By ROBERT JUMPER
Tutiyi (Snowbird) and Clyde, N.C.
I closed a chapter in my life this week (for a second time) – one that I had participated in for a couple of decades. I have always sought ways to serve my communities, including those in Haywood, Jackson, and the Qualla Boundary. I was born and raised in Jackson County. I have lived in several places in the county, from Cullowhee to Sylva, Webster to Whittier to Dillsboro. I left it for brief periods, living in Virginia Beach, Va.; Chicago, Ill.; Myrtle Beach, S.C.; and other stops along life’s journey.
The chapter that has drawn to an end is my formal relationship with the Jackson County tourism offices, now known as the Jackson County Tourism Development Authority (TDA). I served the community on that board for roughly 13 years. I was a part of the retooling process that basically dissolved the Travel and Tourism Authorities for Jackson and Cashiers. I had been a director for the Jackson County TTA for roughly another eight years. The county leadership, back in 2012, decided that a unified approach to tourism made the most sense for the effort, and when the TTA requested an increase of the Occupancy Tax (we call it a Privilege Tax on the Boundary), the Board of Commissioners petitioned the North Carolina state government to get the increase with a provision that the two tourism authorities be merged into a single unit.
I was not initially selected to serve on the Jackson County TDA when it began in 2012. The county organizations, basically TTA north (Sylva area) and TTA south (Cashiers area), were still at odds with each other after the dissolution of the two TTAs. A few months into the new organization’s launch, I received a call from the Board of Commissioners asking me if I would be willing to step in to help by assuming the role of chairman of that board.
As I told the members of the board this week, my love affair with Jackson County began when I was born at CJ Harris Community Hospital 65 years ago. My sense of place and family comes from there. My education was initiated and continues from there. My love for my Cherokee community began there. Sylva is my hometown, and even though I don’t live there anymore, a part of me is always there.
When Julie Spiro and I met back in 2004, I expressed my desire to serve, and she suggested working on the tourism board since my job at the tribe was also tourism-related. At that time, Julie was executive director of the Chamber of Commerce and TTA. It was Julie who encouraged me to serve and basically hand-held me until I was more confident and competent to lead. I believe it was also Julie who prompted the Commissioners to ask for my return to assume the role of chair on the TDA. Coincidentally, Julie and I share the same birthday (but not the same birth year-she would add I am sure).
Many of those who serve on the TDA are business owners, hoteliers, and attraction executives. I am not. I managed tourism in various capacities for the tribe, then became editor of the One Feather in 2014. The TDA Board of Directors is a volunteer board. No one in the voting role gets paid to do so. It takes heart and commitment to the good of the whole to make an organization like the TDA successful. If personal pay or influence is your motivator, the team and the organization suffer, and so will the success of your effort.
A good friend and collaborator for many years has been Chris Cavannaugh, who founded the Magellan Strategy Group. He had a pet saying (among many) that “a rising tide lifts all boats”. I think he stole this truism from President John F. Kennedy. It turns out that the phrase first appeared in a 1910 article about missionary work. But we won’t quibble about that. It is a saying that I adopted and incorporated into my leadership philosophy.
When I took the responsibility of leading the TDA Board of Directors over a decade ago, I told the board that we must be successful in making the tourism effort profitable, but we could not do so to the community’s detriment. Tourists come to our area because of what we are. If we disturbed that environment, we would not succeed, and everyone would lose. Tourism is a primary economic driver in that community. It is imperative to work in such a way that everyone’s boat rises with the economic tide. Both the residence and the business community could work together in this effort to the benefit of everyone.
It has been so humbling over the years to be in an environment at the TDA where the focus has been on the work. It’s not about singling out a family member or “good old buddy” for special treatment. It’s not about gaining position, power, influence, or personal profit for an individual or even a certain group. It is what is best for the whole that matters. It’s about listening to the wisdom of experience and the intelligence in education that matters. It’s about trust and commitment to a cause. It’s about adherence to what the metrics tell us and not what a particular person may think.
For just under a decade, I have had the honor of working alongside Nick Breedlove, who assumed the role of Executive Director of the TDA back in 2015. To say Nick was and is a dynamo when it comes to tourism development is a grievous understatement. Nick has grown the organization and the economy of Jackson County by leaps and bounds since he started his distinguished career at the TDA. Before he came to us, he had already been elected as the youngest mayor in North Carolina.
Consider this excerpt from an article from a destination marketing trade group: “Nick has significantly impacted the industry with his innovative strategies and expertise. Under his leadership, the destination thrived, generating nearly $500 million annually in visitor spending. (global.hsmai.org)”
It is working with young innovators like Nick and the incredible men and women who have served as staff and directors at the Jackson County TDA that has made us successful in our efforts, growing the organization’s budget by 600 percent in the past decade.
It has been a great privilege to be a part of this amazing, forward-thinking collaboration. My job, as any job of supervision and leadership should be, is to facilitate great minds and talents, providing the environment and tools they need to be successful. It is what I do here at the One Feather. It is what I learned to do through four decades of customer and community service. I know that the Jackson County TDA will continue to grow and prosper in the community it serves, which includes the Qualla Boundary.
I know that the tribe is considering developing a tourism development authority. While I haven’t had any contact with the work group, I hope they build a solid foundation built on integrity and lean hard into building relationships through networking. A key factor will be whether the government will have the courage to relinquish power to a group of industry leaders in our community. It is a difficult thing for governments to do. But the goals of government are reached in a different way than they are in the tourism industry.
I let go of this chapter of my life reluctantly. It is always a good feeling to contribute. I’ll continue to find ways to do so. Nonetheless, it is a bittersweet moment.
