Volume 2 Issue 20 Published monthly by the Arkansas River Valley Tri - Region Association February 2005 Petit Jean State Park Announces:  Hikes, Hearts, and Hugs Weekend    Enjoy a Romantic getaway this Valentine's Weekend at Petit Jean State Park. Hikes, Hearts, and Hugs weekend will feature guided trail hikes and the romantic legend of Petit Jean, followed by a Sweetheart's Dinner and Dance. The following morning enjoy a wonderful brunch at Mather Lodge and an additional guided hike. The weekend will begin at 9:30 a.m on February 12 with a guided hike around the Bear Cave Trail. At 11:00 a.m, take a trip to Petit Jean's Grave site Overlook to hear the legend of a girl whose followed her fiancé to the mountain in a time before travel was convenient. At 1:00 p.m, you can enjoy a guided hike to the foot of Cedar Falls. Then at 4:00 p.m, come to the Arkansas Room at Mather Lodge to enjoy a game of "How Well Do You Really Know Me?!", Petit Jean's version of the newlywed game. On Sunday morning at 11:00 a.m, you can enjoy a guided hike on the Cedar Creek trail, one of the prettiest trail in the park! These events are free and open to anyone. The highlight of the event will be the Sweetheart's Dinner and Dance, which will begin at 6:30 p.m on February 12. The dinner will begin with French Onion Soup with cheese and croutons and a crisp garden salad with vinaigrette dressing. The main course will feature pork loin with an apple cinnamon sauce, baby new potatoes, steamed vegetable blend in butter sauce, and buttery hot rolls. For dessert, enjoy a fruit medley truffle. Tea, coffee, and a bottle of chilled Muscadine Juice will complement the meal. After dinner, dance from 8 to 11 p.m. A DJ will be present to play all of your special requests. The following morning, sleep in before coming to the Sunday Valentine's Brunch. Tickets for the Sweetheart's Dinner and Dance are $65 per couple, $35 per extra person. Tickets for brunch the following morning are $20 per couple. All other events for the weekend are free and open to the public. Make plans now to spend Valentine's Day at Petit Jean State Park. Reservations are required for the Sweetheart's Dinner and Dance and the Sunday Brunch. Tickets can be purchased by calling Mather Lodge at 1-800-264-2462. For you enjoyment, Mather Lodge is an alcohol free, smoke free facility. For Your Information Marketing your Restaurant Reprinted from Arkansas Hospitality Association The restaurant industry is one of the most competitive and toughest industries to survive. Nationally, more than half of all restaurants are out of business within five years of opening. Although the statistics are staggering and scary, there is hope. How is it that some restaurants open today and close tomorrow, while others remain busy night after night for more than 20 years? Successful restaurants have found the secret…Being Remarkable. The start of a good marketing program, to quote the book, "The Purple Cow," is to be Remarkable. There should be something about your restaurant that makes it worth making a remark about-a reason for people to visit time and time again. Its better if some people love your restaurant and others hate it, than to have everybody think it's "nice." Nice is not remarkable. Nice is invisible. As the old adage goes, "You can please some people all of the time, and you can please all people some of the time, but you can't please all the people all the time." This statement is true in business. You will never be able to make every person happy. It could be because you serve spicy food and they don't like spicy foods. It could be that they don't like the color blue, yet your walls are painted blue. You cannot and should not try to be all things to all customers. More importantly, recognize your strengths and improve upon those strengths while working towards improving weaknesses. To successfully market your restaurant, start by identifying one well-defined group of customers, and then focus on one idea with realistic objectives and a minimum number of key supporting tactics. To grow your business, you can: * Attract new customers * Have existing customers come more often * Have existing customers spend more on each visit A good plan considers all three-but focuses on existing customers. These people already like you. By becoming even more remarkable, they'll use you more and tell their friends (especially if you ask them to). Attracting new customers using traditional advertising methods is by far the most expensive and probably least effective. It is also what most of your competitors do. Many restaurateurs experiment with discount promotions to get customers. While these promotions will generate sales, those sales are not particularly profitable and the customer is not necessarily the kind who will come back and pay full price. This doesn't build long term profitability. Different types of restaurants need to market differently. After creating something unique that is relevant to a specific group of people, there are some common ideas to consider: 1. Focus on staff. Hire good people and train them properly to sell and provide great customer service. 