The Brag Basket is open! This one is for April 7-9, 2017. Bring your good news, big or small, to share with everyone.
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The rural small business blog. We talk about small town business, with how-to articles, especially on social media marketing and making your community a better place. We use this “author” for announcements and other things you’ll want to know.
I have to brag about my community – Wall, SD!
The Wall Economic Development Corporation hosted a “Lunch & Learn” event to watch the “Downtown After 5 pm: Bringing Lift to your Downtown After Hours” webinar last fall. We had a handful of interested community members show up. Following the “Lunch & Learn” we discussed several ideas to bring out downtown to life, including inviting local artists to hold a parade, to adding a tractor pull to our annual “Wall in the Fall” event or even adding a local monthly scavenger hunt in downtown businesses.
Then, one community member said, “Why don’t we do something during the Sturgis Motorcycle Rally!?”
Of course, at first this idea seemed too big. No one had ever done this before. We weren’t sure we could find a band, location or someone to serve a meal. Could we get enough volunteers? Who would pay for this? Would anyone come?
The group did not let these “what-ifs” and negative thoughts get in the way. We decided we were just going to do something! Thus, the 2017 Wall Crawl Poker Run and Concert was born.
Now, we have the support of the Wall City Council and the Wall Chamber of Commerce to hold the first annual “Wall Crawl.” The event started as a group of random community members, and the Chamber has since decided to take the reins and lead the charge for the event! Of course, all of the original volunteers are still involved in the planning process. We will hold the event on Monday, August 7th at the Wall Rodeo Grounds – thanks to the support of the Wall Rodeo Booster Club! The Poker Run will be a fundraiser for The Ride Therapy Project, an awesome South Dakota non-profit that rebuilds motorcycles for disabled veterans. A South Dakota up-and-coming band, 35th and Taylor, will be the concert performers.
We meet once a month to continue working on our plans. We engaged the Wall High School art students and with the support of their awesome teacher, they participated in a logo design contest. When we got all of the designs back, we couldn’t just choose one! We decided to combine three of our favorite designs into one.
We have connected with the City of Sturgis and Sturgis Chamber of Commerce and they have given us guidance on marketing and will even help us spread the word about the “Wall Crawl.”
We have launched a Facebook page (www.facebook.com/WallCrawl) to start spreading the word!
Is this scary? Yes! Has anyone done this before? No! Do we know if we will have enough volunteers to pull it off? Nope! Have we run into obstacles? Absolutely! Are we still planning the event and moving forward with excitement and confidence? YOU BET!
This event shows the true magic of gathering your crowd. Give people an opportunity to share ideas, and watch what happens!
Thank you Deb and Becky for your webinar that has led to this awesome community event in Wall.
Cheyenne, congratulations to all the brave thinkers in Wall! You’ve stepped out to try something new, and whether it’s a big hit or a bit of a flop, you’ve gathered a crowd who can keep working together, you’ve built connections that will benefit the community, and you’ve learned something about what will work. I love it!
Way to go Wall!!!
We used to frequent small towns and local events on our way to Sturgis each time we went!
Whoohoo!! Go Wall!!
Awesome, Katy! We would LOVE it if you could make a pit stop in Wall for the Wall Crawl this year :)
Cheyenne
I am Keilah G., the newly hired Director of Downtown Development for Dunn, NC. My new job is, in itself, a big step for our lovely town on its path to revitalization. I am the first to hold this position, and this is my first week on the job, so, I have a LOT of learning ahead of me. We are looking into the Main Street Community Program, and, even if we are not able to participate in the program, will follow and implement some of the guidelines set by it. I am excited about all our town has to offer, and am looking forward to seeing new life in our historic downtown…I will also appreciate any good advice!
Congratulations, Keilah! You’re charting new territory, so no one gets to tell you “you’re doing it wrong!” My best advice: listen a lot, and encourage people to try out their crazy and wonderful ideas, even if the “official” people don’t approve. It’s through experimentation, success and failure that we learn what works today.
Keilah,
Congrats on taking on a new position! A year and a half ago, I was in the exact same place with my job. It was brand new and no one had ever tried anything like it before. In my short time in this position, I have learned that connections and relationships have helped me the most! These relationships exist not only in my town, but across our entire state. I have found that people in our line of work are always willing to lend a helping hand and give you advice when needed! I would encourage you, if you haven’t already, to reach out to others in your state that have similar positions and find out what they have been doing. Perhaps you could visit other downtowns to gather ideas of what is working and what isn’t. Also, its awesome to start with “small steps,” and Becky and Deb always say. Starting with small wins will help you rally the community behind what you are doing and you will have even more support when you are ready to tackle bigger projects!
I wish you the BEST of luck!
Cheyenne
I would encourage you to try and become a Main Street community. We did 5 years ago and it (along with lots of hard work) has helped turn our community around. Talk about gathering one’s crowd! You are not alone with Main Street! They want to see your town thrive and will help you at every turn. Go for it and good luck!