Face of our future

Did anybody stop to talk with the 370 people registered to ride the Scenic Tour of the Kootenai River last weekend.

A majority of these people were over 35, possibly 40. They were professional people - lawyers, doctors, real estate professionals and more. They like to play hard and they like to do it in beautiful country. I wouldn't call them yuppies or young urban professionals because many of them weren't so young and they really didn't live in cities. Quite a few of them are furries — frozen urban refugees.

This is the face of our economic future. Actually it's the face of our present economy, we're just a little hit and miss in attracting them to Libby and Troy. In many cases we don't recognize the market.

STOKR is the perfect attraction and it's obviously marketed just right so that registration is probably the easiest thing about the two-day event.

Make sure you thank the many volunteers for their efforts to make these visitors want to come back year after year. They fill our motel rooms, our restaurants and our stores.

And don't forget to thank Susie Rice who is right on target with this event. Remember, it's a fundraiser for the Habitat for Humanity efforts in these parts. But it sure puts a lot of other greenbacks into the local economy.

Thanks Susie and company. — Roger Morris