Being goodwill ambassadors

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October 3, 2008

By JOEL WILSON The Glasgow Daily Times Fri Oct 03, 2008, 11:48 AM CDT

Exciting things happen on a daily basis in our community, many of which we remain blissfully unaware.

After a recent meeting of the tourism commission, Ann Stewart happened to mention a group of Australian motorcyclists that had come through Glasgow on a tour of the U.S.

With the dollar at its present exchange rate, many visitors from other countries are finding the U.S. an attractive place to be these days.

Such was the visit of these five Aussies and it all came about by happenstance.

Ernie Myers was going about his duties at the Chamber when he answered a phone call from a man with an Australian accent inquiring about a good place to have lunch in Glasgow. It seems that his group had visited the Corvette Museum and was headed toward Glasgow.

Ernie indeed had a suggestion and invited the group to stop by the Chamber before lunch. The ride coordinator was Beau Allen Pacheo, a journalist and photographer. The group included travel writers J. Peter Thoeming, editor of Australian Road Rider Magazine, and Trevor Hodge, editor of an internet news service.

Pacheo was driving a van while the other four Aussies rode their Harley-Davidsons.

Ernie met the group at the Chamber and went to lunch with them at the Station. Ann joined them there.

During a two-hour lunch break, there was a lively exchange of information about life in Kentucky and in Australia. The visitors were particularly interested in our crops, especially tobacco, and about the horse country in Kentucky. They wanted to know if there were still wild horse herds in Kentucky. They had learned about the wild horse rescue groups in the U.S., including one in Tennessee. They also had questions about the sizes of the typical family home, politics and education among other things.

They were impressed by how much a couple of small-town Kentuckians knew about Australia including the fact that there are herds of wild camels wandering the dry plains of the country, remnants of stock left behind by early explorers. And they were pleased to know their country is studied in our elementary schools.

The group had traveled from Florida where their bikes had been shipped. They were following U.S. 31-E en route to Milwaukee, where they planned to attend the 105th anniversary celebration of Harley-Davidson.

Things like this happen every day at the Chamber. Recently there was another couple from Australia, vacationing in the U.S., who stopped in the Chamber to get information.

Stories like these are music to the ears of those involved in the tourism industry. It means somebody is staying in our hotels, eating at our restaurants, buying gas from our vendors and shopping in our stores. And it means that people from near and far are seeing and learning about Glasgow, Ky.

I, for one, commend the efforts of Ernie, Ann and the other members of the Chamber staff. They are doing very important work on our behalf and we should be appreciative.

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