Linda Black, volunteer coordinator for the Tonasket Visitors and Business Resource Center (TVBRC) gives a season-opening pep talk to her team of nearly 30 volunteers on Wednesday, April 25. Black also arranged for presentations by three area business owne

TONASKET – The Okanogan Tourism Council will be hosting a tourism and training workshop in Pateros on May 17 that will focus on helping local businesses to build on their strengths.

The Tourism and Service Training Workshop, themed “Find Your Awesome,” is the third annual event of its kind. It will be held at the Pateros Central Building, from 8:30 a.m. – 1:30 p.m., with doors opening at 8:00. The $20 fee includes workshop materials and a catered lunch provided by the Pateros Rivers Restaurant.

Teri Leep of Spectacle Lake Resort, and Chris Branch, both board members of the council, were on hand for the Tuesday, April 24 Tonasket Chamber of Commerce meeting to talk about the workshop.

“The focus is trying to find what they call your ‘awesome,'” Leep said. “It’s about trying to find what’s unique about your business and building on that. Finding a marketing plan, and anything that focuses on your business and the means to do it. Print advertising, social media, they’re there to help with this.”

Leep said a lot of the past focus has been on customer service training, but that it has expanded since then.

Jennifer Tate of Earth and Sky Studios in Twisp, a marketing-focuses business, will do the presenting.

More information can be found online at www.okanogancountry.com.

The Okanogan County Tourism Council will also be holding its first Tonasket-based meeting in several years at the Community Cultural Center on Thursday, May 10 at 6:30 p.m.

Julie Alley said that preparations for Founders Day were continuing. A planning meeting will be held at The Kuhler on May 7. There is a need for float judges, as well as someone to coordinate set-up activities at the park.

Patti Middleton reported that the group meeting to determine some ways to “spiff up” downtown were considering things like a color palette, more flags for the town, and ideas that picked up on Tonasket’s historic character.

“We’re just getting started,” she said.

Other upcoming events include the Community Cultural Center of Tonasket’s 20th anniversary dessert potluck on Sunday, May 6, at 3:00 p.m.. Also the musical South Pacific will be on stage at the Omak PAC, May 4-6 and 11-12