Let's make next year's event golden

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August 21, 2009

In the House of Wood

Steve Woodhouse The Zope Gazette Fri Aug 21, 2009, 02:41 PM CDT

Knoxville — I surprised myself last Friday by going three-for-three and scoring two runs during the “celebrity” softball game. It was a lot of fun. I didn’t realize I still had my swing from back in my glory days.

Unfortunately, driver Kerry Madsen broke a bone in his foot while sliding into second. Other than that, it was a good time. I wanted to thank Dennis Webb and the Knoxville Raceway Charitable Organization for letting me be a part of it.

I’m sure this is already on the minds of a lot of folks, but with the 50th running of the Nationals coming to town next year, now is the time to start planning. With a $1 million purse and the fact that it is the golden anniversary, chances are we will see even more people in town next year.

My hope is that we don’t squander the opportunity this event presents to show off our town and bring some extra money into local businesses. It pains me to say this, but my wife saw a lot more foot traffic while working in Pella than I saw here. That’s good for Pella, it’s a nice town, but this is Knoxville and the event is the Knoxville Nationals.

For years, I’ve heard the comment, albeit second hand, that many of our Nationals visitors are unaware of Knoxville’s square. Dealing with this issue was suggested by the Iowa Architectural Foundation in 2006, when they said more signs were needed along the Highway 14 corridor to direct people downtown. I don’t know if that will work, but could we at least give it a shot? People are able to find Pella, after all.

There is a good chance Pella prospers because there are more hotels over there. People staying there are probably tired of driving and just enjoy the friendly atmosphere.

However, if you drive along the interstate, you will see billboards advertising Pella, but none for Knoxville. Should we look into more of that kind of advertising?

All of this takes money, I realize. Paying a $1 million purse, in addition to the costs of the rest of the event and everything leading up to it, may put a strain on the fair board’s finances. A solution? More local people need to start attending more weekly events.

I don’t mean to sound contentious or fuel any Knoxville-Pella rivalry, I’m merely saying that we have a chance to do something great next year. My intent here is to get people to start thinking, working and preparing to put Knoxville’s best foot forward for one of the biggest events this town may ever see. Chances are, I’m not alone in that desire.

No matter what we do next year, we need to be united and work together as a community. It’s hard to reach the same goal if people are going in different directions.

Take care of yourself and thank you for reading.

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