Overheard

The Springfield Convention & Visitors Bureau will run its We’ll Buy Your Gas campaign March 26–June 24. The $685,000 campaign, according to the CVB’s March newsletter, offers a $40 Visa gift card to people who spend at least two nights at a participating hotel, $25 at a participating restaurant, purchase two tickets to Wonders of Wildlife and have a form validated at Bass Pro Shops. Ads will be placed in St. Louis; Kansas City; Little Rock, Ark.; Fayetteville, Ark.; Wichita, Kan.; and Tulsa, Okla. The CVB says the 2006 campaign generated more than 1,000 rebates and that 66 percent of survey respondents said the rebates were a deciding factor in visiting Springfield.

Also, seven organizations are pooling together $37,000 to promote Springfield as a travel, business and education destination. The ad campaign began Feb. 26 in Jefferson City and Columbia and runs through April 29.

Head of State Visit Not a First

The president of Ethiopia, Girma Wolde-Giorgis, visited Springfield March 8-10 to address a crowd at University Plaza Hotel about his direction for Ethiopia and current events affecting the country. The $100 ticketed dinner was sponsored by Springfield-based Global Assist Network and Hope Community Church. Evangel University archivists say Wolde-Giorgis is not the first head of state to step foot in Springfield. Who was? On March 14, 1967, George C. Price, premier of British Honduras, Central America, now known as Belize, spoke at Evangel during a special convocation. Both Wolde-Giorgis and Price received keys to the city of Springfield.

Springfield Plaza in Tlaquepaque

On March 14, Tlaquepaque Chamber of Commerce officials dedicated a common area in the Mexican city as Springfield Plaza, in honor of the sister-city relationship started in 2003. Springfield Area Chamber of Commerce representatives, including chairwoman Ann Marie Baker and President Jim Anderson, were on hand. The Springfield and Tlaquepaque chambers are in a cooperative agreement to add a business and economic development dimension to the sister-city relationship. Projects are focused on annual exchanges between staff and volunteers of the two chambers and development of a system to match members of both chambers with business opportunities in the United States and Mexico.

Slice of Nice

The Rotary clubs of Springfield are seeking participants for the eighth annual Rock’n Ribs BBQ Festival and fund-raiser for seven area children’s charities. On April 20 and 21, 60 barbecue teams from several states will compete outside of Bass Pro Shops Outdoor World. Judges, competitors, sponsors and event volunteers are needed.

Last year, the event raised $90,000 for Boys & Girls Town of Missouri, Ronald McDonald House Charities-Mobile Dental Unit, Ozark Trails Council-Boy Scouts of America, Big Brothers/Big Sisters and Good Samaritan Boys Ranch. To sign up or learn more about the event, go to www.rocknribs.com.