Spending Caravan

A group of small business owners in St. Louis, Missouri plan a “caravan” across the Gulf Coast traveling from Bay St. Louis, Mississippi as far east as Panama City Beach with stops along Mississippi and Alabama coastal communities, including Biloxi, Gulfport, Pascagoula and Grand Bay. The group plans to spend money at local small businesses at each stop and in the process, create a “Gulf Cara-van Kit” to help other cities recreate their project to aid Gulf Coast communities in their recovery from the losses arising from the oil spill. Group members will blog and tweet about their caravan and have published a site, www.gulfcaravan.com, for more information. Called “tourism with a purpose”, the caravan plans local media events to call attention to the need to support the Gulf Coast. They can look forward to a warm welcome as mayors of several of the communities plan to present the group with keys to their cities. I am planning an event in the Gulf Coast this fall; we should all do what we can to show our support.