Summer Intern: Rules and Goals in North Platte

Hi guys, my name is Kiersten Kiene. I am from Marion, Iowa and graduated from Marion High School in 2013. I now attend Iowa Central Community College in Fort Dodge, Iowa and will graduate from the Digital Mass Communications program in the spring of 2016. I am here for the summer working for the North Platte Chamber of Commerce, focusing on digital media. I have been to Nebraska before, but never in North Platte. I am excited to get to know the town and attend some of the summer events.

One of the reasons why I came to North Platte is to help extend the tourism desire in and around the community. There are many ways that this can be done, one of the things that I would like to focus on is local community attractions that you can’t find anywhere else. When I travel, I like to explore places that I have never been and do things that I cannot do at home. I feel like this is a goal that many travelers would, and do have.

Personally, when I travel I always look ahead. Before I even leave, I explore the town/city on the internet, finding the best places to dine, see, and do. I read reviews, blogs, and look at the pictures that people have posted. Why would I want to try something that nobody likes, or do something that is a waste of money? The key to finding good places is at your fingertips, use the internet as a travel tool.

While I am in North Platte, there are several things that I would like to try. Now of course I am going to go to Nebraskaland days, check out the Golden Spike Tower, and all of the other traditional sightseeing things in town. But as an outsider, my goal is to help bring in other outsiders, putting the town on the must-go tourist map.

 Being from Marion, I am very passionate about my hometown. I believe that Marion is one of the best places that a family can settle down while still hitting up all of the events in the area. And this is how the North Platte area feels about their hometowns. We all have a special bond tying us to home and our hometown. So I feel that if tourists and travelers get to know about the town better from somebody who is also a tourist and a traveler, North Platte and the surrounding communities could bring in more people and revenue.

I drove here from Fort Dodge, Iowa, which is about a seven hour drive. I split this up into two days, giving me plenty of time to dream up some goals for my internship this summer. Some of these goals will go hand in hand with the job, others will be extra time spent.

Rather than making myself seem as though I am in love with the town from day 1 (which isn’t realistic), I want my readers see my journey from day one into North Platte, to my last day on the job. I want the community members, Nebraskans, and tourists and travelers to live this journey with me. I want to be able to share my experiences through the use of blogging. Therefore I must set some rules, and some goals.

Rules:

1.      I must post a blog once a week. (Sun - Sat)

a.     Because I do not have a set 9 - 5 schedule, there are going to be times when I am at events, and cannot blog. This does not mean that I will not blog, it simply means that I will at a later time. As long as I get one in in the Sunday through Saturday timeframe, it counts.

2.     I must tell the truth.

a.     My goal is to help shine light on North Platte and the surrounding communities, and bring attention to the lesser known places. I want to share my experiences with others, so that when travelers do come to North Platte, they can experience the same thing that I did.  As for restaurants in particular, I will tell the truth of what I thought in a decent manner, and I will keep class while doing so. I am not here to beat up everyplace that I go to. That is not my goal.

Goals:

1.     As per restaurants, I would like to try local places. Now there are some places here that are regional or chain based that I have not been too, but the point of this summer is to keep the focus on the North Platte area, therefore that I wil. I will not be reviewing Perkins, I’ve seen Perkins on every interstate exit on the way over here.

2.     Visit places that make North Platte, well, North Platte. Example: the Veteran's Memorial, or Dusty Trails.

3.     When reviewing attractions, restaurants, etc. There will be a sort of outline that will be used. And when the time comes, the outline will be stated.

4.     Enjoy my time. It’s as simple as that.

            With this being my first time in the area, If there are any other goals you think I should set or places that I need to see, just send me an email and I might just add it onto my list. I am open for ideas and suggestions any time of day.

KierstenEKiene@gmail.com

Link to post: http://visitnorthplatte.com/summer-intern-rules-and-goals-in-north-platte/