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 things we don’t always see clearly are why people want to come to our towns. It’s no big deal to us to go down to the small beach at the lake and enjoy swimming. Or drive out to the woods and fish by the creek. How about enjoying the dirt track races? Or park the car on main street and sit on the benches and listen to live music on Thursdays? We can just walk in to the fire station and ask for a tour and be treated to a hands on amazing try on the uniform kind of tour! Many things we take for granted we assume others wouldn’t want to travel and pay to do. We would be wrong!
This summer as you enjoy time with your families and friends, think about each day as an adventure. Bringing more people to our community as visitors is the first step towards economic development. Seeing what an area offers in the way of recreation and entertainment helps to get people thinking ‘maybe I could live in a community like this.’
Can you really just drop into a fire house and get a tour for a child? Who would I contact in Wichita?
We did here in Webster City! Call your local fire station (or stop by) and simply ask them if you can bring your little one by for a visit. It’s really that simple. You can always ask to speak to the chief and ask if they have any programming for kids to meet the firefighters and tour the station. Most stations do – and they love kids!