RAGBRAI is already starting to make a positive impact in Perry and riders won’t make their way into town for another week and a half.
Perry RAGBRAI entertainment committee chair Tom Lowe says he and Lee Coons, who chairs the information center committee, were talking one day about the lack of flags outside the Hotel Pattee. New hotel General Manager George Pappas says the old flags were worn, tattered and unusable. So Lowe started making a few phone calls.
One of those calls was to Cindy Sohn and Jennifer Wilson with Perry’s RAGBRAI hospitality committee. The two of them, along with their other committee members, are working to make Perry shine for visitors on July 22nd and they decided to purchase new flags for one of the city’s landmark attractions.
“We all believe, especially the RAGBRAI committees, that the hotel is a cornerstone of Perry’s downtown” says Lowe. “It absolutely is a landmark in Perry, it’s very recognizable and the flags are a natural part of the hotel’s heritage. To have those displayed for a special event like this when RAGBRAI’s coming to town, and on holidays and special events, is something we believe very strongly in.”
Pappas says it was a Godsend that this group was willing to help and sees the how important the Hotel Pattee is to Perry.
“The flags signify a class operation” says Pappas. “That’s why Roberta put them out there, because she understood that that’s curb appeal, the first impression of the hotel. Obviously this hotel has a great first impression because of where it sits, because of the businesses around it, because of all the lighting that’s out there – the globe lights and everything. This is like a Normal Rockwell type setting… it’s just a neat setting and the flags are an important part.”
A total of 11 flags were purchased from Martin Flags in Fort Dodge, for a total of $250. They will be paid for through event profits from things like the beverage garden, t-shirt sales, vendor fees and fundraising.