Slight of Hand
As promised in the Z-news last week, noting the 30th anniversary of DMOproz, we will be spending much of this month looking back on what a long strange trip it has been. It actually is a longer trip, because I will celebrate 40 years in this amazing sector in January, as that is when I started my run as an executive director of my first Destination Marketing Organization (DMO)..
As some of you have probably heard my genesis story, I was the morning DJ at the local Rock Radio station. The job of a morning DJ is to make fun of everything. And when the DMO was formed, I was pretty unmerciful. I ridiculed the thought that anyone would want to be a tourist in Kankakee County.
I was then, like many John and Jill Publics, completely unaware of the economic impact of visitors on our community. I was completely unaware that a visit to Kankakee County might actually inspire someone to want to move here, live here, invest here, start a business here. And yet a year later, I was the Executive Director of this organization. And I learned so quickly from my new peers what an economic generator visitors are to a community. And, I have become one of this sector’s staunchest advocates.
Of my almost 5 years at the helm of that organization, one moment stands out. My town had hosted the American Power Boat Association’s Sprint Outboard Nationals for decades, for no other reason than our river was perfect for racing. But the competition was beginning to build. Other destinations wanted to snatch this event from us and were preparing bids to do just that prior to the APBA Convention.
Coincidentally, one of the top powerboat racers in the country lived in Kankakee. I'm sure he was inspired as a child by watching the event every Labor Day weekend from the shores of the Kankakee. He called me one day, concerned that our community could lose this iconic event. He explained the governance and hierarchy of the APBA and suggested a pretty sensational strategy.
The APBA by-laws stated that the following year’s Nationals were always to be awarded each year at the annual convention. He was on the Board. He said, “I'm going to move a by-law change that would allow for a three-year contract right before the bids for the following year are opened.”
I smiled… and got to work, contacting our major sponsors to ascertain if they would substantially increase their investment in the event if we could guarantee them a three year deal. They all agreed… and that money sweetened the payout for racers. The very same racers that would be voting to change the by-laws.
The by-law change was proposed. The rationale of a larger prize purse was offered. And the by-law change was approved, almost unanimously.
The next order of business was the opening of the bids. Because no other destination knew of the proposed by-law change prior to the convention, Kankakee County had the only three year bid with a substantially larger prize purse.
As Hannibal said in the A-Team, I love it when a plan comes together.
And that was the moment I knew I had found my career path.
