KRC devising ways to sell Kimball

As the summer draws to a close, so does the internship for Emilia Woeppel and Jessica Bartak. The UNL students will be leaving Kimball within the week and returning to their homes in order to get ready for the approaching school year. Despite their inevitable exit, they are making sure that the projects they began will not go unfinished.

Woeppel and Bartak have been working closely with the Kimball Recruitment Coaliton (KRC) and have aided in getting together some promotional videos for Kimball.

"What they've been doing is getting some video of what makes Kimball special and they'll put it together and put it up on Youttube for us," said Shaun Evertson, chair of the KRC.

Woeppel and Bartak have spent the last few weeks exploring Kimball and the surrounding area in order to get video footage and pictures. This media gathering of sorts is important to the work they are planning on accomplishing.

"We've put together a few videos that will showcase different parts of Kimball. We have a video about places specific to Kimball, the churches, and the parks in Kimball. Also, we have one highlighting the pool," Bartak said.

The interns actually took a lot of footage at the Kimball swimming pool in order to highlight the enjoyment local residents get out of it. The video most definitely expresses the fun that can be had spending the day at the pool.

The other aspects covered in the videos are the different businesses that are specific to Kimball. The Welcome Center itself even got a video that shows everything it has to offer.

"We tried to get it all, but there are a lot of events and stuff that we won't be able to get because our internship ends. Like the fair and Farmers Day. Also, we were wanting to try to do a video about Kimball nightlife but weren't ever here on the weekends in order to do that," Woeppel said.

Clearly, the interns have accomplished quite a bit in their short eight weeks here. However, like they mentioned, their internship is coming to a close, unfortunately, right as Kimball is going to be experiencing its most exciting events.

"What we're hoping for is to get a group together, that would be a part of the KRC that would continue to work on this video project that was started by the girls. They helped us with other things too, but this is the only project that we're just not sure who should take over," Evertson said.

A lot of effort has been put into making videos to showcase Kimball. No one, least of all Woeppel and Bartak, want to see that hard work go to waste.

"We wish we could do more, but our internship is over. So, like Shaun said, we're hoping someone will be able to take over if we show them the direction we were headed with these videos," Bartak said.

These videos are important to Kimball for many reasons and one of those is that they focus on certain positive and fun aspects of Kimball. It's very easy for local residents to take what they have for granted. When a person comes through and asks what there is to do in Kimball, it's very easy to provide a sarcastic reply or to retort with "nothing".

The KRC with the help of the interns has been trying to change that negative view so many Kimball natives have of their own community with these videos.

"Sometimes it takes an outsider to really see all of the interesting parts of a place that we see everyday. That's what they've been doing for us. They've even been calling us out on our own negativity that we don't even notice anymore," Evertson said.

The videos that have been made are a way to show visitors as well as potential future community members what they can do in Kimball. Many might argue that all the information the videos highlight can be obtained at the Welcome Center or the Chamber of Commerce. However, the reality of the situation is that there will be newcomers that want to specifically explore the community through online information.

"When I first found out that my internship was going to be in Kimball, I googled it. I tried to find out what restaurants were around and what there was to do for entertainment," Woepell said.

Bartak had a similar response when she found out about her internship.

"I wanted to know what outdoor activities there were available. So I googled and wanted to check out what I could do. I was basically just looking for any information," Bartak said.

More often than not visitors will decide whether or not they are going to spend time in Kimball before they ever get here. They look up the town on their smart phones or their computers and decide whether or not it's worth their while. This is part of the reason the KRC has been spending so much time building an online presence for Kimball.

"It's so easy to forget what there is to do in Kimball if you're here all the time. So we hope that we have provided an outsider's point of view and a young person's point of view into what people will find interesting in Kimball," Bartak said.

The KRC hopes that the videos will be a helpful addition to Kimball's online presence. Of course, the videos are not done now that Woeppel and Bartak are leaving. They believe that videos highlighting Farmers Day, the fair and, yes, even Kimball's nightlife would be beneficial. The KRC is holding a special meeting at the High Point Welcome Center this Thursday, July 31, at 5:30 p.m. in order to discuss the direction the videos will be taking. Anyone interested in working on videos or has ideas for videos concerning Kimball should attend. The videos that Woepell and Bartak have been working on will be shown at the meeting as well.

"We're really happy with what they've done for us, and we wish we could keep them around. But since they have to leave, we want to get as many interested people as possible, because we want to make these videos a good thing for Kimball," Evertson said.