Albemarle Tradewinds March 2018 Web OPT

Marketing a Marina
by Claude Milot
Albemarle Plantation in Hertford had a premier
marina that was under-utilized. So, early in 2015
a marketing committee was formed to research and implement
a plan to bring more boaters to the marina. The
committee met on March 5, 2015, to see what it could
do. It had no money, but plenty of enthusiasm and lots
of ideas. It realized that if it were going to attract boaters
to the Plantation marina, it fi rst needed to draw more
of them to the Albemarle Sound. For that, it needed to
enlist the help of other boating communities in the area.
And for that it needed an organization.
Committee members were aware of another organization
called the Great Loop that markets a trip around the
eastern seaboard, the Great Lakes, and the Mississippi
River. So, they decided to name the new organization
the Albemarle Loop (“the Loop,” for short). Committee
members went to work soliciting marinas in the Albemarle
Sound to join. Almost overnight the Loop consisted
of member marinas in Plymouth, Columbia, Edenton,
Elizabeth City, Hertford, the Dismal Swamp Canal, and
Albemarle Plantation.
By the end of March, the Loop had published a brochure
and also created a website: https://albemarleloop.
com. Through the website, the Loop offered many
services such as event management and IT services,
retailer discount coupons, and advertising from retailers
and boat repair companies. It also added human interest
and historical articles about the Sound, made presentations
to organizations, and distributed brochures up and
down the East coast.
A Great Little Museum in Hertford
We’re accustomed to spacious museums, some on
multiple fl oors, most with many exhibits and plenty
of room to walk around. But there’s one museum I really
like that doesn’t fi t any of those descriptions. It’s in one
room with little walk-around space, and it’s dedicated to
a single topic. Tucked away inside Hertford’s Chamber
of Commerce building is a museum dedicated entirely to
the life and exploits of Jim Hunter, baseball Hall of Famer
and Hertford’s favorite son.
Brainchild of Sid Eley, Hertford’s former mayor and now
the Chamber’s director, the Jim “Catfish” Hunter Museum
has been accumulating artifacts and memorabilia
related to Hunter’s life and career ever since Eley came
up with idea of a museum around nine years ago. They
have never stopped pouring in, not only from friends and
neighbors who knew Hunter, but from baseball fans who
followed his career with the Athletics and Yankees from
1965 to 1978. The museum desperately needs room to
expand, because every nook and cranny is fi lled with old
uniforms and gloves, autographed bats and balls, newspaper
clippings, photographs, Sports Illustrated covers,
even Hunter’s old travel trunk.
A visitor is likely to fi nd Sid Eley happy to conduct a
personal tour of the museum, complete with stories
about Jimmy (what the locals always called him) that
are not in the record books. Eley ought to know: he was
only one year behind Hunter in school and knew his
four brothers and three sisters. He even taught three of
By Claude Milot
Sponsored by Dwelling
Management Solutions
In 2016 the Loop structured its management by appointing
two managing directors, then added a writer
and a fi nancial person. The Loop managed its fi rst three
years on a minimal budget, but by 2018 it had grown
to five commercial and fi ve non-profi t marinas and had
become an independent non-profi t organization.
As a commercial member of the Loop, Albemarle
Plantation has realized many benefi ts. By promoting
the Albemarle Sound and the Albemarle Plantation as a
premier boating area, it has increased sales not only at
the marina, but also at its restaurants and golf course.
Perhaps more important, it has promoted strong community
relations with
Hertford and the
other towns on the
Albemarle Sound.
As further proof
of the success
of the Albemarle
Loop, the number
of transient boater
visits to the Plantation
marina has
increased from a
mere two in 2014
to 59 in 2017, while
visits to the website surpassed 12,000 last year, proof
that an increasing number of boaters, particularly spring
and fall migrants along the intracoastal waterway, are
discovering the Albemarle Sound and all its wonderful
towns.
Jimmy’s children in his science classroom. Jimmy was
a Hall of Fame Man,” he says. “He never bragged about
how good he was or how much money he made, and he
never had a bad word to say about anyone.”
Jimmy Hunter returned to Hertford after he retired in
1978, just as he had every offseason. In 1998 Hunter
was diagnosed with ALS (Lou Gehrig’s disease). After a
stem cell experimental treatment failed, he was determined
to help fi nd a cure and began the Jim “Catfi sh”
Hunter Foundation that funded the Jim “Catfi sh” Hunter
ALS Clinic in Pitt County Memorial Hospital in Greenville.
Jim Hunter died on September 9, 1999, at the age of
53. But he very much lives in the hearts of people like
Sid Eley who knew and loved him. And he lives in the
Jim “Catfi sh” Hunter Museum in Hertford, a little place
well worth the visit.
You’ll never fi nd a
rainbow if you’re
looking down.
-Charlie Chaplin
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14 Albemarle Tradewinds March 2018
albemarletradewinds.com