NORRISTOWN, Pa. – The Philadelphia area is expecting a huge summer tourism season and helping to prepare Montgomery County for the expected influx is the Valley Forge Tourism and Convention Board. Leader Mike Brown and several of his team gave the commissioners an update on their preparations.

As part of the country’s 250th anniversary, the Philadelphia area will be a focal point with the PGA Golf championship next week at Aronimink Golf Course in Newtown Square, the FIFA World Cup in June and July at the Lincoln Financial Field, the U.S. Amateur Golf Championship at Merion Golf Club, and the Major League All-Star Game at Citizens Bank Park in July.

Brown said that in May, June and July, Montgomery County will see total room revenue growth of 15%, an exceptional number for the hospitality industry. He expects the economic impact of the summer events to reach $2.8 billion.

Jake Madigan, the Tourism Bureau’s financial head, noted that in the first quarter of 2026 room revenue was 6.1% ahead of forecast. For all of 2026 Madigan expects room revenue to grow 4.6%.

V.P. of Marketing, Rachel Riley, described how the Convention Board partnered with CBS during the first-round March Madness games and achieved 4 times as many viewers as that weekend’s NBA and NHL games. The Board also launched a campaign of targeted Google ads. In addition, they geo-targeted a two-mile radius around the NFL draft in Pittsburgh and achieved thousands of impressions and a high click-through rate, according to Riley.

During the PGA golf tournament, she said the Visitors Board will run targeted ads on Sirus Radio’s golf channel. For the World Cup the Board is working to set up a gigantic watch party with food trucks and giant screen TVs in King of Prussia. She also pointed out some other events sponsored by the Board including the Travel Rally and Montco Golf Classic at the Whitemarsh Valley Country Club, the Valley Forge Freedom from Hunger event, and the Montgomery County Jazz Fest.

In a separate but related matter the commissioners reappointed Dedren Bailey and Howard Brown to the Valley Forge Tourism and Convention Board.

Coroner’s Presentation

Dr. Janine Darby presented the Coroner’s Annual Update. Darby noted that her “office’s work extends beyond death investigations. It is involved in public health, public safety, family support, prevention, education and community collaboration.”

“The office investigates sudden, unexplained, traumatic deaths,” Darby noted. “Our mission is to determine the cause and manner of death while treating every family with compassion.” In addition, Darby pointed out, her office issues death certificates, positively identifies the decedent, locates and notifies the next of kin, secures the decedent’s property, and approves cremations.

She reported that there are approximately 8,000 deaths a year in Montgomery County out of a population of over 856,000 people. The reportable deaths that the coroner investigates include overt criminal violence or suggestion of violence in any form, homicides, accidents, suicides, sudden unattended deaths of persons who are not under the care of a physician, fetal deaths greater than 16 weeks’ gestation, unidentified or unidentifiable persons, and death in a public institution such as a correctional facility.

In 2025, 2,842 deaths were reported to the coroner’s office, six more than the 2,836 reported in 2024. The highest number of the past decade, Darby pointed out, was 4,112 in the Covid year of 2020. The top three causes of death were cardiac events, falls, and drug use. In response to a question from commissioner Thomas DiBello at the 2025 presentation, Darby listed the types of falls that cause deaths in the county. By far, falls from the same level are the most common, followed far behind by falls down stairs. The age groups from 70 to 79, 80 to 89 and 90 to 99 have over 95% of the deaths from falls, Darby concluded.

Darby told the commissioners there are five manners of death: accident, suicide, natural, homicide, and undetermined. These are separate from the medical cause of death, she pointed out. The largest manner of death is natural followed by accident and suicide.

Contracts

The commissioners approved a Contract Amendment Civil Serve Process Software to Tyler Technologies, Incorporated, Dallas, TX, in the amount of $4,959.29. The original contract provides for annual software maintenance and support for the County’s civil process automation system for the period of 12/24/2025 through 12/23/2026. The Amendment provides for a correction to the incorrect total cost referenced in the original award request. The revised contract value is $39,180.54.