Civitas, an organization dedicated to working with business improvement districts, named the Feather River Tourism Association the 2020 Tourism Improvement District for its work in forming the Feather River Tourism Marketing District (FRTMD).

“It came as a surprise to us and a wonderful recognition of the tough struggle our volunteer group had to fight to achieve this,” said Susan Bryner, a Chester businesswoman who led the effort. She said that once the district is formed, the volunteers will work even harder until funding comes in the fall. “But we’re engaged, excited and more motivated than ever,” she added.

The history

Efforts to create a tourist district began in 2014 with representatives from the individual districts involved in the Plumas district. After two years of effort, the process was halted when it was found that the eastern part of the county refused to participate. But the Steering Committee persevered and decided to move forward without this area. The borough would include Quincy / Bucks Lake, the Feather River Canyon, the Indian Valley, and the Lake Almanor Basin. In late 2018, this group’s efforts resulted in the Feather River Tourism Association and received board approval to continue efforts to create a tourist district.

For the next two years, the tourism district’s steering committee and civitas worked with the county to update internal software, coordinate contact with accommodation providers, and collect signed petitions. Despite the challenges posed by the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020, the Steering Committee volunteers not only financed the training costs themselves, but their work also culminated in the long-awaited approval of the FRTMD in October 2020, with assessment collections starting on Jan. January. 2021.

Civitas: “The FRTMD Steering Committee insisted on trials and difficulties for almost six years to create the tourism marketing district. This is an example of the belief that every dollar of stable funding that could be used to promote the Feather River area was worth the effort. ”

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