May 20, 2025 • 34 mins
Season 1, Episode 15: Amanda Zwanziger and Haley Swanson with the Indianola Chamber of Commerce join Indy Unplugged for a dynamic conversation about how strategic community experiences fuel local growth and vibrancy.
With the Dad’s Rock Festival debuting on Saturday, June 14, a new twist to the Chamber’s Summer Nights Live concert series, Amanda and Haley share how this exciting, action-packed event will support local businesses and showcase Indianola as a go-to destination. The episode also highlights the Chamber’s ongoing efforts to promote Indianola through the Experience Indianola tourism initiative, regional co-op marketing campaigns and digital passports, among other tactics, designed to attract visitors, elevate local experiences and create increased visibility throughout the city, across Warren County and beyond.
Additionally, listeners will gain insight insight into how the Chamber advocates for local businesses, cultivates a strong sense of place and builds lasting connections between commerce, tourism and community pride.
Fast-forward to a specific topic covered:
- 00:00: Intro
- 00:42: Welcome
- 01:40: On Dad’s Rock Festival
- 11:45: On Experience Indianola & Tourism Initiatives
- 17:00: On Impact of Tourism for Communities
- 20:09: On New Digital Passport Program
- 23:58: On Joys of the Job
- 29:50: On Importance of Data-Driven Decision Making
- 31:53: On Power of Community Partner Collaboration
- 33:03: On Flurry of Upcoming Indianola Summer Events
- 34:07: Final Thoughts & Closing
Mark as Played
Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
(00:42):
Welcome back to another episode of
Indy Unplugged, a city ofIndianola podcast.
And we now have some awesome guests
We have,I would say probably my best friends.
I'd say as part of, the Indianola team.
We've got Amanda and Haley
with the Indianola Chamber of Commerce,as well as experience Indianola,
just two great community partnersthat are spearheading
(01:06):
a big bulk of the tourism initiativesfor Indianola and in collaboration,
some recent, collabs with, you know,the greater of, of Warren County.
But how are you both doing today?
We are good. Hello, Indianola.
Yeah, I'm doing great.
It's been a whilethat we've been trying to get,
this podcast episodefor you to to be guest, in motion.
(01:27):
And by that,I mean it's been a handful of months,
so I'm glad that maybe a year,maybe a year, maybe a year.
But I'm glad we've finally been ableto make this happen,
and we've got to do more of them as wellwith future topics.
But I know, just right out the gate,
you have a pretty awesome festivalthat's coming to Indianola next month.
What is that?
So the Indianola Chamber is super excited
(01:50):
to bring the dads Rock festival,to downtown Indianola.
Most people are familiarwith our summer nights live event.
So this is, a Summer nights live event.
We decided to go big or go home this year.
In the past, you know, we'vewe've done two concerts and it takes twice
(02:12):
the stage, twicethe labor resources, twice the CBOs
and, the single band.
And we thought, hey,what if we test drove for one year
bringing multiple bands
and bringing in a big little stageand doing a big festival?
And so this summer, we decided kind ofthe dates just aligned with Father's Day.
(02:36):
So we were like, let's celebrate, dads.
Let's celebrate just, a fun weekendwhere, we could create experiences
that appealed to dads, but also createa whole lot of fun for the whole family.
So the dads Rock Festival is coming
on June 14thand is going to be, down on the Indianola
(02:56):
main Street from 1 to 10 p.m.,packed with a whole lot of fun.
So I'm excited for itto be the dad, myself and,
a rocker of the new Balance's the NB eighteight zeros is what I call them.
You know, every dad'sgoing to have those shoes
on with grass stainsand a bush light in hand.
I'm sure they better bewearing their jorts and jorts.
(03:16):
Yeah, and jorts and fanny packs.
It's I'm I'm excited.
I'm really looking forward to this event.
Just being a dad myself again.
But, you know, how did the opportunityfor this event come to be?
Because, you know, it's kind of,a creative idea and a new concept
where it's I'm not going to sayit's never been done in any before,
(03:36):
but there's a lot of things
that you're putting into this eventthat hasn't been done ever, period.
Yeah. So.
Well, you've been around us before, Aaron,when we start spitballing ideas
and, this festival was no different.
You know, we we landed on the dateand thought, okay, this is this ties to,
you know, a weekend of Father's Day.
(03:58):
And then the crazy ideas just flowed.
Obviously, when you think about a dad,at least I do.
I think about a man cave.
I think about the guy disappearinginto the basement with his cold one and,
turning on probably like three differentbig screen TVs
and watching all of their sportsat the same time.
And so that was the first ideathat flowed was, okay, let's create
(04:22):
a man cave experience.
And then we realized, you know,if we created one on the street
with a massive big screen TV,we could claim Iowa's largest man cave.
And that'swhat we are doing for this event.
Is that a recordlike is at an actual record
like the Guinness Book of WorldRecords? We're gonna make it, will you?
It will be after our event.
We will be claiming it, and someone willhave to prove that they're bigger than us.
(04:46):
Because nobody's made that claim before.
But we are bringing in a I mean,
it is a truck sized big screen TV.
If anybody has gone out to PickardPark for,
the movie in the parkthat is coming downtown
and we are going to be broadcastingthe US open and have,
kind of some lounge, semi lounge seating,
(05:09):
and just a cool experiencefor Iowa's largest man cave.
But then from there, I was like, okay,what else?
We thought about garages.
And so we were like,how do we create an experience where
where people could explore reasonsto build
a bigger garage and, you know,just being a part of the chamber.
(05:29):
We have some amazing community partners.
We've got this business communitythat supports us year
in and year out, butwe don't always have a platform for them
to give back, you know, to the communityand to be able to showcase,
what they do, but also create fun and,and an experience.
And so, you know, we've got our partnersfrom diamond and from, Harley,
(05:52):
from, Tysons, band Wall Powersports,and just a number of other.
Oh, Vanderpool, construction.
And we're going to have them coming inand, you know, basically
people are going to be ableto, shop for fun things,
perhaps to give dad for Father's Day,but also to create a cool experience.
(06:16):
And that's going to be actually rightnext to,
the little rock star zone,which is our kids zone.
My favorite zone. Yes.
You're probably going to see Haleyin an inflatable. Yep.
Maybe I'll make my way into the.
I think it's kind of the dads, too.
She'sprobably going to blend in with the kids.
I think I would.
It's kind of my zone. It's my my thing.
(06:38):
What I do know for sure is that,
we have dunker, dad, but it's also,you know, dunk your colleague.
So, Haley,I'm looking forward to dunking that day.
Might be my favorite thingif I dunk Amanda, too.
So we'll see. And then,
what's cool is we are going to have, like,this craft area
(06:58):
where, kids will be able to make giftsfor their dad.
We have birdhouses, coupon books.
We have, like little dads and guitarsand things
that kids can, can paint and marker upand all of that stuff.
