Lamar’s Colorado Welcome Center approaching 35th anniversary – now houses a Penny Press souvenir coin machine

Penny press machine inside Lamar’s Colorado Welcome Center

As the Colorado Welcome Center in Lamar looks forward to its 35th anniversary, it has something new to celebrate. They have a Penny Press Machine! Bring your pennies and press them with a picture of the Madonna statue, the train, the petrified gas station and/or a picture of a bird and butterfly. Lamar is noted as a haven for a large variety of birds, as well as being deemed a Monarch Butterfly city.

The center is operated by 27 volunteers and their wonderful manager, Leslie Stagner. They have the pleasure of meeting individuals from all 50 states as well as foreign travelers from all over the world. The Center’s volunteers help them find brochures, maps, or just suggest destinations and directions around our beautiful state. Some travelers just need to rest a bit, enjoy the clean facilities, stretch their legs and have a chat. Depending on the year the Welcome Center can have well over 50,000 travelers coming through it.

There are 10 official Colorado Welcome Centers. Since the staff needs to be familiar with what Colorado has to offer, they take many study tours around the state. The Center’s manager provides many additional opportunities for study and socialization throughout the year.

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