Children’s letters at forefront of North Dakota tourism campaign

People across the country could soon be getting letters from North Dakota bearing a simple, handmade message from schoolchildren: Come visit.

http://www.spokesmanreview.com/news-story.asp?date=022904&ID=s1494028

The goal of the North Dakota Invitation Project is to mail 110,000 overtures to out-of-staters. Some tourism groups and school districts have pledged to pay for postage.

"I think there is nothing more powerful than a personal invitation," said Ken Maher, principal of Memorial Middle School, which is joining some 50 schools in the effort.

"I think the kids are pretty excited about it," Maher said. "Many of the letters will be to grandma and grandpa and relatives and friends. The goal is to get the letters out."

Eleven-year-old Ian Visina said he is writing his grandmother in Phoenix.

"I’m going to tell her that I want to see more of her and she’s missing out on a whole lot of fun in North Dakota," he said. "We have a lot to do here like hunting and fishing. And I’m going to try to get her on a snowmobile."

Maher said the project can teach writing, as well as economics and history. "Tourism means new dollars into the system," he said. "Money that is brought here is left here."