Kalispell is tourism-friendly town
We were happy to see hard work rewarded this week when Kalispell won two awards at the annual Governor’s Conference on Tourism and Recreation.
In particular, the award for the Montana Pond Hockey Classic as event of the year seemed to us to be well-deserved. Starting with the creativity of the event itself, and its great fit with Kalispell, the Pond Hockey Classic always looked liked it would be a success.
But it didn’t happen without a lot of hard work. The Kalispell Convention and Visitor Bureau recruited dozens of volunteers and worked year-round to make a long weekend into an event to remember.
The 2014 Pond Hockey Classic at Foy’s Lake was a huge success, quickly becoming one of the top events of its kind. Teams were attracted from a number of states and Canada, and hotels and restaurants in Kalispell definitely saw a boom in business — exactly the reason such tourism events are held in the first place.
The 2015 Classic proved to be much more of a challenge, thanks to warm weather and thin ice at Foy’s Lake, but Diane Medler and the rest of the Convention and Visitor Bureau pulled out all the stops and moved the event on very short notice to Woodland Park. The Montana Pond Hockey Classic certainly lived up to its name this year — it was most definitely POND hockey!
The second award went to Kalispell itself as a Film Friendly Community. Kalispell beat out Big Sky, Bozeman, Butte, Missoula and Sidney for the honor, which goes to a community that was inviting, engaging and proactive in assisting and promoting film and media projects.
We can certainly do more in encouraging location filming to be done at Glacier Park, Flathead Lake and the other scenic wonders of Northwest Montana, but we doubt anyone could find a more welcoming community anywhere!
Finally, we take note of an award won by The Lodge at Whitefish Lake. During the convention, AAA Mountain West honored the hotel with its Four Diamond Award, the highest level of distinction granted by the travel association. Anyone who has had the chance to visit The Lodge can agree with AAA’s Anna O’Donnell, who declared that “each and every guest leaves with an unforgettable experience.”
Well done to all involved.