A photo of the Gila Cliff Dwellings on the side of a trolley in Tucson. People gather afterward to discuss ideas.(Photo Courtesy of Shirin McArthur)

By Mary Alice Murphy

The Silver City Arts and Cultural District and Tourism held an informational forum and gathered public input at what the organization hopes will become an annual event. About 60 people attended the event at the Western New Mexico University Besse-Forward Global Resource Center auditorium.

Lee Gruber, SCACD board president, said the group just received its non-profit 501c3 status.

"We want to hear what you have to say," Gruber said. "The board members give their hearts and souls, as well as a lot of time and energy to this organization." She introduced Vice President Faye McCalmont, Treasurer Alice Stockton and secretary Eileen Sullivan.

"In 2008, we were one of the first two arts and cultural districts named in the state," Gruber said. "Silver City definitely leads the way. We are held up as a shining example of what an arts and cultural district should try to do."

George Julian Dworin serves as the director of SCACD and Tourism. "Your coming out this evening means a lot to us on the marketing side. The idea behind this organization is to work with the community. By designation of an arts and cultural district, we are defined by a boundary, but we can't be contained. We have spread in Silver City, Grant County and up to the state level. We even have a global perspective. We cast a wide net."

He quoted some of the things he wrote in a Huffington Post article, called A Love Letter to Silver City. "I love coming back from Tucson, hitting the Continental Divide and sighing that I'm finally back home. I love the salsa at Mexico Nuevo and being first in line in the morning for coffee at the Jumping Cactus."

Dworin said Silver City has been an opportunity for Jessie Thetford, a contractor to the SCACD, to blossom in her art and in her music.

"We put problems aside to make things happen," he said. "We see it at the state level. I am endlessly proud of what Silver City is capable of. It's why 10,000 souls can get attention in Times Square and a two-page spread in Sunset magazine.

"We are contracted by Silver City to providing marketing and advertising," Dworin said. "Grant County has its own lodger's tax committee and a Grant County Tourism Board. In Silver City, the lodger's tax goes to a lot of entities to pay for 'come, spend money, come back and buy homes.' In Grant County, they manage their lodger's tax for their marketing and advertising."

This year, the SCACD received the bulk of Silver City's lodger's tax funding.

"We work closely with the Grant County Tourism Board," Dworin said. "We share media plans, collaborate on content and do joint purchasing in media. We work so well with Becky O'Connor of the Grant County Tourism Board."

He said other major funding partners are the state of New Mexico's Tourism Department and the New Mexico True campaign, from which Silver City has benefitted. "The state tourism department has deep pockets. They are up to $9 million in funding this year. They do creative things, phenomenal things and provide resources to Silver City. We have access to statistics and research, as well as graphics and marketing content and capabilities. Right now, they are playing a tremendous role in Silver City. They have the Clean and Beautiful program. Syzygy Tile just received a grant to create a parklet out of the paved area in front of the company."

Dworin said another funding source is the New Mexico Department of Transportation, which has funded $45,000 for an educational map highlighting the area's outdoor and cultural assets, as well as a kiosk and way finding.

The organization is awaiting word on another grant for $40,000 in collaboration with the National Park Service, the National Forest Service, State Parks, the DOT and the Continental Divide Trail Coalition. This project will be to leverage the 2016 Centennial celebration of the national parks. The "Find Your Parks," will challenge the U.S. and the world to discover and visit any of the 401 national parks, of which the Gila Cliff Dwellings National Monument is one.

He said the DOT is promoting the Trail of the Mountain Spirits; New Mexico, the City of Rocks; and the National Forest the 3.1 million acres of national forest and wilderness.

"So many faces in this audience are partners," Dworin said.

He then described the media the organization is planning. "Conceptually, three years ago, we sought to cover a lot of different media with a lot of little ads. From 83 that year, we reduced the number to 55 to 60, but increased them in scale. We are going after the cultural traveler. Our ads are not age-specific, but for someone who wants a learning experience; an authentic experience."

"Millenials want a new experience to share on Facebook and Instagram. Boomers want the experience, because it's on their bucket list, and they don't know how much time they have left to experience them," he said to knowing chuckles from many Boomers in the audience.

"The Continental Divide Trail is one of our assets," Dworin said. "We had a successful Continental Divide Trail Days event. The Continental Divide Trail has incredible opportunities for New Mexico. It's the crown jewel of the national trails, is the longest and least developed. It is big on our radar. Silver City received the first Gateway designation and now there's one in Chama and in Cuba. We want to build gateways all the way to Canada."

He pointed out the Zócalo arts and cultural publication out of Tucson. "It has a lot of commonality to our community. We have two-page spreads in there every month." He also mentioned Edible magazine.

