Tuesday, Jul. 08, 2008

Access Hollywood star to showcase Myrtle Beach

Access Hollywood host and Myrtle Beach native Nancy O'Dell and a film crew are in town today to shoot a segment about her hometown that will air this summer.

She received the key to Myrtle Beach at 1:30 p.m. at the Myrtle Beach Convention Center.

The segment will be the first in a series about celebrity hometowns, said Joe Siyam, segment producer at Access Hollywood. An air date has not yet been set.

O'Dell, who grew up in Myrtle Beach and started her career at WPDE, will be visiting several places - her house, friends' houses, the former school she attended that is now the Grand Strand YMCA, the beach, the Myrtle Beach Convention Center and Sea Captain's House. "It's her family's favorite restaurant,'' Siyam said.

This is the type of publicity that tourism leaders crave - showcasing the area to a national audience.

On Thursday, the Travel Channel's Passports to Great Weekends, with host Samantha Brown, will feature Myrtle Beach. To get that plum spot, however, the local chambers of commerce had to buy around $1 million in advertising on the channel.

When Samantha Brown visited in May, she, too, received a key to Myrtle Beach, as well as the key to North Myrtle Beach.

Read more on The Sun News' tourism blog, Inside the Industry.

More details will be posted as they become available.