To the editor:

I'd like to use this medium to respectfully invite Gary Bunting of the Convention and Visitors Bureau Advisory Board to spend a few days with the Paddlewheelers. If he thins all we do is "wave at riverboats," he's in for quite a surprise.

Perhaps he'd like to stand in the hot sun, the wind, the rain or the cold while we promote our city to the riverboat passengers. Our duties also include the sale of souvenirs and fulfilling requests for newspapers, medicine refills and other errands.

And it's not only riverboat waving. How about the long hours spent at the registration tables for the conventions and meetings the CVB has brought to town? Or perhaps Mr. Bunting would like to be at a hotel at 7 a.m. to do a departure for a tour bus. Oh, yes. How about the long and usually sweltering days at our fair giving out information and answering questions about our fair city? The list of our duties could go on and on.

We are not a haphazard group of people just thrown together. We receive training and instruction on how best to present our city and its attractions in a warm and professional manner.

As a Paddlewheeler for four years, I take great pride in our city and the achievements and dedication of our group. We are much more than riverboat wavers.

MONTY BOSTON

Cape Girardeau