It has always been a goal of the Dexter Tourism Committee to not only shop local, but to inspire people from other communities to come to Dexter. Tourism money comes from taxes and city of Dexter is committed to the Tourism Committee's ideas and supports the DexterFirst initiative.
Tourism is an important sector that has had a great impact on the development of our local economy.
The DexterFirst Great Christmas Giveaway was an idea created by Alan and Tracy Hedrick. Tracy vowed to only shop at local Dexter retail establishments during the Christmas holidays and not purchase anything online or outside of Stoddard County. She not only shopped local, but discovered what great retail shops Dexter had to offer.
The following Christmas, Alan, who was serving on the Dexter Tourism Committee, asked if they could help with funding and promotional materials to get even more people involved. DexterFirst became even more popular with the help of the tourism committee and for the past two years it has become even more successful.
Alan knew that the benefits of tourism created income and generated jobs locally and wanted to make an impact on the community.
Mary Worley who leads the Dexter Tourism Committee was instrumental in the 2019 Great Christmas Giveaway helping promote the contest by contacting numerous businesses in town and hanging posters throughout Dexter. The ShowMe Times ran tons of entries and several were from out of town guests traveling to our community who participated. Without the help of local businesses this project also would not have been successful. It truly takes everyone’s involvement to promote DexterFirst.
The goal is to develop a brand for out-of-town people to know and think, "I should be shopping in Dexter and eating at their restaurants!" The idea is once they come to Dexter they will see what we have to offer and will want to return annually to shop and perhaps even come during the non-holiday season and eat at our wonderful restaurants as well.
"Tourism is the backbone of our community and brings a sizable amount of dollars every year," commented Mary Worley. "Tourism boosts our economy and enriches our businesses. The money generated pays for important public services as well such as education and law enforcement."
"We have several other projects in the works as well," Worley continues.
If you participated in the Dexter First Great Christmas Giveaway or helped by sharing on Facebook and Twitter you are a part of the tourism team! Thank you to the Tourism Committee for all the volunteer hours helping our community be successful. Also a big thank you to the city of Dexter who oversees the Tourism Committee and allows them to be successful with their projects.
Check out the DexterFirst Facebook page and get ready for another exciting year! Click Here!
Pictured from left to right are some of the Tourism Committee Members: Matt Myers, Leslie Ackman, Mary Worley, Dona West, and Ashley Miller.
