Chamber of Commerce recommendations

Last year I was permitted to address the Chamber of Commerce Board of Directors. I presented a number of new ideas. I haven't seen any of the implemented as offered. It is interesting that Angeli's at least has been issuing coupons for cents off for gasoline purchased at the Holiday Gas Station in Iron River.

Outline for Bill Vajk's discussion with the
Board of Directors of the
Iron County Chamber of Commerce
on 28 June 2007

TITLE:Economic Recovery Initiatives for Iron County:



Improve Tourism:

On December 4, 2006, I first presented a trolley system plan for Iron River combined with a Children's Railway to the City of Iron River. Attached is a very recent reply from Michigan Technical University offering their participation in all phases of a trolley project which is designed to attract tourism as well as provide local transportation for our residents. Details can be found at www.angelfire.com/planet/iron-river. If you need more information or printed copies of the pertinent materials please contact me. I ask this board as well as the entire merchant population to pressure the Iron River City Council to undertake this initiative.

Dan Baumgartner prepared a map for a proposed transportation system including other towns in Iron County. Personally I think it is a good idea. I will put a copy of Dan's map on the web page listed above in the next few days.


Assist New Startups in Iron County:

It is clear that new startups have a very difficult time financially. As a businessman I urge the Iron County Chamber of Commerce to extend the first year of membership in the Chamber free to new startups. This should help new startups integrate into the business community by welcoming them without financial pain to either the Chamber of the new business. My current business in Iron County is over a year old and would not qualify for a free membership, nor do I ask this for myself.


Recapture Local Resident Sales:

There are two distinct aspects involved.

First-- Dissatisfaction:

I have had some significantly bad experiences with local service businesses. I will briefly describe one of them that had to do with automobile service. I left a Jeep with a local shop for several weeks while they tried to figure out why the engine would arbitrarily stop running even at highway speeds, leaving me without power steering and power brakes, a dangerous situation.

The day came that they said it is fixed, come pick it up. I paid their fees and drove it towards home.

I live about 8 miles west of town. The car quit seven miles out and refused to start again. It had always restarted before.

I called the shop and had them tow it in to be fixed. I had already spent $600 on fixing a problem that had not yet been fixed. They changed out a few more parts to the tune of another $200. I was completely aghast because when I picked up the vehicle they charged me for the tow. They refused to stand behind their work.

Not only that, but the problem was still not fixed.

I hate to work on cars. But I bought a $76 part, replaced it, and finally fixed the problem myself.

Needless to say, I take all my automotive work out of town now, despite the fact that there are plenty of businesses around Iron County doing this work.

The solution to such flight of business based on bad experience is to create our own Better Business Bureau to handle such complaints. I urge the Chamber of Commerce to create and operate such an entity in order to provide assurances to residents that complaints against local businesses will be addressed fairly and impartially without having to resort to hiring an attorney to institute civil suit.


Second-- Pricing:

It is obvious that merchants in Iron County cannot roll back prices to compete with the Big Box competition 6o miles and further away. However, with a bit if creative marketing the Chamber should be able to roll back some of the purchase dollars that flee Iron County by capturing the imagination of a significant segment of the local population.

I give as an example some of the wildly popular fads that happened during my lifetime. Let's start with something completely useless, the "pet rock." It was just a rock with a cute set of instructions that captured the imagination of the American public. It was completely useless. Not so useless but also wildly popular were Davie Crockett outfits, hula hoops, anodized aluminum tumblers, and a myriad of others.

I recommend what I am calling "The Chamber Card."

The card could be issued looking like a credit card. The purpose is to get a 2% discount at participating Chamber businesses. The money would not be a cash discount, but would be placed, at the time of the purchase transaction into an account in the user's name. The money would accumulate through the year and be available only for purchases from participating merchants between November 15 and the end of the year. Any money remaining in the account would roll over into the next year.

The account would draw no interest. The interest that that money earns would be used to offset the management expenses experienced with whichever bank provides the relevant services.

The purpose of this initiative is to convince local residents to buy from Iron County merchants instead of going out of town. The 2% reduction in price that the merchant experiences will be offset by increased sales resulting from this program. It will also serve to retain Christmas sales in the county instead of having people go elsewhere.
If you prefer, this card could be called the Iron County Christmas Club.

There is already a 2% discount available to anyone who purchases gasoline at the Holiday gas station in Iron River (or anywhere else, for that matter.) Holiday accepts Menards cards. Menards offers a 2% discount on all purchases on their cards, redeemable by purchase at any Menards store. This new initiative would allow other petroleum retailers to compete with Holiday while having the greater advantage of being able to spend the proceeds at any participating merchant.

