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Marshall Tourism Consortium Brainstorming GatheringMarch 2006 Attendees: Mayor Connie Latimer opened the meeting with introductions and an invitation to all present to work toward a common goal of promoting Marshall for the benefit of all. She expressed confidence in the ability of the group gathered to set a direction for the course of future Marshall promotion efforts. The mayor turned the meeting over to Sally Poole of owner of Poole Advertising of Hannibal, Missouri and Rose Anne Huck, the Marshall arm of Poole Advertising and member of the Marshall Chamber. After introductions, our first task was to perform a team building exercise which encouraged creative thinking and cooperation with people we were not well acquainted with. The teams showed creativity and excellent cooperative skills in completing the task of building the tallest free-standing tower possible with the Legos provided. We moved on to begin the task of defining ourselves as a community and doing our best to build a list of all the sites, activities, events and entities which could be include in a list of “things to do and see in Marshall, Missouri.” Cynthia Crawford shared a story of a trip to Marshall, Texas, where a question of “what to do and where to eat” was met with a declaration that there was nothing to see or do in Marshall, Texas. She is determined to make sure that doesn’t happen in Marshall, Missouri. It was generally conceded that we will need to educate our residents as well as people outside the Marshall area about the interesting things there are to see and do here. Much of what might be considered special by outsiders is taken for granted by locals. A starter list of points of interest was provide with the meeting agenda. These comments and additions were made to this list: Sally asked the question, “What kinds of opportunities can we consider to form a “Promotional Corridor” with other communities?” These can be very powerful marketing efforts. Here are the answers and comments on these kinds of opportunity: We considered the importance of branding Marshall. It is extremely important that we come up with a slogan and symbol for Marshall that can be used in all promotions city-wide or private that promotes Marshall as a tourism destination so that we can establish as identity with our target audience. Ideas which came out of this brainstorming session include: There is a migration happening where people from the East and West coasts are migrating to the Mid-west -we need to promote Marshall as a great place to live; need slogan and logo; Group of photographers working all over the country said of Marshall, “People are so friendly here that Marshall has set the standard for hospitality” We are at the crossroads of Highways 65 and 70, List “135 things to do” or a shorter list of “85 things you can do on a Saturday”. Home of 12,487 nice people and one old grouch! Carol Schupp had seen Atchison, Kansas do a wonderful thing for visitors with signs on utility and light poles showing where points of interest could be found, within Marshall we could do similar signs on light poles, etc. promoting and directing visitors to local attractions and points of interest. Possible radio station frequency promoting Marshall events and tourist attractions. Slogan possibilities: Marshall - we know what really counts or we’re good at what really counts; Marshall, your home away from home, what you take for granted is available here in Marshall, Marshall - a caring compassionate community, Marshall-now you’re home, Marshall 70 miles from ANYWHERE; Marshall, it just feels like home; All roads lead to Marshall; Marshall is the biggest little town you’ll ever visit; Marshall - a great place to live and play; Marshall, small town hospitality with big town possibilities; Marshall your home away from home; Marshall, it’s more than meets the eye; Marshall, Missouri’s best kept secret; You can do anything from Marshall; Escape to Marshall; the best kept secret in Missouri; There’s a New Marshall in Town; Bringing together the best of the past and the future for young and old alike; If you knew Marshall 10 years ago, you don’t know Marshall now; Absolutely, Positively. The best place to visit, live, work and play; Marshall where you can enjoy life’s simple pleasures; If you haven’t laughed today, you haven’t been in wonder full Marshall, Missouri; Pursue your wonder in beautiful Marshall, Missouri Thinking about the image we want to portray, these comments were made: If different entities in Marshall each do their own thing, our tourism dollars will be diluted in the impact that they can have for the community as a whole. A joint effort will net us greater impact overall per dollar spent. Mykel was able to let us know that the bed tax has netted about $60,000 in its first six months. The state of Missouri offers matching dollars for tourism promotion. Sedalia has taken advantage of these dollars for a number of years. We have yet to make a request but can do so now with the dollars we are generating. The deadline for the local tourism grants is March 30, 2006. Any funds not distributed at that time may be made available later in the year. The Tourism Committee through the Chamber of Commerce is working on an overall marketing proposal. These meetings are meant to give more people an opportunity to add information and ideas to that effort. There are six travel centers sponsored by the state of Missouri. We have materials in some of them but we need to monitor their supplies and augment them and update them as necessary. Attendees were asked if they would like to be a part of a follow up gathering on this project. Many said they would. Another meeting will be scheduled within 30 days in order to pull the necessary information together by the proposal deadine of March 30. Email notices and notes will be distributed to all participants.
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