The same thing year after year?

I just got back from a meeting of group travel leaders in Kansas City that was very interesting. I think I made some solid contacts but I also heard some thought-provoking comments.
One veteran planner responded to my comment that our Scottish Festival just celebrated its 17th year this year that it must be the same thing year after year and then pretended to fall asleep. I had to point out to him how untrue that assumption was -- this year alone we tried two new components for the first time -- a Scotch tasting hosted by the McPherson Museum (which sold out) and A Scottish Evening at the McPherson Opera House with a buffet, live entertainment and a Scottish country dance that more than 100 people attended.
The festival has been so successful because the mainstays are consistent from one year to the next. The big events like entertainment, clan tents, Highland athletics, dancing and drum and pipe competitions are well run. I've only been to the last three festivals but I've seen new offerings every year like the Highland cow exhibit and a rugby match.
I've been thinking of the whole reinvention idea. Performers like Madonna will reinvent themselves with each new song. Web sites like eBay are constantly tweaking and improving their business model. If you don't hone your act you become dated, kitsch and stale. Basically Madonna is still a singer and eBay is still an auction web site, but they manage to stay relevant.
The Scottish Festival has some of the most dedicated volunteers in McPherson and trust me they don't like it when you tinker with their proven formula for success. This year we tried something different and it worked. I think everyone was pleased with the Opera House event. Hopefully the festival will continue to embrace new ideas and stay fresh for years to come.

What makes a town cool?

I recently read an interesting article at budgettravel.com about the coolest small towns in America. Budget Travel has run this feature on the top 10 small towns under 10,000 in population for the last five years. The towns are nominated and voted on by readers. After perusing the lists I’ve noticed some recurring features that make these towns “cool.”
• Scenery: Beautiful beaches, tall pine trees, lakes, mountains and rivers can be found in most every “cool” town. What’s cool about this scenery is not simply that the town is conveniently located in a scenic area, the town has taken steps to make the scenery accessible. Parks have been built along waterways, wildlife centers funded in natural areas, biking and hiking paths explore the great outdoors. These small towns haven’t just built large hotels to take advantage of the scenic views, they’ve made the scenery an integral part of their identity.
• Culture: Outdoor music festivals, buildings repurposed as art galleries, paintings on the sides of barns and building for the public to view and renovated theaters all help distinguish these towns as culture-friendly communities.
• Food: Sea salt cookie bakeries, regional barbecue, wines from local vineyards – the food is as unique as the towns themselves.
• Shopping: Nearly every cool town boasted a vibrant downtown with unusual locally owned businesses. Stores that sell locally made products and cater to visitors that yearn for originality stand out like the goat cheese shop in Waitsburg, Wash., or a gift shop celebrating Kennett Square’s top agriculture export – mushrooms.
• Imported locals: Nearly every cool town story has a transplant from the big city that fell in love with the town, sold their successful business or cashed in their stock portfolio to open a gallery/bed and breakfast/café. I take this as a sign that many Americans are looking for a better quality experience when it comes to choosing where they live or vacation.

If you look at the list of what makes a town cool, you can see McPherson has many of those qualities. It takes nature to provide you with great scenery or agriculture opportunities but it really requires forward-thinking and innovative individuals to create a town that is interesting enough to draw new residents and visitors.

