Small towns in the High Plains region continue to face a myriad of challenges including loss of population, jobs, businesses, and other concerns.
There are people in these towns that have lost hope for the future. Is there anything that can be done to initiate change and stimulate renewed hope? There is no easy solution, but there is one approach that has worked in many places and will work again. Celebrations can bring about a renewed spirit, generate money, and open the door to new opportunities for the community.
As an example, I want to relate the story of a town of 1,200 people within 90 miles of Dodge City. By 1998, the town had lost several businesses, people were moving away, streets and infrastructure were declining, and there had not been a new home built in the town in 25 years. People were giving up. A small group of citizens formed a committee and decided that it was time for action.
First, they organized a celebration. They called it a Friendship Celebration.” They did not let the naysayers detract them for their mission. They invited state leaders and agency heads, local leaders from all around, and all the town citizens.
It was a one-day celebration starting with a rural economic development seminar in the morning. This was an attraction for leaders from other small towns … standing room only. This was followed by a light lunch and people were given the opportunity to play a round of free golf on the local course or have group discussions about various issues in small towns.
The celebration concluded with a cookout and entertainment, with the whole town invited—150 people attended. The celebration gave the town new life, people began to work together, to plan together, and they believed things could get better, and they did, including two new businesses in the first six months. The next Friendship Celebration had 250 people attend, then 300, then 450 with agency heads from the state level, and from the federal government in Washington, plus state elected leaders, a United States congressman and a senator.
Another example of extending a celebration to directly help businesses is Woodward, Oklahoma. The town has an aggressive main street director and committee. They sponsored a $1,000 cash giveaway over a 24-day period.
Shoppers who purchased a least $20 of merchandise in a participating store were given a ticket for the drawing. Fifteen merchants participated in this event. The result was amazing. The number of tickets in the box for the drawing was 14,417. Shoppers had spent $288,340 with the 15 merchants in 24 days or $19,223 per store.
Tom Lucas can be reached at [email protected] or 580-727-4397.
