North state update
Claude Monet: “My wish is to stay always like this, living quietly in a corner of nature …”
I’ve found my corner of nature here in Upstate California and I love my work with the Shasta Cascade Wonderland Association as the representative for Plumas County on the Board of Directors. The SCWA is tirelessly working to promote Tourism and Recreation in Upstate California and we’ve recently seen strong proof that this is true.
Through the SCWA we’ve recently had a group from the Australia Office of Tourism and Visit California here to do a short film about the recreational opportunities available at Lake Almanor. They rented equipment and did filming in the area, and had loads of fun playing at the lake, just what we like to see from our international visitors.
A week later the editors from Visit California came back and did some follow-up fun and filming at Lake Almanor and basically wrapped up what the international group needed to complete the process for their marketing campaign. This seemed to be a last minute notification to us and the site choice was completely up to the international group to choose, so the location seems to be popular nationally and internationally, quite possibly due to the feature marketing campaign the SCWA and Visit California did with the “Hidden Gems” series a few years back.
You can see that feature film at the Visit California website VisitCalifornia.com and on YouTube.com with the search of Shasta Cascade’s Lake Almanor.
The saturation of marketing in one location isn’t ideal for us, as we have so many great locations but because they chose it on their own I’m not going to discourage them from taking advantage of the Lake Almanor area, and Plumas County as a whole. I really hope they continue to choose to come here and do their feature filming and marketing as it doesn’t cost us anything and only helps to put Plumas County in the spotlight as a premiere destination for tourism.
We have an upcoming meeting on July 9 at the California Welcome Center in Anderson that begins at 10 a.m. until 11 a.m. for the SCWA and then 11 a.m. until noon is the meeting for the Shasta Cascade Education Foundation.
Most people don’t have any clue about the Education Foundation and the mission of the group. We convene as the SCEF Board of Directors every quarter to handle the business of the foundation, which is the property owner of the California Welcome Center in Anderson. The SCEF also hosts children from all over California and has discussions about the mission of the SCWA and how we work with Visit California to develop marketing and advertising strategies.
There are also demonstrations in the California Welcome Center that are interactive with the kids and teach them gold panning in the artificial creek/tank that’s located in the center. It’s always beneficial and fun to show the coming generations what we do, the resources available to them, their future in Upstate California, and all the wonders that exist within the Lassen Volcanic National Park, and Whiskeytown Lake areas.
The Welcome Center is worth a visit and is getting the needed upgrades with the new flags, colors, logos, etc. that will improve and update the look of the organization. The SCEF is a 501-C non-profit organization and would benefit from any small tax-deductible donation you can make to the organization at ShastaCascade.com and follow the prompts for the Education Foundation donation tab.
It’s summer now and hopefully the visitors are here or planning to come soon. The road through Lassen Volcanic National Park is already open, and considering the amount of late snowfall this is quite a feat of super heroes that have worked diligently to clear the roads before the 4th of July. The park is my favorite part of the corner of nature and is a place I could spend a lifetime exploring the uniqueness and beauty of a place so unusual and surreal. The activity of the volcanoes is immensely interesting and beautiful. When you can break away from the mundane, often boring day to day grind of life, get out there and see what awaits you in the national park. I hope you find it as wonderous as I do and learn to embrace the beauty of the varying landscapes of the park.
The board will be planning the end of year activities and working closely with those that support the efforts of the SCWA to get next year’s marketing strategy ready, working closely with Visit California and Brand USA to push all the opportunities of Upstate California. We’ll work closely with the City of Redding and plan the next Tourism Summit for 2020. Big plans await us and the work is always there trying to improve Tourism and Recreation. Join us if you can in July or again later in the fall to see what’s new and happening in Upstate California.
