Dekalb Wins Awards by John Dersham

Last Thursday I attended the annual meeting of Alabama Mountain Lakes Tourist Association. They are a large regional tourist association covering the 16 counties in North Alabama. Every year they have an educational annual meeting with seminars, a member & board meeting and an awards luncheon.

If you make your living in tourism they are a major marketing and promotion resource for you. If you are not a member already we highly recommend joining. DeKalb Tourism is a Destination Marketing Company (DMO). It is our job to promote outside DeKalb County to bring visitors to our county, as tourists. We advertise in Magazines, newspapers, Radio, TV, press releases and via digital media, social media and our website, both traditional and mobile.  Alabama Mountain Lakes promotes much the same way with the difference being they promote all of North Alabama and we promote DeKalb County. AMLA promotes to get tourists to come to North Alabama on vacation and then get them to come to DeKalb County specifically.

This year we had wonderful seminars by leading companies in our industry. They updated us on the latest trends in advertising and targeting our audience. Things have changed a lot over the last several years as marketing via electronic means now rules and traditional advertising methods are not used as much. Digital Ads, social media and websites, both tabletop and mobile are where the potential visitor is getting their information these days. Mobile web searches now account for 40% of searching on line and by 2015 it will surpass traditional table top searches. DeKalb Tourism changes its marketing plans every year in order to make sure we stay current and are able to get the most exposure possible for the dollars we spend.

This year DeKalb County did especially well at our Alabama Mountain Lakes awards banquet. In August the nearly 500 member businesses of AMLA were asked to nominate top businesses or individuals who make their living in tourism. This year we are honored to have won three awards. DeSoto State Park, Ken Thomas and staff won Attraction of the Year, Nanda Patel of the Fort Payne and Gadsden Holiday Inn Express won the Good Neighbor award for Volunteerism during the 2007 tornado’s and for other volunteer work she has contributed in DeKalb and Etowah Counties. In addition I was awarded the Lasting Impression award which commemorates overall career contributions. I want to congratulate all the award winners and especially thank Alabama Mountain Lakes for their fabulous contribution to our industry in North Alabama. North Alabama has doubled the number of dollars spent by tourists in the last ten years. DeKalb County and several other counties in North Alabama have more than doubled in ten years. Congratulations to the 1,300 people in DeKalb County whom make their living in Tourism.

Boom Days, A Week of Fun

From the Pettis Family to Theresa Andersson Boom Days was a success. We had the perfect weather all week and a stellar day last Saturday for our annual all day downtown event. I want to thank Collins and Kathy Kirby, the Boom Days planning committee, all the volunteers and the City of Fort Payne for making Boom Days a very successful and unique festival for North Alabama. There were nearly 30 music acts this year over the course of the week and we are talking about talented artists. The very talented Pettis family started our week long event on Saturday evening the 8^th. It is hard to believe so much musical talent can exist in one family. If you were there, you know. It all ended last Saturday night with a performance by Theresa Andersson that defies explanation. Here is a lady who is the total one person show…literally! She writes, sings, plays drums, violin, and plays a host of foot pedals which play through a loop replicating her voice to give her own background singers.  Unfortunately I do not have the expertise to properly tell you how she did all of this but she performed to an extremely enthusiastic crowd. She received a rousing standing ovation and came out for two more songs.

Boom Days Saturday consisted of perfect weather, more artists and more vendors than ever before. There were two car shows, puppet shows, music all over the place, all day. There was food and drinks, a $500.00 cash rally, smiling faces and good crowds all day. I met a lot of out of town people who came to spend the day with us and some spent the night. Events like this are primarily local but they bring in outside spending too, all of this is helpful in collecting tax revenue. Retail spending, restaurants, lodgings and gas stations all show increases during Boom Days. Our area is a place visitors come to time and time again. Our beautiful scenery coupled with the quaint all Americana look of our towns makes DeKalb County a favorite among visitors throughout the Southeast.

If you missed Boom Days, you should try to attend next year. It is always third Saturday in September with the opening events beginning the Saturday night prior. For more information about Boom Days check out www.BoomDays.org