So we're all about creating the experienceand aside from these zones,
(07:21):
including our,our barbecue backyard barbecue,
where we're going to have outdoor gamesand all the bit, we're also going
to be having some competition shows,
including our Dad Bod Parade
and our contests.
Yep. And danger FM will be there.
Overall, it's just an exciting eventfor both dads and the kiddos,
(07:42):
but just the overall family experience,while there's humor
and there's going to be some fiercecompetition and those dad bod contests
and the other things that are beingoffered that day on Saturday, June 14th.
But it really is, everywhereyou go and activity for all ages.
And we haven't even talkedabout the bands. Right?
So we're going to have three actswe kind of wanted to take,
(08:03):
like thinking of thinking of dads.
You know, they're kind of generational.
We've got them comingcoming from all ages.
And so we're going to kind of take peoplethrough the decades.
So we have big hair Mafiathat's going to come,
of course, and play everybody'sfavorite hair band music.
We've got Damon Dotson band
(08:24):
who, people love and recognize.
And then we also have, maybe less known,but they're supposed to be super,
super good as boys and the liars,and they play, like, kind of 90s,
pop and rock,sing along, dance along type of music.
So you're right.
I mean, it really is an experience that'sgoing to be fun for the whole family.
(08:48):
We we want people to bring their friends, it is a free event.
If you want to enjoy maybe adultbeverages, we do have a drink access pass
and we have VIP packages available as wellwhere people can get a free
drink free meal, VIP zone,
access, skip the line.
(09:10):
And a whole bunch of funwrapped into that, that package as well.
And there's still opportunityfor community members
if they're looking to get involved.
You might need some volunteersthat day, right?
We need a ton of volunteers.
This is like this is really the biggestevent outside of home for the holidays.
And I think it might even contend
as bigger, than home for the holidays.
(09:33):
We need volunteers.
We've identifiedwe need probably at least 100 volunteers.
So anyone who's out therethat wants to help make this a success,
you know, at the chamber,we're we're we're here
to create this as an experience,kind of a give back to the community.
And any way that people feelthat they can give back,
whether it's supporting the business, community, that's that's putting this on
(09:55):
or helping volunteer,we would just be so appreciative.
And if people wanted to learnmore information about the festival
or for those who do want to volunteer,
what's the best wayto, to find those details?
It is at experience.
Indianola.com backslash, dads, dash rock.
All of the information and the linksout to the tickets are there.
(10:16):
And we'll be surelisteners to include the all those links
in the description of this podcast.
So wherever you're listening,scroll down on the bottom
and you'll find that informationto access those resources.
But I want to go back a little bitreal quick.
So with this being the the first kindof rendition of Summer Nights
Live, playing it offto, the dads Rock festival,
will this kind of behopefully be a mainstay for years to come?
(10:39):
That is that is ideally what we would liketo accomplish through this
event is to to have it be a great success.
And, let's do this type of family
celebration every June and do it up well.
And you have the Summer nightslive concert series.
So it's also thethe opportunity in August. Right?
So August of this year we're not doing so we're doing just one big event.
(11:04):
It's all hands on this one.
Yeah, yeah.
As you can imagine,this takes a lot of resources to pull off.
And so we're we're investing all in one,
you know, there's
some other community partnersthat have talked about
perhaps doing somethingat the end of August.
And so we're workingreally in partnership with all of,
all of the other partners to figure outhow do we create these experiences
(11:25):
throughout the year?
We'd love to add more.
They take, you know, resources.
And so the more that people supportyou know, the business community,
I think the more that we can,can introduce additional,
experiences and events like that.
And that's our ultimate goal.
Well, one of those resourcesand those initiatives that,
(11:47):
you both have have led over the courseof this past year and throughout
much of last year as well, will bethe launch of Experience Indianola.
Tell us more about that platformand the purpose behind it.
So Experience Indianola has been a really,really cool part of this job.
Would you agree? Haley. Oh, yes.
So that was something that honestly,I kind of when when I started,
(12:09):
with the chamber two and a half years ago,it was in its infancy.
It was kind of an idea and concept and,
I feel like it has launched into somethingpretty awesome.
And that's been a collaborative effortwith, with community partners,
with our tourism partnersin really identifying, like,
we have tremendous assets
(12:32):
here in Indianola, here in Warren County.
And, you know, a little interesting fact,
like, people don't people don't realize
how big of a financial impactvisitors have on a community.
So just to share an example, in 2023,
the visitor spend in WarrenCounty was $45 million.
(12:57):
Well, that's huge, but just in 2023.
So in 2023 and we've grown since then,
sorry, all the data is delayedfrom where we get it.
But $45 million that ends up equating
to really what they've determinedis like $1 million tax impact.
You know, when wewhen we think about visitor spend, it's
(13:21):
not just what they're spendingat that particular business,
but that business is having to spend moneywith other businesses
to be able to provide the food or whateverit might be to that person.
And so the, the, the whole impactis pretty, pretty significant.
And when we look at, you know, economicdevelopment in Indianola, you know, we're
(13:45):
we don't have these big industryguys that are helping fuel and fund,
you know, community initiativeslike a dad's rock festival.
So we've got to look at, you know,what are our economic opportunities here
in, in, in what is what are the assetsthat we have to leverage.
And we have tourism assets.
(14:07):
You know, obviously wewe have amazing events,
National Balloon Classic, the Des MoinesMetro Opera, the Warren County Fair,
the Disc Mania challenge, the Indianola Summer Arts Festival,
plus all the stuff we do in downtown,the downtown square.
And so that's a big piece of it.
But outside of that, like,
we're in this hub of outdoor adventure,
(14:28):
we have open air and rolling hills,we have agritourism,
we've got amazing like placesto go for a beer or a place to eat.
We're bringing in youth,to, to competitions.
We have all of these experiencesthat people can have here,
(14:49):
but we've done a really, really good jobof keeping it a hidden secret for years.
You know, there's good and bad about that.
The bad is that we don'tget to capitalize on that economic impact.
And I think it's really important,
especially with our business communityand how much they need business.
We cannot
(15:10):
turn our, eyes away from the opportunityto attract visitors.
And so experience Indianola, the website
which is Experienceindianola.com has been just a piece of it.
We've done huge campaigns, in conjunctionwith our partners at Warren County
Economic Development,in the National Balloon Classic,
(15:31):
as well as our other partnersthroughout Warren County.
We have invested in somesome big campaigns.
One of them being with Travel Iowa,people don't know it,
but we've been advertising outsidethe state, for the past three months,
and it's having significant resultsand hits.
In fact, the top two citiesthat are visiting experienced
(15:53):
indianola.com are Chicago and Loveland,
Colorado, more than Indianola.
So people are paying attentionto what we have to offer here.
And hopefullythey're going to book a vacation
and they're goingto stay at one of our amazing, you know,
locally owned hotels or one of our hotelshere, or
camp at or cool campgrounds.