2. Promote inside your restaurant. Sometimes called four-walls marketing, some experts suggest that the bulk of marketing money be spent inside the restaurant. Invest the time and resources to build a database of your customers. Capturing customer information will allow for an inexpensive, yet effective marketing and research tool. Don't be afraid to ask your good customers what you do well and what you can do better-they already think you're remarkable and will be flattered by you're asking for their opinion. 3. Work with partners to create joint promotions, such as hosting wine dinners with lesser known vineyards, a cookbook signing with a community bookstore or events for charities with whom you are already involved. Many restaurant operators think marketing is taking out an ad or giving away a discount coupon. These tactics can sometimes have impact, but they work best with big budgets. And what's more, they just aren't remarkable. Mark your calendars   Governor's Conference Reminder: The 2005 Governor's Conference on Tourism is slated for March 6-8 in Little Rock. The annual Governor's Conference Auction benefiting the Arkansas Tourism Development Foundation will be held on Monday March 7. You can contribute by giving a gift basket, a coupon, a gift certificate, a fishing boat, or jet skis; the possibilities are endless. Contributions received by March 2 will be recognized in the Governor's Conference program and on-site at the auction. For more information or an auction form, contact Brenda Worm at brenda.worm@cjrw.com or call 501-975-7284.    February 2005 Calendar of Events Feb. 12: Sweethearts Dinner and Dance: Morrilton- Petit Jean State Park, Mather Lodge…Enjoy a candlelight dinner and dance atop beautiful Petit Jean Mountain. Beginning at 8 p.m., a DJ will play a variety of tunes for dancing, including your special requests. Admission: $65.00 per couple. For more info call 501-727-5441 or email at petitjean@arkansas.com Feb. 12-13: Hikes, Hearts, and Hugs: Morrilton- Petit Jean State Park…Looking for a romantic hideaway with your sweetheart? Treat yourselves to a romantic guided tour featuring the legend of Petit Jean or take part in our guided trail hikes. The highlight is a romantic candlelight dinner for two and dancing. Reserve your cabin early for this popular event. Admission: Fee for dinner and dance; other programs are free. For more info call 501-727-5441 Feb. 26: 6th Annual Children's Miracle Network: Clarksville- Fine Arts Building, Clarksville High School…Preliminaries Division 1 (ages 1-12) 10:00 a.m. *Preliminaries Division 2 (ages 13-18) 1:00 p.m. *Preliminaries Division 3 (ages 19 and over) 3:00 p.m. Top 6 acts in each division will advance to finals. Finals 7:00 p.m. prizes awarded for each division, 1st place $200 cash, and 2nd place $100 cash. Registration fees $30 per person in advance, $35 day of show. For more info contact Natasha Wilson 479-754-4502 Feb. 7-March 7: Islamic scholar to visit University of the Ozarks: Clarksville- Dr. Arabi will be leading a series of weekly lectures and discussions titled "Exploring Islam" for the community. The class will be held Monday evenings from 6:30 p.m to 8:00 p.m in the Rowntree Recital Hall in the Walton Fine Arts Center. The class is free and the public is invited to attend. Feb. - Apr: Acting, directing classes highlight U of O's Kids College: Clarksville- The University of the Ozarks will offer a variety of classes in the creative arts for school-age children during Feb., Mar., and Apr. as part of the university's ongoing Kid's College. Enrollment fees for the classes range from $25 to $75. Class sizes are limited, so early registration is recommended. For more info on any of the Kids College classes or to enroll, please contact director Ginny Sain 479-979-1346 or email gsain@ozarks.edu. Feb. 6-27: Casa International Club Annual Cultural Awareness Exhibit: Subiaco- Performing Arts Center…A beautiful and informative exhibit that has grown in popularity through the years and is enthusiastically anticipated by many attendees young and old. Schools invited and welcome. For more info contact Chandra Rush 479-934-1008 or visit website at www.subi.org. Admission: Free Feb. 6-28: Collegiate Art Competition and Exhibition: Russellville- ARV Arts Center...Open to any art student enrolled in a college or university in the state of Arkansas. Will be juries and on exhibit Feb. 6-28, 2005 Feb. 6: Exhibit Opening Reception: Russellville- ARV Arts Center...The reception will be Sunday Feb. 6, 1:00-3:00 p.m. During the reception in the gallery, there will be instructors and supplies provided to help interested persons(especially youth) make Valentines. May make Valentines for personal use or to give to battered Women's Shelter. For more info call 479-968-2452