Report which can be accessed here.
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Charlie Parker's Diner Owner Wins National Thomas' Breakfast Battle
Oct 26, 2015
Congratulations go out to Mike Murphy, owner of Charlie Parker's Diner in Springfield, IL, who won $25,000 last weekend in a national breakfast recipe competition. Murphy made it to the final round of two competitors, who battled it out Saturday morning, October 24th on Fox & Friends morning news show.  Murphy whipped up a famous breakfast horseshoe for the final round of the competition. Online voting closed at 11pm Sunday October 25th, and Murphy emerged the winner of the Thomas' Breakfast Battle.
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End of an Era - Shea's Gas Station to be Auctioned Off
Sep 25, 2015
If you are thinking about coming to Springfield to see the iconic Shea’s Gas Station (from the outside as it is now closed), make your plans soon, as the entire contents and property are to be auctioned off in three separate auctions from October 10th through November 21st.
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The Late Martin Milner to be Honored at International Mother Road Festival
Sep 10, 2015
Actor Martin Milner, who was featured in the first International Route 66 Mother Road Festival in Springfield in 2002, will be memorialized at this year’s event. Event organizers say he will be honored with the first Martin Milner Award, which will be given to the best restored police vehicle on display at the car show, September 25-27 in downtown Springfield. The award ceremonies take place Sunday the 27th.
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Pontiac Route 66 Mural Earns National Geographic Calendar Cover
Aug 19, 2015
Pontiac's own world's largest painted Route 66 shield mural is the featured cover photograph on one of National Geographic's 2016 promotional calendars. The Route 66-themed calendar includes 12 stunning images taken along the historic "Mother Road." Pontiac's shield mural is the image for December, and was selected as the calendar's impressive cover photo.
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