(16:15):
That's that's the goal of experienceIndianola.
Get them to come and and hang around.
And we've got an exciting,
exciting thing ahead.
But I'm going to pauseand let somebody else talk.
The dramatic effect.
Yeah.
No, I mean, I think I agree,I think the untapped potential
of Indianola and the countyjust sharing its story and leveraging
(16:37):
the resources and the talents of,you know, the individuals in this room.
But also of each other.
You talk about community partnersand collaborations.
It really is just kind of magnifying,
the assets, whether it bethe rolling Hills or the Great restaurants
and bars and,
and the agritourismthat we have available,
and just sharing it
with the rest of the worldto come and experience and enjoy.
(17:00):
And so, you know,I often think to that, you know,
tourism may get a bad rapwhen you talk with, you know, the impact
between like residents who, you know,they may not be.
I don't want, you know, get off my lawn.
I know what you come in here, but,you know,
you go back to the economic impact$45 million alone is is critical.
(17:20):
Yeah, I, I love to say this.
Everybody favorite taxpayer
should be the taxpayer who comesand spends their money and leaves.
So the more that we can invite a visitor
to come hereshort term, invest in our community,
the that is a tax benefit to all of usas residents.
(17:41):
And so, I can understand,you know, the concerns and questions,
but I think that we balance it.
I think it's a manageable visit.
It's also attractinghonestly, it's attracting bus tours.
When I came on board zero,that's how many bus tours, at least
they come to the classic.
(18:01):
But zero bus tours.
We're calling the chamber and saying, hey,I want to come for three days.
When we started investing in this,guess what?
We were putting three day itineraries.
And I know listeners are thinking,you cannot keep people busy here
for three days, and I will argue with youbecause we have done it.
We have people going to the farms,we have private,
(18:24):
opera arias taking place, over luncheonsat the Des Moines Metro Opera.
We are doing honeytasting experiences by milk
and honey apiary that are fascinating.
We have started doing cemetery tours.
People don't realize how interesting
we are of tourswe can put on here in the community.
(18:47):
We aren't just about balloons,we are so much more.
But that doesn't mean we don't sell it.
People are interested in coming herebecause the National Balloon
Classic and the balloon experiences.
And so we love to take that
that flight messagejust to a different level.
And so I think every campaign
that we've runis, is it includes Launch Your Adventure.
(19:10):
We can create three daysworth of adventure here.
We even had discgolf pros coming and giving
disc golf lessons to bus tours.
And they loved it.
They loved how much fun did they goto the tee box themselves? Yes.
They would just go up
and the instructor would teach themhow to do it, and they would go
and they got back on the bus andthey're like, hey, this was so much fun.
(19:32):
Like, you can just make a blastout of anything here.
I feel like
about how large or the bus tour iswe talking like just a handful people.
We're talking like a full, like,charter bus. Full? Yeah.
Usually it's either,either a small bus or a full bus.
So anywhere from like 26 to 54
is usually, usually the size of group.
And so just to demonstrate the impact,it was almost, $50,000
(19:59):
that was spent with local businessesfrom eight bus tours last year.
So that's a big financial impact to it is.
So you talked about experiences.
You talked about passports.
Do you want to talk more about thatdramatic pause
we had earlier and and with the passportsreveal more about the passports.
Yeah. Yes.
(20:20):
So we are super excited to, be launching,
a digital passport
programthat will allow people to essentially
explore or launch their adventure,both here
in Indianola, as well as throughout Warren County.
And when they go and they eithercheck in or there's actually offers
(20:44):
that are going to be availableat some locations
when they take advantage of that,they can earn points.
And as they earn points,they can be entered into sweepstakes
to win cool experienceslike a hot air balloon
flightor a gift certificate or, some swag.
I think that
what makes the passport specialis that it creates
(21:08):
this kind of map or this blueprint
of what you can do to explore
our community differently, maybe differentthan you've ever done before.
So we have three that we're going
to be launching a flight flightsbytes and sites passport.
And that's not just about hotair balloons.
It's also drink flights.
(21:29):
So wewe decided to be a little creative there.
We also have a Wander WarrenCounty Adventure Pass
and then a family fun pass.
So people need to go and, basically,
if you go to either experienceindianola.com or you can also go to Iowa
getaway.com,which is kind of our collaborative,
(21:53):
site for the multi
community and county initiativethat we're doing.
And it's just basically somethingyou add to your home screen
and then you can go have fun. It's free.
It is free to everybody.
So we really want the community toto get out there and engage in this.
And you talk about digital.So is it strictly digital.
(22:14):
So like for those who want to havea print copy, they can't do it.
It's entirely digital on their phones.
It's a digital passport. Yep.
that is the way that it's not only, a wayfor us to get it out into the universe,
but also makes it pretty easy for businessowners and and not just business owners,
but the organizations andand the locations.
(22:35):
I mean, you can go and check in at, at,you know, Somerset State Park
and it will work because it's usingyour GPS to verify that you're there.
So that is how it gets accomplished.
No, that's very cool.
And just say those website URLsone more time.
That way they know where to go to downloadand get that information.
Experience indianola.comor Iowa getaway.com.
(22:58):
Remember that folks. Write it down.
Go right now.
You can go out to the podcast episode,go to those sites, and then come back
and continue to listento the conversation. So that's your cue.
And and follow us on follow
at Experience Indianola on Facebookor on Instagram.
Because that's where we're highlightingregularly the things that are happening
(23:19):
in our community.
It's so interestinghow often I'll talk about something
and somebody is like,oh, I haven't heard about that.
And I'm sitting here thinking,
while we've said it 20,000 times,how have they not heard about it?
So if you follow us, you'regoing to be more apt to hear about it.
And we actually share weeklythe events that are taking place
in Indianola, both on the chamber pageas well as experience Indianola.
(23:42):
So be sure to be following us there.
And then if you go to experienceindianola.com,
sign up, on thereto receive our newsletter
because we highlightspecial things in there as well.
And we also send upcoming eventsthrough email that way too.
when you both do a lot.
I mean, I know we're tired.
We I mean, I think I'm blown awayjust because of the initiatives
(24:03):
and all of the, opportunitiesthat you to continue
to seize for the greater good of Indianolaand, of course, with the county.
When you talkabout the collaborative approach,
what do you findthe most joy in both of your jobs
working with Haley?
Yeah, that's a blast.
I love the all of the amount of peoplethat I've met and how much
(24:24):
I've grown through it,and it's absolutely amazing as well.
All the business owners and I don't know,just getting to know them
outside of their shop,
like just as a person hasthere has ever been anything,
though, for youthat's been kind of surprising
or challengingbecause it definitely is no easy feat.
I mean, I feel like everything'sa little challenging, right?
But I honestly had no ideahow much Indianola had to offer
(24:48):
until I started doing it.
