Ski town seeks event producer
Toolbox
By Cristina Kumka Herald Staff - Published: January 9, 2009
It's one of the busiest times of the winter season in the ski resort community, but Killington town officials are already working toward making it even busier.
By 2010, the town's Economic Development Director Carl Spangler said he would like to "create as many events" as the town can possibly hold and to do it, he said the town will hire a new employee — an events producer for $50,000 a year.
Spangler hopes to fill the post, a job the town has mulled for more than a year, by the end of this month.
"The most important thing about making this work is to create events between Memorial Day and Columbus Day weekend and during other parts of the year as well," Spangler said Wednesday.
Killington's most recent hire for roughly $65,000 a year, Spangler, a veteran in planning and development of ski resorts and the communities that surround them, is one of many town officials with sights on a renaissance for the popular ski town.
The municipality is hoping to lay the foundation for a bursting and sustainable local economy during all four seasons by solidifying their existing partnership with Killington Resort management and by starting new initiatives — from branding the town to opening a performing arts center, and holding events nearly every weekend.
And it's bigger than hiking, biking and music, Spangler said.
"Years ago we had a horse show, a lumberjack festival, the Hartford Ballet, a summer stock at Snowshed Lodge and we used to have a Killington Stage Race," he said.
"We had all those in place ... we have a car show in two years and an antique show in the back of our minds."
But setting up the events and getting people to them won't happen overnight and that's where the new employee comes in, Spangler said.
Interviews were expected to start last week
According to a job description posted on the town's Web site, potential candidates must possess at least three years of experience in securing and successfully managing events of all sizes and a bachelor's degree from an accredited four-year college or university.
The events producer, who must have "knowledge of vendors and suppliers," "excellent communication and organizational skills," and "excellent skills in task management and prioritization" according to the description, will be responsible for designing events, securing corporate or local sponsorships for them and track all finances, security and reports back to town officials.
The employee, paid out of the funds from the town's 1 percent local option tax, will work out of the town's newly formed municipal department of Economic Development and Tourism.
The option tax is expected to fuel the department with an estimated $550,000 of new revenue a year, Spangler said.
The new employee will be tasked with maximizing that revenue.
"There are a variety of events that will attract guests to the area that normally might not come here particularly during the times that are slow periods," he said.
"The bottom line is increasing revenues to the town and to the business community out of the meals, rooms and beverages tax."
Local business owner and Selectman Michael Miller said the economic boost more events will bring is worth the wait but hiring an events producer is a good start.
"A lot of events stopped because of a lack of energy," said the longtime resident and owner of Base Camp Outfitters and two other adjacent stores. "It takes energy to maintain sponsorship for national events."
According to Miller, the municipality rode the wave of its private counterpart for years when it came to popular events that drew a large crowd of visitors. "We ran on the coattails of Killington Resort," he said. "It came out of their pocket."
The infrastructure for a variety of events is already in place and according to Miller, there aren't many people in town who would be opposed to the increased traffic and business activity.
"It could be a Scrabble championship for all I care," he said. "It's all good if it's bringing people here."
And, according to Miller, the added business is hard to dispute.
"We live in a resort town, it's why we're here," he said.
Contact Cristina Kumka at cristina.kumka@rutlandherald.com.
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