Blair Goodgame promoting county in new post
Story by Leigh Pritchett
Photos by Graham Hadley and submitted photos
Blair Goodgame has been to 15 countries spanning four continents.
Though she relishes traveling, she tends to share Dorothy’s sentiments in “The Wizard of Oz”: “There’s no place like home! There’s no place like home!”
Enjoying the place she calls home … and encouraging others to do so … is what Goodgame does on a daily basis.
In September 2019, she became tourism coordinator with St. Clair County Economic Development Council (EDC). “It is a brand-new position and program, part of the EDC’s five-year plan, Partnership for Tomorrow,” Goodgame said. “We are in year one of that.” Hiring a tourism coordinator was one of the first-year goals.
As tourism coordinator, Goodgame spends her days exploring and discovering different aspects of St. Clair County and promoting them to potential visitors, businesses and industries.
Tourism “goes hand-in-hand with economic development,” Goodgame said. She called tourism a “clean” industry that is indicative of a vibrant life within a community. Such vitality is what business prospects want to see in a locale they are considering.
In quick succession, Goodgame enumerates one asset of the county after another, starting with the resort areas Neely Henry Lake in northern St. Clair and Logan Martin Lake in southern St. Clair. She adds to that Horse Pens 40 near Steele, Mustang Museum in Odenville and the Forever Wild park near Springville. She points out that the county has outfitters, outlets for kayaking, extreme sports parks, bouldering destinations, competitive events, motorcycle racing, off-road trails, aerobatics flight instruction, summer camps, national tournaments, nature preserves and Moody’s Miracle League, a baseball league for people with special needs.
As for the arts, St. Clair has a prolific visual, musical and theatrical community, Goodgame continues. A few examples would be galleries, concerts, entertainment, songwriters and music festivals and stage productions. She also mentioned learning opportunities, such as music schools and dance studios.
Plus, there are wedding chapels and venues for parties, reunions, receptions, conventions and conferences.
“We’re learning more every day. … (There are) so many more things I didn’t realize we have here … (and) other people in the county were not aware of also,” said Goodgame.
In addition to all that, Talladega Superspeedway to the east of St. Clair and Barber Motorsports Park to the west bring visitors through the county, visitors who may stop to eat, shop or refuel, Goodgame said.
“It is also hoped that the more people who visit on a regular basis, some of them will want to actually live and work in our community,” said Jason Roberts, EDC’s director of industry and workforce development.
When that happens, Roberts said, the county’s population increases, as does its workforce, which naturally appeals to prospective businesses and industries.
Among Goodgame’s responsibilities as tourism coordinator are compiling an encompassing list of sites, venues, parks, events and opportunities countywide; creating a calendar of events in the county; getting input from communities on promoting what they have to offer; establishing a multimedia means for disseminating information about St. Clair’s tourism aspects and using regional and state resources to spread the information beyond the county’s borders.
Soon, she will engage a branding company to create a slogan that captures the essence of St. Clair in a few words.
“Blair has really hit the ground running and has already begun cataloging and identifying assets throughout the county, while also building relationships statewide with other tourism organizations,” said Don Smith, EDC’s executive director. “She is preparing to begin a branding campaign the beginning of 2020, as well as meeting with event organizers for a variety of events in the spring. We had very high expectations for Blair after the extensive search (for a tourism coordinator), and she continues to impress us all daily. She is the perfect embodiment of our county’s tourism opportunities.”
Goodgame grew up on marinas and in campgrounds in the Pell City area, enjoying St. Clair’s warm climate and beautiful scenery. Logan Martin Lake and the great outdoors were her playground.
“I’ve always had a love of the outdoors, and the water still resonates with me,” Goodgame said.
She credits her mother, Cindy Goodgame, with nurturing that desire to be in nature. “She is always supportive. She shares a love of the outdoors,” said Blair Goodgame, who kayaks, camps, gardens and participates in community theater and yoga classes. “… (She) made me the woman I am today.”
After graduating from The Donoho School in Anniston, Goodgame majored in English at Auburn University and minored in art history. Her plan was to become an attorney. To prepare, she served as a congressional intern in the office of U.S. Rep. Mike Rogers, R-AL.
Yet, at law school orientation in 2009, she decided this was not the path her life should take. She returned to Pell City and became operations assistant for Goodley Corp., the family business.
“I love Pell City. I love St. Clair County. It’s home,” said Goodgame, who lives in a 1902 farmhouse.
In 2011, she became owner of Lakeside Package and Fine Spirits, which she operated almost five years at her family’s Lakeside Landing RV Park & Marina. Determined that Lakeside Package should be an “experience” rather than just a store, Goodgame offered party supplies and events, such as wine tastings and an appearance by Tim Smith from the television show, “Moonshiners.”
That marketing strategy translated into a sales increase of at least 35 percent each year. Pell City Chamber of Commerce selected hers as “emerging business of the year” in 2013.
The business venture, Alexandra Blair Calligraphy and Celebrations, has operated concurrently with her other work endeavors. As an artist and event specialist, Goodgame plans weddings, showers, birthdays and other memorable occasions and produces the artistic elements and hand-lettered envelopes needed.
In the community, Goodgame was president of Pell City Rotary Club and district Rotary governor, a board member of Pell City Chamber of Commerce, a graduate of Alabama Leadership Initiative, and a graduate and board member of Leadership St. Clair (which is an EDC program). In 2014, the Rotary Club deemed her “Rotarian of the Year” and a “Paul Harris Fellow.” She would receive the latter award again in 2015 and 2018.
Recently, Goodgame was selected to serve on the PARCA Roundtable of the Public Affairs Research Council of Alabama.
To help those in need, Goodgame serves as board of trustees secretary for Community Foundation of Northeast Alabama and was chairwoman of the YWCA Purse and Passion fundraising luncheon in St. Clair. During her four years as Purse and Passion chairwoman, corporate and community support for the St. Clair luncheon increased manifold, reaching $105,000 in 2017. In 2014, the Alabama Chapter of Fundraising Professionals chose Goodgame “volunteer of the year.”
Candice Hill, EDC’s retail/marketing specialist, sees Goodgame as the ideal fit for the tourism coordinator position.
“Blair has a vast knowledge of tourism assets in St. Clair County, as she has a history here and has always been an explorer of things around her,” Hill said. “In both her educational background and her personal experience, she has a host of abilities to bring to the table for tourism in St. Clair County. I believe that her spirit and energy, along with her love for St. Clair County, will make her very successful in this position.”
Goodgame finds that the more she discovers and learns about the county, the more enthusiastic she is to call attention to those assets.
She excitedly talks about one of her ideas, which is to establish “trails” through St. Clair for things like barbecue tasting, birding, history, outlaws and moonshiners, locally made items, you-pick farms. …
“Our options,” she said, “are endless right now.”
Editor’s Note: St. Clair County Economic Development Council is funded through the St. Clair County Commission and private partners. The EDC is housed on the campus of Jefferson State Community College in Pell City.