And I think it's crazy.
Like,I think even if you've lived in Indianola
your whole life,
you should go check out the Experience
Indianola website, because there'sso much more than what you think there is.
There's morethan just the downtown square.
in addition to working with Haley, whichit's a blessing for me, every single day.
I love the one.
I love the one on ones that I havewith people.
(25:10):
Before this,I was doing coaching and consulting
and I had kind of that opportunityto get to know people one on one.
And, being able to sit downand talk to people about either
their challenges or their dreams.
I love ribbon cuttings.
I don't know what it is about young womenwho are opening their businesses.
(25:34):
Maybe it's just because I was that persontoo, but it makes me cry.
And Iwould say the biggest challenge is just,
you know,
the inability to meet everybody'sexpectations.
You know, we work very, very hard.
And we are doing it for the community.
Like, we we are.
(25:56):
We aren't doing this for our own. No,
mission.
The ideas that we come up withare always centered around how do we make
an impact for the community, the businesses, the people who live here.
And, you know, sometimes
it's it's still not good enoughin some people's eyes.
And that's difficult to manage, you know,to be to be transparent with you.
(26:21):
That's probably the, the hardest part
because we're people pleasers and,we're perfectionists.
We want to do thingsthe best that we possibly can,
but we're also human,and we can only do so much.
We're a team of two.
And .25.
We have another part timer who comes inand helps with some accounting stuff.
(26:44):
But that's
also where the chamber comes into, to play.
Our boards are, committee members or chamber champions.
You know, everybody works really,really hard to pull these things off.
And, you know, it's a challenge.
So wewe would love to be doing everything.
(27:06):
You know, the chamber's kind of the dial,you know?
Hey, have you guys thought about doingthis?
Have you thought about doing that?
We would love and we would love to.
Number five, this doctor's office.
Just random things to everybody calls us.
I got I've got I've gotten asked for,
where to buy specific ingredientsfor a recipe.
Here you go.
And then proceededto learn the entire recipe.
(27:28):
And and what was the recipe?
Was it a secret family recipethat you're able to tell?
It was something very healthy.
I can't remember what it was,but I had to recommend
that she traveled to TraderJoe's because I went on Heidi's
website to see if they sold it herelocally, and they did it.
But, yeah.
So I think, you know, just, remember,if people can remember,
(27:50):
we want to do as much as we can for you,but that's where like, good ideas
begin to form when community members
begin to form as welland create something.
And so we're all about supporting
multiple organizations and initiativesand getting the word out there.
So if people have good ideas, like we kept hearing about Bike night
(28:14):
and we never ran bike night, peoplethought we ran bike night.
But, you know, here you've got Crystaland men over at Sticks and Bolts
who said, okay, I'mgoing to owned by Bike Night,
and I'm going to create itand bring it back.
Those good ideas that are out therecan still be owned and created by someone.
So, if you want to make something happenin this community,
(28:35):
go do it and we will push it outand help it be a success.
Exactly.
Even with that event too,we'll use Bike Night as example.
It probably won't be likehow it was in years past, but that's okay.
It's going to have its own take,it's going to have its own personality,
and it's going to morphinto being bigger and better, or whatever
the goals are that Sticks and Balls has,because they're owning it.
(28:56):
But even for the sake of dad's rockfestival,
you know, you have the opportunity,
community members,that if you want to volunteer
and you want to give backand be part of this
awesome community event,there's your chance to join this team
to help make this opportunity worthwhile,not just for Indianola,
but we're going to have tons of visitorsacross central Iowa and beyond,
(29:17):
maybe even Loveland, Colorado,maybe even Chicago that are coming
to experience this festivalright here in Indianola.
Yeah, we we have some new, like,
arrival us tracker,seeing where people are coming
from, this technologythat allows us to see that.
And I cannot wait to see after this summerwhere people came from will be able to
(29:38):
what maybe we book, our next podcastin September and we can report out.
We'll do it sooner than that.
We've got plenty of stories andopportunities to have, have fun with. But
even with
that data, how important is just datawithin your own decision making,
whether it befor the organization of festivals
or just the next step or decisionsthat you make in your day to day
(30:01):
operations, whether it be as a chamberor for the tourism initiative as well.
Yeah.
Great question.
So I'm an engineer by degree.
So I'm I'm a nerd.
So like data and details I, I just love
so I think it's really,really important to,
use data to make decisions on, you know,who you're going to target, where again,
(30:25):
where you're going to target.
And why and how.
And so we've been, we've been using
data, to make some of those decisions.
And so we'll,you know, we'll be out pushing,
you know, advertising in certain
areas and discovering that, hey,we're just not getting the traction.
And so then we will redirect,until we find success.
(30:48):
The one thing we want to make sureis that given that we're a nonprofit
and I don't think a lot of people,a lot of people think that the chamber
is actually a part of the city,that we get that a lot.
But the the Indianola Chamberis actually a nonprofit, separate entity.
And so our resources are nonprofit.
Really, you know, wewe don't have a significant budget.
(31:10):
So we have to be very, very goodstewards of
how we're using the financial resourcesthat we have.
And so as we're looking at investing
in the advertising,of the community that it's got,
it has to be well spentand we have to see the return.
Otherwise will will shift Peoplealways ask me, like, what's your secret?
(31:33):
And I go, I don't know. I'mfiguring it out on the fly.
You're making adjustments, you're,putting your best foot forward.
And if it doesn't work at least you tried.
But you're learning from whetheryou define that as failure or success.
You're learning from that tothen take the next best step in
whatever directionyou want to go in whatever purpose.
So it's awesome and I love collaboratingwith the both of you.
(31:55):
Do you have any other like,exciting updates or just some programs
outside of, the festival and other thingsthat you're gearing up for
that you'd like to share?
I mean, can we just talk aboutfor a second that our Ragbrai marketing,
thank God, hey, awardwinning award, the AMA Awards?
Yeah, that's big time.
(32:16):
That was all three of us together
and our, our our gueststhat were on our Ragbrai video.
So if listeners did not see ourJust Eat It Ragbrai video, you have to go
check it out because we did win an award,with the Iowa marketing Association
this year for that.
But I think that's just a great exampleof the power of collaboration.
(32:38):
And I think that that is the opportunity
that our community has is to continueto look at opportunities to collaborate.
If we have less resources to work with,we've got to work better,
smarter, not harder together.
So I would say, but to answer your last,
(32:59):
your your question,as far as other things that are exciting,
I would just say we,
we kill it in the summertime herein Indianola.
We've got, disc mania at the end of June,the opera starting at the end of June.
The Sky parade, July 10th, I think.
(33:20):
National Balloon Classic, WarrenCounty Fair, Indianola Arts Festival,
all that last week of Julyinto the beginning of August.
Make your plansto support these amazing events,
because there are a lot of hard workersmaking those things happen right now.