Frankly, like the man or hate him, what works for the entrepreneur John Menard can work even better for Iron County.

Success won't attack you...or...grab your own chestnuts!

Well there was one more round left in the rodeo discussion
on the WLUCTV6 web page:

===========================================================

TITLE:All talk no show!

Posted by Annie Johnson, Currently CO, orginally from Amasa -
Monday, September 22, 2008 at 10:46 a.m.

First off myself and others don't give a hoot about what
Donald Trump does or think. How about what he SHOULD do?
The greedy man doesnt give enuf to charity as far as I'm
concerned, but thats not the issue here.

Has it ever occured to you Mr. whoever you are the
ecomomy is in the toilet right now and has been for
a long time?

Even if your point is true about advertising I don't
think it's going to convince most of the middle
class to dig out the little bit of money they have
to come to a Rodeo thats always been considered
"small". Where do think you are?

If you think you can do a better job then stop the
talk and so call walk the walk!

I'm proud our little town of a few thousand if that
even HAS a rodeo to begin with. Our little town has
many fun activities going on all the time. So like

I said if you don't like it do something about it.

We all stick together in this town whether we like
each other or not, and you sir will not win this
arguement unless you volunteer your time.

==============================================================

TITLE: Success will not attack you

Posted by Bill Vajk, Iron River -
Tuesday, September 23, 2008 at 2:17 p.m.

The economy is not, as "Annie Johnson" (an historic
name well known in Amasa) states. The Gross Domestic
Product (GDP) grew by 3.3% in the second quarter of
2008. On an annualized basis that's 13.9%, a hefty
growth for our economy. Please see:

http://www.bea.gov/newsreleases/national/gdp/gdpnewsrelease.htm

Also Ms. Johnson is mistaken about the middle class,
which, extending to about $250,000 annual income
according to Senator Obama, mostly doesn't need to
scrape together vacation money. I moved to Iron
County after having lived in the middle class setting
in the Chicago area from 1974 to 2003 when I made my
decision to move here permanently.

I can personally assure you that much of the middle
class is looking for new (to them) forms of
entertainment and has the money to indulge
themselves.

What is important to this discussion is that I have
already provided a blueprint for success for the UP
Rodeo. Surely you mustn't think the members of the
existing board incapable of carrying out a simple
plan, or do you? In fact, in this discussion I am
the only one who has actually provided any ideas
that can save the rodeo from folding. One participant
in the discussion was concerned only about animal
rights/cruelty. Three of you have only attacked the
messenger without providing any helpful input.

An important consideration that just recently came
to my attention is that Wisconsin has cut back to
three (count em, 3) Buffington rodeos for 2008. In
fact the Wisconsin Rodeo Cowboys Association has
dissolved.

http://wisconsinrodeocowboysassociation.com/

What this means is less competition for the UP Rodeo
and a larger potential audience available to come to
Iron River. It is the job of our community to grow
the rodeo large enough to entice them to visit us.

I have volunteered already by providing, in public
forums, the solution to saving the UP Rodeo. I have
continued not by, as you accuse, arguing, but by
providing a continuing positive reinforcement for
workable ideas. None of the 4 people responding
directly to me has managed to stay on topic.

Each of you has attempted to change this from a
discussion about the rodeo into a discussion about
me. Sorry to disappoint, but I refuse to be
distracted. It is a mindset that I am working on
changing in Iron County. This is the old story of
teaching people how to fish instead of merely
catching a fish for them. I feel it prudent to advise
you that this Rodeo discussion is only one relatively
small part of the activism I'm engaged in for the
betterment of Iron County.

In closing I want to briefly discuss an old personal
motivation paradigm usually named "Where will
you be in 5 years." Type it, in quotes, into your
search engine. The recurring central theme goes
something like this:

"You can be assured that success will not attack
you nor will you stumble across it by accident.
What your future will hold for you is the result
of a plan and begins with a decision concerning
what you would like for it to hold for you."

So it is not for me to come along and pull the
county's chestnuts out of the fire. Rather it is my
function to help the people of the county to pull
their own chestnuts out of the fire, and that I have
been doing for some time now. I've provided the
equivalent of several pairs of long tongs. Now
go get those chestnuts yourselves.
--
--
Bill Vajk, aka "Mr. Whoever You Are"

=========================================================

The more I think about this exchange with John Faccin,
Wendy Otto-Shimun, and the latest "Annie Johnson" the
more spoiled these people seem to be. Instead of accepting
suggestions and working to help themselves they repeatedly
insist that whoever does have an idea do all the work for
them. They don't seem to want to lift a finger to improve
the situation they've been living in all their lives and
they seem resentful that someone not of their little
circle who offers up any ideas.

