Ulster County Press and the Ulster County Lodging Coalition

After a few months on the road it is good to be home and catch up with local happenings. I picked up the Ulster County Press today and enjoyed reading it; it covers things that are often overlooked. The top headline of this edition was about local lodging owners forming a lobby group. I cheer the news and wish them well. I have been to 9 countries in the last few months and worked with many local and national tourism boards, tourism is a known factor in improving business, not just for the lodging but even to a coffee shop or small farm stand. In the US there is no national tourism board; it is done by states and locally. I understand that locally money is hard to come by for the purpose of encouraging visitors. I salute those such as David O’ Halloran owner of the Pinegrove Ranch and Jacquelyn Appledorn, general manager of the Mohonk Mountain House for taking matters into their own hands. In fact there has been a Discover America Partnership for a few years who promotes travel from abroad to the US, on the board is Bill Marriott and Jonathan Tisch as well as many others who understand the importance of tourist dollars. Tourism accounting for $443 million and 10,000 jobs in Ulster is no laughing matter, think of the gas tanks filled! Great article Ulster County Press and Robert Ford.

Congrats to Tim McArdle and the Independent Artists Collaborative

Congratulations to the talented and nice guy Tim McArdle and his partner Henry Slattery for getting their script selected by the Ed Wood (Film Festival). I read about Tim’s success in the Ulster County Press, a great local paper. I am often asked how I started writing my travel stuff and I find that people aren’t really interested. Tim was the opposite; he would come out to the house for a cup of coffee and ask questions. At the time he was already an accomplished musician. It seems that his talent is backed up by motivation, a key element to success. The film, “Four”, will premier at the Spectrum Theater in Albany on Sept. 27 and run through Oct. 4.

He is part of a new local independent film group named IAC or Independent Artists Collaborative, founded by Michalina Almindo, Evan Leone, Christina Vinsick and Jim D’Ippolito. It is great to have artistic movers and shakers here in Kingston.