A lot of on volunteers as well.
So if you've got a passion for somethingthere, and you want to support,
(33:44):
whether it be through volunteer,buying a ticket, sponsoring,
go out and do it because, those thingsmake our community pretty special.
And where can listenersfind all this information?
One more time at experience indianola.com.
Buy those tickets, download the passport,visit Experience
indianola.com as well as Iowa getaway.com.
(34:06):
Amanda and Haley,
thank you so much for joining us ontoday's episode of Indy Unplugged.
It was a blast.
Hope you guys had fun.
And listeners,make sure you leave a comment.
Leave us a review.
That waywe know that each and every episode
of Indian Plug that we're putting out,it's hitting the mark.
And who knows, maybe next time you'll bea future guest of Indy Unplugged.
Welcome back to another episode of
Indy Unplugged, a city ofIndianola podcast.
And we now have some awesome guests
We have,I would say probably my best friends.
I'd say as part of, the Indianola team.
We've got Amanda and Haley
with the Indianola Chamber of Commerce,as well as experience Indianola,
just two great community partnersthat are spearheading
(01:06):
a big bulk of the tourism initiativesfor Indianola and in collaboration,
some recent, collabs with, you know,the greater of, of Warren County.
But how are you both doing today?
We are good. Hello, Indianola.
Yeah, I'm doing great.
It's been a whilethat we've been trying to get,
this podcast episodefor you to to be guest, in motion.
(01:27):
And by that,I mean it's been a handful of months,
so I'm glad that maybe a year,maybe a year, maybe a year.
But I'm glad we've finally been ableto make this happen,
and we've got to do more of them as wellwith future topics.
But I know, just right out the gate,
you have a pretty awesome festivalthat's coming to Indianola next month.
What is that?
So the Indianola Chamber is super excited
(01:50):
to bring the dads Rock festival,to downtown Indianola.
Most people are familiarwith our summer nights live event.
So this is, a Summer nights live event.
We decided to go big or go home this year.
In the past, you know, we'vewe've done two concerts and it takes twice
(02:12):
the stage, twicethe labor resources, twice the CBOs
and, the single band.
And we thought, hey,what if we test drove for one year
bringing multiple bands
and bringing in a big little stageand doing a big festival?
And so this summer, we decided kind ofthe dates just aligned with Father's Day.
(02:36):
So we were like, let's celebrate, dads.
Let's celebrate just, a fun weekendwhere, we could create experiences
that appealed to dads, but also createa whole lot of fun for the whole family.
So the dads Rock Festival is coming
on June 14thand is going to be, down on the Indianola
(02:56):
main Street from 1 to 10 p.m.,packed with a whole lot of fun.
So I'm excited for itto be the dad, myself and,
a rocker of the new Balance's the NB eighteight zeros is what I call them.
You know, every dad'sgoing to have those shoes
on with grass stainsand a bush light in hand.
I'm sure they better bewearing their jorts and jorts.
(03:16):
Yeah, and jorts and fanny packs.
It's I'm I'm excited.
I'm really looking forward to this event.
Just being a dad myself again.
But, you know, how did the opportunityfor this event come to be?
Because, you know, it's kind of,a creative idea and a new concept
where it's I'm not going to sayit's never been done in any before,
(03:36):
but there's a lot of things
that you're putting into this eventthat hasn't been done ever, period.
Yeah. So.
Well, you've been around us before, Aaron,when we start spitballing ideas
and, this festival was no different.
You know, we we landed on the dateand thought, okay, this is this ties to,
you know, a weekend of Father's Day.
(03:58):
And then the crazy ideas just flowed.
Obviously, when you think about a dad,at least I do.
I think about a man cave.
I think about the guy disappearinginto the basement with his cold one and,
turning on probably like three differentbig screen TVs
and watching all of their sportsat the same time.
And so that was the first ideathat flowed was, okay, let's create
(04:22):
a man cave experience.
And then we realized, you know,if we created one on the street
with a massive big screen TV,we could claim Iowa's largest man cave.
And that'swhat we are doing for this event.
Is that a recordlike is at an actual record
like the Guinness Book of WorldRecords? We're gonna make it, will you?
It will be after our event.
We will be claiming it, and someone willhave to prove that they're bigger than us.
(04:46):
Because nobody's made that claim before.
But we are bringing in a I mean,
it is a truck sized big screen TV.
If anybody has gone out to PickardPark for,
the movie in the parkthat is coming downtown
and we are going to be broadcastingthe US open and have,
kind of some lounge, semi lounge seating,
(05:09):
and just a cool experiencefor Iowa's largest man cave.
But then from there, I was like, okay,what else?
We thought about garages.
And so we were like,how do we create an experience where
where people could explore reasonsto build
a bigger garage and, you know,just being a part of the chamber.
(05:29):
We have some amazing community partners.
We've got this business communitythat supports us year
in and year out, butwe don't always have a platform for them
to give back, you know, to the communityand to be able to showcase,
what they do, but also create fun and,and an experience.
And so, you know, we've got our partnersfrom diamond and from, Harley,
(05:52):
from, Tysons, band Wall Powersports,and just a number of other.
Oh, Vanderpool, construction.
And we're going to have them coming inand, you know, basically
people are going to be ableto, shop for fun things,
perhaps to give dad for Father's Day,but also to create a cool experience.
(06:16):
And that's going to be actually rightnext to,
the little rock star zone,which is our kids zone.
My favorite zone. Yes.
You're probably going to see Haleyin an inflatable. Yep.
Maybe I'll make my way into the.
I think it's kind of the dads, too.
She'sprobably going to blend in with the kids.
I think I would.
It's kind of my zone. It's my my thing.
(06:38):
What I do know for sure is that,
we have dunker, dad, but it's also,you know, dunk your colleague.
So, Haley,I'm looking forward to dunking that day.
Might be my favorite thingif I dunk Amanda, too.
So we'll see. And then,
what's cool is we are going to have, like,this craft area
(06:58):
where, kids will be able to make giftsfor their dad.
We have birdhouses, coupon books.
We have, like little dads and guitarsand things
that kids can, can paint and marker upand all of that stuff.
So we're all about creating the experienceand aside from these zones,
(07:21):
including our,our barbecue backyard barbecue,
where we're going to have outdoor gamesand all the bit, we're also going
to be having some competition shows,
including our Dad Bod Parade
and our contests.
Yep. And danger FM will be there.
Overall, it's just an exciting eventfor both dads and the kiddos,
(07:42):
but just the overall family experience,while there's humor
and there's going to be some fiercecompetition and those dad bod contests
and the other things that are beingoffered that day on Saturday, June 14th.
But it really is, everywhereyou go and activity for all ages.
And we haven't even talkedabout the bands. Right?
So we're going to have three actswe kind of wanted to take,
(08:03):
like thinking of thinking of dads.
You know, they're kind of generational.
