Locals say national recognition of Chattanooga outdoors deserved
Chattanooga Times Free Press, Sunday, August 12, 2001
By Dorie Turner, Staff Writer

Chattanooga's recognition in Outside magazine as a dream town came as no
surprise to Jim Brown.

"When you look at the amenities here, it's not surprising," said the director of the Tennessee River Gorge Trust, which has preserved 26 miles of the gorge a few miles west of town. "We've got everything except deep-sea yacht racing."

Outside's September issue includes Chattanooga as one of the country's top 10 towns in which to live, work and play the outdoor-type of life. It's an honor that Mr. Brown, along with many other members of the community who have worked to promote and preserve Chattanooga's natural assets, say is a long time coming.

"I think it's validation of the wisdom of what we did," Mr. Brown said. "Hopefully the people here will say we were recognized because of what local people did."

The issue, set to hit newsstands Tuesday, mentions Chattanooga's rebound from being America's dirtiest city in 1969 to one of the cleanest in 2001.

"Change is the civic mantra. ... Enter the city and you risk attack by a swarm of progressive buzzwords: sustainability, greenways, revitalization, strategic revisioning," correspondent Mike Grudowski writes about Chattanooga's progressive civic reinvention.

That change is what has propelled the city into the limelight, said Mike Wilds, president of the Chattanooga Area Convention and Visitors Bureau.

"The community has come together, developed a vision, made an agenda and moved forward with that agenda," he said. "Chattanooga has taken natural resources and applied civic pride. The article really reinforces that effort, and if there were any skeptics before, it validates the effort to them. It's unfortunate that it took that long to acknowledge it."

Mr. Brown said receiving coverage in a national magazine such as Outside could bring economic growth to Chattanooga in the form of more outdoor tourism, more young professionals moving to the area and more outdoor equipment businesses.

"Anytime you get ink in any market, you see results," said Robert Pettway, vice president of marketing for the visitors bureau.

The article highlights the Ocoee River, North Chickamauga Creek, Prentice-Cooper State Forest, Sunset Rock on Lookout Mountain and the Hiwassee River as the area's "playgrounds.

"Mr. Wilds said the article, along with other magazine features on Chattanooga, have given the rest of the country the idea that Chattanooga is a good place to visit and live.

In 1998, U.S. News and World Report named Chattanooga one of the country's "smart cities" in rejuvenation, and Family Fun named Chattanooga one of the nation's 10 best family vacation cities. In 2000, Parade magazine called Chattanooga "the reborn American city."

Local outdoors enthusiasts said they're glad the rest of the country is picking up on a secret they've known for years.

"I took one look at the article and said, 'Well, there's one magazine that finally got it right,'" said Donald Box, president of the Chattanooga Hiking Club.

Matt Sims, general manager for Rock Creek Outfitters Inc., said Chattanooga is one of the top three cities for rock climbing in the country.

"We have more rock than Boulder, Colorado," he said.

But Mr. Box said he's not convinced the article will have any real impact on the area's outdoor industry.

"I just think it's nice that there was that recognition," he said. "I don't see any big gains from it, to be honest."

Still, Mr. Brown and Mr. Wilds hope tourists looking for outdoor adventures will take the article's advice.

"We're blessed with all these extras," Mr. Brown said. "We're nuts if we don't take advantage of them."