The big basket of love
It was nothing but love for interim VEP CEO Shannon Davis at last night's town board meeting. Their revised "operating plan" touched all the bases, in that it made all kinds of promises that cannot be fulfilled, decided local photographers weren't so awful after all, and wished wishes that won't be granted, because no one over there knows what they are doing beyond knowing how to spend money that isn't theirs. The buzz words "tool box", "tweak", and "super boomers" were sprinkled liberally throughout a power-point presentation with font so small it couldn't be read from the front row, but why bother speaking to the audience, since the audience was the four trustees who bothered showing up or not mailing it in, and those four trustees have now decided Shannon or Shane or Chantilly Lace, anyone who can burn through money less quickly than Forgery, is better than Forgery. Quid pro quo: You allow us to do a forensic audit, we approve your operating plan and budget for 2019.
Here's a couple of instant thoughts: Every time VEP produces a video, they gush all over themselves, mainly because they are able to film something without the hand-held camera getting dropped in the snow or the boom mic appearing in frame. Their output is laughable, in that it shows close-ups of people skiing and people drinking, which could be anywhere, and, more importantly, is going to be anywhere, since Estes Park is never going to be a destination for solitude seekers with money. How many people flock to Eureka, Nevada, in the winter, for solitude? Maybe if they want to end their life. What works for Estes Park in the winter, if we so desperately need tourists, is events which bring families into town. We can't add more holidays to the calendar, but the Stanley Hotel already has the jump on VEP by scheduling mid-level concerts that require people to stay overnight to get the tickets.
VEP wants to have tourists consider Estes Park in the same category as Jackson Hole or Disney. Ha. We have one mascot that parades around town scaring kids because it smells so bad and has stains on the matted fabric. What are you going to offer families looking for the Disney experience, VEP? Jackson Hole is wealthier than Estes by far, and offers much better lodging for the price.
Now that Conde Nast has thrown in the towel on print magazines, it's high time VEP scaled back on the size and scope of their Visitors Guide. I get that it's an easy way to nobble old-fashioned local business owners out of $500 for advertising, but it has grown in the last four years to an incredible waste of paper and a boondoggle for whatever outside company produces/prints it. Why hand everyone glossy $4 phone books they are going to immediately toss upon locating the first trash receptacle?
VEP wants overseas tourists to consider Estes Park, and is going to advertise for them. How many VEP employees speak a second language? How many ambassadors speak French, let alone Mandarin? Stop wishing for things and wasting money trying to attract foreign visitors to a trap experience? What is being done, seriously, to make their stay more comfortable? How many currency exchange kiosks do we have in town? Hell, how many local banks are capable of exchanging currency?
This was an exercise in getting funding for next year. If I had a wish list, it would be that VEP paid for itself through advertising sales, rather than scummed floaters off dad's wallet. But that time has long since passed, we now pay people to breathe in and out, and pay drivers to tool around town in empty shuttles, and can find all kinds of folks willing to praise them for their ability to do so.
Here's a couple of instant thoughts: Every time VEP produces a video, they gush all over themselves, mainly because they are able to film something without the hand-held camera getting dropped in the snow or the boom mic appearing in frame. Their output is laughable, in that it shows close-ups of people skiing and people drinking, which could be anywhere, and, more importantly, is going to be anywhere, since Estes Park is never going to be a destination for solitude seekers with money. How many people flock to Eureka, Nevada, in the winter, for solitude? Maybe if they want to end their life. What works for Estes Park in the winter, if we so desperately need tourists, is events which bring families into town. We can't add more holidays to the calendar, but the Stanley Hotel already has the jump on VEP by scheduling mid-level concerts that require people to stay overnight to get the tickets.
VEP wants to have tourists consider Estes Park in the same category as Jackson Hole or Disney. Ha. We have one mascot that parades around town scaring kids because it smells so bad and has stains on the matted fabric. What are you going to offer families looking for the Disney experience, VEP? Jackson Hole is wealthier than Estes by far, and offers much better lodging for the price.
Now that Conde Nast has thrown in the towel on print magazines, it's high time VEP scaled back on the size and scope of their Visitors Guide. I get that it's an easy way to nobble old-fashioned local business owners out of $500 for advertising, but it has grown in the last four years to an incredible waste of paper and a boondoggle for whatever outside company produces/prints it. Why hand everyone glossy $4 phone books they are going to immediately toss upon locating the first trash receptacle?
VEP wants overseas tourists to consider Estes Park, and is going to advertise for them. How many VEP employees speak a second language? How many ambassadors speak French, let alone Mandarin? Stop wishing for things and wasting money trying to attract foreign visitors to a trap experience? What is being done, seriously, to make their stay more comfortable? How many currency exchange kiosks do we have in town? Hell, how many local banks are capable of exchanging currency?
This was an exercise in getting funding for next year. If I had a wish list, it would be that VEP paid for itself through advertising sales, rather than scummed floaters off dad's wallet. But that time has long since passed, we now pay people to breathe in and out, and pay drivers to tool around town in empty shuttles, and can find all kinds of folks willing to praise them for their ability to do so.
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