I received a copy of the Marshall County Visitors Guide in the Culver Citizen last week. Then I received a copy in the Pilot News. Really!?! Yes, this is a rant…
Lets start with a little history… Easterday Construction Co., Inc. has been a member of the Culver Chamber of Commerce since well before I came to join the company. I served on the board for several years, during which time we were asked to budget for a page in the Marshall County Visitors Guide. I had the distinction of being the sole no vote on that item every year. I saw no value in it for the majority of our membership. The cost of this ad at more than 25% of the annual Chamber budget seemed ill-advised considering some of the other programs that we were successfully pursuing. Needless to say I was overruled. The arguments for supporting the guide were mainly two: 1) Culver was prominently displayed in the guide and 2) It was designed to reach an audience outside Marshall County to attract tourism. My rebuttals were that Culver was prominently displayed anyway since our town is the primary tourist destination for the County and that with the advent of the Internet, how often was a paper guide book of value?