The Callaway County Tourism Board has a new director of tourism with an extensive vision for destination marking in the county where she grew up.
Renee Graham, a Fulton native, started as tourism director Aug. 25. She graduated from Columbia College and started as an administrative assistant at the Columbia Convention and Visitors Bureau, where fell in love with the tourism industry. As a former president of the Missouri Travel Council, she did a lot of statewide work.
"I knew people who were working in the tourism indus- try across the state and really across the country because of some of the marketing trade shows I had done," she said. "People who work in the hos- pital industry typically do because they love people, they love their communities. They want people to be happy. What a positive industry it is to work in. You get lots of hugs in the tourism industry."
After working in Columbia with the Visitors Bureau for 17 years, the last seven of which she worked as the tourism marketing and communications manager, she had the opportunity for a promotion as the city's public communications officer. She accepted the position and after seven years of work, she was offered the chance to retire.
But, she thought, "What if I never make a change?" Graham said. "What if it doesn't work out? But then I thought what if I never make a change. Part of life is changing and learning new things and so I kind of put myself in a situation where I went from the person with all the answers to the per- son with all of the questions."
Graham added that she gained invaluable experience at both positions, but she missed the tourism industry and knew she wanted to make a change.
"I had a lot of things going on personally where I needed to reallocate some of energies and focus on family," Graham said. "So I thought about working part time for True/False Film Fest, and kinda thought that that's where I'd be for a while, but my husband and I started toying with the idea of moving to Fulton."
She said they considered the move because they already spend a lot of time in Fulton caring for their family property.
"It's like the stars all aligned and everything kinda fell in place and I realized, I'm coming home," Graham said. "I'm coming home to tourism; I'm coming home to Callaway County; I'm coming home to family. I feel like the luckiest person in the world right now."
Graham discussed her vision for promoting the tourism industry in the county.
"We have so many wonderful stories to tell in the county," Graham said. "I'm spending a lot of time going out and meeting as many people as I can, visiting as many attractions and nature areas because then I can hear the stories and see what we have, and then that helps me then in turn tell others about it. We have so much to offer."
The county offers activities that appeal to all demographics, she said. Whether it's hunting and staying at a bed-and-breakfast in Williamsburg or shopping at the many antique stores, there's something for everyone .
Graham described the county as having "an abundance of natural beauty." She mentioned several attractions that create that ambient beauty are found at Callaway's wineries, several conservation areas, a section of the Katy Trail, small- town festivals and the towns themselves.
"A lot of small towns have completely lost their down- town," Graham said. "And so the fact that we have as much in our downtown, in our Brick District is really a testament to the work that has been done by the citizens and volunteers here. Success breeds success."
She mentioned the unique appeal of the Brick District as an "up-and-coming destination" with a lot of potential. Once the Brick District Playhouse opens downtown, Graham said the venue will attract more visitors who are interested in the performing arts and culture, making it a great addition to the Art House.
She emphasized the value of partnerships in the city, commending the partnership between the Brick District and the Art House to organize the Autumn on Bricks. She called the fall celebration a "fantastic event."
"We have the farmer's market involved, the community involved, and I just think that kind of partnership creates interest in our communities and we can get our citizens talking about how fantastic our county is and they tell their friends," Graham said.
Having so many countywide restaurants that serve made-from-scratch treats or special dishes enhance the small-town experience for visitors, Graham said.
"Many visitors, when they're visiting an area like Callaway County, or any place in the country, sometimes they want (food) chains but they (also) want that local, authentic experience," Graham explained. "They want to eat like a local, whether they're in a large city or whether they're in a small, rural area."
Besides sampling an assortment of popular local foods, visitors also want interactive experiences such as live entertainment, festivals, community activities, shopping and sight-seeing opportunities. Graham thinks Callaway's agritourism is a strong attraction because so many people have increasingly become removed from their food source.
"Having the opportunity to go to a farmer's market, having the opportunity to go to an alpaca farm or going to a vineyard, there's so many opportunities for that and just being able to learn how things were in the past," Graham said.
She added that parents
especially want their children or grandchildren to have a glimpse into the past and the county offers plenty of those opportunities. Now it's just a matter of sharing those stories, Graham said.
One way to share those stories is by partnering with local towns, she said.
"I am a big proponent of partnerships," Graham said. "Your competition is not down the street. Your competition is the rest of the world. Regional part- nerships make a lot of sense for us."
She said the tourism board has been involved in a proj- ect called the Central Missouri Rivers Bluff Region. The project focuses not only on what Callaway County has to offer, but what cities along the Mis- souri River Valley - Jefferson City, Herman, Holts Summit, Columbia and Fulton - also contribute to the central Missouri authentic experience.
"To the rest of the world, we're flyover country," Graham said. "While we may have some competition with these communities, we also have really good reasons to partner and co-market with these commu- nities, especially because we are a drive market. People don't
drive to one place and stay. They will drive to a region and explore a region."
Although Graham's time in Columbia confirmed the extent of business competition between Fulton and "Tiger Town," but she believes her hometown has "great potential" to draw people from Columbia. For example, she thinks the charming location of the Art House, its enthusiastic workers and the price point for the quality and selection distinguishes it from Columbia's art places. Graham also recognized the potential to attract football fans on game days from Columbia when downtown restaurants and bars are often too crowded.
"You could wait in line at a restaurant or have your name on a restaurant's list in Columbia for 45 minutes to an hour, or you could drive 25 minutes to Fulton and come for a wonderful meal and see some new scenery," Graham said.
She mentioned how tourism board members all pitched in to ease her transition to the posi- tion.
"I walked in and I had fantastic photography already at my disposal," she said. "I have fantastic literature that has already been created and is ready to go.
I have well-done ads that were created and are currently running in publications, so I really came into an ideal situation to just take what we already have and try to take it to the next level, and I'm really excited about doing that."
Graham said she anticipates meeting people from other Callaway County communities to conduct an inventory of what the county currently offers and how to capitalize on what is already has to devise a marketing plan.
She is also researching some ideas for an electronic news- letter, initiating a calendar of events on the website and will be working on a marking plan for next year. Graham said already registered for one of the group travel planner shows that's sponsored by the Missouri Travel Council.
"I plan my work and work my plan," Graham said.
Graham said although she lives in Columbia, she plans to move back to Fulton and live on her family property in 2016.