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Message from the President & CEO


" Location. Location. Location."  We've all heard this is important to a successful business. If potential customers don't know where you are or how to get to you, how can they buy your product?  To carry this thought further, how can we expect people to come to the Black Hills if they don't know we're here?

The effect of advertising is important.  Some say it is not needed, but that isn't really borne out in the analysis.   The areas with the larger marketing and advertising programs are the ones who draw the customers.

Our resources are limited.  We do not have the budget to match the 'big boys' dollar for dollar.  But we do have the assets to become a 'world-class destination'.   Mount Rushmore is still the best known icon of our area, but Crazy Horse is getting more and more media coverage worldwide.  Our Black Hills includes Custer State Park, caves, Badlands, Deadwood gaming and historic preservation, bike riding, horseback riding, climbing, caving, skiing, fishing, hunting, museums, archeology, geology, hiking, fossils, cowboy and Native American culture and an interesting history.

Linda Rabe, IOM, CCE

President & CEO

Linda Rabe
It is like one large theme park with something for everyone -- and we need to sell it that way.  It is hard to top the exposure we got nationwide in winning the fight to remove Ellsworth Air Force Base from the closure list, and when local events make national news, it promotes the awareness of the Black Hills.  We appreciate the NAU Girls Volleyball Team winning the National NAIA Championship and Black Hills Stock Show and Rodeo being recognized as the Best Indoor Rodeo.   There are other activities and events that also put us on the map, such as our Post 22 baseball team being in the World Series, the exposure we received from the national TV shows, from live interviews at Mount Rushmore, President Bush's visits and the Mount Rushmore fireworks.  The cost to buy this exposure would be prohibitive.  We must capitalize on these opportunities -- blend them into our individual marketing plans and the overall Black Hills plan.

We have a common brand for the Black Hills now let's promote it to those who don't know about us and have not visited. This "new market" could cause the growth spurt to further improve air service to the region and realize the economic benefit of our visitor industry.  Many individuals and organizations are working together to leverage our scarce promotional money to put the Black Hills permanently on the map as a "world-class destination."