Wednesday, August 15, 2012

Sun Valley must look forward

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Like Tony Evans, I too love to walk the hallway in the lodge and soak up the glamorous history of Sun Valley radiating from the pictures of Gary Cooper, Hemingway, Sonja Henie, and that fabulous cohort of celebrities that were and are an essential part of the DNA of Sun Valley. Let's not diminish it.

But to claim nostalgia for times past as a marketing tool to bring a younger generation, as Tony suggests in his column of Aug. 10, is sorely misguided. It is akin to praising the marvels of telephone communication to the text generation. Look around. Sun Valley is rapidly becoming an exclusive enclave for retired, backward-looking, privileged seniors who just don't get, or don't want to get, what is attractive to younger people—those who are in a different stage of life, a time when the collection of their own experience is more important than the review of others' experiences. We need young families, recent college graduates, enthusiastic entrepreneurs who are willing to remodel the image of Sun Valley into something that includes the present and the future, along with the past.

There is more than enough emphasis on Sun Valley's place in history to ensure that it will never be forgotten. What is urgently needed now is a forward-focused emphasis on the quality of life and the quality of experience elements that can motivate younger visitors to come here instead of more readily accessible options. Restaurants, shopping, lodging, etc. These matter so much more to the younger visitor than pictures hanging on a wall. First, we must build it and then we must market it. 

It often feels like Sun Valley falls into the default position of looking backward because it has no vision forward. That may provide a sense of comfort for those who are here, but it isn't going to bring in the young blood it needs to stay vital.

Ross E. Goldstein

Ketchum

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