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It's
About Quality of Life
The
15 February 2006 edition of the Zeitgeist Z-News
It’s
a bittersweet day in Illinois tourism as three veteran DMO professionals
are stepping away from their CVBs in the coming months. I say “bittersweet”
because, though they are leaving the industry, they’re all doing
it on their terms and are looking forward to new challenges, experiences
and successes.
First to announce last fall was Tom Rivera, founder
and CEO of the Greater
Woodfield CVB. If there is a Mr. Tourism in Illinois, it
is Tom. A masterful marketer, he led the industry’s advocacy effort
in Springfield with grace, smarts...and steel-eyed resolve. He was one
of my mentors when I broke into the CVB industry in 1987, and I owe
him a lot. Luckily, we won’t be completely losing him as he’s
preparing to launch a consultancy in the months ahead.
The next two announcements fell with hours of each other this past week
as Bill Utter, veteran marketing maven at the Chicago
Convention & Tourism Bureau (and, for the past 6 months,
interim CEO), announced his departure for the private sector just days
after the Bureau Board elected to offer the top spot there to someone
from outside the CVB industry. I had just begun to appreciate Bill’s
keen intellect as we worked together over the past few months on a strategic
redirection for Visit
Illinois, the State advocacy group that developed that
kick-butt “Visitors
Mean Jobs” campaign a few years ago to stave off
the proposed gutting of Illinois’ Tourism budget (and featured
on a past DMOU
Teleseminar). Cool guy. Chicago’s loss.
Hours earlier, my dear friend Wendy Fisher (CEO of
the Rockford
Area CVB) announced her retirement at a news conference
in the Bureau’s cool new offices. One of the most visionary CVB
executives in the country, Wendy has been banging the Destination Development
drum for 20 years (way before it was in vogue), spearheading a riverfront
festival park, a destination defining expansion of sports facilities
and the development of a downtown arts and culture district. She’s
one of those people whose mind works so fast that you often can’t
catch up with her thought process until hours after your conversation.
She says she’s retiring to spend more time with her daughter and
husband...but, the Mayor has already asked her to become involved in
a couple of his development initiatives, so maybe everyone wins.
In typical form, Wendy didn’t work from a script at her news conference,
preferring to let the moment craft her words. And, in Wendy style, she
tossed off a one liner that just about says it all.
“Some people love Tourism. I love what Tourism can do for a Community.”
Ain’t that the truth? Sometimes, I think we lose sight of why
we’re in this business. We’re so consumed with room nights
and matching grants, room tax allocation and our competitors and board
dynamics and political strategies that we forget that it’s all
about enhancing the Quality of Life for our community.
I was serving as the CEO of the Greater
Madison CVB when one of my then-grade school daughters
asked me what I did everyday at work. “Convince people to visit
Madison,” I said. And, as youngsters are wont to say, she asked,
“why?”
“Well, because they spend money here.”
“Why is that important,” she asked. “Because they
stay in our hotels and eat in our restaurants and buy stuff,”
I replied.
The obligatory “whys” continued until I finally said, “So
that more people have jobs, they get more raises and city tax revenues
go up so that city services are enhanced without residents having to
pay for it.” She scrunched up her nose, raised an eyebrow and
gave me a skeptical look. I smiled and said, “Quality of Life.”
Wendy never lost sight of that in the twenty years she piloted the RACVB.
Neither should we.
I’m sure you’ll join me in a rousing thank you to all three...and
best wishes for great new adventures ahead!
Til next time...
Bill
Wanna comment on this or other topics. E-mail
Me!
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