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Hope blooms between art, tourism groups
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Published: August 30, 2008
The early stages of the new relationship between the Arts Council of Winston-Salem and Forsyth County and the Forsyth County Tourism Development Authority seemed to get off on the wrong foot.
Legitimate questions and issues worthy of debate became lost in a fog of personal acrimony that, from the outside anyway, made our local statesmen look more like peevish children than responsible, trustworthy practitioners of good government.
In the past two weeks, however, that fog appears to have lifted. Plenty of work remains, but after a recent TDA retreat at which the Arts Council made a presentation of its new, $1 million marketing plan, a spirit of cooperation and collaboration is infusing rhe relationship.
The primary unresolved issues are two: Has the TDA been spending the hotel/motel tax money wisely, and is the authority's charge limited to destination-marketing activities? While the public dialogue appears to suggest that the answers to these questions are a matter of black and white, the color of the truth is much closer to gray.
Disagreement had been particularly intense around the spending policies aimed almost entirely at "putting heads in beds." The owners of hotels and motels in the community believe that, because they collect the tax money paying for TDA operations and are thereby somewhat inhibited in the rates they can charge for accommodations, the TDA should concentrate on programs and policies that enhance the ability of the owners to improve occupancy rates.
Other organizations that attract visitors to the community with their performances, exhibits and cultural or historical programs think that perhaps the TDA could more effectively use its money if some of it went directly to those organizations.
Unfortunately, a number of people saw this whole affair as a money grab by these other organizations, in particular the Arts Council, whose president, Milton Rhodes, and the prime agitator on behalf of change in the way the authority did business, Forsyth County Commissioner Ted Kaplan, appeared to be in cahoots.
This appearance was unfortunate because some personal, institutional and community reputations suffered considerable damage from it.
Things got out of hand. I've known all the principals in this matter for a good number of years and believe them all to be highly capable and well-intentioned. It should not be surprising that the TDA listens to the people who provide the money for authority operations. Nor should it startle anyone that other community institutions appealing to visitors believe that there is more to tourism development than increasing local hotel and motel occupancy rates.
The Arts Council is undertaking a major, $1 million campaign to market Winston-Salem as "The City of the Arts." In a better world, this effort would be embraced by everyone in the community with any interest in tourism development. That would include not just the TDA, but Old Salem, Reynolda House and especially the University of North Carolina School of the Arts.
For a while there, self-interest seemed a stronger motivator than what's best for the community. But cooler heads may now be prevailing. The TDA and the Arts Council may not be precisely on the same page when it comes to promoting Winston-Salem as a tourist destination, but at least they seem to be in the same chapter.
Collaboration is in the air. That's refreshing. And we all need to breathe deeply and take notice of the promising example being set by the Arts Council and the TDA.
■ John Gates is a former
Journal
editorial page editor.
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