"We bring in publishers and writers," Dworin said. He pointed to Kendra Milligan in the audience and said she took writers to the community orchards projects. "We align interests, which helps us to get press and partnerships."

He said the organization has been advertising "big" in New Mexico Magazine, which has 90,000 in circulation, and has already created fans of the state. Recently the publication had a 12-page spread on Silver City and Grant County. "We requested to turn it into a collaboration piece and created 25,000 copies. When a couple flew in on their private plane from Texas the first week after publication, I knew it was powerful."

In another collaboration piece, the organization developed 101 Things to Do in Silver City, (you might want to stay an extra day). The first printing was 10,000, followed by a second printing of 10,000. He and staff handed out cards with stamps on them for people to send to friends and family to bring them to the area to visit.

"We have poured a significant amount of our budget into Facebook and Instagram," Dworin said. "We send out bulk mailings of our collateral piece."

Ted Pressler said, as part of the Southwest Festival of the Written Word to take place in Silver City in October, he and others targeted multi-day events and went to the Tucson Book Festival. "We engaged so many that we collected more than 7,000 names and emails. Personal engagement and personal invitations are really powerful."

Dworin acknowledged three people who work "tirelessly" for the organization.

He described Michelle Geels as the "endless slave driver. She forces us to push our limits."

Rebecca Martin manages visitor services at the Murray Ryan Visitor Center, which Dworin said changes constantly and is becoming a true cultural center. "We have exhibits for 30 days before an event. For the Blues and Bikes Festival, we brought in two motorcycles-a new Harley and a vintage Indian. Last year, we had an installation for the Clay Festival. Getting people to the Visitor Center is key to getting them to stay an extra day. Rebecca is our smiling powerhouse of energy."

"And the third is an independent contractor-Jessie Thetford is our superstar. She is incredible at social media. I learn from her every day," Dworin said.

He said the Visitor Center and the area have had a great year, with lodger's tax showing an increase. The Visitor Center has seen a resurgence in the numbers of visitors, up 30 percent one month and 40 percent the next.

"We partner with attractions and we are seeing comparative metrics," Dworin said. "The City of Rocks, the Cliff Dwellings, and both museums have been reporting double digit increases. It has been consistent."

Most visitors come from other parts of New Mexico, and from Arizona, Texas and California in that order.

International visitors have also increased, with 23 from Germany, 12 from Mexico and 11 from Canada the past month.

"We ask them how they have heard about Silver City," Dworin said. "It's usually by word of mouth or from friends. The majority are staying one or two nights, with about 25 percent staying three or four nights. We ask them what they are here to see and do. The Gila Wilderness and the Cliff Dwellings switch back and forth being on top, with the downtown a close third.

"We count on our collateral pieces," he continued. "The Silver City-Grant County Chamber of Commerce took 700.

"I want to hear conversation, comments and concerns," he said.

An employee of Zia Publishing said the agency is not supported by Silver City or Grant County. "Everyone says no one has the money to advertise. So we're going out of town for advertisers. We are advertising to bring in people from outside."

Hueteotl Lopez said he loves the area for his children, who constantly engage in sports. "We are educators and want to impress on the group and the community arts and cultural district the importance of indigenous communities. I have a heavy interest in Apaches. Joe Saenz is trying to keep the powwow going. I hope the arts and cultural district can be behind it. It is a winter event that is held inside and brings dancers and musicians from all over. We want to keep it afloat. We want to see it emphasized based on the fact that this is Apache land. We want to promote the history and culture of this people. The Silver City Museum has a lot of Apache history. My worry is the cowboy and horses culture is promoted. We need the truth told about Native history. It's hard for me to see burial items behind glass at the Western Museum. The indigenous people are taking the lead in the preservation of eco-systems. If you get behind Native history, you can bring in people to heal deep wounds."

Dworin said the Deming Art Center had an exhibit of the arts of descendants of Geronimo and Cochise.

"We want to repatriate Geronimo back to his homeland," Lopez said. "He's still buried at Fort Sill. We have found Mangas bones here. The repatriation should be done to heal wounds."

Scott Terry of the SC-GC chamber said his agency is working with the Chiricahua group of the Apaches.

He told Dworin that the ACD has "done a great job redoing billboards. We've sent packets to the U.K., Norway, Australia and Canada. You can find out a lot about this area by magazine and Internet. We send out three pounds, seven ounces in every packet. And we appreciate working with you."

O'Connor thanked Dworin. "It's the first time I've seen collaboration. I thank you and it's fun."

Rob Conneley, Curious Kumquat chef, said it's hard to keep up with all the ads in publications, "including ours. It's good to have you. Can you create a system to tell people where the area is being published? We strategically place ads along with or following an article. And do we have to have the line, funded by lodger's tax on everything?"

