Tell me a story.

At some point in your life, you’ve likely either asked for someone to tell you a story or have been tasked with telling one. As an avid consumer of the written word, I prefer fiction. But this month I’m looking to you, the readers, for the real deal.

Every year when November rolls around, I start working on the next edition of the Green County Visitor and Activity Guide. It’s a magazine-style publication for both visitors and locals — with a focus on cheese, beer, barn quilts, heritage, outdoor recreation, communities and events. Studies show that having a printed guide in the hands of the visitor increases the amount of time they spend in an area. In addition, 80 percent of decisions made while traveling are based on what is found in guides and brochures — whether in print or mobile-friendly format. 

For many communities and destinations, visitor guides are a simple compilation of the assets of the area, mixed with advertisements. Here in Green County, I prefer to spice things up with photos and brief articles. In the marketing world, they call this “content.” Engaging photos along with quick sound bites of text mixed in — to enhance, to educate, to entertain. 

Some of the articles included in the Green County Guide are directly focused on tourism assets — like exploring the Pearl Island Recreational Corridor or the new wayfinding kiosks marking the Sugar River Canoe and Kayak Trail. Others feature local personalities – like last year’s feature on Larry Daehn, longtime accordion player for Swiss cookout nights at the Chalet Landhaus in New Glarus. Local businesses use the guide as a tool in recruiting, so pieces related to quality of life — volunteerism, community and economic development — are a good fit. Articles in the past have focused on bits and pieces that make Green County a great place to live, work, grow a business and raise a family. 

When it comes to content, fun and quirky are always welcome. Cheese and beer and yodeling and festivals are fun. Limburger is a bit quirky, and so is the fact that local artist Kathy King’s murals at Baumgartner’s Cheese Store and Tavern extend right into the bathroom. Tourism, overall, is inherently fun. I like to serve up the flavor of fun on the pages of the guide.

Do you have suggestions for content to include in the 2019 Green County Visitor and Activity Guide? Perhaps a volunteer (or a teacher or a coach or a pastor or a neighbor) making a difference in your community, a worthy cause or fundraising event, a club or service organization with an interesting project or initiative, an entrepreneur with a good story, a multi-generation family-owned business, or a recent small business success story. Other fun and perhaps tasty things to consider: your favorite local cheese (or local beer or local restaurant or local bartender) and why, the best of Green County, what makes your community unique or something you’d encourage an out-of-town friend to see or do when visiting the area.

I can tell the story, but I could use your ideas to get started. Call me at 608-328-1838 or send an email to tourism@greencounty.org.

— Noreen Rueckert is director for Green County Tourism, executive director for Green County Cheese Days, and co-chair of Main Street Monroe’s Concerts on the Square. She refuses to name her favorite cheese, but it is rumored to be Feta.