If it’s true of some tasks that “too many cooks spoil the broth,” would it be true of efforts to publicize Kitsap County in ways that would attract tourists and new businesses?
Rather than lead a separate effort to “brand” Kitsap and market it to businesses who might consider moving here and offering employment to our residents, the Port of Bremerton chief executive has decided to let the Kitsap Peninsula Visitor and Convention Bureau take charge.
Cary Bozeman’s decision to work with the Bureau rather than separately may avoid a problem of having “too many cooks,” but the need for multiple viewpoints in putting together a marketing plan has to be accommodated by the “chef” in charge.
Patricia Graf-Hoke, executive general manager of the Bureau, intends to lead the effort and work with Bozeman and any others who want to help out.
Since people who have come to Kitsap to live, work or visit often did so for differing reasons, putting together a way to describe our area and then publicize it may not be easy.
The main idea is to bring dollars and employment opportunities into our community, whether the additional economic activity results from tourism or unrelated new businesses.
What attracts tourists isn’t necessarily the same as what attracts businesses that don’t depend on tourism — and neither may be compatible with the desires of residents who came here because Kitsap has few attributes of a big metropolitan area.
Rather than preparing a broth, Graf-Hoke will perhaps be attempting to make a stew with differing but compatible ingredients.
It should be an interesting endeavor to observe — and even more interesting to participants who have even a little bit to say.
Graf-Hoke and the others working on this task have to figure out what brought people here already, so even anecdotal evidence from ordinary folks could be a big help.
Chances are pretty good that the reasons people choose to live here, even when they have to commute many miles to work somewhere else, would be attractive to others who never considered Kitsap.
No anecdote is too small to matter when it comes to identifying the features of Kitsap County that make it the place we live, so Graf-Hoke needs to make it easy for those willing to speak up to do so.
Whatever brought the entrepreneurs and their employees here would often be the same things that attracted other residents — even those who are retired.
Many businesses are located here because this is where the entrepreneurs who started them wanted to live, so publicizing the things that attracted those entrepreneurs has to be part of the mixture.
In addition to identifying our attractions, there needs to be evidence that our community is willing and able to accommodate economic growth. It wouldn’t be enough to show that it’s a nice place to visit and not show that it’s also a good place to live and do business.
Many people who visit for more than a few days will figure out for themselves that they want to live here, so there will always be a return on any investment aimed at bringing visitors to Kitsap.
But business people in other areas aren’t necessarily the ones who will come for a visit absent publicity that makes them consider doing so.
The difficulty in bringing businesses to the South Kitsap Industrial Area has been described as a problem caused by being “off the beaten path.” People looking for sites suitable for industrial development are looking wherever that beaten path is, not here.
It’s not that there aren’t successful businesses in SKIA, it’s that there are too few compared to what we need to provide employment that doesn’t require long commutes.
To be successful in attracting new businesses, the marketing of Kitsap may have to show that being off the beaten path is a reason to come here.
It surely is the reason many residents are here now.
Bob Meadows is Port Orchard resident.
