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Public Relations: Byways Share Their Designation Successes
It takes a lot of hard work to become a National Scenic Byway or All-American Road. The process is more than identifying intrinsic qualities that a byway possesses or completing a corridor management plan. In many cases, it takes volunteers who give tireless hours to spread the word, create an organization or foster a vision for the byway’s future.
There is often a great flurry of activity to get to Washington, D.C., for the designation event. Byway leaders come home with a plaque, a new sense of a larger community and good memories. So, how does a byway convey this experience to its local communities?
In the past months, several newly designated byways developed creative celebrations to publicize the important national recognition they received and to perk local interest at the same time. America’s Byways Resource Center followed some of these designation events and found wonderfully useful ideas and tips - many that can be adapted for any byway or any event. Enjoy the sampling.
The Whistle Stop Tour
To celebrate the recent All-American Road designation, the Creole Nature Trail District Board of Commissioners and the Southwest Louisiana Convention & Visitors Bureau hosted a Whistle Stop Tour of the Creole Nature Trail.
The tour also served as a kick-off event for See America’s Byways, the National Scenic Byways Program joint marketing initiative with the Travel Industry Association of America (TIA). Beginning Labor Day weekend, the District joined other byway organizations across the country in promoting travel to these unique thoroughfares.
“The Whistle Stop Tour was our personal invitation to visit the Creole Nature Trail over the Labor Day weekend,” said Monte Hurley, chairman of the Trail’s governing board. “The welcome mat is still out. Come see for yourself what the Federal Highway Administration saw - a route worthy of the title All-American Road.”
Throughout the tour, special tributes were made to the Trail’s scenic and cultural qualities. The motorcoach excursion along the byway’s 180 miles of picturesque marshes, bayous and coastal beaches was interspersed with stops at each of the corridor’s nine communities for a program of Cajun music, local delicacies and special presentations.
The District was especially honored that these presentations included proclamations from Louisiana Governor Michael Foster; Lieutenant Governor Kathleen Blanco; the Calcasieu Parish Police Jury; the Cameron Parish Policy Jury; and the mayors of the Trail’s gateway cities, Lake Charles and Sulphur. Each paid tribute to the All-American Road designation and the marketing initiative by naming the Labor Day holiday as The Creole Nature Trail Weekend.
Representatives from national and regional media, the Louisiana Office of Tourism, the Louisiana Department of Transportation, and State and Federal legislative offices joined other VIPs for the tour, and a number of byway residents met the tour group at the various stops.
“In Louisiana, we’ve always recognized the Creole Nature Trail as a unique American experience and a great tourist attraction,” said Kathleen Blanco, Louisiana Lieutenant Governor. “The All-American Road designation is an indication that our crown jewel is recognized on a national level. This is an exciting opportunity for our visitors to look into our heart and soul, and connect with the things that have made us what we are today,” she added.
Now one of only 20 All-American Roads in the country, the Trail was also among the first 14 to receive a National Scenic byway designation from the Federal Highway Administration through the National Scenic Byways Program in 1996. It remains the only nationally designated byway in Louisiana.
Membership Anyone?
The North Shore Scenic Drive in Minnesota celebrated its extension this summer in each of the byway’s communities. The byway organization invited elected officials, byway stakeholders and community leaders to each of the five community stops to address media and local interested parties. Recognizing the public’s interest in the byway and how it affects them, the byway organization put together a simple folder containing information about what it means to be a nationally designated byway, what types of grants are available, what projects have been initiated by the byway, and a membership form.
Long-Distance Celebrations
The designation of Alaska’s Marine Highway is a National Scenic Byway certainly called for a major celebration. However, the byway couldn’t hold just one press conference and cover the entire 8,800-mile State ferry routes. Rather, officials from the Alaska Marine Highway, including Captain George Capacci, General Manager of the Marine Highway System, staged a series of celebrations along the ports of call throughout southeast Alaska. Called Sail-abration, the events began in early September and continue the first half of next year.
The State ferry system features nine passenger/vehicle-transport vessels and 33 terminals that reach from Bellingham, WA and Prince Rupert, BC through the Inside Passage, across the Gulf of Alaska and Prince William Sound, around the Kenai Peninsula to Kodiak, then out the Aleutian Chain. At each port of call, byway leaders, officials and representatives from the byways gave presentations to the local community about the byway recognition.
The Sail-abration was kicked off with the first of two Byway Stakeholder Summits and designation events to dovetail with national program events. After beginning the Summit in Juneau, the entire group sailed up the Lynn Canal to Haines and Skagway, dedicating the ship, the M/V Malaspina, as well as the terminals in Haines and Skagway (and continuing their stakeholder gathering in-between!).
After these visits, dedications of the Juneau, Bellingham, Ketchikan, Pelican and Sitka terminals followed, as well as the M/V Columbia, Taku, LeConte and Matanuska. (All Marine Highway vessels are named after Alaska glaciers.)
Plans to present the specially designed Alaska Marine Highway Scenic Byway plaque will continue later in the fall in Petersburg and Wrangell, and aboard the M/V Kennicott. The presentations resume in the spring when terminals in south-central and southwest Alaska are dedicated. Part Two of the Alaska Marine Highway Stakeholders Summit is scheduled for January in Anchorage. Notably, the unique plaque is paired with an equally unique flag - the first byway flag to fly anywhere in the United States, according to the consultants who played a major role in bringing this to fruition.
Six-State Collaboration
The Historic National Road put together a press release that could be used by all six States promoting the recent designation. The press release covered information about the designation process, the history of the Historic National Road and local contacts for media. Each State coordinated its own events to help keep local flavor.
The Designation Opportunity
Designation events can be very important to a byway’s outreach plan. Designation events can:
• Foster local and regional awareness through media attention and publicity efforts.
• Attract new partners through special events.
• Create a venue for introducing memberships.
• Reward volunteers who have worked hard.
• Renew interest in volunteers who may not be as involved.
• Draw attention to local issues that the byway may be involved in.