Pinnell’s travel symposium set for Oct. 17 in Lawton
By Tim Farley
Southwest Ledger
LAWTON – An upcoming tourism and travel symposium will provide tips about promoting “hidden gems” inside southwest Oklahoma, a Lawton-Fort Sill Chamber of Commerce official said.
The event, marketed as Lt. Gov. Matt Pinnell’s Travel and Tourism summit with the Oklahoma Travel Industry Association, will be hosted by the Lawton chamber 1 p.m. to 5:30 p.m. Tuesday, Oct. 17 at the Hilton Garden Inn in Lawton, 135 NW Second Street.
Pinnell is the chief marketer of Oklahoma and spends much of his time promoting tourism, Oklahoma’s third largest industry. In partnership with the Oklahoma Tourism and Recreation Department, he launched the Oklahoma Fishing Trail, Oklahoma Road Trip, and the pandemic-driven “OK Here We Go” campaigns, which have generated more than $91 million in revenue since 2019.
Kelly Piret, coordinator with the Lawton Convention and Visitors Bureau, said the summit is open to anyone, including business owners and students interested in the hospitality industry.
“We want anyone who is interested in marketing and branding to attend,” she said. “Our goal is to help our businesses and tourism, especially in southwest Oklahoma. We have so many hidden gems. There’s a lot of hidden treasures in this part of the state.”
Piret specifically mentioned the Wichita Mountain Wildlife Refuge, Mount Scott, the Holy City of the Wichitas, Medicine Park and Fort Sill, which is directly connected to the Buffalo Soldiers who remain active in the community today. These attractions are a way to bring people into Comanche County and surrounding areas, she said.
“It (southwestern Oklahoma) is absolutely beautiful,” she said. “I look at it as a big city with a small-town feel.”
According to the 2020 census, Lawton's population was 90,381, making it the sixth-largest city in the state, and the largest in western Oklahoma.
Guest speakers for the summit are husband-wife team Lindsay and Michael Vidrine and Chris Fox, a certified StoryBrand Guide with 15 years’ experience building winning marketing messages for multimillion-dollar companies.
Lindsay Vidrine currently leads the marketing and communications efforts as senior vice president for Visit Oklahoma City. In this role, she launched the city’s new brand campaign and spearheads the destination’s marketing strategy for convention, leisure, sports and group tour audiences. Prior to coming to Visit OKC, she spent five years at the Oklahoma Tourism and Recreation Department and more than 10 years at public relations and marketing agencies in Oklahoma City and St. Louis.
Meanwhile, her husband Michael has more than 20 years of brand strategy and graphic design experience across consumer and B-to-B brands. He is the owner and principal of Quite Right Studio where he partners with his clients to build branding and design campaigns with a specialization in outdoor, wellness and tourism industries. He believes every brand tells a story, whether intentionally or not. Michael enjoys helping clients grow through engaging visual storytelling.
The first educational session will start at 1 p.m. and the second will follow at 3 p.m.
Lt. Gov. Pinnell will host a town hall meeting at 4 p.m. followed by a question-and-answer session on any topic including tourism and government in general. A reception with Pinnell and the guest speakers will follow. All the sessions and town hall will take place in the Great Plains meeting room A.
Tickets for the entire day are $45 and tickets for the town hall and reception are $25.