The word “reactionary” has a storied history. It found its beginnings in France in the 1790s, as “réactionnaire”, a word to describe generally conservative citizens, typically aligned with the Catholic Church, who opposed the changes brought about by the French Revolution. Later, during the Russian Revolution, the Communists used the term “реакционеры” [“reactionaries”] to describe the opponents of the revolution. Generally, the term refers to a desire to turn back the cultural clock and return to “the good old days.”
I suspect we can all identify with that desire. But which part of the good old days?
Back when Pagosa wasn’t overrun with tourists?
Or back when everyone seemingly wanted the tourism industry to grow as fast as possible?
Sitting in the meeting room at the Archuleta County administration building on Tuesday afternoon, listening to the Pagosa Springs Tourism Board interview candidates for four vacant seats on their board, I heard two different philosophies expressed by the candidates.
One philosophy could be summarized as “Pagosa Springs will be a wonderful place if we can grow our tourism industry as fast as possible, and as big as possible, and we needn’t worry about the housing crisis or the low-wage jobs. And the public needs to be better educated about our philosophy.”
Nearly all the candidates for the Board seemed to embrace that basic philosophy.
The other philosophy was more like, “Maybe we need to think objectively about what we’re doing to our community.” Very few of the candidates seemed to have that concern.
The candidates, in order of appearance:
- Ann Marie Sukcik, owner of the Riverwalk Inn
- Shane Prince, Assistant General Manager at Club Wyndham
- Sarah Mashue, owner of multiple vacation rentals and a new motel-cabin complex called “The Drift”
- Lance Thorton, owner of two vacation rentals
- Stuart Scull, owner VIP Vacation Services
- Jesse Hensley, marketing director at Springs Resort
- Jauxmas Palomo, employee at Springs Resort
- Julian Caler, owner of several businesses
- Rosanne Dufour, owner of PJ’s Fine Bamboo Rods
- Annie DeMille, owner of the Nightingale Motel, the Neon Mallard Bar, and Pagosa River Domes
All the candidates appeared to be intelligent, and most seemed to be concerned that tourism has been getting a bad rap among certain full-time residents. That “bad rap” could be related to arrogant behaviors the part of some tourists, or overcrowded restaurants and soaking pools, or a proliferation of low-wage jobs, or hundreds of residential homes being converted into mini-motels and contributing to the local housing crisis.
Or all of the above?
One thing that gave me hope for the future: the two candidates who had previously served on the Tourism Board — Julian Caler and Ann Marie Sukcik — were not appointed. That might indicate a Board heading in a slightly different direction. I would have no complaint, if that were true.
The candidates who were appointed? Here are a few quotes from the interview process.
Sarah Mashue, appointed to represent the lodging industry:
“I worked at Alley House Grille for 17 years, as a server. I have kids that have grown up in the Pagosa schools, K-12. I volunteer at Dust2… Yeah, I’m part of the community…
“I think STRs are a unique offering for the community. So I hope I can be a voice for them? Toot our horn? We’ve been published in Travel & Leisure, and in the Denver news. So our Airbnb has gotten some attention. We even had honeymooners from Maine, who saw us — they only came to Pagosa Springs because they saw us. And I do want to thank VisitPagosaSprings.com — we use your website. It’s the best resource…”
Lance Thorton, appointed to represent the STR industry:
“I’ve worked with Dust2 the past five years, and we’re definitely a ‘working board’. We’re a lot smaller… So I appreciate the hard work you guys have been doing, and I’m looking forward to being a part of that… I’m a high school teacher… And this is something that I’ve contemplated doing for the past two years, and I feel like I’m at a place where I’ve stepped down from [president of Dust2]…
“Looking forward, I think we need to move back from some of the ‘grassroots’ events that we have here and look to statewide and national events. I mean, if you want to bring people into the town, you need to look at bigger supporters of these events. So we can get the word out… and I’ve been looking at a few companies to do that…”
Shane Price, representing restaurants and recreation:
“I have 20 years in hospitality, in Seattle, I’ve worked in California and Chicago. Coming to Pagosa was my first opportunity to work with Wydham. You know, the industry that I’m in, it’s about creating experiences. Creating memories. I’m fortunate, here in Pagosa, to talk to people who’ve been coming here for 30 years… they’re now bringing their children here… so it’s something very special. It’s a yearly trip to come up; it’s a fair amount of money, and that’s the excitement for me, of being in a place that people continuously want to return to, and enhance that…
Rosanne Dufour, representing the at-large community; former owner of Rosie’s Pizzeria:
“I started waiting tables here in 2010, and I worked my last shift and went to [the real estate closing] at my restaurant. So I waited table the entire time. And a lot changed over that time, and they are growing pains. I think that, for me, my main reason for wanting to serve on this board, is from growing up in Steamboat Springs, in the ’80s and early ’90s. When I came through Pagosa in 2005, I had a toddler, and I said, this is teh ski town that reminded me of where I grew up, and I wanted my kid to have that same connection to outdoor recreation…
“A lot of the problems I see, when it comes to Pagosa — the issues — I feel like I’m watching on ‘repeat’. I’ve see these changes, and I’ve see the resistance, and it really feels like the divide, generally, is a lack of communication and education, as to the importance of things like tourism.”
Yes, I agree with Ms. Dufour. I heartily agree that “the divide” involves a lack of communication, and education.
But maybe I’m looking at the lack of education, from the opposite direction.
Bill Hudson began sharing his opinions in the Pagosa Daily Post in 2004 and can’t seem to break the habit. He claims that, in Pagosa Springs, opinions are like pickup trucks: everybody has one.