I guess the sorts of carry on they've demonstrated in
this rodeo discussion intimidated people in the past
and got them to back down. Also see John Faccin's
personal attacks elsewhere in this blog.

They need to get used to people who aren't afraid of
their nonsensical personal attacks. More of us are
coming! Development has jumped the border from
Wisconsin into Iron County. In particular they need
to get used to the idea that they better have something
worth considering because their old time junkyard dog
tactics just aren't going to work any longer.

The above is the opinion and activism of Bill Vajk
--
--
--

Revisiting the trolley proposal

The recent railway accident in California has placed
the shortage of formal training facilities for railway
operations into the public spotlight. The trolley
system I proposed had, as a key element, just such
a school. Please consider how close we could be to
being operational had I been able to convince Iron
River officials of the viability of that trolley
operation.

As I envisioned it, the system would have single
and dual track, waiting for bypass, signals,
multiple stations, scheduling, and centralized
operational management, all in all a miniature
duplication of a main line railway system.

The original proposal remains available at
http://www.angelfire.com/planet/iron-river/

--
--
Bill Vajk
--
--

the deeper you dig, the more interesting things get

Please start here, with the corporation registration:

<http://www.dleg.state.mi.us/bcs_corp/dt_corp.asp?id_nbr=707774&name_entity=U.P.%20RODEO,%20INC.>

At view document images the last 10 years worth of annual
reports to the state are available for viewing. It is a tight
little group of people.

--
--

honest participation -- rodeo wrap up?

Right on cue, Wendy Otto-Shimun came through with
what she claims is the final episode to this saga.
We'll see where she rears her head again. This was
posted on WLUC's we page under letters to the
editor. My reply, submitted on 9/15, follows.

====================================================

Title: Obviously you cant get through to some people.

Posted by Wendy Otto-Shimun, Iron River - Sunday,
September 14, 2008 at 1:54 p.m.

This will be the last time I will be dignifying your
letters with a response, as I have more important
things to do than argue my point with someone like you.

It just so happens that I work for WIKB. Since the
day I started, I have covered the rodeo board
meetings and have written news stories regarding
what occurred at those meetings and they have been
aired on the news. I would also like to point out
that the dates and times of rodeo board meetings
have been listed, along with every other meeting
in the county, in the Reporter's schedule of
meetings. They have also been mentioned at the
end of every news story I have written on the
rodeo, along with the comment that the public
is welcome and encouraged to attend.

Once again your information is incorrect.
But I am not surprised.

I realize that you must have nothing better to
do than spread falsehoods about what is going
on within the rodeo board, but I do, and will
not reply to any further comments from you,
no matter how ignorant.

=================================================

Once again I am indebted to Wendy Otto-Shimun
for her honest participation. It is only through
this exchange that anyone with the intellect to
use a computer and read this web page has been
able to see through her dog and pony show.

I would hate to think that her comments here
are representative of the sort of mindset of
the people who currently sit on the Rodeo Board.

--
The above is the activism and opinion of Bill Vajk

--
--

wouldn't steam be nice?

On March 16, 2008, Julie Melchiori and I had an email
exchange. Here's a small part of what she wrote that day:

> I thought I'd let you know I'm working with a railroad to
> get costs on tourism travel for at least the summer using
> the existing rail for passenger tourism service. It's
> something I have been working on and looking into
> for some time but now have some promising info.

[....]

> I have been working on the commercial rail part of this
> and with your input from before my thoughts about your
> projects have led me to pursuing the passenger option in
> this whole project.

And she wrote more on projects that have a hope of
improving the Iron County economy.

Part of my reply to her lit a spark that has excellent potential:

"In the 1980's I had hopes to get people interested in
skiing weekend rail tours out of Chicago, departing the
Loop at 5:30PM Friday and arriving back at 7AM on
Monday. Once you get anything established rail wise
it can nicely build into a year round thing, especially
since this area seems to be one of the few where people
can come and rent a snowmobile. Marilyn has had it
with renting bicycles and there's no budging her on
the matter so we should find someone interested in
doing that again."

