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Our Kossuth County

Lead Summary

As I was thinking about the subject of this column, I was leaning toward talking about how important it is that we have community pride! 
And then on Jan. 21, the Des Moines Register hosted their RAGBRAI announcement party and WOW, Algona is an overnight host community. Totally impacts how we view community pride.  
We have the opportunity to showcase our beautiful community to as many as 25,000 in one day on Monday, July 24. Where is your community pride and do you have it??? We have so much to promote and be proud of — where do we start to begin to prepare for that many visitors? 
It’s like building a town for a day. It takes hundreds of volunteers. We have a good reputation with RAGBRAI — this is the sixth time we are an overnight host community.   
There are multiple opportunities for everyone to be involved.  There is something for everyone — no matter your age. We have a web site — www.algonaragbrai.org  and a Facebook page — algonaragbrai — keep checking for updates.  
Read the newspaper — listen to the radio —everything we have and need to share with all of you will be on social media and in our local media outlets.  
Want to house riders? Want to know about being a food vendor? Want to know about the theme and what is planned for the welcome to Algona and the farewell planned for the morning of July 25th? Want to know what the entertainment is going to be? Where are the campgrounds?  
Watch and listen — we will share all the planning with all of you. This is a community celebration and opportunity. We want everyone to be proud of Algona and what a great job we did with RAGBRAI.  
This event has a huge impact on our community in many ways. Volunteer and meet new people. Volunteer and be part of the fun. Enjoy this opportunity — it only comes every 7-10 years.  
The financial impact of this many visitors is overwhelming. Non-profit groups are able to raise funds for their projects. Businesses have an opportunity to increase sales.  
We will continue to remind everyone involved to THINK COMMUNITY FIRST!  
We want everyone involved to have a safe, fun experience. That can happen if we all communicate and work together.  Let us know how you would like to be involved and remember to show your community pride!
 
Vicki Mallory is the
Executive Director of the 
Algona Area 
Chamber of Commerce

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