Not to puff out my chest too much, but I am proud to be a part of Alliance’s Heritage.
You should be, too!
You may or may not know this, but I served as the executive director of the Alliance Chamber of Commerce between September 1986 and November 1988.
That means I was responsible for organizing the 1987 and 1988 Heritage Days festivals.
As Alliance’s 1987 Heritage Days celebration drew closer, people consistently warning me that I needed to be prepared for an onslaught of complainers.
I couldn’t get a firm grip as to why yellow caution flags were being waved in my face, because in five years of working the Cozad Hay Days celebration, I had only dealt with one unhappy person.
One of my favorite chamber board members was Jerry Stricker.
Jerry, God rest his soul, was a no-nonsense Alliance police officer proficient at speaking his mind. When I asked Jerry about the significance of Heritage Days, he gave me an R-rated reply that, in translation meant, “That’s when all the whiners and moaners come out of the woodwork.”
A few weeks later, I learned what Jerry meant.
During the Thursday of my first Alliance Heritage Days, I fielded more complaints in one day than I did in five years of working with the Cozad Hay Days festival.
Here is a sample:
“We don’t like the carnival workers.”
“I hate where the carnival is located.”
“I can’t get to the post office.”
“The Ferris Wheel is too close to a power line.”
“I dislike Pizza Hut being downtown.”
“How dare you compete with Oregon Trail Days!”
“The date is too close to the county fair.”
“We don’t want our children near the bars.”
“It’s too hot. Do something about the weather.”
“Why don’t you get rid of this festival?”
“Move the parade off Third Street.”
“The parade is too short.”
“The parade is too long.”
“You’re screwing up my child’s emotional stability by allowing more than one Santa in the parade!”
Oops, wrong parade. I heard that one during my first Alliance Christmas Parade in November 1986.
I truly began to hate Alliance.
Three people helped me keep my sanity: Mike Garwood, Walt Griffis, and Jim Moravek.
Garwood, who was a programmer at KCOW at the time, shared his experiences of eight years of dealing with public complaints while serving on the Alliance City Council.
Walt Griffis of the Guardian State Bank reminded me that Heritage Days was for the kids and advised me to quit worrying about the complainers.
Moravek, whose wife Charlotte was the chamber’s secretary, was awestruck over the number of people who came to town and was impressed by some of the changes we had implemented.
Heritage Days turned out to be a great moneymaker for the chamber, but when all was said and done, I knew I wouldn’t last another two years as Alliance’s chamber director.
I had gone from living in a cohesive community to a divisive one.
That was 37 years ago.
Fortunately, things changed.
All the best to our Heritage Days volunteers and the chamber staff.
Enjoy the 2024 festival and embrace its theme, “Back to Our Heritage.”
Hopefully, that Heritage isn’t a return to griping and complaining.