Now I am all for well integrated initiatives, that is to
say that not only does one create, for example, a ski
train but one also brings in a car rental setup at the
railway station, an agency for booking future visits
also run at the train station, a bus service, a display
that has information about investing in real estate
and businesses in the county (over 70% of all US
small an medium businesses have owners who
want to sell out and retire in the next 10 years,)
and a whole host of spin off businesses that would
provide services while engaging the imagination of
our skiing guests.

As I mentioned to Julie (above) "Once you get
anything established rail wise it can nicely build
into a year round thing..."

There's no reason, especially in this age of high
fuel prices, that we can't make a success of bringing
folks to Iron County by rail, but there's no reason
not to have one or more rodeo trains as well as the
previously discussed ski trains. After all, the main
event of a weekend is only a small part of what Iron
County actually has to offer visitors.

The problems with the financial difficulties faced by
the rodeo are only one small part of the continuing
economic collapse of Iron County. When I suggested
installing a trolley system in Iron River, a system that
is not only a tourist attraction feature but also has
educational goals that would make it not only financially
viable but would also give additional reasons to be
year round operation. One of the thoughts was to entice
people who frequent, for their own reasons, nearby
communities to spend a day in Iron River. Can you
imagine the effect on local businesses if we had
tourists in those numbers shopping in downtown
Iron River every summer?

But there was the Iron River City Council and the
DDA which both failed to have any vision for the
potentials such enticements have. Similarly I engaged
Wendy Otto-Shimun about the rodeo, a former
member of the Rodeo Board who appears to lack
the vision to do more than spend the budgeted
advertising money. Perhaps she has more on the
ball, but it sure didn't show itself in her discussions
to date.

I made the trolley proposal. Once made and placed
in the public domain I no longer own the ideas, they
belong to the community, any community, that wants
to use them.

Between using the rail service we have available
and new initiatives we could do a lot to improve
on the downward spiraling local economy that
exists here in Iron County Michigan at the moment.

There's been far too much "invested" in defending
the failures of the past when that energy would be
better spent improving our future.

--

The above is part of the activism and opinions of Bill Vajk

--
--

Ne nuntium necare (modified 9/14/2008)

Wendy Otto-Shimun's responses when combined would do well
coming out of the Alice in Wonderland topsy turvy world. In her
replies the reason the Rodeo is failing is because the community
is too small and people aren't volunteering enough. According to
Wendy Otto-Shimun the Rodeo Board, which has all the control
and which makes all the decisions, bears none of the responsibility
for the financial failure. In truth, they are responsible. No one else
can be.

For good measure, she kills the messenger. The ancient Greeks
passed a law against it. The Latin version is in the title to this
article, "Ne nuntium necare." It seems that facing the truth of
the situation is more than some people can handle. At the end
of her personal attack, Ms. Otto-Shimun writes, " I think its
time for you to move and stick your nose in somewhere else."

How childish! So should we trust such people to report the
news. Is their objectivity compromised by personal political
views and their refusal to accept responsibility for the outcome
they helped to create? Can we trust them to report fairly and
honestly on all subjects, or are they apt to skew the news to
suit their Alice in Wonderland worldview so clearly
demonstrated below?

We are in a presidential election cycle that promises, no matter
who wins the election, to eliminate the failing paradigms of
the present and the recent past on a national level. Sarah Palin
had, by all reports, previously begun that process in Alaska. It
is only a matter of time till the other states, especially
Michigan (which is often described as experiencing a one
state recession) will follow suit, and hopefully the local units
can fall into line as well.

Given all that, it seems a shame to think that with the
anticipated economic upturn that is sure to follow, the
Rodeo Board that is at the helm during the worse days
makes those worse days a permanent situation for the
rodeo. Wendy Otto-Shimun continues to make excuses
for the financial failure of the rodeo and concurrently
she rejects proven solutions.

Entrepreneurial action is needed. That's the only important
fact. All the rest is emotional blather. As far as my attending
a meeting of the Rodeo Board goes the only reason to do so
would be to deliver my message, and it seems that that's
already been done.

The above is a reply to the following which was posted
today on WLUCTV6 "letters to the editor":

==============================================================

Title: Get Your Facts

Posted by Wendy Otto-Shimun, Iron River - Friday, September 12, 2008 at 1:35 p.m.

Maybe, like I mentioned previously, if you had attended a
meeting, when the members of the rodeo board practically
begged for community support and attendance at meetings,
you would know that countless hours were spent seeking
sponsors, both locally and on the national level.

