Press Kit

A letter to the Mt Washington Valley Community

From Marti Mayne, 32-year PR Manager for MWVCC

More than 32 years ago, I was given the choice to take a job with a PR firm specializing in the seafood industry or come to work at the Mt Washington Valley Chamber as a PR/marketing manager.  I asked myself, “which would I rather fill my days with…fish or fun?”. I chose fun and have been grateful for the chance to work in the Mt Washington Valley from that day forward.

When I started working with the chamber in 1989, the Carroll Reed Shop and Yield House were the largest stores in town and Settlers Green was the new kid on the block. We spent our days designing brochures and introduced a new concept – the 800 phone number.  We created bumper stickers and radio songs to brand Mt Washington Valley. News was sent by mail in press releases and elaborate press kits, and the most requested photo format was slides.  To garner attention, we created snowballs from the first snowfall and sent them packed in dry ice to celebs. Folks like Al Roker and Jay Leno held them up on TV and we were suddenly on the map!  I’d dread the grammar lessons I’d receive from Steve Eastman when my press releases hit his desk at the Mountain Ear, but I’ll be forever grateful for now knowing where to put commas. 

We organized press tours to ski all the resorts in the White Mountains in a day and succeeded – something that had never been done.  I still have the collector’s sweatshirt as a badge of  honor.  I worked with inns and B&Bs to create special events like the first inn to inn cookie tour and the infamous clothing optional full moon XC/snowshoe tour, garnering national and international attention.  We reached out to media throughout the country, resulting in countless awards and kudos to help visitors realize the beauty and value of Mt Washington Valley. Plus, we invented what we thought was the first email newsletter; The E-Traveler was cutting edge at the time,  twenty-something years ago.

Fast forward more than thirty years and the Valley is now a refuge for quarantining, recreation, skiing, family fun, tax-free shopping, dining, second  homes and romantic getaways.  It’s a household word and a top small town for adventure, skiing, fall foliage, waterfalls, rock climbing and so much more, according to media experts.  The 800-numbers and brochures have been replaced by social media and the Internet.  The hundreds of thousands of impressions we’d garner every few months is now in the billions.  So much has changed.

I’ll always be incredibly grateful for the opportunity to have lived and worked in Mt Washington Valley.  A huge shout out to Nancy Clark who first introduced me to then Exec Director, Peter Pinkham, as a candidate for the chamber’s PR position, and now whose company will team up with the chamber to lead the national PR efforts.  Many, many thanks to all the incredibly professional ski resort and XC Center marketing managers and photographers, especially Dan Houde of Wiseguy Creative, who’ve supplied photos week after week so we could professionally reach out to meteorologists and ski writers. 

Kudos to all of the restaurants, attractions, golf, skiing. spas and lodging owners who’ve generously provided meals, lodging and admissions for visiting media, and to all the chamber membership for their support of the organization.  A shout out to the Valley’s dedicated media is well deserved too. Thanks for helping to spread the chamber’s news and stories so faithfully.  

I worked with wonderful consultants who dedicated their expertise to the chamber.  Hats off to the loyal people who worked hard to keep the chamber up to date on tech, marketing, graphics, and leadership issues – often volunteering their time.  It’s people like Lydia B. Lansing, Nancy Stewart, Lisa & Steve Surette, Sean Bossie, Jason Robie, Jac Cuddy, and so many others who contributed so much time to help me and the chamber.

A huge thank you is deserved for all of those with whom I worked at the chamber, from Florette Lawson, Jane Ross and Peter Pinkham who are no longer with us, and to AO Lucy, Nora Guay, Kathy Meader, Carol Chaffee, Melody Nester, Sarah Verney, Paula Jones and all of the present staff at the chamber – Michelle, Lisa and Jaimie, not to mention the volunteers and dedicated board members. Most of all, thank you to Janice Crawford, who’s shown tenacious courage, leadership and prudent oversight of the chamber for the past 28 years.  Her contribution to not only my employment but to the entire Valley has been notable.

 A special recognition goes to Pony Rice who gave so much time as a visitor booth volunteer and then a volunteer coordinator for the chamber and is still a good friend to me and so many others.  There are so many wonderful people with whom I’ve appreciated working, there’s simply not room to mention them all.  I’m the luckiest person in the world to have had such good people to work among and with.

Finally, thank you to my good friend, Walter Begley, who introduced me to my husband while we all lived in the Valley; you changed my life in so many wonderful ways.  My Valley friends have been a highlight of my life!

Covid taught me an important lesson. You can’t put things off until tomorrow because you just don’t know what tomorrow will bring.  So, it’s time now for me to retire and sail, ski and hopefully be a visitor to Mt Washington Valley to enjoy all its assets I know and love so well.

Moving forward,  fresh expertise, ideas, story telling and tech-savvy tactics will continue to put Mt Washington Valley on the map.  Best of luck to the new PR and social media team and to the entire business community as we emerge from a challenging year to find hopefulness and optimism once again.