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Spotsylvania County hires tourism marketing coordinator
Spotsylvania County hires tourism marketing coordinator
Date published: 11/1/2005
By GEORGE WHITEHURST Shellie Ridder is moving from promoting movies to promoting all of Spotsylvania County. Ridder reports for duty today as the county's new tourism marketing coordinator. For the past three years, Ridder has managed Spotsylvania's popular family film festival. Now she'll spend more of her time helping spread the word about the county's Civil War battlefields and other historic and cultural sites. She's aiming the message at both outside tourists and longtime county residents. Ridder, a Spotsylvania resident for the past 25 years, notes the county has changed enormously in that time. The population has jumped from about 40,000 to about 110,000, with scores of people continuing to pour in--especially along State Route 3 and U.S. 1. Now Ridder will try to introduce these new suburbanites to the bulk of Spotsylvania County. "The task is to help unite the new and the old, so that everybody feels like they're part of the picture," she said. "That task of letting people know about the two-thirds of the county that they may never see is a pleasure to me." The annual film festival started by the Board of Supervisors is a first step in that direction. It drew about 10,000 people over its three-day run this year. "I think what it shows to me is that the [Board of Supervisors] is interested in establishing a quality of life that is second to none for the people who live here in Spotsylvania County," Ridder said. Developing locals' interest in their own history might help lure their extended families--and their money--to the county. "Not only do you have to market your tourism to Pennsylvania and Baltimore and Richmond, you have to market it to your own people," Ridder said. "You have to let them know what's so great about their own community." Deputy County Administrator Ernie Pennington said the new marketing position sprang from the supervisors' desire to boost Spotsylvania's image as a tourist destination. "Currently we're in the Fredericksburg-area tourism program, and in addition we want to market some destinations and tourist attractions that we have out here in the county," he said. Board of Supervisors Chairman Bob Hagan described Spotsylvania and the city of Fredericksburg as "complementary" tourist destinations. He also heaped praise on Ridder for her previous work. "I was delighted by the choice of Shellie Ridder, who has worked closely with the county on several promotions," he said. "She comes to us with experience, expertise and knowledge of the local market. We're hoping that her skills will bring branding opportunities to Spotsylvania County." To reach GEORGE WHITEHURST:
Read more stories about Spotsylvania Date published: 11/1/2005
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