On Thursday Aug. 20, 2009, I was honored and proud to take part in one of the most exciting things to happen in the city of Shawnee in many, many years. At 9 a.m. several people gathered at First American Title Co. to close on the property the Shawnee Convention and Visitors Bureau has purchased.
The piece of property consists of 2.57 acres with easy access directly off a main artery through Shawnee. This great location is highly visible from I-40 and once signage is put up and building begins everyone will know we are here.
After many years of searching, discussing, planning and endless meeting hours, the SCVB and Greater Shawnee Area Chamber of Commerce boards of directors decided this purchase not only would meet the needs and desires of their organizations but would become a wonderful property to build a much-needed first class visitors Center.
For a long time Shawnee has been a “drive through” city for I-40. I believe that it is time Shawnee to become a destination spot not just a drive through. We have much to offer visitors and as we grow our offerings grow too.
Reading the newest issue, September 2009, of the magazine Smithsonian, I came across an article written by Paul Theroux. The name of the article is “The Long Way Home.”
The article description is as follows: “The noted world traveler fulfills a boyhood dream – to drive across America in the spirit of Kerouac, Steinbeck and other poets of the open road.” As I skimmed the article, reading the photo descriptions, all of a sudden Oklahoma jumped out at me.
I read a little deeper. “Leaving Oklahoma City past the Kickapoo Casino, through Pottawatomie County and the towns of Shawnee and Tecumseh, I came to Checotah…” Quickly I reread the sentence. There it was in black and white, in a cover story, in the Smithsonian, someone drove through Shawnee and was writing about it.
But there is where it ended. Theroux did not stop. He did not get to see any of our wonderful retail businesses, the Lavender Farm, experience the delightful dining establishments, the Citizen Potawatomi Nation Cultural Heritage Center or the Mabee-Gerrer Museum of Art. He missed the beautiful campuses of Oklahoma Baptist University and St. Gregory’s University. He drove right on through and did not get to experience our quaint downtown. He did not even get to see one of our horses.
So when you see someone from the Shawnee Convention and Visitors Bureau or the Greater Shawnee Area Chamber of Commerce be sure to say thanks. Thanks for seeing our past, living in our present and believing in our future.
Let’s make it easy for those I-40 travelers to stop and discover Shawnee.
As a small business owner in the city of Shawnee I truly appreciate and want to publicly thank these organizations for their desires and attempts to lure tourists and travelers into Shawnee. I want the world to know: “Shawnee is the place to be.”
Editor’s Note: This guest editorial is offered by Marta Land, a member of The News-Star Guest Editorial Advisory Board. She and her husband Hank also own and operate The House of Flowers. The views expressed by our guest editorialists and guest columnists are theirs, and do not necessarily reflect the views of the News-Star’s management.
