Tourism as Economic Development

It makes sense.  Get people from outside of your community to come visit your natural resources, your events, your community.  Have them shop in town, eat at the restaurants, get gas in town, stay overnight in your hotels and that will stimulate your economy.  We can all see that picture pretty clearly. Some of the…

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One Person Can’t Do Everything

One person can’t do everything, I know – I’ve tried. One person can not be everything to everybody.  I know – I’ve tried. It’s why mission statements and manifestos are so important.  They help you to focus and bring you back to what is important.  They are your ‘why’.  Each of us needs a reason,…

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5 Reasons to Join the Chamber

Becky McCray and I co-hosted a webinar on June 8 and it went so well. We had a lot of questions that we answered and I was really excited about the progress of our webinars and the direction we are going with SaveYour.Town. Well, there was one thing that did bother me about the webinar.…

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Sunday Update: Birthday

Wednesday I was 61.  It was a nice day to have a birthday.  I worked.  I saw the move Nice Guys with Keri and Kevin.  I ate at Applebees.  I had cupcakes.  The next day my friend Gigi sent me gluten free cupcakes that were ridiculously delicious.  I had several of those.  I had bread…

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Sunday Blab is Back!

SaveYour.Town Sunday Blab is back! Becky and I will be blabbing tomorrow, Sunday June 5, at 6 pm CST.  May was a busy month for both of us and we’re happy to be back blabbing with you tomorrow.

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31 Days

I’ve blogged consecutively for 31 days now. I was given a challenge to do so, and I did it.  It was one of my busiest months professionally, and still I blogged.  Some of the posts were reposted from articles I had written for my enewsletter.  Some of the posts were pictures I had taken at…

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Saturday at JunqueFest

This is the 3rd year for JunqueFest in Webster City.  84 Vendors are in Wilson Brewer Park through Sunday – rain or shine.  No admission, junque, repurposed, antiques, barn wood, rustique, signs, yard art – you name, it’s here.  Live music and fair food too – we’ve got a little bit of everything.  I’ll let…

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Let’s talk about downtown

Joseph Minicozzi, AICP is the principal of Urban3, LLC, a consulting company of downtown Asheville, real estate developer with Public Interest Projects. Prior to creating Urban3, he served as the Executive Director for the Asheville Downtown Association.  I got to see Joe speak at the Downtown Summit in West Des Moines in August 2015. What he said…

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Rule Breaker Award

I’ve been nominated for the Rule Breaker Award!  That’s pretty exciting stuff. Just what is the Rule Breaker Award? It’s awards that are given to entrepreneurs who do things differently, who don’t exactly follow the rules as we know them.  The website says it best: We think entrepreneurs should be celebrated for the things they…

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Solar Car in the Hood

One day I’m in the park just minding my own business, actually working on setting up things for JunqueFest and I see this cool airplane looking car coming down the street.  Followed by a truck pulling a trailer and a bunch of college kids.  Of course I whipped out my smart phone and shot a…

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