Local tourist-dependent businesses soon will be hanging on by a thread, waiting for the business that summer visitors will bring to the Sun Valley area.
Many employees either will be laid off or lying awake at night wondering if their jobs will last until summer.
Welcome to Slack season, something a lot of people haven't seen since the decades-long wave of investments in second homes obscured the valley's dependence on tourism.
Veterans of Slack seasons know they can be survived. With an upbeat attitude, Slack can open avenues for change and enjoyment overlooked in busier times.
To survive Slack, it's important to recognize that the whole matter is out of the valley's control, and that there's no magic cure for a slow season. This is easier said than done.
The idea that if only local businesses had done the "right thing," the area would be exempt from the nation's woes only produces useless stress.
It's also essential that businesses remember that the Sun Valley area is home to more than 21,000 people who need goods, services and entertainment all year long. Businesses must let local customers know that they are open to serve them.
Slack offers time to economize, organize, plan for the future and identify new opportunities.
Residents can talk things over and come up with new strategies to improve the local economy, their businesses and their lives as the nation's economy sorts itself out.
Some ideas:
Attend the Sustain Blaine meeting this Friday at which economic consultants will unveil and discuss economic recommendations for the area. It's an opportunity to be part of a solution to the area's seasonal challenges.
Write a letter to a congressman, a senator or Idaho's governor and explain the importance of the travel industry to Idaho and the nation. Urge them to end the scorn that has caused even some solvent businesses to curtail business meetings that sustain resort communities like ours.
Reach out to friends who may be part of businesses or organizations—no matter how small—that hold out-of-town meetings and encourage them to convince their organizations to meet in the Sun Valley area.
Finally, enjoy the time Slack offers. Use it to get to know neighbors, to get reacquainted with the outdoor wonders of central Idaho and to laugh a lot.
Mental health experts insist that all work and no play is not only no fun, but can lead to shorter lives.
With a little luck, it's possible to live long—and prosper—despite Slack.
