Representatives from Grand Island, Kearney and North Platte are all in Lincoln today to convince the states Agriculture Committee to move the Nebraska State Fair to Central Nebraska. While I appreciate their efforts and believe that the fair would have a huge impact on Central Nebraska I appreciate the entire uproar for another reason.
When was the last time that a story of any kind caused Joe Public to consider the impact that events such as the State Fair can have on local economies? The impact of such a development, the gaurentee of that influx of people for 11 days every summer and the statewide publicity would be huge for any community.
This is what Convention & Visitors Bureau's do! We don't just hand out brochures.... we support the local economy by generating visitor dollars and we do so by attracting events such as the State Fair to our communities.
Sure Hastings isn't big enough for the State Fair but we host numerous other conventions, tournaments and events every year that bring visitors to the community of Hastings and business owners all over town see the impact of our efforts!
I salute my counterparts for not only fighting for their communities right to host this event but for continuing the conversation on a larger stage. What we do is important!