Numerous fundraisers have also been put together throughout
the years, to assist in payment for not only advertising, but to
put on the parade, to pay for the stock contractor, to pay the
county for the grounds rental, for insurances costs, to put on
the queen pageant, the food booth and every other aspect of
the rodeo. But in a small area, you can only ask so much of
the businesses and the people.

Dont keep making assumptions about what you think
should be done when you dont know what has been
done or tried to get done.

Why do you insist upon giving out advice when you dont
have a clue what is going in within this board?

Not having the facts, while continuing to degrade those
involved and spout out lame advice, only makes your
opinion invalid and presumptuous.

Those involved have volunteered for many years and
with out "a fire in their belly", I doubt they would have
stayed working at it this long.

And yes, I do believe I will stick with the answers I've
given. Because they are based on fact, not opinion and
blatant lies, as your "information" is. The information I
have, that you obviously dont, comes from approximately
10 years of sitting on this board. While I am no longer a
board member, I have knowledge of what goes on. Where
do you get your information from, Mr. Vajk?

I will say it again- If you have this great wealth of
knowledge to share, if you think you know what
Donald Trump would do, then maybe you should
be going to a board meeting.

I agree with Mr. Faccin that you are a lot of talk
with no action.

I think its time for you to move and stick your
nose in somewhere else.

=============================================================

I posted a much shorter and sweeter reply to WLUC's web page
but it has not appeared at the time I post this to this blog.

9/14/2008 -- WLUC has approved and made available
my reply on their web page. I've modified this entry in
the blog to include it. My response follows:

------------------------------------------------------
My discussion is about entrepreneurial activities
that could save the rodeo. Yet all that I hear in
rebuttal is an ongoing defense of same old same
old activities that have already proved themselves
failures, right down to a blanket refusal to
enlarge the target audience and the targeted
sponsors.

Invariably the answers I am seeing fail to look
at options that will improve the situation and
they insist on living in the past and blaming the
community rather than blaming the individuals who
voluntarily accepted the responsibility for making
the rodeo a success and are failing to do so. It
isn't the community that is responsible, it is the
Rodeo Board. They are the ones in control. They are
the ones making all the decisions, apparently very
bad decisions.

I have lived in Iron County since 2003 and
previously I visited here every summer starting in
1981. I have never heard or read a single discussion
in the local media about the Rodeo Board asking for
assistance let alone a notice of when and where their
meetings are held.

So much for advertising.

While I cannot speak for the Iron County Reporter or
WIKB it seems to me, based on observation, that they
would gladly provide space and time for open
discussions about saving the rodeo. This discussion
is the only one in a public forum that I'm aware
exists at the moment. I have offered positive
insights. Are you, or anyone else closer to the
Rodeo Board, capable of carrying on a fruitful
exchange that will actually save the rodeo?

I don't care a whit about what has been done because
that has failed. I only care about what can and will
be done that has a chance of keeping the rodeo in
Iron River and bringing the financial improvements
it could bring if run in a successful way.

Let me repeat my comment about the derby which at one
time lived here in Iron River. It failed here for
much the same "given reasons" that nobody wanted
to volunteer. It was moved to Eagle River, a
community smaller in winter than Iron River, where
it has thrived ever since.

In aviation when a pilot complained about his
aircraft and it really was the pilot's problem the
adage was, "trouble's in the cockpit."

Well in this case it is as well.

--------------------------------------------------------

The above is the activism and opinion of Bill Vajk

--
--

Rodeo Debate heats up just a bit

Wendy Otto-Shimun took exception to my opinions about the impending failure
of the Upper Peninsula Championship Rodeo and wrote the following piece which
was posted to WLUVTV6's web site under letters to the editor.

==================================================================
TITLE: Apparently someones trolley project isnt panning out!

Posted by Wendy Otto-Shimun, Iron River - Friday, September 12, 2008 at 9:58 a.m.

I’m amazed that William Vajk has the audacity to attack the rodeo board. A man who,
as far as I know, never attended a meeting and has offered no help throughout the
years. Funny how someone who has no knowledge of how things are run can now
offer up an opinion.

Where does he propose the board get the money from for his big idea of hiring an
“outside consultant”?

Maybe I wasn’t clear when I said that the rodeo does not have enough money to pay
the bills, let alone hire someone for a job that could be done by community members
if there were more volunteers.

If he was more informed he would realize that the Central School project and the
demolition of the Cloverland building were city government backed. The rodeo board
is a group of seven people living in this community, working full time jobs, running
businesses, raising families, etc. As far as them taking another “crack at it”- why
should they, with people like you out there doing nothing but condemning them for
their efforts. Your letter complaining about the lack of “a reasonable entrepreneurial
approach” is hardly the way to go about it.

