I’ll admit to a long fascination with tidbits of life that usually don’t make the news. This week I ran across a couple that sparked more than my usual curiosity.
One came when talking to Steve Genovesi, vice president of sales and marketing for the Chattanooga Convention and Visitors Bureau. He was discussing how much headway the community in general and his organization specifically are making in attracting visitors to our eclectic and interesting mid-sized city.
Mr. Genovesi said tourism folks increasingly are learning to deploy the full range of our regional assets. As an example, he told of one group trip the bureau helped coordinate involving a number of activities based on the diverse offerings of the community. These included a softball game at Chattanooga’s downtown AT&T Field, home to professional baseball’s Lookouts franchise, a whitewater rafting trip on the Ocoee River and golf at a local mountain course.
Maybe it’s just me, but while I’m well aware of the city’s unique opportunities, hearing that visitors in a short span can play golf on a mountain, take a world-class whitewater rafting trip and play a ball game on a professional field reminded me that there is only one Chattanooga and that, fortunately, others are figuring that out.
Another informational gem came my way this week from a regional gemologist, who told me more has changed in this new economy than I knew. While helping people sell gold and other metals that have appreciated in value recently, he discovered the trend.
Some East Tennessee churches, he said, have been finding themselves with the same need: selling gold and valuable jewelry items that have been showing up in collection plates in growing numbers. In other words, in this new day when unemployment and underemployment continue in uncomfortable numbers, some churchgoers low on cash but high on generosity have begun putting meaningful metal into the collection plate.
The moral of these two nuggets, which otherwise have little in common beyond my curiosity, is something like this: Give us a challenge, and we’ll give you a creative, if not entertaining, solution.
E-mail David Magee at dmagee@timesfreepress.com.