In the Feb. 22 Free Lance regarding the Pinnacles National Park, page A5’s headline says, “Pinnacles – national and local officials recently held ceremony”. The article begins on A3 with the headline “Soledad rebrands itself as the “Gateway to the Pinnacles”.
This is not about our local gateway. The article is from the LA Times! We need to have Hollister in the LA Times and other major newspapers!
Where are we in this race for the title, for the national and international recognition for the stimulation of tourism to this county?
Hollister used to be called and known as the “Gateway to Pinnacles National Monument”. We should have been using the Pinnacles to our benefit for many years!
Ever since we learned that the Pinnacles was to be a national park, Soledad has been vying for the “Gateway” title through grants and a P.R. company. As we are the “original gateway”, the “main gateway” and the “eastern gateway”, we need to promote and take pride in ourselves, our community, our county!
We should also take advantage of promoting other points of interest our guests can enjoy while visiting the Pinnacles such as our three state parks, the Mission, our award-winning wineries, scenic highways, fresh farm produce and more.
Let’s give our business to our local P.R. and marketing companies to use some local catch phrases: “We live here…We shop here…We do business here…So shop locally.” Our buck should stop here and be spent with our talented professionals!
Let’s take pride in our state and national treasures in our own community!
Ruth Erickson, Hollister
