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Get
Off the Porch...
Opinion
from Zeitgeist President Bill Geist, taken from the Autmn/1999 edition
of the Zeitgeist Client Newsletter
One of the recent refrains I've been hearing from IACVB's
CEO Ed Nielsen is one that readers of Zeitgeist may recognize:
CVBs and Chambers that specialize in Tourism promotion are under attack.
Part of the reason that we find ourselves in the role of prey is that
we possess a few things that others covet. Funding and Visibility. Non-tourism
Chambers and other Economic Development Organizations lust after the
room tax revenues that CVBs "enjoy" just as much as they covet
the "sexy" limelight in which they somehow believe we bask.
If only they knew...
But it's the reality in which we live. And, to a certain degree, we
have no one to blame but ourselves. For many CVBs and DMOs, we've just
been good little boys and girls, focusing on our mission...and agreeing
all too readily with the pecking order that continues to be perpetuated
in our communities. You know the one: Chamber is the big dog. Economic
Development is the medium dog. And Bureaus...well, the CVB is the oh-so
cute little pup. And that's the way that the bigger dogs (and their
handlers) want to keep it. And who could blame them?
So should Bureaus be surprised when their vision for the future is dismissed
as being somehow less important than that of the Chamber? Or should
they be surprised when government cuts their funding in tough budgetary
times?
Like I said...it's our own fault.
The time worn saying of "Run with the Big Dogs or Stay on the Porch"
comes to mind. So does the over-used "If you're not the lead dog,
the view never changes." Regardless of how tired we are of hearing
these sayings...they perfectly capture this situation.
Why do young boys back away from a playground fight with the local bully?
Often times, no one has actually seen the bully pulverize anyone. It's
all in the positioning. The bully just looks bigger. Same thing here.
Chambers are perceived as being in control of the playground because
they have all the big gun community leaders on their Board. Why don't
Bureaus?
The answer is clear. We haven't walked the walk. We don't act like the
big dog (I know, I'm mixing metaphors...just hang in there). And, because
we don't, we have a harder time attracting the big gun community leaders
to our Board. Oh yea, we also subscribe to the widely held belief that
we aren't the big dog...so we don't ASK the big guns to join our Boards.
Hey, you don't ask...you don't get.
Look at the impact that tourism has on your community, region and state.
If you're anything like here in Wisconsin, the loss of the tourism economy
would translate into property tax bills over $700/year higher than they
are now. Can the non-tourism Chamber or Economic Development unit make
the same claim? And, even if they can...have they?
Get off the Porch. Challenge for the Lead Dog position. It doesn't need
to be a snotty little playground fight. You're above that. If you just
begin to look the look and walk the walk...the support you need and
deserve will come your way.
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