Digitizing cow plops

by Mike Armstrong

The Carbon County Visitor Council (CCVC) met at 10 a.m. on July 15 at the Cottontree Inn in Rawlins.

This is the second meeting held this summer where the board met in person. Social distancing was still practiced. All board members were present with the exception of the Medicine Bow representative. Rawlins still has no representative.

The agenda and minutes from the regularly scheduled meeting held on June 24 were quickly approved.

The annual elections for officers of the board was held. Marilyn Godfrey, representing Riverside, was re-elected to chairwoman; Danny Burau, representing Saratoga, was elected vice-chairman; Casey Shinkle, representing Carbon County, was elected secretary; and Julie Webb, representing Elk Mountain, was re-elected treasurer.

The board heard from the Rawlins Chamber representative Angie Iacovetto on allowing the grant for the Rawlins Cow Plop to go virtual. This would allow visitors to the competition to come from anywhere that had internet.

A cow plop contest is where a location with a flat surface has a designated area that is roped off and divided up into squares that are appropriately marked. Each square is then sold for a set price. The winning square is the one where the cow leaves its first cow pie.

The board liked the innovative idea for going virtual for both the Cow Plop and Quarters for a Quarter Mile events and approved the grant changes for advertising in the manner Iacovetto requested.

The board approved the CCVC co-sponsoring of the new Tablescaping (themed table setting competition) event to be held during the Carbon County Fair.

Financials were approved for the month of June as was the first reading of the 2020/2021 budget.

Lodging tax revenue was down for most municipalities and the county. In 2019 for the month of July Carbon County collected $14,294.24, for July 2020 the funds taken were $4,402.94. Rawlins took the biggest hit. In July 2019 the lodging tax collected was $33,182.87 and in 2020, the figure was $13,113.61. Saratoga collected $2,174.35 in 2019 and $960.97 in 2020. Medicine Bow and Dixon were the only two towns to see an increase from last year. Medicine collected $41.18 in 2019 and $90.09 in 2020. Dixon received $49.14 in 2019 and $176.55. On the whole lodging tax collected from all municipalities and county was down $31,176.03 compared to the same time last year.

Get Your Fishing On, had the highest number of hits at 4,555 on video. Illinois, Utah, Arizona, California and Colorado were the top five states in requesting information packets on Carbon County.

Leslie Jefferson, CEO of the CCVC gave her report. Chairperson Marilyn Godfrey presented Carbon County A2D completion award for Carbon County residents that completed the Carbon County Journey A2D (Arrival to Departure) education course.

CCVC has partnered with Visitor Engagement Academy to produce a training tool for not only the Carbon County tourism industry but for all Carbon County residents. The Carbon County Visitor Journey A2D program gives participants the tools to be an advocate for visitors from the moment they arrive in Carbon County until they depart.

Jefferson said the training is free and can be found on the CCVC website.

"Tourism is huge in Carbon County. Even though we may be social distancing due to the COVID-19 crisis currently, travel and tourism is resilient and will return." said Jefferson. "Everybody in Carbon County is important. For instance, if a visitor gets gas, any interaction that gives a visitor information is important and this training can really help. It is exciting that our training tool is complete and ready to use during these difficult times. We invite everyone interested in the training tool to enroll online, to find the registration link, please visit wyomingcarboncounty.com/blog." 

The Carbon County Visitor Journey A2D is a combination of online learning along with a live class that ties the training together. The time required to complete the course is roughly two hours of online learning, broken into 15-20 minute segments, and a 60 to 75-minute live class. 

"I was very surprised at how A2D presented the information in a simple manner," Burua said. He was one of the board members that completed the training. "Some things that I felt I could tell my team (Firewater Public House staff) were not only simple but also effective and immediately applicable. I really enjoyed it."

Burau said his training took only a few hours.

The eight people that completed the course received a certificate of completion and a lapel pin.

Under old business, the Riverside Visitor Center sign was discussed. The board is looking at changing the sign to be more dynamic with its colors to get attention of visitors driving by. The board will be putting the work out for bids.

The Riverside Visitor Center is considering making a pet area on its grounds. The board discussed different options on what dispenser and bags should be implemented. Several board members said they would look into what was available and the cost.

The next scheduled meeting will be at 10 a.m. on August 19 in Baggs.