We've got them comingcoming from all ages.
And so we're going to kind of take peoplethrough the decades.
So we have big hair Mafiathat's going to come,
of course, and play everybody'sfavorite hair band music.
We've got Damon Dotson band
(08:24):
who, people love and recognize.
And then we also have, maybe less known,but they're supposed to be super,
super good as boys and the liars,and they play, like, kind of 90s,
pop and rock,sing along, dance along type of music.
So you're right.
I mean, it really is an experience that'sgoing to be fun for the whole family.
(08:48):
We we want people to bring their friends, it is a free event.
If you want to enjoy maybe adultbeverages, we do have a drink access pass
and we have VIP packages available as wellwhere people can get a free
drink free meal, VIP zone,
access, skip the line.
(09:10):
And a whole bunch of funwrapped into that, that package as well.
And there's still opportunityfor community members
if they're looking to get involved.
You might need some volunteersthat day, right?
We need a ton of volunteers.
This is like this is really the biggestevent outside of home for the holidays.
And I think it might even contend
as bigger, than home for the holidays.
(09:33):
We need volunteers.
We've identifiedwe need probably at least 100 volunteers.
So anyone who's out therethat wants to help make this a success,
you know, at the chamber,we're we're we're here
to create this as an experience,kind of a give back to the community.
And any way that people feelthat they can give back,
whether it's supporting the business, community, that's that's putting this on
(09:55):
or helping volunteer,we would just be so appreciative.
And if people wanted to learnmore information about the festival
or for those who do want to volunteer,
what's the best wayto, to find those details?
It is at experience.
Indianola.com backslash, dads, dash rock.
All of the information and the linksout to the tickets are there.
(10:16):
And we'll be surelisteners to include the all those links
in the description of this podcast.
So wherever you're listening,scroll down on the bottom
and you'll find that informationto access those resources.
But I want to go back a little bitreal quick.
So with this being the the first kindof rendition of Summer Nights
Live, playing it offto, the dads Rock festival,
will this kind of behopefully be a mainstay for years to come?
(10:39):
That is that is ideally what we would liketo accomplish through this
event is to to have it be a great success.
And, let's do this type of family
celebration every June and do it up well.
And you have the Summer nightslive concert series.
So it's also thethe opportunity in August. Right?
So August of this year we're not doing so we're doing just one big event.
(11:04):
It's all hands on this one.
Yeah, yeah.
As you can imagine,this takes a lot of resources to pull off.
And so we're we're investing all in one,
you know, there's
some other community partnersthat have talked about
perhaps doing somethingat the end of August.
And so we're workingreally in partnership with all of,
all of the other partners to figure outhow do we create these experiences
(11:25):
throughout the year?
We'd love to add more.
They take, you know, resources.
And so the more that people supportyou know, the business community,
I think the more that we can,can introduce additional,
experiences and events like that.
And that's our ultimate goal.
Well, one of those resourcesand those initiatives that,
(11:47):
you both have have led over the courseof this past year and throughout
much of last year as well, will bethe launch of Experience Indianola.
Tell us more about that platformand the purpose behind it.
So Experience Indianola has been a really,really cool part of this job.
Would you agree? Haley. Oh, yes.
So that was something that honestly,I kind of when when I started,
(12:09):
with the chamber two and a half years ago,it was in its infancy.
It was kind of an idea and concept and,
I feel like it has launched into somethingpretty awesome.
And that's been a collaborative effortwith, with community partners,
with our tourism partnersin really identifying, like,
we have tremendous assets
(12:32):
here in Indianola, here in Warren County.
And, you know, a little interesting fact,
like, people don't people don't realize
how big of a financial impactvisitors have on a community.
So just to share an example, in 2023,
the visitor spend in WarrenCounty was $45 million.
(12:57):
Well, that's huge, but just in 2023.
So in 2023 and we've grown since then,
sorry, all the data is delayedfrom where we get it.
But $45 million that ends up equating
to really what they've determinedis like $1 million tax impact.
You know, when wewhen we think about visitor spend, it's
(13:21):
not just what they're spendingat that particular business,
but that business is having to spend moneywith other businesses
to be able to provide the food or whateverit might be to that person.
And so the, the, the whole impactis pretty, pretty significant.
And when we look at, you know, economicdevelopment in Indianola, you know, we're
(13:45):
we don't have these big industryguys that are helping fuel and fund,
you know, community initiativeslike a dad's rock festival.
So we've got to look at, you know,what are our economic opportunities here
in, in, in what is what are the assetsthat we have to leverage.
And we have tourism assets.
(14:07):
You know, obviously wewe have amazing events,
National Balloon Classic, the Des MoinesMetro Opera, the Warren County Fair,
the Disc Mania challenge, the Indianola Summer Arts Festival,
plus all the stuff we do in downtown,the downtown square.
And so that's a big piece of it.
But outside of that, like,
we're in this hub of outdoor adventure,
(14:28):
we have open air and rolling hills,we have agritourism,
we've got amazing like placesto go for a beer or a place to eat.
We're bringing in youth,to, to competitions.
We have all of these experiencesthat people can have here,
(14:49):
but we've done a really, really good jobof keeping it a hidden secret for years.
You know, there's good and bad about that.
The bad is that we don'tget to capitalize on that economic impact.
And I think it's really important,
especially with our business communityand how much they need business.
We cannot
(15:10):
turn our, eyes away from the opportunityto attract visitors.
And so experience Indianola, the website
which is Experienceindianola.com has been just a piece of it.
We've done huge campaigns, in conjunctionwith our partners at Warren County
Economic Development,in the National Balloon Classic,
(15:31):
as well as our other partnersthroughout Warren County.
We have invested in somesome big campaigns.
One of them being with Travel Iowa,people don't know it,
but we've been advertising outsidethe state, for the past three months,
and it's having significant resultsand hits.
In fact, the top two citiesthat are visiting experienced
(15:53):
indianola.com are Chicago and Loveland,
Colorado, more than Indianola.
So people are paying attentionto what we have to offer here.
And hopefullythey're going to book a vacation
and they're goingto stay at one of our amazing, you know,
locally owned hotels or one of our hotelshere, or
camp at or cool campgrounds.
(16:15):
That's that's the goal of experienceIndianola.
Get them to come and and hang around.
And we've got an exciting,
exciting thing ahead.
But I'm going to pauseand let somebody else talk.
The dramatic effect.
Yeah.
No, I mean, I think I agree,I think the untapped potential
of Indianola and the countyjust sharing its story and leveraging
(16:37):
the resources and the talents of,you know, the individuals in this room.
But also of each other.
You talk about community partnersand collaborations.
It really is just kind of magnifying,
the assets, whether it bethe rolling Hills or the Great restaurants
and bars and,
and the agritourismthat we have available,
and just sharing it
with the rest of the worldto come and experience and enjoy.
