CAPE GIRARDEAU HAS GOOD SUCCESS WITH CONVENTIONS

Thousands of visitors are headed for Cape Girardeau over the next three years. They are coming to attend conventions and conferences and festivals and meetings. They range from square dancers to Baptists to members of Lions clubs from all over Missouri. They are converging on the city because Cape Girardeau is opening its doors and making them welcome.

Convention business is big business. Some 1,300 square dancers are expected in October. As many as 3,000 Baptists will be here next April for a state convention. More than 6,000 visitors are anticipated at the Midwest Forestry Products Show in September 1996.

All of this means a big boost for the city's economy. Visitors spend money on hotel rooms and meals, but they also pay for meeting facilities, gifts to take home and merchandise from the city's many retail outlets, including a multitude of antique shops.

Having the right facilities is the key to attracting conventions. It takes plenty of hotel rooms and meeting places such as the Show-Me Center or the A.C. Brase Arena Building.

Location is another factor. Cape Girardeau is fairly easy to get to for a lot of folks in the Midwest, thanks to I-55 and a regional airport. Being on the Mississippi River is a special attraction for many visitors.

The city's history is another lure. There are things to do and see when visitors come to Cape Girardeau.

A crucial part of attracting conventions and repeat business is a more intangible magnet: the friendly people who live in Cape Girardeau, who maintain their homes with neat lawns and attractive flowers, who treat strangers like new friends, who offer to help visitors find their way or make sure they don't miss a special shop or a historic home.

Not to be overlooked are the efforts of local members of organizations who choose Cape Girardeau as a meeting site. For example, members of the Lions Club here have been working hard for a long time to get the state convention to return. The last time the Lions had a state convention here was 1922.

And then there is the Convention and Visitors Bureau, which takes a big role in making sure things get done when visitors express an interest in holding a major event in Cape Girardeau. The logistics of a convention can be overwhelming for volunteers, but the professional bureau staff has the expertise to make meetings come together as an enjoyable experience for folks who attend conventions and later might decide to return for a visit or even to consider Cape Girardeau as a business location or place to live.

All together, the convention business involves much of the community in one way or another. One of the best tools to encourage more meetings and more visitors to contribute to the city's economy is fairly simple: smile. The friendliness of Cape Girardeans is frequently cited as a reason people want to hold their meetings here.

That's the way it should be.