John Dersham

Fort Payne is Booming. It is Boom Days. by John Dersham

Being Director of Tourism is a fun and rewarding job, especially since our area of responsibility is for one of the absolute most premier tourist destinations in Alabama. We are a one of a kind destination in this state. This is reflected in the tourists who come from all over the state and from other states in our region who to them this area is also very special too. It has to do with our setting between two scenic mountains and our fantastic parks, towns, attractions, camps and a culture of tourism dating back more than 100 years. We are a low cost destination and easy to get to from major nearby cities. People come here to get out of city traffic and relax and enjoy nature. With all that said, we offer something else different than anywhere else. It is called Boom Days Heritage Celebration and it started last Saturday and ends this Saturday. Boom Days is a celebration of Fort Payne’s unique history of being “boomed” by wealthy industrials from New England at the end of the ninetieth century. They came here to make Fort Payne the next great industrial center based on Iron and coal. They built beautiful Victorian homes, fantastic downtown buildings, an Opera House and a beautiful Railroad Station. Unfortunately or maybe fortunately the boom did not last long since the wealth of mineral deposits was not in our mountains as they expected. Now more than a century later, their beautiful well made architecture still stands for us to enjoy. From this history comes a one week celebration to remember our heritage  If you enjoy music, arts and crafts, museums, food and drink, classic cars and vendors with products and entertainment for the whole family then you don’t want to miss Boom Days. We enjoyed a fantastic kickoff concert by the Pettis family last Saturday evening at the DeKalb Theater. Sunday was the Joe Underwood Gospel Singing followed by the Mayor’s Cup Golf Tournament. This Saturday’s all day event starts with a 5k run at 8am and the Alaga Syrup Kiwanis Pancake Breakfast from 8-11. At 10 am the festival is in full glory with kiddie train rides, Carriage rides, a $500.00 cash rally, the Pet Pawrade, two classic car shows in different parts of downtown and a day full of unending music acts from 10 am to 8 pm. Nearly 30 music acts will appear this year. To top the day off will be the showcase concert at the DeKalb Theater at 8 pm featuring April Mae & the June Bugs followed by internationally known music extraordinaire Theresa Andersson. Please come and enjoy this very, very special day in Fort Payne.
For more information on events and times keep your eyes posted on the Times Journal or visit the Fort Payne Boom Days website at www.boomdays.org

Fun Times in Fort Payne by John Dersham

If you have not been to our newly formed third Saturday Sunset in Fort Payne you are missing a lot and you should come this Saturday. Third Saturday is a creation of the Fort Payne Chamber of Commerce and the Downtown Merchants Association. The event lasts from 5-9 pm and includes fun for the whole family.  You will find outdoor games for the kids, live music, food, an antique car show and lots of shopping at our downtown merchants. This will be the third, third Saturday event. The first two were big successes with   downtown full of smiling faces from 1^st street to 5^th. It is nice to see all the friends gathering for conversation. This event has been a wonderful way for people to enjoy their community and to get together with people on a more regular basis. You get a real sense of community pride when you go to this event. The city administration, police and fire departments along with Parks and Recreation provide a clean and safe and enjoyable place for us to gather. Look at our squeakily clean city parks, mowed, trimmed and beautiful. My wife and I commented as we were walking around last time how good it feels to have an event like this that brings everyone together and provides such a complete evening of family entertainment and community spirit.

Now that we’ve discussed Third Saturday get ready for our biggest third Saturday event called the Fort Payne Boom Days Heritage Festival which kicks off on Saturday September 8^th and concludes on our third Saturday September 15^th. Boom Days is going to be greater than ever this year with more sponsors, more activities, more artists and more music than ever before. The kickoff is on September 8^th and spotlights a local singer songwriter of national acclaim in Pierce Pettis and Family including Pierce, Grace and George. This will be at the DeKalb Theater at 8:00 pm, don’t miss it. On Sunday the 9^th we will have the Joe Underwood Gospel Singing at the City Auditorium. It will start at 3:00 pm.  The next event that week is on Thursday and will include the Mayor’s Cup Golf Tournament at DeSoto Golf Course and the annual Willstown Conference at the City Auditorium at 7:00 pm.

For more information about Boom Days and the schedule it will be coming soon in the Times Journal and will be posted on our website at www.tourdekalb.com . See you downtown.

World's Longest Yard Sale by John Dersham

The 25^th anniversary of the World’s Longest Yard Sale (WLYS) is underway. Some vendors began setting up more than a week ago even though officially the WLYS began yesterday. I say that because many people started setting up as early as last Friday. This event has been growing each year in size, scope and number of miles. It is now up to around 690 miles long from Gadsden, Alabama to Hudson, Michigan.

We consider the DeKalb portion of the yard sale among the best along the way. It has been a strategy of ours at DeKalb Tourism to promote this even not only as a yard sale but as a vacation. Now that school starts several weeks after the yard sale ends it helps us make it more of a family attractive event. Last year many schools in Alabama were starting in the middle of the yard sale or the Monday following the yard sale. This was not conducive to family travel since most families are preparing for school the entire week prior to its annual beginning.

DeKalb Tourism has always played a major role as one of the official voices in the yard sale. We are listed on the official WLYS website as an official contact and we promote the event heavily on our website, on the Lookout Mountain Parkway website and on social media for both. We promote it all year at our information center with brochures and we promote at the trade shows we attend. This year we have attended four major tourism trade shows all of which the WLYS is actively promoted. At these travel shows we are given an opportunity to interact directly with people who are making their travel plans. This gives us a great opportunity to sell our area as a great WLYS destination but also a great place to make a scenic fun vacation.

