George Kotti, Executive Director

Remarks by George Kotti
Executive Director, Hot Springs Area Chamber of Commerce

Presented January 13, 2009
Mueller Civic Center

Thank you for coming – this is a very special day for Hot Springs!

It has been often said that you can’t teach an old dog new tricks.

As many of you know, half of my life has been shaped by the military. As a 30 year veteran of the Air Force, I have found that the traditions of the military have great significance. One of those traditions is the public recognition and awarding of medals to those service members or military organizations that have distinguished themselves with valor, bravery or outstanding service and accomplishment. Those award ceremonies are public events for a very good reason in that they publicly recognize those who have gone above and beyond the call of duty and these public award celebrations serve to motivate others. 

So that is why we have gathered here today – to reward a community with an award that has been over a 125 years in the making.

I am pleased to officially announce that Hot Springs, SD has been named one of America’s Dozen Distinctive Destinations for 2009 by the National Trust for Historic Preservation.

This designation is awarded to communities that offer a great visitor experience that transcends what a normal tourist destination typically has to offer. Distinctive destination communities are noted by their dynamic downtowns, by their cultural diversity and historic significance and also by their distinctive architecture. And distinctive destinations are also known for their commitment to preserving their culture and their history.

The National Trust for Historic Preservation, which serves as the “Good House Keeping Seal of Approval” for heritage travel in our nation, has deemed our community worthy of this significant national honor. We are the first and only destination so honored in South Dakota and we share that designation in 2009 with such places as Fort Worth, TX; Santa Fe, NM; Buffalo, NY; Santa Barbara, CA and others.

Jesus told a story in the Bible about a woman who lost a coin and swept and swept her house until she found it – and when she found it she was so happy and excited, she told everyone she knew.  Today, I feel just like that woman that found her lost coin.

For some time I am sure the woman did not know her coin was lost, perhaps taking for granted that it was probably tucked away in some safe place. I believe we as a community have a tendency to take what we have for granted – things become common place and we also fail to realize all that we have and therefore tend to miss the blessings that are right in our midst.

To me rediscovering what we have is like finding a lost coin and awards like becoming a “Distinctive Destination” helps us as a community to re-discover ourselves. Look at what we have in Hot Springs – great history and culture!

Right with in our city limits we have the “world famous Mammoth Site.” This world class attraction shows us the real evidence that Woolly and Columbian mammoths, who were a part of our history some 10’s of thousands of years ago, actually walked around Hot Springs. We are privileged to witness more of that history being re-discovered every year as a result of the on-going excavation taking place at this important scientific site each summer.

We have the Black Hills Wild Horse Sanctuary which is not only a place of awesome natural beauty but a place where one can re-discover the culture of the Native American, the settling of the western frontier and see the wild mustangs that once roamed our vast prairies.

We can re-discover the warm healing waters that drew people to this beautiful valley from the Native Americans to Fred Evans and others. They harnessed those waters in Evans Plunge, which is the oldest continuously operating tourist attraction in the Black Hills. Just a side note – five generations of Kotti’s have enjoyed the Plunge. My grandfather was a miner at the Homestake Gold Mine in Lead and every summer in the ‘20’s he would bring my father to Evans Plunge. My father brought me and I have brought my children and my grandchildren to enjoy this fun and exciting place. Each visit has been an opportunity to create a family memory of good times together.

And we can re-discover nature and its wonders at places like Wind Cave National Park – which we locals just call Wind Cave – but it is a significant enough natural wonder to be designated as a National Park and is one of America’s oldest National Parks.

Looking at our own rich history, much of it is documented through the exhibits at the Pioneer History Museum housed in a prominent downtown building. This building, a striking sandstone school building, has played such an important role in our community by educating so many Hot Springs residents.

Then there are the over 40 distinctive sandstone buildings such as the impressive Evans Hotel to the small train depot across the street. There are institutional buildings like the VA hospital and the State Veteran’s Home. Then we find picturesque structures like St Luke’s church hidden on a hill side.

Then there are the buildings we use today – restored and functioning as a vital part of our community. We see places like the Flat Iron, Red Rock River Resort, the Blue Bison, the Sojourner Inn, A Dakota Dream B&B, the Wild Burro Book Store, the new Heart Song Quilt Shop, the luxurious Smith Fargo Suites, our own City Hall and the fabulous Shaman Gallery, which all add a flavor to this distinctive destination as they functionally serve our community and our visitors.

Yes – The National Trust has helped us find the lost coin by naming us a distinctive destination and now is the time to tell everyone we know. And that too is vitally important! Roger Brooks, the destination development expert that came to Rapid City had some startling truths to share with us. He said that most people in America and the world do recognize Mount Rushmore, the tourism icon that dominates our state. But the vast majority of these people do not know what state Mount Rushmore is in and even more, if they know the state, they do not know what portion of the Dakota’s where our national shrine of democracy is located.

So there is a very huge benefit for us to gain national recognition because people learn where you are and what you have to offer the visitor when they come. I believe they will come to visit us in Hot Springs because we are one of America’s Distinctive Destinations. Like the woman who found her lost coin, we are excited to tell the world about Hot Springs and this award gives us a great platform to show case what we have and who we are plus giving us added leverage to take that message nationally to an affluent group of heritage travelers.

This award I am about to present to Mayor DeVries is not something the chamber of commerce earned, it is a community award. It is for the efforts of people like Adam Heath who invested his resources and revitalized one of our historic sandstones and also helped answer some of the difficult technical questions on the distinctive destinations application form. It is for the attraction owners and their employees who provide people a reason to come to Hot Springs and then give them a memorable experience while they are here. It is for the restaurant owners who feed our visitors and for our motel operators who give our visitors a place to stay. It is for our business owners who eke out a living in a small community, cheerfully providing necessary services for our community and our visitors.

It is for the people like you gathered in this room and it is for the local service organizations depicted on the 125th Anniversary quilt that is hanging on the wall behind me. And it is for the friendly people like Dick and Margaret Hunter who greet over 11,000 visitors every summer at our Visitor Information Center, giving them directions on where to go, where to eat and where to stay and what to see. They answer all of their questions, even those that ask if our downtown waterfall is real or not.

All of our community – past and present have made Hot Springs a distinctive destination.