Dworin said the organization would try to figure out a way to share information when it knows about an article or where and when it is placing advertising. "I think the quickest way is to push it on social media. And to your second question: Yes, we are funded by Silver City Lodger's Tax and either a town seal or the statement is required on ads."

Cynthia Bettison, town councilor, confirmed that it is required by the ordinance. "People need to know how their money is spent. It shows the town is encouraging people to come." She said she would check to determine if it were also statutorily required by the state.

Dworin said the organization is collaborating on the use of photographs, with many by Jay Hemphill. He pointed to one on the side of a trolley in Tucson of the Cliff Dwellings.

Mitch Hellman, Lodger's Tax Advisory Board member, said the statement "funded by ... is required so there is no mistake on the part of the public that it is paid for by the levy on lodging."

An audience member asked what research had been done to choose what media outlets.

"We're focused on the three primary markets, as we are a drive destination," Dworin said. "We focus on Tucson, El Paso and the Santa Fe/Albuquerque audience. Research shows that's where visitors are coming from."

Tom Vaughan said he recently read an op-ed that "ticked me off. It said that Silver City has an identity crisis, that it's not a mining town, not an art town, not a ranching town. The 101 Things to Do shows we are a lot of things. I think you have done a marvelous job of ads and their placement. I spent four hours the other day manning the Visitor Center, talking to people escaping the heat. They can park at the Visitor Center and walk all over town."

Dworin recognized collaborator, Kendra Milligan. "She is involved on the tourism calendar at silvercitytourism.org. The calendar was underutilized. We upped the graphics and it's always in the top three of our pages. People spend the longest time on that page, 2 minutes, 30 seconds. You can submit to the calendar online."

"We are also proud of the 101 Things for Youth to Do in Grant County," Dworin said. "The Health Council repurposed our 101 Things to Do to reach out to kids."

Wendy Phillips, resident, said she loves what the organization is doing. "I have two thoughts. "We're motorcyclists, and we talked to the BMW riders from Britain, who told us they are now going to come back every year, up to three times a year. They travel from Florida to Alaska. These groups can be marketed to through the Internet."

"Who are we in town?" Phillips asked and answered. "We bought a couple of big buildings and are trying to save them. We call them our legacy projects. I think a lot of people in the 40-60 years age group think like we do. That's another market to focus on. The thought I had was that there are people like us who are ready to move to a place like this and then make a contribution."

Dworin concurred and noted that at the Visitor Center the other day, a woman was visiting from Oregon. "She fit the profile of a future Silver City resident."

Raul Turrieta, Grant County assessor, told Dworin he was doing "a heck of a good job."

He noted the town was talking about implementing a tax increment financing increase for a way to add to fixing up buildings. One main issue is that it will be added to help with downtown. "People thought it was a new tax, but it's a good thing."

Turrieta also talked about wanting to bring in the Senior Olympics softball teams. "We bring in 24 teams that come from allover and stay in RV parks and hotels. You want to watch as a bunch of 60-70 year olds play softball."

He said he also wants to bring in the Assessors' Affiliate conference either this fall or next spring.

Dworin said he and Terry, two years ago, looked at bringing in the Govenor's Conference on Tourism. "We've talked a lot about it. We've evaluated and there are so many things we are so close to getting."

Terry said in August the county would begin renovations at the Business and Conference Center. "When it is done, we will be able to have six or seven events going on at the same time."

Dworin said the Silver City New Mexico True TV spots are on YouTube, and Martin said a continuous loop of them plays at the Visitor Center.

Martin says she often hears from visitors what they came to town for, but then after their visit they say what impressed them the most were the friendly people.

Brent Steinberg of the Holiday Inn Express said they, at the hotel, see many people come to town for softball games, for family reunions, wedding and graduations, and for 4-H events. "A lot of these events, tourism doesn't promote, but they bring in money. Do we know the hard numbers for the dollars that people bring in? Do we see the same growth in lodger's tax?"

Dworin said although lodger's tax is increasing, he sees a discrepancy that he wants to discuss with the Tourism Department. "I want to put out for thought that the world of lodging is also changing."

Steinberg asked if Dworin wants feedback on what they at the hotel are seeing. Steinberg said visitors in January and February are here looking for relocation. "We see bus tours in April. We go through tons of New Mexico Magazines and the 101 Things to Do in Silver City. Often people when they check out are already talking about coming back."

Pressler complimented Dworin on his promotions of the town and what it has to offer. "Silver City is a wonderful community. At our first book festival, we had 600 people attend. At the Tucson Book Festival, we had 693 people want into the raffle to come for our festival October 2, 3 and 4. We expect at least 1,000 this year, and will need more volunteers. The whole community is pulling together. It is such a tribute to this town."

Dworin thanked the audience, said they should go to the Visitor Center and share ideas, because "it's always about sharing and creating."