Owensboro's Best Days Are Still Ahead: Why Tourism, Leadership, and Great People Matter

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Owensboro's Best Days Are Still Ahead

If you've lived in Owensboro for a while, you've probably noticed something.

Our community looks a lot different than it did just a few years ago.

A new downtown hotel is helping us attract larger conventions and sports events. Churchill Downs Owensboro Racing & Gaming has become a major entertainment destination. Maui's Indoor Theme Park has added another family attraction. Kentucky's newest indoor sports facility, the Bluegrass Fieldhouse, is opening new opportunities in sports tourism. Illuminate was a huge success. Burger Week set another record with 57 restaurants and more than 78,000 burgers sold. Barbecue & Barrels sold out this year and is now ranked among the top five bourbon events in the country. Even our Christmas season continues to grow, attracting visitors and creating new film opportunities.

The result?

We're coming off the highest hotel occupancy in Owensboro's history.

Why should you care?

Because every visitor who comes to Owensboro spends money in our restaurants, hotels, shops, and local businesses. Our businesses are growing. New jobs are being created. Our economy is getting stronger.

Here's something many people never think about.

Our economic development starts with a visit. Before someone opens a business here, invests here, or decides to call Owensboro home, they visit first.

Tourism also improves our quality of life. More concerts. More festivals. More sporting events. More things for our families to enjoy without leaving home.

But here's what I've learned after almost nine years leading Visit Owensboro.

The difference maker isn't a hotel.

It isn't an attraction.

It isn't a festival.

The difference maker is our people.

People like our tourism partners. People like Kirk Kirkpatrick, who never stops looking for ways to make Owensboro better. People like Kim Johnson, whose passion for helping others has helped bring the Special Olympics Kentucky State Softball Championships back to Owensboro.

Recently, I shared the story of Mark Vollmann. Mark loved the Special Olympics. Every year, he looked forward to the games because, to him, it was the best weekend of his life.

That story reminds us that the greatest gift we can give ourselves is to lift someone else up. You never know—you might help create the best weekend of someone's life.

That's what makes Owensboro special.

Not our buildings.

Not our events.

Our people.

We've had a record-breaking year, but I truly believe our best days are still ahead. If we'll keep rolling up our sleeves, supporting one another, and moving Owensboro forward together, the future has never looked brighter.

Mark Calitri is President of Visit Owensboro, a tourism and destination marketing executive, leadership speaker, author, and economic development advocate. He helps communities grow through tourism, strategic marketing, leadership, and community engagement.

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