My View – May 2018

Recently, I had the privilege of attending the annual travel and tourism conference sponsored by our good friends at Travel Southern Oregon. TSO is the local arm of Travel Oregon, dedicated to marketing “Oregon” as a destination to the entire planet. During the day-long event, attendees were treated to a number of interesting presentations by travel, business, culinary/wine and hospitality experts, all of whom shared their vision and thoughts on living in and visiting Southern Oregon.

I am pleased to announce that all of the speakers were bullish on our ability to utilize regional natural attributes to attract visitors… and new residents. In so doing, all pointed to the clear connection between our quality of life and places/attractions such as Crater Lake National Park, the Rogue River, the Oregon Shakespeare Festival, the Britt Music Festival, our historic sites, hiking/biking trails, as well as a lively arts, entertainment, music and wine scenes. And the best part? Every one of the speakers included the town of Jacksonville on their list of significant regional cultural attractions that makes Southern Oregon so special!

Heading into summer, this is a good time of year to take stock of what Jacksonville offers both its residents and visitors. In terms of natural beauty and historic charm, Jacksonville is at the top of the list. When it comes to outdoor activities, no other town in Oregon can compete with our hiking options in the Jacksonville Woodlands and Forest Park trail systems. For history buffs, our living-history-museum-town is an idyllic backdrop to take in all sorts of history-themed presentations at the Beekman House, Historic Cemetery, as well as guided history tours and home tour events. On the wine side, our 6 in-town wine tasting rooms and the 18 wineries in the Applegate Valley, offer-up a wine lovers dream come true. And when it comes to culinary options, our one-of-a-kind restaurants assure that one’s inner “foodie” is always happy.

Join me in celebrating and embracing Jacksonville—Our Small Town with Big Atmosphere!