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Tip the domino … and let it fall!

B Gorman
TahoeChamber

When it comes to the future of the South Shore, many are left scratching their heads while others are left pounding their fists in frustration. These two reactions have been more prevalent recently with looming tax, fee and ordinance changes. With such strong feelings associated on every side of the playing field, it can be difficult to determine how we move beyond our differences to make progress and create a more sustainable, cohesive and friendly South Shore that appeals to current and future residents, as well as visitors. Fortunately, the 9th Annual Tourism Forum shed some light on what we can do as a community.

Along with the Lake Tahoe Visitors Authority, El Dorado County and the South Tahoe Alliance of Resorts, the chamber presented the Tourism Forum providing inspiration and information on making ours a recognized recreation destination. Over 100 South Shore residents attended to hear from Mark Davis of Sacramento International Airport and keynote speakers Ken Fisher and Jonathan Weidenhamer, Park City’s recreation manager and economic development manager respectively.

Jon and Ken shared that as recently as the 1970s Park City was very nearly a mining ghost town with Main Street brawls and mounting tension between miners and the newly arrived “hippies” from California. A strong belief and the courage to forge ahead has led this community of 7,500 to be recognized as one of American’s best towns to live in by magazines such as Outside. The story of Park City’s success drew us there on a Chamber Trek in 2014 and the trip was so inspirational that we invited Jon and Ken to share the story with our community in person. It has not been an easy journey for Park City; in fact, they wrestled with many issues along the way, some of which resemble our challenges and provide encouragement to our process. The overwhelming message was one of setting the vision, crafting a plan to achieve and staying the course despite some differences of opinions and failures along the way.



Park City – much like Tahoe – has as a part of its vision a desire to preserve and enhance the natural environment while creating a world-class multi-seasonal destination with diverse economic and cultural opportunities. In short they simply say “Keep Park City, Park City”! This agreed upon vision enables elected officials to make difficult decisions knowing they are in alignment with the agreed upon vision. As Jon said during his keynote: “At some point you need to make a decision, tip the domino and let it fall.” Jon encouraged us to do more of what they saw as our successes, and reminded us that the status quo of doing nothing will eat us up, thus making it a terrible choice for any community.

In addition to the key note presentation the forum also provided attendees with ideas for accommodating the outdoor recreational guest and leveraging special events such as the upcoming Amgen Tour of California. A succinct Recreation Information sheet provided contact information on visitor centers, fishing license locations, hiking permits and boat inspection stations. This sheet would be ideally located at all front desks and cash registers in retail, restaurant, recreation and hospitality businesses. For a link to the Park City Trek video or to download the Tips or Recreation Information sheet, please visit http://www.tahoechamber.org


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