(17:00):
And so, you know,I often think to that, you know,
tourism may get a bad rapwhen you talk with, you know, the impact
between like residents who, you know,they may not be.
I don't want, you know, get off my lawn.
I know what you come in here, but,you know,
you go back to the economic impact$45 million alone is is critical.
(17:20):
Yeah, I, I love to say this.
Everybody favorite taxpayer
should be the taxpayer who comesand spends their money and leaves.
So the more that we can invite a visitor
to come hereshort term, invest in our community,
the that is a tax benefit to all of usas residents.
(17:41):
And so, I can understand,you know, the concerns and questions,
but I think that we balance it.
I think it's a manageable visit.
It's also attractinghonestly, it's attracting bus tours.
When I came on board zero,that's how many bus tours, at least
they come to the classic.
(18:01):
But zero bus tours.
We're calling the chamber and saying, hey,I want to come for three days.
When we started investing in this,guess what?
We were putting three day itineraries.
And I know listeners are thinking,you cannot keep people busy here
for three days, and I will argue with youbecause we have done it.
We have people going to the farms,we have private,
(18:24):
opera arias taking place, over luncheonsat the Des Moines Metro Opera.
We are doing honeytasting experiences by milk
and honey apiary that are fascinating.
We have started doing cemetery tours.
People don't realize how interesting
we are of tourswe can put on here in the community.
(18:47):
We aren't just about balloons,we are so much more.
But that doesn't mean we don't sell it.
People are interested in coming herebecause the National Balloon
Classic and the balloon experiences.
And so we love to take that
that flight messagejust to a different level.
And so I think every campaign
that we've runis, is it includes Launch Your Adventure.
(19:10):
We can create three daysworth of adventure here.
We even had discgolf pros coming and giving
disc golf lessons to bus tours.
And they loved it.
They loved how much fun did they goto the tee box themselves? Yes.
They would just go up
and the instructor would teach themhow to do it, and they would go
and they got back on the bus andthey're like, hey, this was so much fun.
(19:32):
Like, you can just make a blastout of anything here.
I feel like
about how large or the bus tour iswe talking like just a handful people.
We're talking like a full, like,charter bus. Full? Yeah.
Usually it's either,either a small bus or a full bus.
So anywhere from like 26 to 54
is usually, usually the size of group.
And so just to demonstrate the impact,it was almost, $50,000
(19:59):
that was spent with local businessesfrom eight bus tours last year.
So that's a big financial impact to it is.
So you talked about experiences.
You talked about passports.
Do you want to talk more about thatdramatic pause
we had earlier and and with the passportsreveal more about the passports.
Yeah. Yes.
(20:20):
So we are super excited to, be launching,
a digital passport
programthat will allow people to essentially
explore or launch their adventure,both here
in Indianola, as well as throughout Warren County.
And when they go and they eithercheck in or there's actually offers
(20:44):
that are going to be availableat some locations
when they take advantage of that,they can earn points.
And as they earn points,they can be entered into sweepstakes
to win cool experienceslike a hot air balloon
flightor a gift certificate or, some swag.
I think that
what makes the passport specialis that it creates
(21:08):
this kind of map or this blueprint
of what you can do to explore
our community differently, maybe differentthan you've ever done before.
So we have three that we're going
to be launching a flight flightsbytes and sites passport.
And that's not just about hotair balloons.
It's also drink flights.
(21:29):
So wewe decided to be a little creative there.
We also have a Wander WarrenCounty Adventure Pass
and then a family fun pass.
So people need to go and, basically,
if you go to either experienceindianola.com or you can also go to Iowa
getaway.com,which is kind of our collaborative,
(21:53):
site for the multi
community and county initiativethat we're doing.
And it's just basically somethingyou add to your home screen
and then you can go have fun. It's free.
It is free to everybody.
So we really want the community toto get out there and engage in this.
And you talk about digital.So is it strictly digital.
(22:14):
So like for those who want to havea print copy, they can't do it.
It's entirely digital on their phones.
It's a digital passport. Yep.
that is the way that it's not only, a wayfor us to get it out into the universe,
but also makes it pretty easy for businessowners and and not just business owners,
but the organizations andand the locations.
(22:35):
I mean, you can go and check in at, at,you know, Somerset State Park
and it will work because it's usingyour GPS to verify that you're there.
So that is how it gets accomplished.
No, that's very cool.
And just say those website URLsone more time.
That way they know where to go to downloadand get that information.
Experience indianola.comor Iowa getaway.com.
(22:58):
Remember that folks. Write it down.
Go right now.
You can go out to the podcast episode,go to those sites, and then come back
and continue to listento the conversation. So that's your cue.
And and follow us on follow
at Experience Indianola on Facebookor on Instagram.
Because that's where we're highlightingregularly the things that are happening
(23:19):
in our community.
It's so interestinghow often I'll talk about something
and somebody is like,oh, I haven't heard about that.
And I'm sitting here thinking,
while we've said it 20,000 times,how have they not heard about it?
So if you follow us, you'regoing to be more apt to hear about it.
And we actually share weeklythe events that are taking place
in Indianola, both on the chamber pageas well as experience Indianola.
(23:42):
So be sure to be following us there.
And then if you go to experienceindianola.com,
sign up, on thereto receive our newsletter
because we highlightspecial things in there as well.
And we also send upcoming eventsthrough email that way too.
when you both do a lot.
I mean, I know we're tired.
We I mean, I think I'm blown awayjust because of the initiatives
(24:03):
and all of the, opportunitiesthat you to continue
to seize for the greater good of Indianolaand, of course, with the county.
When you talkabout the collaborative approach,
what do you findthe most joy in both of your jobs
working with Haley?
Yeah, that's a blast.
I love the all of the amount of peoplethat I've met and how much
(24:24):
I've grown through it,and it's absolutely amazing as well.
All the business owners and I don't know,just getting to know them
outside of their shop,
like just as a person hasthere has ever been anything,
though, for youthat's been kind of surprising
or challengingbecause it definitely is no easy feat.
I mean, I feel like everything'sa little challenging, right?
But I honestly had no ideahow much Indianola had to offer
(24:48):
until I started doing it.
And I think it's crazy.
Like,I think even if you've lived in Indianola
your whole life,
you should go check out the Experience
Indianola website, because there'sso much more than what you think there is.
There's morethan just the downtown square.
in addition to working with Haley, whichit's a blessing for me, every single day.
I love the one.
I love the one on ones that I havewith people.
(25:10):
Before this,I was doing coaching and consulting
and I had kind of that opportunityto get to know people one on one.
And, being able to sit downand talk to people about either
their challenges or their dreams.
I love ribbon cuttings.
I don't know what it is about young womenwho are opening their businesses.
(25:34):
Maybe it's just because I was that persontoo, but it makes me cry.
And Iwould say the biggest challenge is just,
you know,
the inability to meet everybody'sexpectations.