Civic Tourism

This quote from Dan Shilling, keynote speaker for the Civic Tourism conference I plan to attend in Colorado in August, gave me quite a bit to think about lately.
"...tourism, as the largest industry in many states and communities, has an obligation to partner with political, cultural, environmental, and economic sectors to help craft a healthy quality of life – for residents as well as visitors. That means more than 'heads in beds' or lavish websites; it means acting as a responsible corporate citizen, socially and politically. It means leadership."
As I wrestle with the mission of what the CVB is for McPherson, I like to think my job is about more than putting heads in beds and helping build up the hotel business in McPherson. After all, visitors come to McPherson to conduct business, play sports, visit relatives, enjoy leisure activities and not to specifically stay in a certain hotel. Hotels are the byproduct of a vibrant community and not the other way around.
I had the good fortune to run into Bob Workman at two meetings I attended this week. Bob is the director of the Discovery Flint Hills Center in Manhattan that will open in 2012. Bob has a unique vision for the center to be primarily a place to tell the story of the Flint Hills and to be a non-collecting museum. He plans to have staff that is more geared to marketing and no curator. The center is being built with Star Bonds money and once built, will receive 1 percent of the 6.25 percent guest tax in Manhattan. The center will be a true draw for visitors and be adjacent to a hotel, convention center and public park that are also part of the project.
The more I talked with Bob, the more I liked his project. It is being backed by the city, works closely with the local university as a place for faculty to share their research, has a public area that benefits the citizens of Manhattan. It is a place to bring in traveling displays, artists, and host events in the community. It brings more traffic to the downtown shopping area and creates new jobs. I like it because it does as much for the residents as it does for visitors.
I also recently visited Dodge City and the Boot Hill center for the first time. Dodge has had a sales tax in place for a number of years called the "Why Not Dodge?" tax. Proceeds from the sales tax have helped complete the Boot Hill Visitor Center, a raceway and now a convention center. These projects are primarily geared to tourist but they do create jobs and help preserve a part of Dodge City's history.
Juxtapose this with the privately owned casino facility with its state-owned gaming equipment on the outskirts of town and I wonder who, if anyone, receives a benefit from it.

Celebrating others' talents

Today I stood mid-stage at Greer Auditorium at Central Christian College. My focus wasn't on an audience but the black box theater stage right. What I saw there was just as breath-taking and full of drama as any theater production -- our 16 by 32-foot mural was coming into shape under the steady hands of Naomi Ullum and her students. I'd sat with Naomi and brainstormed and looked at her sketches but seeing the Globe Refiner mural materialize and come together so beautifully made me very happy. I don't think it's a stretch to say when the mural goes up at Kansas and Ash in August it will stop traffic.
Tonight we announced the winners of our 2010 photo contest. We'll use all 12 winners in our 2011 calendar that we publish with the McPherson Sentinel. Choosing just 12 photos out of the 285 submitted was incredibly tough. When I look at the images of McPherson seen through the eyes of so many talented people I feel really proud.
It's this part of my job that I love the most -- finding ways to celebrate others' talents and sharing it with visitors and residents alike.
Most days I love my job but today, I really loved it.

Walk in the park

It's Friday afternoon and I'm excited for the weekend to get here. I don't have any grand plans but a few things to do at home this weekend. Tonight I'll walk in Relay For Life on my friend Amy's team at Wall Park. Tomorrow we will show a free movie in the park at Lakeside Park. Sunday I hope to go swimming at the McPherson Water Park with my kids. I guess my weekend is centering around parks.
When I first visited McPherson in 2006 we drove around town and I was struck by the beauty and the quantity of McPherson's parks. I've lived in 13 different communities in my life and the parks here are by far the most beautiful of any town I've lived in. It says much about the city's commitment to the quality of life for its citizens. But beautiful parks don't just happen.
Consider this from the city's Web site www.mcpcity.com:
The City of McPherson Park Department employees 6 full-time workers who maintain 14 city parks and public rights-of-way totaling approximately 300 acres. A wide range of activities are available in our city parks. Activities include fishing, swimming, picnicking, tennis, raquetball, basketball, and ice skating. There are also batting cages, baseball and softball fields, frisbee golf, jogging, fitness trails and a skateboard facility.
I know the parks department also takes care of the planters and the plaza downtown. They do hire additional summer help, but I'm telling you it's all I can do to keep my little yard mowed. I can't imagine 300 acres.
Get out to the park this weekend. Take a pic of your family in one of our parks, send it to me, and I'll give you a free McPherson Frisbee. Have a great weekend!

