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Discover Mid-America — April 2006
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Destinations 2006 got us going
by Bruce Rodgers, Editor/Publisher
Our Destinations 2006 vote (or sample or competition or survey — admittedly, we’re having a little difficulty nailing down the “active” designation) was a success. Of course I’m partial, getting it going was my decision so what else am I going to say?
Seriously, I want to thank all our readers and advertisers that participated. Destinations is mainly about delivering information through Discover Mid-America and marketing, so being involved has the potential, at the very least, of getting your business’ name out there.
We received over 700 ballots. And if you read last month’s issue, two malls — Paramount in Wichita and Mission Road in Prairie Village, KS — had quite a battle going in vote gathering. Also significant was the small town of Paola, KS winning for Historic Town and Pigeon West Antiques getting runner-up in a couple of categories — proving that a business doesn’t have to be big to win big.
Ann Davis and Jeff Hartl made sure folks who came to their shop, and people they ran across while doing shows, had a ballot and filled it out. Sure, there was a friendly nudge to vote for Pigeon West and Paola. Their effort worked, so much so that we heard comments from folks in Independence, MO about “coming in second” to Paola. That includes Swan River Museum in Paola overtaking Vaile Mansion in Independence in the Historic Site/Museum category.
Make no mistake, all this is meant to be fun in addition to being informational. Winners get a nice plaque for their walls while runners-up get a certificate to frame. We also sent out press release to relevant media.
The Paola people were so happy that I suggested I come down to their town and personally hand over the awards’ plaques. Who knew that they would agree? So I went, enjoyed myself, visited some local antique shops and learned more of Paola's history.
As for the businesses that didn’t participate…hopefully, what you’ve been reading makes for a little envy. We need, all of us in the antique business, on whatever level, to get enthused. Yeah, it a tough economy; yeah, there’s a shake out going on — but hey, the antique business is the only business where something that gets older gets more valuable. Can’t say that for most any other business, particularly when some industries are cranking out a new model every year and declaring what you now own is obsolete.
Destination isn’t about obsolescence; it’s about discovery.
Next year, we’re going to move the balloting ahead. Instead of starting in the December issue, we’ll conduct the balloting in January, February with the Destinations 2007 issue in April.
Also, we’re going to — as a result of Terri Baumgardner’s research on shabby chic and primitives (the cover story in this issue) — separate the shabby chic and primitives categories. If you have any ideas or comments on Destinations, please call or email me.
Bruce Rodgers can be contacted at publisher@discoverypub.com.
> Editor’s Notebook Archive — past columns