Public input to be sought for direction of tourism group

The Marion County Board of Commissioners agreed at their meeting Feb. 7 to seek public input on what direction to take in starting a county tourism committee, replacing the defunct economic development council.

Commissioner Dan Holub said the two biggest issues in setting up this committee involve the need for goals and how to structure the committee.

?I want everyone to get fair representation,? he said, ?and include agricultural people, who have been getting overlooked.?

Holub said a lot of ideas come out of rural communities, not just the smaller towns.

Commissioner Randy Dallke said at the final MCEDC meeting held in Goessel, he heard it mentioned that the group needed a new direction.

Citing an example, Dallke said it is like some people are very interested in selling horseshoes in one location, but those same people may not be interested in selling the rest of the horse.

In his analogy, Dallke wanted to make the point that while some people have a passion for a specific goal, others may not, which made the entire MCEDC group ineffective.

Another issue regarding the creation of a new tourism and/or marketing committee would be the number of people on that board.

It was suggested that the main tourism or marketing group come up with three names representing each of the three commission districts, rather than going with more than 20 members representing all 12 towns.

Chairman Roger Fleming said his concern is that if we have a tourism/marketing committee and if three, four or five people say they will work on tourism, but not marketing, is that enough people.

?What happens if the (group) members are assigned with the task of doing marketing for the whole county or tourism for the whole county and they burn out?? he asked.

Participation

Fleming said he was thinking about coming up with ideas for specific events that could receive countywide participation.

For example, what if theoretically someone in Florence has a garden and wants to be on a garden event committee. That person could speak with the Goessel Garden Club and a lady in Hillsboro that has a garden center would also be interested in starting some event.

?They would be working with people interested in it,? he said.

?It is always easier to work with people interested in something, whether that?s a flower show, lawn and garden or whatever. I guess the idea of having a specific committee is the best idea, but maybe a committee could develop ideas and then search for volunteers.?

Once the ideas are established, the next step would be in finding people interested in taking those and running with them, Fleming said.

Economic Development Director Teresa Huffman would be the liaison who could get the ideas out and how to accomplish that goal and the volunteers interested could come forward.

?It seems this would be a workable way to handle it rather than having a committee that only decides what they want to do and then goes about trying to make it a reality,? he said.

In other words, get the ideas, ask for ideas and get volunteers.

?If there are no volunteers,? Fleming said, ?the idea is dropped with no pressure. We have got to have volunteers first before we can make it work.?

Fleming said he wasn?t sure about all the ways the county promotes the reservoir and county lake, but there are a lot of things here that bring people in.

?What kind of promotions are we doing and what are we looking to do to really promote these things to other than fishermen??

Other suggestions

Anita Goertzen of Goessel, who served as chairperson of MCEDC said Goessel Mayor Peggy Jay had some thoughts about a new committee.

?(Jay) wanted me to say that she thought three people from each of the commission districts was a good idea and that board would serve more in an advisory capacity.?

The group could meet quarterly, and along with Huffman,would get together with other groups, but serve more as a sounding board.

?The main agenda wouldn?t be to get on the board to get rid of (Huffman),? Goertzen said, which was the perception by some on MCEDC.

?That was the main problem with the other group from what I saw,? she said. ?It was always a hidden agenda and not what was best for the county.?

Goertzen said her idea for a new group would be one person from each community.

?There is a lot that can be done for tourism and marketing, but everybody has to be on the same page,? she said.

Volunteers

Huffman said she believes that marketing and tourism should be separate.

?I think this group needs to be about tourism,? she said.

Holub agreed that tourism is a big part of the county and it needs to be promoted.

Fleming suggested they start with tourism and see where that goes.

For Dallke, the discussion involves growth.

?I think growth is what we have in Marion County and that is what we are interested in,? he said.

The commissioners unanimously directed Huffman to begin searching for volunteers to serve on a Marion County Tourism Committee.

For those interested in tourism activities and would like to assist in planning and participating in trade shows and community events, they are encouraged to call Huffman at 620-382-8830 or email her at: thuffman@marioncoks.net.

More from Hillsboro Free Press
Senior Scribbles (7-31-19)
HILLSBORO Senior Center This week we come to the end of July...
Read More