New Fort Scott Chamber president sees city's potential

Fort Scott is a community with the potential to grow and prosper, according to new Fort Scott Area Chamber of Commerce President and CEO Vicki Pritchett.

"The image I'd love for people to have of Fort Scott is that it's a progressive community, proud of its heritage and looking to retain its character as it grows to become a community for the future," Pritchett told The Fort Scott Tribune during a recent interview.

Pritchett, who is from Nevada, Mo., and brings a background in media to her new position, accepted the job late last month and has spent the last few weeks trying to adjust to new job duties and a new community. In that time, Pritchett said she has seen five new businesses come into the community, but community support for those businesses and getting them to stay in the area are what's important.

"I think it's important that the people of Fort Scott do their best to support their local businesses, otherwise they don't have much of a chance for success," she said. "I think tax incentives, business inducements and a variety of other offers are great to make to businesses, but if they are not supported by the community, they won't be able to stay."

Pritchett said FSACC Tourism Director Katie Casper has been busy recently working on a plan to market Fort Scott to tourists and other out-of-town visitors. The chamber advertises in several nationwide travel magazines and publications, and also cooperates with various coalitions to advertise the area. Chamber officials are also currently in the middle of a project to revamp the FSACC Web site, www.fortscott.com, to make it more visually appealing and descriptive to tourists through the use of video and photos, Pritchett said.

Chamber officials have also recently sent promotional mailings to several national motor coach touring companies in an effort to lure them to Fort Scott, a task that has appeared to be worthwhile, Pritchett said.

"As a result already, there is a 50 percent increase in the number of tours scheduled to come to Fort Scott in April and May," she said.

Other upcoming events that are designed to promote Fort Scott include the All-Kansas Air Tour in April, and "The Hop," a regional traveling car show that takes place in October. The FSACC Tourism Committee has also scheduled the famous Budweiser Clydesdales to appear at the annual Good Ol' Days celebration in June. The installation of new marketing billboards on the edge of Fort Scott will be completed very soon as well, Pritchett said.

Later this fall, chamber officials will review and evaluate the effectiveness of the marketing plan, Pritchett said.

"At the conclusion of this tourist season, we'll definitely evaluate what worked, what didn't seem to work and what we'd like to change, if anything, for the upcoming years," she said.

Some of Fort Scott's strengths include the town's history and the fact that the community is very close-knit, Pritchett said.

"Obviously, Fort Scott has the historic aspect going for it," she said. Having a National Historic Site here just lends itself to being a tourist attraction. The other thing great about Fort Scott is that it's such a community that truly epitomizes what is great about America. The people are nice and friendly, the community has a low cost of living, it doesn't take 30 minutes to drive across town and there is a nice mix of retailers, industry and professionals. You can be on a first-name basis with your doctor or dentist because you go to church with them, too."

Pritchett added that the only downfall to the community is that "outsiders seem to recognize the value of the area more than Bourbon County residents do."

One of her short-term goals as chamber president includes focusing on the upcoming annual chamber dinner celebration event and awards ceremony that is scheduled to take place March 27 at The Liberty Theatre, 113 S. Main St. Pritchett said she also plans to familiarize herself with various committees, organizations and groups with which the chamber is involved.

Long-term goals for the chamber include a monthly electronic newsletter to keep chamber members and the community more informed and give them regular information on chamber activities and events, Pritchett said.

Another long-term goal that Pritchett said she would like to design is a plan that would help new businesses that come to Fort Scott get up and running; a plan that is currently still in the early planning stage.

"I don't have all the details worked out yet about what I would propose, but I think that it would be great to provide this type of service to new businesses," she said. There are so many talented and skilled individuals in this area. However, the costs to start a business are sometimes so prohibitive, many potential entrepreneurs never realize their dreams. I'd like for the chamber to be able to help with that to a degree."

Pritchett comes to the chamber from KRPS Public Radio in Pittsburg, where she served for six years as the director of development. She also previously served as director of Main Street Nevada, an organization that works toward the revitalization and development of the downtown area.

She has also worked as managing editor of the Nevada Daily Mail, the Vernon County Times and the Vernon County Record. She replaced former six-year chamber president Gary Emry, who is now the city manager in Girard after accepting that job last month.