Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: WEDNESDAY, November 10, 1993 TAG: 9311100264
SECTION: CURRENT PAGE: NRV-2 EDITION: NEW RIVER VALLEY
SOURCE: By PAUL DELLINGER STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: PULASKI LENGTH: Medium
Roscoe Cox addressed the Pulaski Business Alliance for about an hour on some of the potential opportunities and pitfalls that the organization of business people will face.
The town of Pulaski will not support the Main Street program indefinitely on the same level as now, he said, but he urged the group to continue advertising to draw people downtown.
Four buses with about 45 passengers each returning from a country music trip were scheduled to stop in downtown Pulaski that afternoon and would visit its shops. ``Each and every one of those people will act as an ambassador for you,'' Cox said.
``You people have a built-in situation because we are moving forward with Pulaski Main Street,'' he said. ``Pulaski Main Street is, in my judgment, not just for the people who are down here, but it is for every solid citizen in this town.''
Cox, who returned to Pulaski last year to retire and ended up directing its Main Street program, said that he could not understand some of the negatives that Pulaski has had to overcome.
A remark he has heard that particularly raises his ire is when someone says, ``That is Pulaski for you,'' he said.
``We probably are our own worst enemies,'' he said. ``I look at Pulaski and I see a beautiful courthouse that has been remodeled. . . . ``Pulaski has a lot of nice people in it. We're going to sell that,'' he said. ``But every business that becomes a part of this, we have to support. We cannot be mad with each other. We must go forward.''
Cox had attended Monday's 9th Congressional District meeting Monday in Marion organized by Rep. Rick Boucher, D-Abingdon. ``I never found out so much information about Virginia as I did yesterday, and the tourist industry,'' he said.
And Pulaski can tap into much of what he learned, he said.
Continued advertising can draw more of the 500,000 motorists driving through the region on Interstate 81 every day, he said. The extension of New River Trail State Park to the town-owned Pulaski Train Station has the potential to bring in still more people.
``One of the most important things that is going to happen in our area in the next few months is that we are going to have the trail come in,'' he said. ``We do have a lot of things ahead of us that are quite good.''
Among Cox's specific suggestions to the Alliance were choosing a town police officer of the year and donating gifts from various businesses in recognition of the award, become more fully involved with the annual Count Pulaski Day activities, sponsor a spring festival in May and make the coming Christmas season a memorable one for the downtown area.
``We have people walking the beat out here. You might be interested to know that that was one of the accolades we received yesterday,'' he said, from a visitor who was glad to see officiers providing security on the street. ``This is one of the things that tourists worry about.''
The Alliance, which normally meets every other Tuesday at the Renaissance Restaurant, agreed to schedule an extra meeting Tuesday at 8:30 a.m. to do some committee reorganizing and start some of the projects.
Cox said that Charlie and Joyce Travis hope to complete the purchase Nov. 19 of a building for their Oriental rug outlet in Pulaski. He said Travis is checking with other business people in Blowing Rock, N.C., to see if others would be interested in opening a second store in Pulaski as he is doing.
``We must be doing something right,'' Cox said, to attract such interest. ``People come to successful areas.''
He urged the new and veteran downtown business people to get together on such things as common hours of operation. ``Ninety percent of the people have got to be on board when any plan is finalized,'' he said.
``Whatever has gone on in the past has got to be forgotten. Whatever will go on in the future has got to be planned,'' he said. ``I implore all of us to take care of each other.''
by CNB