2011 National Scenic Byways Conference
August 21-24, 2011 - Minneapolis, Minnesota
The 2011 National Scenic Byways Conference held in Minneapolis, Minnesota this August was a huge success. Participants explored emerging and timely byway topics in the four core learning areas of Finances, Visitor Experience, Corridor Management and Byway Organization. Classroom workshops, field workshops, roundtable sessions, luncheon presentations, networking opportunities and peer-to-peer exchanges focused on byway development, sustainability and livability—all part of responsible planning practices for America’s Byways®. Downloads, conference highlights and photos from the conference follow below.
Conference Highlights
Keynote Speaker Gerard Baker, Former Assistant Director, American Indian Relations, National Park Service
Keynote speaker Gerard Baker’s message at Monday’s luncheon encouraged byways to invite Native Americans, especially the elders and the youth, to share their stories. “We are missing the rich story of the tribes,” he said. Gerard advised that byway leaders should “learn as much as you can about the Indians on the byway.”
The highly regarded National Park Service leader advocated studying history—all history of an area and its peoples—and stopping along the byway to listen. “Listen. Just listen,” Gerard said. “Listen for the spirits that are still there.”
Throughout the engaging and inspirational partnership-building message, he offered examples from his experiences at the National Park Service to illustrate the need for greater appreciation, respect and illumination of Native American culture. “My goal is that my great-grandchildren will have to look up the word ‘racism’ in the dictionary,” Gerard said.
Minnesota Twins Branding Presentation
The America’s Byways brand connects the 150 individual byways in the collection in similar ways as Major League Baseball connects its 30 distinct teams. MLB is the overarching brand; each team has a unique team logo, team colors and team character—and each offers visitor experiences that reflect the team brand and the MLB standards.
Tuesday’s luncheon presentation by Patrick Klinger, Vice President - Marketing for the Minnesota Twins Baseball Club, and Charlie Callahan, Vice President - Executive Creative Director at Periscope Advertising Agency, shared the marketing challenges and successes of the Minnesota Twins brand and emphasized the import role of branding.
“We try to ensure that the Minnesota Twins brand is at every touchpoint,” Patrick said. Using the strategically developed theme, “This is Twins Territory,” the marketing effort speaks to Twins fans across the Upper Midwest and builds on a sense of team and geographic pride, while conveying the excitement of attending a Twins game. “When fans feel like they have a relationship with the team, they’re more likely to come out to the ballpark,” explained Patrick.
Charlie and Patrick noted that the branding effort has taken on a life of its own as fans, broadcasters and other public figures incorporate the “Twins Territory” phrase into their everyday conversations. For example, TV news anchors have given the weather forecast for Twins Territory.
For byways, the America’s Byways brand offers tremendous opportunity for building public awareness, enhancing credibility, generating itinerary interest and drawing visitors in much the same way that MLB works for the Minnesota Twins. The brand presence is essential.
“Use the America’s Byways logo on your website and marketing materials and mention your affiliation in your press releases,” said Michelle Johnson, Director of the America’s Byways Resource Center. “It lifts your individual byway brand while you help lift the overall America’s Byways brand.”
New Public Awareness Partners
The strength of the America’s Byways brand has generated new partnerships in the past year, working toward broader public awareness. During Tuesday’s luncheon, Michelle Johnson, Director of the America’s Byways Resource Center, described the successful Goodyear partnership and announced two new partners: American Road Magazine and Rand McNally. Byways should watch for itinerary forms to submit to Rand McNally coming online soon.
The Resource Center also introduced its newest publication, An Introduction To Online Strategies For Leveraging Your National Scenic Byway Designation during the conference. Download this useful and timely publication at www.bywaysresourcecenter.org/resources/publications/.
Networking Opportunities
The large America’s Byways display board in the Marriott City Center atrium, measuring 10’ tall x 15’ wide, featured 150 removable vinyl photos representing each of the nationally designated byways. Letters and numbers on conference attendees’ name badges corresponded to the display’s matrix, and participants made many friendly introductions as they paired up to reveal the America’s Byways branding message behind the individual photos and score prizes. In addition, participants could also win prizes for offering “big ideas” and they received buttons for “liking” America’s Byways Resource Center on Facebook—an online venue for continuing the conference dialog.
