The Juniata River Valley Chamber & Visitors Bureau Discover Our Good Nature! Photo by Thierwechter Photography
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Memories and Musings The Circus is Coming! The Circus is Coming! It was 1980 and I was full of ideas to promote Goose Day. Parades, concerts, street fairs, races, runs, plays, dinners and parties. One major ingredient was missing. Money. Along came a gentleman who promoted a circus that was coming through town. He provided proof from campaigns in other communities that used his services that you could net a profit to the tune of several thousand dollars. Well, that is exactly what I needed to make goose day the event I knew it could be. Here s how it worked. Blocks of tickets were pre-sold in advance of the circus s arrival. A phone room with eight outside lines would be set up. Sixteen solicitors would be hired, eight from 10am to 3pm and eight from 3pm to 8pm. They would work six days a week and the telephone book would be used, from cover to cover, as the reference. The solicitor s plea was to convince the consumer that if they bought a block of tickets, we would find less fortunate kids and families to use them and thus make the circus available to many who could never afford to attend. If that failed, then the solicitor would try to sell individual tickets for the consumer to use for their own benefit. Actual tickets were printed and would be mailed upon receipt of payment, the donated tickets would be turned over to the sponsoring organization (Goose Day Committee) to distribute to the less fortunate. We would call social services, United Way agencies, nursing homes, shelters, boy & girl scouts, church youth groups offering free tickets. The campaign worked so well that several thousand tickets were sold. Far more than the circus tent could ever hold. Ticket revenue from sales at the gate went directly to the circus. Continued... VIEW
We received a percentage of the telephone sales revenue, the promoter got a share, the entrepreneur who leased the circus for the state of Pennsylvania tour got a share and the rest went to the actual circus staff and performers. A win for everyone involved due to the generous nature of the local citizenry. For several years the Goose Day Committee had a wonderful working budget without soliciting a penny from local businesses. This worked so well that I took the idea to a service club I belonged to and we used the same phone lines, tables and callers to bring an Easter play to the high school auditorium. Oh, lest I forgot to mention, the phone room was in the basement of my shoe store on Market Street. Happiness abounded until the Pennsylvania Attorney General s office initiated an investigation into the process. It took a short time to review the procedure and the entire plan proved potentially illegal. It went away as quickly as it arrived. Oddly enough, I received many calls asking why the circus wasn t touring anymore and wanting to provide tickets for needy kids and families. So why did this plan appeal to my committee and service club so completely? We could do two events the community loved without going to the businesses and Mom & Pop s for financial support, in addition to that, who doesn t love a live circus or a stage show? Speaking of business donations, you would be totally amazed to learn which businesses support the community and which ones do not. Many have completely isolated themselves from solicitations by taking all donations out of the hands of the local management and then making it impossible to reach anyone in authority at their headquarters. One corporation with over three hundred stores simply replied, How can you expect us to support activities in three hundred communities? Not very convincing logic I must say. Every event taps the same businesses for financial contributions. This alternative phone solicitation approach was refreshing and worked so well for so many. The consumer felt benevolent providing the free tickets, the circus could afford to stay on the road for months at a time, the festival committee could concentrate on an exciting agenda and the promoter and the leaser of the circus could make a living. (and hundreds of less fortunate people got to see wonderful presentations they couldn t afford to attend). Plus, 16 people earned a pay check for 3 or 4 weeks twice a year. The illegal part was clearly the amount of unused tickets sold. Both organizations I was involved with were unable to continue producing the events the profits benefitted. Ironically, in many cases the consumers buying the bulk tickets were the ultimate beneficiaries of the activities their funds paid for. They enjoyed many of the free Goose Day activities and were able to attend a professionally produced stage show right here in Mifflin County. Jim Tunall VIEW
Wall Calendars With the New Year just begun, it can be hard to imagine that in just 12 short months, we ll be asking where 2014 went. Watch it go by with one of our new wall calendars. These 2 x 3, black and white posters are designed for you to see the whole year from across the room. They re great in conference rooms to help with planning and to keep track of office holidays and vacations. Want to see one? Find the photo we posted on our Facebook page Juniata River Valley Visitors Bureau (and Like us while you re there!) Wall calendars are available NOW at our offices in the Historic Courthouse, Downtown Lewistown and at Chamber events while supplies last. The Best Part is they re FREE! VIEW
Opportunities to Get Connected! 2014 After Hours February 26th: PA CareerLink of Mifflin County March 27th: FAME EMS April 28th: Big Daddy s Grill & Chill May: Business After Hours Expo June: OPEN JulY 31st: Smitty s Sports Bar & Grill August: Laurel Rock Farm-Britcher Tent Rentals September: Chestnut manor B&B October: Glick s Shoes November: Dick s Home Care December: Holiday Gathering hosted by the Juniata Valley Winery & Wilson House B & B Book your Business After Hours Event today we are currently booking into 2015! Show off your business or organization to the Chamber! VIEW
Holiday Gathering Business After Hours December 18th VIEW
Just e-mail your response to info@juniatarivervalley.org and check out the responses in next month s newsletter! Big Daddy s Grill-N-Chill Owners: Michele Dalton & Bob Baker 1014 West 4th Street, Lewistown, PA 17044 Phone: 717.994.0177, www.bigdaddysgrillnchill.com Angel Skipper, Agent 3425 Simpson Ferry Road, Suite 200, Camp Hill, PA 17011 Phone: 814.386.8896, www.transamericanetwork.com Angel.skipper@transamericanetwork.com VIEW