elamink

Everyone sure would like to see full beaches once again, and eating Gulf Seafood should be mandatory in my book. I was especially pleased to see that civic and community leaders in the Gulf Coast region have finally come together to form a coalition that may actually do something about the future of the area. Mobile Mayor, Sam Jones is featured in a You Tube video that describes the group and its goals. They’re looking to accomplish some pretty meaningful things. Let’s hope they can manage to move quickly.

We may need to move from baby steps to giant leaps pretty soon.

UPDATE: USA Today had a good print story related to this problem recently.

Additional USA Today video story link.

Nice to see someone paying attention.

It’s amazing how some people seem focused on short term tactics rather than long term strategic planning. I just read that Courteney Cox was scheduled to do a PSA spot for Alabama’s beaches. Her spot will likely be rotated with another featuring Taylor Hicks promoting our coast. Lucy Buffett (Jimmy’s sister) did a spot that has been airing for a short period already. All of that is great, I’ve been asking for this sort of thing for more than two months. We certainly can stand the favorable publicity. But wait, they just plugged the hole, didn’t they? For weeks everyone has been proclaiming the beaches clean and clear anyway.

Hey guys, school starts back next week. I know revenues from tourism spread throughout the year. People have been headed south during the fall and winter months for years. Do you think those people don’t know the oil has stopped flowing? Of course they do. The biggest issue we faced for the past month or so has been the uncertainty. With the oil flowing, it might hit the beaches and spoil my vacation. That part seems over (we hope) and perception will be that the beaches are once again in great shape. News coverage of the mess has begun to dwindle already and everyone’s breathing easier, right!

Let’s look at the issues and possible solutions. Tourism has suffered greatly. It’ll come back. Taxes from lodging are way off. That will come back, too. Retailers and restaurants who have suffered actual losses will be compensated and for those people next year will be better. What about those poor souls who actually made their living from the sea. The fishermen of the Gulf have suffered enormous losses. They’ll be compensated to some degree, but as the all-clear sounds for tourists, the dinner bell isn’t ringing for gulf coast seafood (particularly oysters and shrimp).

The campaign we really need is one that support our fishing industry. Let’s do something about that. Maybe Courteney can eat a bunch of shrimp and down a few oysters in the commercial. Mmm-good would go a long way in helping a group that may be all but forgotten in this whole mess.

Goodbye Bayou La Batre… (Hey Jimmy, think about that for a song title)

Notice anything unusual about my beach photos? I spent the past week at the Gulf Coast and it was great… (for me). I can’t say the same for thousands of others who work there. I love a secluded beach, they don’t. I know the PR and marketing efforts have been churning out favorable beach forecast for the most part, but it has been confusing. Louisiana seems to have the biggest problem (from the newscast I’ve seen), but they really don’t have beaches there anyway, so, what’s the problem? Mississippi has been advertising a lot. They tout the fine beaches and no oil problems (of course the gambling industry has their agenda, too). Alabama doesn’t seem to have much of a beach problem, but, they either don’t have the money or the know-how to take advantage of the PR Buffett brought to the area.

That leaves Florida, the sunshine state. Last week there was plenty of sunshine, pristine beaches and ample room for people to spread out all over the place (at least from Destin to Apalachicola). We were thanked profusely by almost every shop owner and restaurateur we encountered (just for coming down).

Things will change, people will return and life will go on, but, there are many who will not make it. I saw empty buildings, vacancy signs everywhere and no lines at the restaurants we visited. We rented a boat on the morning we wanted to go out (they were never available that late before) and beach chairs were open from one end of the beach to the other. How can these people ever make up what has been lost.

As I have discussed before, the media is losing interest. If the capping goes well, we may not hear much about the Gulf Coast until another hurricane heads this way. Who’s stepping up and looking out for the future of the area? I’ve tried to get a multi-state forum and conference going to explore these areas, but, it seems each state is looking out for its own interest (understandable). Maybe this would be a good time for the new leadership at BP to step out in front of the issue and call for this type of meeting. It could go a long way in addressing the needs of the communities and of supporting BP’s need for positive public relations.