Let's play catch-up!

Yesterday, the Orange County Tourist Board held its annual meeting; in attendance were all of the local PR firms, as well as other advertisers and promoters of Orange County as a tourist destination. The meeting was held at scenic Arrow Park...if you haven't gone there, you definitely should!

The meeting was conducted by Susan Hawvermill, with special guest Cindy Perman of CNBC's weblog, "Pony In Here Somewhere". Cindy is also the author of "Curious New York", a humorous book about the oddities and idiosyncrasies all around us here in New York State. Her quirky and rapid-fire style was very inspiring to those in attendance who believe that the Hudson Valley at large (and specifically Orange County) has something extremely unusual and unique to offer! Her readers are, for the most part, well-read and educated, predominately financial types. (Lord knows we could use the money here!) It was both enlightening and enjoyable!

This morning, we traveled to another part of the county for a manufacturer's roundtable at Mount St. Mary's College. (That's right, film and video are considered manufactured products in New York!) The morning session was conducted by Dr. Bill Daggett, CEO of the International Center For Leadership In Education, an organization committed to raising American educational standards. While the information he shared with us was disturbing, it was in no way a surprise. America is in deep trouble when it comes to our overall education!

According to Dr. Dagget the prescription for raising America's standings in the world (we rank 29th overall), is to engage our young very early on in content that entertains (i.e. TV and video games, etc.) and educate to a purpose, which is not necessarily going to school! Stating that the mandate is now geared toward college and career, and that the reading skills required are much higher than in previous decades, it behooves us to look at how we can use entertainment to more effectively get the message across. It seems that we have chosen the path of least resistance to get where it's taken us, which is to focus on making it easier for the teachers to teach, rather than making it easier for the student to learn. We will definitely be talking to this guy!