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Deer Lodge chamber banquet speaker says…Tourism potential is immense

DEER LODGE — How to improve an economy?

Consider the following: Presentation, promotion, preservation and positive attitudes.

By Pat Hansen for The Montana Standard

That’s what people attending the Powell County Chamber of Commerce recent banquet were told.

Phil Walker, acting superintendent of Grant Kohrs Ranch National Historic Site, and John O’Donnell, the new director of the Old Prison Museum Complex and Powell County Museum & Arts Foundation, were the keynote speakers.

The two entities, one at each end of Main Street in Deer Lodge, draw hundreds of people to Deer Lodge annually and provide a tourism economy.

With a diverse economic base that includes a woods products mill, health and human correctional services, agriculture and tourism, Deer Lodge has an opportunity to build a robust economy, but people must work together, the men said.

Deer Lodge’s historic attractions are a tremendous resource, and the potential for increased tourism is strong: With the town situated along Interstate 90, nearly three million vehicles pass by annually.

Grant Kohrs Ranch sees about 20,000 visitors each year — the majority of whom are first-time visitors. Meanwhile, 35,000 visitors stop at the Old Prison Museums.

According to the latest (1999) Department of Commerce figures, visitors spend an average of $46.13 during their stay — this means that $1.8 million of new money comes into the Deer Lodge economy from tourism.

"If we capitalize on the marketing strategy at both ends of town, everyone on Main Street will benefit," Walker said.

"To be successful, we need to produce something that will be entertaining for a person to look at and enjoy, then go and tell others," says O’Donnell.

The effects of time, weather, gravity and limited resources make the preservation of these two historic sites a challenge. However, both O’Donnell and Walker are seeking comment from the community as they seek to enhance the exhibits and activities at their respective sites.

Positive changes have taken place in downtown Deer Lodge with the installation of vintage lights, banners and flowers.

"It says, ‘Deer Lodge residents are proud of their town,’ and that is essential to a tourism-driven economy. Attitude is everything," Walker said.

http://www.mtstandard.com/articles/2003/10/27/newsdeerlodge/hjjgijhdjcedge.txt

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