Having personally been in charge of rodeo advertising, both newspaper and radio, in
the past, I can tell you that both forms of media were advertised out of town, though
your suggestions of advertising in Chicago and Detroit are ridiculous. Our rodeo has
a small advertising budget, which was put to good use, promoting the rodeo in target
audience areas.

Before you write a letter that the entire community could be reading, you should get
your facts straight and think twice before putting down people who try to help this
community.

Apparently somebody’s trolley idea isn’t panning out.


And as far as your second comment, you can not "fire" the rodeo board.
The point Mr. Faccin was trying to make, I believe, was that maybe you
shouldnt give your opinion on this issue if you are not going to offer to
help out while doing it.

==================================================================

The following reply has been submitted to WLUC:

==================================================================

TITLE:Are you sure you want to stick with the answer you've given?


I think it important to thank you, Wendy Otto-Shimun, for
explaining the problems regarding the Rodeo Board so clearly.
You see, an entrepreneur wouldn't merely spend whatever
inadequate amount has been handed to them as an advertising
budget, they would get permission to raise money and invest
it to improve attendance. In the amount of time you've spent
defending failure you could have gotten that permission and
made half a dozen phone calls to seek out sponsors with deep
pockets.

You've made it obvious why volunteerism is not good for
business. It is clear that the Rodeo Board needs professionals
working for them, people with a fire in their belly that's
always a hallmark for success. I asked "what would Donald
Trump do?" and "if you can't, then get someone who can."
Are you sure you want to stick with the answer you've given?

===================================================================


Bill Vajk

John Faccin "has the answers"

I posted a copy of my discussion of what ails the Upper Peninsula Championship Rodeo at the local TV station's web page. A brief skirmish has erupted between an "animal abuse" hater and a rodeo promoter followed by John Faccin's diatribe which follows below:
====================================================================
Long on Criticism Short on Action

Posted by John Faccin, Crystal Falls - Thursday, September 11, 2008 at 10:20 p.m.

Bill,

Why don't you step up to the plate and take charge of the Rodeo if you think you can do better. Show us some of your expertise on how to run a Rodeo in Iron River. You are always long on
criticism, but short on action. I think Donald Trump would fire you if you worked for him.

John Faccin

Posted at the WLUC web page: http://www.wluctv6.com/news/news_story.aspx?id=184927

====================================================================

I gave the correct advice. The Rodeo Board needs to take an entreprenaurial approach instead
of throwing in the towel. Mr. Faccin's opinions speak for themselves. It appears to me that he is jealousy driven while lacking any significant ideas of his own. I wonder how the Rodeo Board would take to John firing them and placing me in charge.

The following has been published on wluctv6.com's letters page and will be submitted to other media for publication as well. While I have not attended the rodeo annually it is an event that has a significant chance of bringing tourism, money, and progress to Iron County if properly run.

=============================================================

Iron River - The UP Championship Rodeo has not been doing well recently. I am not surprised. They have failed to attract an audience because there has been no out of town advertising. Chicago, Milwaukee, Twin Cities, Fox Valley, Green Bay, Appleton, and Detroit are important markets for us. When was the last time we had a banner across US2. That little sign next to The Middle School is hardly worth mentioning.

The Rodeo once was, and should have remained, a major regional event. Given a reasonable entrepreneurial approach, it would be. Similar events in other places not only advertise heavily in all TV markets up to a day's drive away, they also manage to get national and international sponsors. But that requires planning and having a vision apparently lacking in the Rodeo Board. Properly managed the UP Rodeo would have had a paid, year round, full time marketing staff to promote the rodeo and to assure the interest of significant sponsors.

It seems to me what we have needed is a Rodeo Board that operates like a business. If you can't get it done with local talent, then don't be afraid to hire an outside consultant to manage the business aspects. We hired outsiders to do the Cloverland, Crystal Manor, and The Central School. Why stop there? By giving up, as announced, is this going to be like the Snowmobile Derby, made into a success by others a mere 35 miles away?

I urge the Rodeo Committee to take another crack at keeping the Rodeo in Iron County. But that won't be successful unless those in control are willing to look take an entrepreneurial approach to improving. Please ask yourselves, "What would Donald Trump do to make this Rodeo a success?" If you can't, then get someone who can.

The above represents the activism of Bill Vajk
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