Help Businesses Stay Open During Virus: Play Business Bingo!

This past month has managed to pass by quickly, even if I didn’t have any idea what day of the week it was all month! Working from home has presented plenty of challenges, but has also let me find some creative outlets.

I have enjoyed creating digital stories about the High Point, a short grass prairie presentation with Shaun Evertson, and an area photo contest. If you are interested in checking them out, visit http://www.youtube.com and search for ‘Kimball Area Tourism’.

I have also put together some bingo cards and word games for a way to have some fun in this difficult time while also showing how many things Kimball and Banner Counties have to offer visitors and locals alike. Check out our Facebook page (www.facebook.com/KimballCountyVisitorCenter/) to see the games.

Business

Bingo

One special Bingo game is to help out our local businesses as well as get you an opportunity to win you $100!

(Make sure to see and use the Business Bingo game on the bottom Page A2 in the Observer.)

Businesses in town have squares they sponsored and anyone who gets a blackout gets entered to win $100 gift certificate from Kimball Area Tourism to be spent at any of the participating businesses.

To mark off a space, you need to make a purchase – either in the business if they are currently open, or online or over the phone if they are closed due to COVID-19. Some of the businesses are willing to do free quotes or consultations rather than purchases, so you can ask the business what they have to offer!

You will need to have a recent receipt (within the last two months) or a signed note from each business verifying that you visited with them, to be qualified to win. Once you have completed a blackout, call, text, or email me and I will get you entered for the gift certificate.

This is to help our local businesses stay open, so please do what you can to help out! I know many residents have already started this by nominating others to shop locally by getting gift cards from businesses for future purchases.

Thank you for anyone who has participated in this! You will be able to use those purchases toward a blackout on your card, so make sure you have your receipts!

Something on the tourism horizon is National Travel & Tourism Week May 3-9t. This year the theme is Spirit of Travel. With all that is going on with travel restrictions because of COVID-19, the theme has taken on a digital life. The Kimball Area Tourism photo contest was created to showcase our corner of the world. I am planning to put together another digital story about the Kimball area with some of the submitted photos to show our amazing community to the world. Any photo you want to share from our area can be tagged #SpiritOfTravel to be part of the #VIRTUALROADTRIP across America. Help us gain travelers by showing them the beauty we have to share. During NTTW, I will be posting extra items on our social media, so keep watching for fun trivia and more!

We have missed being able to be in our little oasis on the hill and are hoping to reopen the Visitor Center to the public in early to mid-May. We will still work to maintain social distancing and limit the number of visitors in at any given time. It will be wonderful to be able to welcome people to Nebraska again.

As always, please feel free to contact me anytime at [email protected] or at 308-241-0573 with any questions or to let me know why you love our community. Especially with National Travel & Tourism Week coming up, please tell me your fondest memory that has to do with Kimball or Banner County or send me your favorite photos from here. You can also do a short video or voice recording to tell us or show us your favorite things about Western Nebraska.

I also want to tell everyone who has continued to shop locally and support our businesses here in this community THANK YOU, we couldn’t continue without your help!!

Always,

Jessica