When Monday turned into Tuesday earlier this week, Berlin had become the winner of Budget Travel Magazine’s Coolest Small Town in America contest.
Berlin collected 28 percent of the contest’s 137,819 votes for a total of 39,285 votes.
Finishing second was Cazenovia, N.Y., a town located fairly close to Syracuse.
It’s too early to tell exactly what this win will mean not only for Berlin, but also for our entire region. It most certainly will result in more visitors to Berlin, Ocean City and other Worcester County locations. And it will have a positive financial impact on the area as well.
Perhaps the best part of Monday night’s celebration at the Burley Oak Brewing Company, was knowing that so many people throughout Worcester County and literally all over the world did their part to support Berlin. The town was even getting support from Berlin, Germany voters. Also at Burley Oak were many young adults who were excited to be part of the winning voting numbers. Mayor Gee Williams stayed with them for almost three hours, going directly to Burley Oak after presiding over a Berlin Town Council meeting.
Mayor Williams told Bayside Gazette that the next step in all of this will be a celebration of the fete itself. He’s hoping to have it planned and scheduled for March.
What Berlin and Worcester County should do next is to contact the town that won this same contest a year ago. Lititz, Pa. moved forward quickly with its win, creating a strategic plan that kept the momentum of the win going forward. Kelly Withum, executive director of Venture Lititz helped make sure that the momentum is still impacting the town in a positive way over a year later. Town retail sales remain higher and interest in the town has stayed at record heights.
So after the well deserved celebrating is done, Mayor Williams has said that the strategic planning will begin.
There’s a wonderful window of opportunity here for Berlin. We feel comfortable that the town will take full advantage of all the possibilities.
And that for Berlin is absolutely cool.
Berlin collected 28 percent of the contest’s 137,819 votes for a total of 39,285 votes.
Finishing second was Cazenovia, N.Y., a town located fairly close to Syracuse.
It’s too early to tell exactly what this win will mean not only for Berlin, but also for our entire region. It most certainly will result in more visitors to Berlin, Ocean City and other Worcester County locations. And it will have a positive financial impact on the area as well.
Perhaps the best part of Monday night’s celebration at the Burley Oak Brewing Company, was knowing that so many people throughout Worcester County and literally all over the world did their part to support Berlin. The town was even getting support from Berlin, Germany voters. Also at Burley Oak were many young adults who were excited to be part of the winning voting numbers. Mayor Gee Williams stayed with them for almost three hours, going directly to Burley Oak after presiding over a Berlin Town Council meeting.
Mayor Williams told Bayside Gazette that the next step in all of this will be a celebration of the fete itself. He’s hoping to have it planned and scheduled for March.
What Berlin and Worcester County should do next is to contact the town that won this same contest a year ago. Lititz, Pa. moved forward quickly with its win, creating a strategic plan that kept the momentum of the win going forward. Kelly Withum, executive director of Venture Lititz helped make sure that the momentum is still impacting the town in a positive way over a year later. Town retail sales remain higher and interest in the town has stayed at record heights.
So after the well deserved celebrating is done, Mayor Williams has said that the strategic planning will begin.
There’s a wonderful window of opportunity here for Berlin. We feel comfortable that the town will take full advantage of all the possibilities.
And that for Berlin is absolutely cool.