Leon Tongret and Greta Lint discuss how buying locally helps small towns.
Buy local podcast
July 29, 2008 by smallwandererNC Tourism matching grants
July 18, 2008 by smallwandererFrom the North Carolina Division of Tourism, Film and Sports Development…
DIVISION NOW ACCEPTING MATCHING FUNDS GRANTS APPLICATIONS
The Division of Tourism, Film and Sports Development is accepting applications for the Tourism Matching Grants program until 5 p.m. on August 22. An important part of the state’s marketing efforts, the matching funds program assists local communities and non-profit tourism organizations with local and regional tourism marketing and development projects. For guidelines, detailed information on the matching funds program and to download an application, visit http://www.nccommerce.com/en/TourismServices/PromoteTravelAndTourismIndustry/GrantProgramsAndResources
Buy local-online seminar scheduled
July 17, 2008 by smallwanderer
Photo by Keith Pomakis
This conference call is free and open to the public. Please share your thoughts about buy-local campaigns. Hear from experts. Ask questions. Smallwander.com offers free seminars about small town tourism and economic development. Calls are held on the last Monday of every month at 10 am. The seminars are later posted as podcasts.
Smallwander.com showcases locally-owned merchants, attractions, restaurants, and lodging to travelers seeking authentic small town experiences.
EVENT: Buy local
DATE & TIME: Monday, July 28th at 10:00am Eastern
FORMAT: Simulcast! (Attend via Phone or Webcast — it’s your choice)
TO ATTEND THIS EVENT, CLICK THIS LINK NOW…
http://instantTeleseminar.com/?eventid=3630342
Dear subscribers
July 10, 2008 by smallwandererI am quite possibly going to port this blog of to a self-hosted server some time soon. The likey URL will be www.smallwander.com/smalltowns. You’ll be able to find it by going through the smallwander.com site. So, be ready if the RSS feed dries up!
California encourages walkable cities
July 10, 2008 by smallwanderer
From Worldatlas.com
…as part of a plan to reduce emissions by 2020. Originally posted by http://walkable.wordpress.com/.
Mercedes to go gas free by 2015
July 7, 2008 by smallwanderer
More about big companies in small towns
July 2, 2008 by smallwandererFrom Blogging Stocks…
Big company, small town: Corning Inc., Corning, New York
This post is part of our Big Company, Small Town series, featuring large companies and the small towns in which they are headquartered.
Rest assured, the first decade of the 21st century is not likely to be remembered as a renaissance period in U.S. history. No one will confuse this decade with the Roaring ’20s or even the Wonderful ’90s.
Further, if the nation needs an example of rebirth and renewal — it would be hard to find a better one than the story of multinational corporation Corning (NYSE: GLW), nestled in the small town of Corning, New York.
Corning is your classic, feel-good American success story. And doesn’t the United States need a few of those today?
Moreover, Corning, arguably, represents one of the signature corporate transformation stories of the digital age.
Mainstreet podcast
June 30, 2008 by smallwanderer
Freddie Killough, Executive Director of the Marion Downtown Business Association and Bob Bamberg, Executive Director of the Alleghany County Chamber of Commerce, discussed the Main Street program of North Carolina in today’s monthly conference call. Listen here: Main street managers.
NC STEP program training
June 25, 2008 by smallwanderer
I am presenting with Greta Lint at an NC Small Town Economic Prosperity (STEP) program training event. Greta is giving a presentation titled “Using Tourism to Stimulate Your Town’s Economy,” including a marketing 101 segment. My presentation, “Y-Web,” will touch on ways these communities can use technology to promote their towns.
The NC STEP program is sponsored by the North Carolina Rural Center to support small towns under 10,000 that are sturggling to overcome economic hardship through training, technological initiatives, and other strategies.
Why smaller is sometimes better
June 24, 2008 by smallwandererFrom Blogging Stocks
When the big company leaves the small town
This post opens our Big Company, Small Town series, featuring large companies and the small towns in which they are headquartered. Watch for more Big Company, Small Town posts coming soon.
All across this great country of ours, small cities, towns, and villages have been built in the shadows of major companies that supply work for their local populations. It can be a wonderful situation that cultivates a special kind of community and a deep-seated local pride. However, it can also be a recipe for civic disaster, if the major supplier of a wage base in a locality goes out of business or leaves town. Such was the near disastrous fate of Park Falls, Wisconsin, not so long ago.
The city of Park Falls, which is Wisconsin’s most geographically isolated city, was built around its paper mill. At its height, the mill helped to bring the population of the city to nearly 4,000 inhabitants. However, in 2006 the paper mill, which was operating at reduced capacity under ownership from out of state, was shut down almost without any prior notice. The result was immediate and deeply wrenching turmoil. Not only had the paper mill workers lost an excellent source of income, but the collateral damage was jarringly significant also. Loggers had no local market for their pulp wood. Dozens of family-feeding log trucks were idled. Private contractors who did various types of work for the mill were left with thousands of dollars worth of unpaid invoices. Local vendors, retailers, and support businesses almost immediately went slack.
