Milford, TADD Mutual Benefactors In Group Marketing Effort

MILFORD – Southern Delaware is well known for its many boardwalks and beaches.

But there’s plenty more fun to be had and sights to see away from the coast.

“You have the big places that always attract people, but you have smaller places that have things that are attractive but people may not know about,” said Downtown Milford, Inc., Executive Director Lee Nelson. “Southern Delaware Tourism have their new slogan ‘The beaches are only the beginning,’ because they want to attract people to the interior of Sussex (County) and it’s the same for everybody else.”

That in mind, Milford last year opted to join Tourism, Arts and Downtown Development (TADD), a group marketing effort that began on Maryland’s Eastern Shore nearly half a decade ago. The city was the first of what is now six Delaware municipalities that joined forces with TADD, with Rehoboth Beach, Dover, Middletown, Newark and Delaware City being the others.

Joining TADD, Mr. Nelson said in an email, gives Milford access to post information and about upcoming events on the group’swebsite.

“It’s a collaborative marketing effort between 17 Delaware and Maryland towns,” Mr. Nelson said. “It involves members of tourism originations, chambers of commerce, economic development, arts groups and downtown main street programs.”

Additionally, TADD releases a monthly newsletter that highlights one of the included towns by focusing on one artist, an art institute, a restaurant and at least one event. Milford was highlighted in April, according to Mr. Nelson, and the newsletter showcased Marcia Reed, the Mispillion Art League, Abbott’s Grill and the Bug & Bud Festival.

“All of us (TADD members) are working together to promote our area, encourage people to come into Delmarva and eat, drink and buy art,” said Mr. Nelson. “The restaurants, the hotels, the boutiques, the art galleries, the coffee shops, all of those are the target market that could benefit from it. We felt that we could get a lot more bang for our buck working cooperatively.”

Last Wednesday, TADD held its quarterly meeting at the Milford Library. Afterward, several members of the organization toured Milford, stopping at various placed along Walnut Street and taking the Riverwalk.

Many of the stops included on the tour were art-based, such as a visit to Ms. Reed’s Gallery 37 and Studios Upstairs. Afterward the group was treated to lunch and a demonstration at Verde Cooking School.

“We love to explore different communities and finding out what others are doing and what’s working for them, which is really helpful to all the towns involved,” said Worcester County (Md.) Director of Tourism Lisa Challenger, who was making her first visit to Milford. “I was pleasantly impressed (with Milford). The old homes are just beautiful and the downtown is terrific. It’s a great town.”

Mayor Bryan Shupe, who also attended the quarterly meeting, said a lot of good ideas could come from Milford’s involvement with TADD.

“We need to expand on our tourism and economic development efforts,” Mayor Shupe said. “One of the things that I’ve seen that has worked in other cities is having a cluster of restaurants that makes it a destination for you to come with your family. Also, museums like the possible Vineyard Shipyard Museum that we’ll be looking at later this month. And more shops.

“We’ve come a long way in the last 10 years, but there’s obviously a lot of things to do,” he continued. “The great thing about bringing in professionals from other downtown areas is that we can share stories, ask what their challenges were and how they were successful at passing those challenges. It allows us to highlight our downtown and at the same time gain some knowledge from their experiences.”

Milford Chronicle staff reporter Jeff Mitchell can be reached atjmitchell@newszap.com.

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