By Dylan Marsh
EAGLE TIMES STAFF
CLAREMONT — The Sugar River Region Initiative, a collaboration of Sullivan County administrators and local Chambers of Commerce, has celebrated the launch of its new website.
At an event held at the Common Man in Claremont on February 23rd, several members of the SRRI spoke to their excitement regarding the website, in addition to their anticipation of new developments in store for the area.
The concept for the SRRI was born at a meeting six years ago in Newport. In the ensuing years, it has become a fully realized non-profit organization. Its goal is to incentivize visitors and entrepreneurs to visit the natural beauty of Sullivan County.
According to County Manager Derek Ferland, meetings throughout the fall of 2017 and spring of 2018 centered around determining where the local economy was, and how they would like it to develop. In addition, members discussed the evolving nature of regional identity and branding. The group also initiated a project that includes a “crowd sourced story map,” which encourages locals to take and upload photographs they appreciate of their region and upload them to a government website.
“It was really popular and also ended up being really telling. When we analyzed the data, we realized that all of the pictures had to do with outdoor recreation or natural assets and resources from the county, and from that project, the Sugar River Region was born,” Ferland said, addressing how the project influenced their perception of local assets.
With a name in mind, the group set out to create a logo and began an international competition for its creation. The current logo was designed and submitted by a man from Spain. According to Ferland the group took the logo and began to create the concept for the initiative around it.
Afterwards they were able to secure a USDA rural development grant, which allowed them to hire Solimar International, a sustainable tourism marketing firm. The firm helped them determine the best way to move forward in their mission. It was through this collaboration that the SRRI formed a destination management organization (DMO) and began to work on launching its website.
At the web page launch celebration, President and CEO of Solimar, Chris Seek said, “Derek reached out and said they wanted to build a website, which is great, but there are a lot of questions, like who is going to own the website? A website is only a tool. We have to figure out how to use it.”
Prior to the launch of the website, Seek used survey results from locals to consider what changes were desired, and what could generate tourism and encourage an influx in population. Ideas included supporting the food and beverage industry, developing an interconnected trail system, and a riverwalk in Claremont. He used this data to create a three-pronged plan to enhance pride, leverage assets, and promote and market the region.
The DMO consists of Elyse Crossman of Claremont, Rob Taylor of Plainfield, Alissa Bascom of Charlestown and Steve Smith of Goshen. They will also be working to market the region and aim to generate economic development and growth.
Upcoming initiatives for the SRRI include promoting the website, launching social media marketing and destination storytelling activities, and creating new welcome signs for Sullivan County. There will also be a focus on business outreach and recruitment and promoting a calendar of events, in addition to creating new ones. However, SRRI says the most important is to make Sullivan County a place to live, work and play.
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