Due to the fact our WLYS is entirely on The Lookout Mountain Scenic Parkway in our area it has allowed us to talk about taking a scenic drive on a nationally acclaimed drive and enjoying our state and National Park along the way. We also encourage people to spend the night at one of our hotels in Fort Payne or a B&B or cabin on the mountain. We get a lot of campground business for this event too. Since the WLYS is often hot we route people toward our restaurants to cool off and some people ask about lodging with swimming pools. DeKalb Tourism has done a good job of capitalizing on this event and making it a destination instead of a stop along the yard sale.

The World’s Longest Yard Sale draws more out of town guests to our county than any other single event held during the year.  I know if you live on Lookout Mountain the yard sale may be a hardship to get around in for the four day event, but it brings in a whole lot of tax revenue which helps us pay for some of the city and county services that we all love to have. We appreciate your patience and we wish you the best if you are participating in the WLYS.

Pretty Parks, Antique Cars, music, food and Smiling Faces by John Dersham

Last Saturday was our second Third Saturday Sunset event. This event is hosted each month by the Fort Payne Chamber of Commerce and assisted by the Fort Payne Area Merchants Association with great support from a host of city organizations, the police department, fire department, city council, the mayor’s office and parks and recreation.

My wife and I were talking about how good it feels walking through downtown and witnessing so many people talking, laughing, milling around listening to music, eating and shopping, playing in the parks, dancing and having such a great time in this close knit supportive community where people are eager to volunteer their time and effort to bring us together more often. Carol Beddingfield, Executive Director of the Fort Payne Chamber of Commerce, her staff and board has done a fantastic job along with support groups to really make our Third Saturday event special. The crowd was fantastic. I think even more people attended this time than last. The weather was great and our downtown area was squeaky clean and our beautiful parks were all a show place. My wife and I felt very proud of our town. It looked good and felt even better. We saw lots of friends and had a chance to talk and enjoy this community event together.

 In a time when many cities are having major financial problems and elected officials struggle with the community and with each other to find a way to manage their towns, Fort Payne clicks right along with tax revenue continuing to come in at a rate that supports the services that we all use and enjoy. We really have a beautiful town to be proud of. If you travel around you won’t have to go far to be reminded that Fort Payne is a one of a kind city in Alabama. Our beautiful Boom Days architecture and our lovely view of Lookout Mountain to the east and Sand Mountain to the west gives this small city nestled in Wills Valley a very photogenic appeal.

I think our Third Saturday is good for our community spirit and makes a solid contribution to our tax revenues with open stores and restaurants. It provides an opportunity for food vendors and is a great showcase for the antique auto owners to show their vehicles. It also provides an opportunity for musicians and dance organizations to perform.

Thanks to all of you who have helped make Third Saturday Sunset a successful event.

Adding income to our local communities and county by John Dersham

Many people may not think much about the financial attributes of an event like the ARPA District II regional swim meet we had here last Thursday through Saturday. If you did not have a family member or friend in the competition perhaps the event did not come to mind at all. The truth is whenever we have an event that brings in people from outside of our area they are bringing dollars they earned in a different economy and spending it in ours. The swim meet had a couple thousand people here for this three day event. Many of them stayed overnight which helped keep our hotels, campgrounds and other lodging facilities busy. These visitors went to restaurants, attractions and they shopped and bought gas for their cars.

Greg Conkle, Executive Director of Fort Payne Parks and Recreation and his staff along with help of the city of Fort Payne Police and Fire Departments did a great job at hosting a well planned and very well executed event. All of our public properties downtown, at the public swimming pool and all Parks and Recreation properties where neat, clean, mowed, trimmed and presented to our visitors in a first class fashion. I know our visitors had a great time here. Events like this and other tourism related functions like festivals, summer camps, attractions, B&B’s, campgrounds, cabins, N.E Agri Business Center and parks bring a constant flow of tourists throughout our county. The fact that tourism has stayed up during our down economy has helped our cities, and county keep our tax revenue high enough that our area has not seen the financial crisis that many areas have. This is especially true since our unemployment has been higher than the national average most of the time during this downturn. Our success at using tourism as an economic development tool has worked very well. I am fortunate here at DeKalb Tourism that we have public officials at all levels in our cities and county that understand tourism and its great economic benefits. There are some other benefits to tourism that you may have not thought about. Tourism cannot be outsourced to another state or another country, tourists rarely are involved in crimes and tourists do not require city or county money for city and county services like schooling, trash pickup or other maintenance related costs incurred to local governments by residents.

Thanks again to everyone involved in planning and implementing functions like the swim meet that bring people to our area that helps support our local economy.