INSIGHTS WITH VICKIE MITCHELL
SAME NAME, DIFFERENT CITY
C
ities scattered in different states often share the same name, but they are never confusingly similar. No one ever mistakes Nashville, Tennessee, for Nashville, Indiana. Columbus, Ohio, is nothing like Columbus, Georgia. My hometown, Lexington, Kentucky, is due west of Lexington, Virginia, and except for being college towns with cool histories, the cities are miles apart literally and figuratively. It is fun, though, to compare and contrast samename small cities to see how each expresses its personality and extends a welcome to meeting-goers. Here are five examples.
These namesake destinations are wonderfully distinct
Portland, Oregon, and Portland, Maine
Springfield, Illinois, and Springfield, Missouri
Abraham Lincoln established himself in Springfield, the Illinois capital, so it’s a thrill to find Lincoln historic sites steps away from downtown’s BOS Center and two major hotels, with a total of 700 rooms between them. Groups naturally want to add a little Abe to events, and one way to do that is an after-hours banquet at the Abraham Lincoln Presidential Museum, with the White House facade or Lincoln log cabin as a backdrop. Downtown Springfield, Missouri, teems with 40 restaurants, four craft breweries, live theater, the Springfield Cardinals ballpark and the Hotel Vandivort, a boutique hotel that boasts Vantage, a rooftop bar for admiring sunsets over downtown Springfield. Conventions meet at the Springfield Expo Center downtown, where the adjacent University Plaza Hotel and Convention Center and Tru by Hilton supply guest rooms. Celebrating Springfield’s ties to the Mother Road, the Route 66 Food Truck Park has eats of all sorts and free live music. visitspringfield.org springfieldmo.org
6
Though Portland, Oregon, is way larger, with a population of 650,000 to Portland, Maine’s 66,000, both are the biggest cities in their respective states, and both have distinct vibes. The Oregon version is famous for coffee shops and hipsters but is also known in meeting circles for interesting, independent downtown hotels as well as one of the country’s most environmentally conscious convention centers. Portland, Maine, like its Western counterpart, is comfortably walkable, with cobbled byways. It’s rare not to have a view of the historic Old Port, which huddles at the hillside city’s feet. Downtown’s hotels come in varied forms — allsuites, boutiques, big-name brands — and almost all manage to offer views of blue waters. Not far from town, seaside resorts welcome meetings as well as vacationers. travelportland.com visitportland.com
www.smallmarketmeetings.com