You know, we work very, very hard.
And we are doing it for the community.
Like, we we are.
(25:56):
We aren't doing this for our own. No,
mission.
The ideas that we come up withare always centered around how do we make
an impact for the community, the businesses, the people who live here.
And, you know, sometimes
it's it's still not good enoughin some people's eyes.
And that's difficult to manage, you know,to be to be transparent with you.
(26:21):
That's probably the, the hardest part
because we're people pleasers and,we're perfectionists.
We want to do thingsthe best that we possibly can,
but we're also human,and we can only do so much.
We're a team of two.
And .25.
We have another part timer who comes inand helps with some accounting stuff.
(26:44):
But that's
also where the chamber comes into, to play.
Our boards are, committee members or chamber champions.
You know, everybody works really,really hard to pull these things off.
And, you know, it's a challenge.
So wewe would love to be doing everything.
(27:06):
You know, the chamber's kind of the dial,you know?
Hey, have you guys thought about doingthis?
Have you thought about doing that?
We would love and we would love to.
Number five, this doctor's office.
Just random things to everybody calls us.
I got I've got I've gotten asked for,
where to buy specific ingredientsfor a recipe.
Here you go.
And then proceededto learn the entire recipe.
(27:28):
And and what was the recipe?
Was it a secret family recipethat you're able to tell?
It was something very healthy.
I can't remember what it was,but I had to recommend
that she traveled to TraderJoe's because I went on Heidi's
website to see if they sold it herelocally, and they did it.
But, yeah.
So I think, you know, just, remember,if people can remember,
(27:50):
we want to do as much as we can for you,but that's where like, good ideas
begin to form when community members
begin to form as welland create something.
And so we're all about supporting
multiple organizations and initiativesand getting the word out there.
So if people have good ideas, like we kept hearing about Bike night
(28:14):
and we never ran bike night, peoplethought we ran bike night.
But, you know, here you've got Crystaland men over at Sticks and Bolts
who said, okay, I'mgoing to owned by Bike Night,
and I'm going to create itand bring it back.
Those good ideas that are out therecan still be owned and created by someone.
So, if you want to make something happenin this community,
(28:35):
go do it and we will push it outand help it be a success.
Exactly.
Even with that event too,we'll use Bike Night as example.
It probably won't be likehow it was in years past, but that's okay.
It's going to have its own take,it's going to have its own personality,
and it's going to morphinto being bigger and better, or whatever
the goals are that Sticks and Balls has,because they're owning it.
(28:56):
But even for the sake of dad's rockfestival,
you know, you have the opportunity,
community members,that if you want to volunteer
and you want to give backand be part of this
awesome community event,there's your chance to join this team
to help make this opportunity worthwhile,not just for Indianola,
but we're going to have tons of visitorsacross central Iowa and beyond,
(29:17):
maybe even Loveland, Colorado,maybe even Chicago that are coming
to experience this festivalright here in Indianola.
Yeah, we we have some new, like,
arrival us tracker,seeing where people are coming
from, this technologythat allows us to see that.
And I cannot wait to see after this summerwhere people came from will be able to
(29:38):
what maybe we book, our next podcastin September and we can report out.
We'll do it sooner than that.
We've got plenty of stories andopportunities to have, have fun with. But
even with
that data, how important is just datawithin your own decision making,
whether it befor the organization of festivals
or just the next step or decisionsthat you make in your day to day
(30:01):
operations, whether it be as a chamberor for the tourism initiative as well.
Yeah.
Great question.
So I'm an engineer by degree.
So I'm I'm a nerd.
So like data and details I, I just love
so I think it's really,really important to,
use data to make decisions on, you know,who you're going to target, where again,
(30:25):
where you're going to target.
And why and how.
And so we've been, we've been using
data, to make some of those decisions.
And so we'll,you know, we'll be out pushing,
you know, advertising in certain
areas and discovering that, hey,we're just not getting the traction.
And so then we will redirect,until we find success.
(30:48):
The one thing we want to make sureis that given that we're a nonprofit
and I don't think a lot of people,a lot of people think that the chamber
is actually a part of the city,that we get that a lot.
But the the Indianola Chamberis actually a nonprofit, separate entity.
And so our resources are nonprofit.
Really, you know, wewe don't have a significant budget.
(31:10):
So we have to be very, very goodstewards of
how we're using the financial resourcesthat we have.
And so as we're looking at investing
in the advertising,of the community that it's got,
it has to be well spentand we have to see the return.
Otherwise will will shift Peoplealways ask me, like, what's your secret?
(31:33):
And I go, I don't know. I'mfiguring it out on the fly.
You're making adjustments, you're,putting your best foot forward.
And if it doesn't work at least you tried.
But you're learning from whetheryou define that as failure or success.
You're learning from that tothen take the next best step in
whatever directionyou want to go in whatever purpose.
So it's awesome and I love collaboratingwith the both of you.
(31:55):
Do you have any other like,exciting updates or just some programs
outside of, the festival and other thingsthat you're gearing up for
that you'd like to share?
I mean, can we just talk aboutfor a second that our Ragbrai marketing,
thank God, hey, awardwinning award, the AMA Awards?
Yeah, that's big time.
(32:16):
That was all three of us together
and our, our our gueststhat were on our Ragbrai video.
So if listeners did not see ourJust Eat It Ragbrai video, you have to go
check it out because we did win an award,with the Iowa marketing Association
this year for that.
But I think that's just a great exampleof the power of collaboration.
(32:38):
And I think that that is the opportunity
that our community has is to continueto look at opportunities to collaborate.
If we have less resources to work with,we've got to work better,
smarter, not harder together.
So I would say, but to answer your last,
(32:59):
your your question,as far as other things that are exciting,
I would just say we,
we kill it in the summertime herein Indianola.
We've got, disc mania at the end of June,the opera starting at the end of June.
The Sky parade, July 10th, I think.
(33:20):
National Balloon Classic, WarrenCounty Fair, Indianola Arts Festival,
all that last week of Julyinto the beginning of August.
Make your plansto support these amazing events,
because there are a lot of hard workersmaking those things happen right now.
A lot of on volunteers as well.
So if you've got a passion for somethingthere, and you want to support,
(33:44):
whether it be through volunteer,buying a ticket, sponsoring,
go out and do it because, those thingsmake our community pretty special.
And where can listenersfind all this information?
One more time at experience indianola.com.
Buy those tickets, download the passport,visit Experience
indianola.com as well as Iowa getaway.com.
(34:06):
Amanda and Haley,
thank you so much for joining us ontoday's episode of Indy Unplugged.
It was a blast.
Hope you guys had fun.
And listeners,make sure you leave a comment.
Leave us a review.
That waywe know that each and every episode
of Indian Plug that we're putting out,it's hitting the mark.
And who knows, maybe next time you'll bea future guest of Indy Unplugged.
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