Southwest Missouri News--Branson

by Carol Harris, Branson area, and Mary Engler-Guccione, Joplin area

Stars, musical notes, hills and lakes have been incorporated into the new Branson city government logo approved Oct. 26 by the city's Board of Aldermen.

"We wanted to move away from the 'Guitar B' logo. We are more than country music," said Jerry Adams, communication director for the city of Branson. "The search began seven months ago when we got a committee of local citizens to look at some different designs submitted by local residents."

Adams said the logo will be used on city stationery, city vehicles including city police cars, a new city flag and the doors to City Hall. He said the city has also been approached with requests to use the logo on T-shirts.

"We are looking into trademarking the logo," he said. He also said the city's logo was not intended to necessarily represent Branson as a whole. "We are not forcing it on local businesses. The Branson chamber has it own logo, and many of the theaters have their own logos," Adams said.