DESTINATION Southern Downs will welcome a second member to the board this year with Bev Ruskey joining the team.

Bev opened Spring Creek Mountain Cafe and Cottages in 2002 and is now set to increase visitation to the Southern Downs.

She was a member of Southern Downs and Granite Belt Regional Tourism, which later morphed into Southern Queensland Country Tourism.

Bev has served on the Warwick Tourism and Events Board and has also been involved with the tourism transition group.

She now sits on the interim board of Destination Southern Downs.

She is one of the organisers of the annual Southern Downs Harvest Lunch, held at historic Melrose Station in Killarney.

The lunch was an idea to promote the scenic Killarney region and also food and wine from the Southern Downs.

Bev is very proud that everything served at the lunch comes entirely from our region and the proceeds from the lunch go to a different Killarney charity.

This year's Harvest Lunch raised $20,000 for the Killarney First Responders, the CWA and the Killarney Rec Club.

On the council's ambitious plan to have one united tourism group for the entire Southern Downs, Bev said: "Initially I was sceptical, but decided to make the time to attend all the workshops put on by team tourism.

"I was impressed that the lady who took these workshops came from a region of Canada not dissimilar to our own."

Bev appreciated that the operators who attended these workshops were vocal and the interaction was robust. She said she also appreciated the fact the consultant spent three months in the region, to get a true feeling for the area.

"When her strategy was presented, I could envisage that the Southern Downs, this large, diverse country area with so many different facets to it, be it wine, agriculture, events, food, mountains, waterfalls, dams, spectacular views and great country hospitality, positioned as it is so close to a major capital city, was poised for a great future.

"We are working for a common goal; the prosperity of the Southern Downs."