Called “Face To Face To Facebook,” the networking activity, sponsored by America’s Byways Resource Center with special prizes from Rand McNally, drew people into conversations about their byways and the brand. “It worked even better than we imagined it would,” said Gina Grensing, Communications Specialist at the Resource Center.
The National Scenic Byway Foundation also encouraged networking at its special event, “Milling Around in Minneapolis,” on Tuesday evening. Guests raved about the hors d’oeuvres reception and the renovated Mill City Museum site. It was also an opportunity to learn how the NSBF (nsbfoundation.com) hopes to create a stronger voice for the byway community, educate the public and build partnerships.
Gary Jensen: Livable Communities And The Future Of The National Scenic Byways Program
During his presentation on Wednesday morning, Gary Jensen, Team Leader - Federal Highway Administration, described the current Congressional transportation funding reauthorization situation, which affects the National Scenic Byways Program. Certainly, no one can say for sure right now how Congress will respond; however, Gary identified some common themes have emerged that byway leaders should note: safety, environmental sustainability, program consolidation or elimination, performance measures, state flexibility in appropriating funds, and economic development.
FHWA’s Livability Initiative addresses these themes, according to Gary. “It’s promoting collaboration and multimodal planning. It answers questions like ‘how do you want people to live and work in your community’?” The FHWA Livability in Transportation Guidebook (www.fhwa.dot.gov/livability/case_studies/guidebook/) is an excellent resource for understanding the initiative’s principles and planning recommendations.
Gary noted that one possibility on the horizon is that the National Scenic Byways Program will be consolidated with the Livability Program. He described how byways and livability goals align, such as in providing accessibility, responding to community values and vision, and pursuing collaboration. Again, everything remains uncertain until Congress moves forward with new legislation. Stay tuned!
Surprise Guest: Author Peter Jenkins
Acclaimed author Peter Jenkins, best known for his bestselling book A Walk Across America, started another epic journey more than a year ago—this time driving a 1957 Chevrolet station wagon along the country’s byways and backroads. He made a detour to Minneapolis to be a special guest at the Wednesday luncheon session. It was the first time that he has taken the stage to tell stories from his newest adventure. Previously, Peter was the keynote speaker at the 2009 National Scenic Byways Conference; he found a most appreciative and passionate audience among the byways community. The same warm welcome greeted him in Minneapolis, and Peter delighted the group by helping to hand out the grand prizes, including stunning coffee-table books from Rand McNally and a set of Goodyear ComforTred Tires. Follow Peter’s travels on Facebook.
Congratulations To The 2011 National Scenic Byway Award Winners
The 2011 National Scenic Byway Awards dinner and presentation on Wednesday evening honored eight outstanding byway projects and one exceptional byway leader. Sponsored by the America’s Byways Resource Center, Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) and the American Association of State Highway Transportation Officials (AASHTO), the event featured introductory remarks by John Horsley, Executive Director, AASHTO. Gary Jensen, Team Leader - FHWA, introduced the 2011 review committee:
- Derrick Crandall, American Recreation Coalition
- Jennifer Getz, National Park Service
- Robin Gyorgyfalvy, USDA Forest Service
- Janet Oakley, AASHTO
- Allen Rasmussen, Arrowhead Regional Development Commission
- Kevin Stankiewicz, North Dakota Parks and Recreation
- Pam Ternes, Native American Scenic Byway
Gary explained that the reviewers finalized their recommendations based on how each project met four primary criteria:
- Community involvement and public outreach
- Partnerships
- Advancing the goals of the byway’s corridor management plan
- Innovation
In addition, the winning projects must continue to serve as successful models for other byway organizations and corridors. Gary also said that although there are eight project categories for the awards, the recipients were selected based on their merits and not according to category type.
Similarly, the 2011 Scenic Byway Leadership Award is based on specific criteria, such as accomplishments, dedication and vision.
For the first time since the awards began in conjunction with the 2003 National Scenic Byways Conference, the review committee concluded that three projects stood out among the many qualified candidates as honorable mentions. Michelle Johnson, Director of America’s Byways Resource Center, announced the honorees and winners of 2011 Scenic Byway Awards.
View 2011 Scenic Byways Awards Program (PDF, .txt)
Photos
The byway community explored many important topics through the learning and networking opportunities at the conference.
See Conference Photos >
See 2011 Scenic Byway Awards Photos >
Program
Download the program for descriptions of the learning and networking opportunities. (PDF, .txt)
