Tribune Tri Lakes 4/24/13
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April 24, 2013
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Local man finishes before blasts Doug Laufer of Palmer Lake heard the explosions about a minute after he crossed the finish line By Lisa Collacott
lcollacott@ourcoloradonews.com
Kathryn Thompson, 8, turns a cup on JNO Cut Glass Chip & Gluing Repair’s wheel at the Pine Forest Antiques, Home Decor and Garden Show, as her mother Deborah Thompson and John Treinen chat Sunday at Lewis Palmer High School. For more, see Page 8 Photo by Rob Carrigan
Monument looking at marketing proposal Branding town would bring more visitors By Lisa Collacott
lcollacott@ourcoloradonews.com The town of Monument wants to market the entire town and make it a destination place. To help them put together a marketing plan they are looking at hiring a marketing firm. The marketing firm would help them meet with potential partners, create destination places such as Monument Lake and Mount Herman, bring some attractions to Monument Marketplace, assist in organizing additional outdoor events, media strategies and getting some partnerships or sponsorships. “We’re trying to market the entire town not just the downtown area. I’ve broken it out into three locations; downtown, state Highway 105 and Jackson Creek. So we’d like to get a strategic marketing plan that involves all three of those,” Tom Kassawara, director of development services, said. Camille and Kyle Blakely, owner of Blakely + Company, presented the board of trustees with a strategic marketing plan proposal at the April 15 board meeting that includes $15,000 and $30,000 level options. “Really the main goal of this undertaking is to find a way to brand the town
‘We’re trying to come up with events that people will recognize as on-going so it becomes a real destination.’ Camille Blakely of Monument. Why should people come here? Why should they choose to come here?” Camille Blakely said. “What can we do to highlight what makes you guys different and get more people here.” One of the first steps in the marketing plan is to do market research and that means talking to key community partners. At the $15,000 level there would be meetings with key players and partners but at the $30,000 level it would include two focus groups; one with retail businesses and one with citizens. The $30,000 level would also include strategic planning session with key players. Both levels include writing a comprehensive strategic marketing plan that would include a situation analysis, objectives, targets, strategies, tactics, measure-
ments, time line and a budget. Blakely told the board of trustees that the town has a well-established look and feel to their logo and they do not recommend doing anything with it. “We think it represents you well,” Blakely said. Blakely suggested creating an outdoor event and Monument Marketplace is a great place to host a large group of people. Two ideas she suggested is having an outdoor drive-in movie night and Air Force football tailgate parties for away games and watching the games on a huge screen. “We’re trying to come up with events that people will recognize as on-going so it becomes a real destination. So you’ve got some wonderful key events and we want to enhance that and come up with some things that happen on an ongoing basis kind of like your concerts so it becomes part of people consciousness when they think about Monument,” Blakely added. Blakely suggesting sending ongoing press releases, calendar updates, making a brochure, incorporating the brand into the town’s new website design, taking advantage of social media and promoting existing events. Blakely + Company has worked with the city of Longmont, Boulder and Cripple Creek. The board of trustees voted to move forward with the marketing company and have directed Kassawara to negotiate a contract for two scopes of work, one for $15,000 and one for $30,000.
Palmer Lake resident Doug Laufer crossed the finish line and a minute later heard the explosion. Laufer had just completed his seventh Boston Marathon and said he was getting a bottle of water and collecting his medal when the bombs went off. He was approximately 200 yards away from the blast. “I did not see the carnage directly but I was not far removed from it. I heard the blasts and saw the smoke. I felt the confusion as we were herded towards the finish area exit,” Laufer Dzhokhar said. “The volunteers did an awesome job. No one really knew what happened at that point.” At approximately 2:50 p.m. on April 15 two bombs went off as runners made their way down Boyston Street to the finish line. The blasts injured 176 people, many critically, and killed eight-yearold Martin Richard, 29-year-old Krystle Campbell both of Massachusetts and 23-year-old Boston University graduate student Lingza Lu, from China. All three were there to cheer family or friends on. Thousands go out to cheer the runners on. The marathon takes place on Patriot’s Day, always the third Monday in Massachusetts. “The city of Boston, they really take a lot of pride in it. It’s a special day. The city really focuses on the event. I felt a loss of joy and end of celebration. It was all surreal and very, very sad,” Laufer said. “For runners it’s the pinnacle of running.” Monument Trustee Becki Tooley has never been to the Boston Marathon but is an avid runner and knows how important the event is. She will be competing in her first marathon in May. “There’s no booing in running. It’s a wonderful sport whether you’re fast or slow. It’s the only sport where everyone is extremely supportive of each other. It’s inclusive. There’s that freedom aspect about it,” Tooley said. Laufer didn’t have any family or friends attend this marathon and said in hindsight he’s glad. He knew many of the other runners though. More than 500 Boston continues on Page 11