Visitors Committee discusses plans for 2024, looks to replace billboard

SIDNEY- On Wednesday, January 3, board members of the Oktoberfest Committee and Cheyenne County Visitors Committee to discuss the results of this year’s “All is Bright Tour” that was held at the Fairgrounds this past December. Around 2500 people attended the indoor Christmas walking-tour and 200 “Letters to Santa” were submitted to the mailbox located at the pavilion. The Sidney Sun-Telegraph printed the letters as a special edition that was distributed inside the newspaper on December 21.

Members also discussed the necessity of planning ahead to combat certain situations. One example is the possibility of extreme cold. Another situation to consider for next year is that it needs to be dark enough for people to be able to enjoy all the lighting and Christmas decorations.

Director of Cheyenne County Tourism, Kendra Mitchell will attend the Nebraska State of Tourism Unity Summit on February 7, 2024 in Lincoln and the National Western Stock Show in Denver, on January 13 and 14 to represent Western Nebraska at the visit NE booth.

In other business, Mitchell talked to Kayla Lamb, account manager for Maly Marketing which is a full-service marketing and advertising agency based in Lincoln, Nebraska to get a timeline and possible strategy for working together in future endeavors.

Also, the boards discussed a billboard located in Potter that was possibly destroyed due to recent storms, that the Visitors Center is now trying to rebuild. The budget to replace the billboard in Potter would be $18,000. An additional $10,000 would be required to re-cover existing billboards if needed this year.

The next meeting of the Visitors Committee will be held on February 5, 2024 at 5pm.