You are our best marketing tool

Nothing speaks louder to the benefits of a community than a person who lives there, who loves their hometown and is excited to welcome visitors to it.
We recently worked with Perkins, EconoLodge and Best Western to successfully bid for the 2012 Kansas State Firefighters Association annual convention. KSFFA has held their convention in McPherson before in 2003 but the whole bid would not have happened if a local member of the organization had not stepped forward and asked for our help in bidding on the convention.
The McPherson Fire Department and Capt. Wade Hall in particular worked with us to bid for the 250 plus person convention. To make it work we’ll use convention facilities at Perkins and Best Western that are just across the parking lot from each other.
We have other convention and meeting facilities as well at The Cedars and the McPherson Opera House that can accommodate large groups.
I know McPherson has a wide and varied workforce and population and many of us are members of one or more associations or organizations that hold district, regional or statewide meetings.
In April alone we saw five groups – American Legion, Optimist Club, County Treasurers and Registers of Deed, Kansas Twins Association and the Wordfest Writers Conference – hold meetings in McPherson. The CVB worked with each of those to provide gift bags, door prizes, name tags and printed information to assist with their event. We are here to help and if you would like to bid on a convention for your organization, we are the best place to start. The CVB can be a go-between the organization and convention centers, hotels, entertainment venues and caterers when pulling your bid together. If you are successful, there are many ways we can help as I mentioned before.
Finding local members is the best way for us to make a connection with an organization. Conventions can pump thousands of dollars into a local economy, boosting guest and sales tax. A favorable impression of our town can create return business, possibly even future residents.
Here’s a few talking points when considering why you should hold your meeting in McPherson:
• Centrally located: If you’re tired of driving to the eastern portion of the state, centralize your meeting in McPherson. We are less than 300 miles from every city in Kansas.
• Affordability: Convention room rates are consistently under $80 and when blocking large blocks of rooms you can save even more.
• Top-notch service: I’ve personally worked with the staff at all of our convention facilities and customer satisfaction is their No. 1 priority. If you don’t have a great experience, come talk to me and I’ll pass your concerns on to the right person.

• Modern equipment: Best Western recently upgraded its A/V system and The Cedars is a new facility with modern equipment. The sound and projection at the Opera House, as John Holecek will tell you, are superb.
• Activities: No matter what the interest of your group is, we can find outside activities to suit them – hunting, shopping, sports, art, historical tours – you name it.

Give Pam and I a call at the CVB, 241-3340 or check out our group meeting planner online at www.visitmcpherson.com.

Changing plans

Nobody likes to hear the word “no.” Rejection can be a tough pill to swallow and I’ve had my share of both big and small rejections since I started this job. “No” can seem like the end or can simply be the catalyst to make you try a different path and eventually accomplish the goal in a different and better way.
Take for example my recent application to get the 1936 Olympic Gold Medal Globe Refiners Basketball Team honored as an 8 Wonders of Kansas History. I was really excited because I think it’s the best shot we’ve had in any of the categories, but we didn’t make the cut for the top 24. Does that mean the story of this history-making team isn’t worthy of being told? Absolutely not. So instead of using the publicity from 8 Wonders, McPherson has just got to work harder at getting our story out on our own.
Another project I’m working on that has been meeting with some challenges lately is to paint a mural downtown this summer. I’ve been lucky to work with some great people on this project, but the site we selected has presented some real logistical challenges and the subject matter – industrial history – has been a surprisingly hard nut to crack outside of the history of the plastics industry. I still like the idea and the location but it is a much bigger project than I can pull off successfully in the next two months.
The two disappointments have got me thinking – why not do a more manageable mural about the Globe Refiners this year and shelve the other until next year? Let’s create our own publicity, toot our own horn and move forward. There will be more information available in the next month about how you can get involved and help with this project.
Another great McPherson event that’s coming up is our 97th Annual All Schools Day week of activities. I have a child who will participate in the Madathon for the first time this year and I can’t wait. During the week I’m sure we’ll hit the carnival and go to the May Fete activities. We’ll of course go to the parade and finish the week off at the free movie in the park Saturday night. Friendship and Memories seems like the perfect theme for this year’s event. I have buttons and T-shirts for sale at my office if you’d like to get a souvenir. Buttons are required at all ASD activities so be sure you have yours. You can find more information about All Schools Day at www.allschoolsday.com.