DOBSON — During a meeting of the Tourism Partnership of Surry County Tuesday afternoon, more discussion grew from last week’s decision by the Mount Airy Tourism Development Authority (TDA) to use real photographs in its ads for the Very Surry campaign, in which all of the other towns in Surry County have agreed to used digitized images.

Valerie Oberle, president of the partnership, brought Mount Airy’s decision to the board’s attention.

“The one thing that we need to consider and perhaps you read about it or heard about it, but the Mount Airy TDA voted last week to not use any of the digitized photography, so they decided they just didn’t want to do that. So it changes the integrity of our ad campaign,” Oberle said.

She said the partnership “dialed down” the digitized photography and it was shown to the Mount Airy TDA during a joint meeting held on March 24. She said that she understood that the Mount Airy TDA liked the new ads, and couldn’t understand why that board voted to use only real photographs.

Greg Perkins, who was elected as the newest voting member of the partnership representing the Mount Airy TDA last week, said his board wants to see a real photograph used in the two ads that are being provided by the partnership.

Jessica Icenhour, tourism director for the Greater Mount Airy Chamber of Commerce, and member of both boards, pointed out that real photographs are being used on the Very Surry Web site and the digitized images are only being used in the print campaign.

“I see both sides of the coin, but I see some of where the confusion is coming from,” said Icenhour. “(The digitized look), that’s the hook and that’s the branding. I just don’t see that working for the Mount Airy board.”

Perkins said his instructions where to ask for real, high-quality photos to be used in the two free Mount Airy-specific ads.

Oberle explained why Mount Airy would receive two ads and why it would be problematic if they wanted to use photographs that weren’t digitized.

“The partnership has agreed to pay for two ads for Mount Airy because of the amount of their contribution and then one ad for each of the other towns. The original intent was that we would maintain the integrity of the branding of the look, of the whole package. Mount Airy has decided that they don’t agree with that, so we have to manage that. We can decide that that’s fine because they are using the Very Surry in the banner and it’s two ads per year and that’s it,” Oberle said.

Leslie Schlender, economic development director for Elkin, said that her understanding of the origination of the partnership was equal representation on a Very Surry level. Now, she said, it appears the group is getting into one ad for some, two ads for others. “It’s not on an equal footing, not on an equal voting basis and we are potentially going really far away from the integrity of the campaign,” Schlender said.

She said after last month’s partnership meeting with Mount Airy, she was left with the understanding that everyone was working together and moving forward.

“But it really seems like it’s going back to dividing it up by municipality and it just really starts to make you think, is this the beginning of the end,” Schlender said.

“We are still positive and moving forward. This is all part of the growing pains and these are things that we have to address real honestly. I’m quite frankly disappointed, because I thought that once those things were toned down that they looked good. It was a real photograph, lightly digitized and that was a compromise, because of what we all went through before. It seems that Mount Airy is not willing to compromise,” Oberle said.

Icenhour offered to sit down with the ad designer to work out ads that would be acceptable to the Mount Airy TDA and the partnership.

Oberle expressed her continued frustration that the Mount Airy TDA is not willing to compromise.

“I know you are the big kids on the block, I know you have the biggest funding, but everyone else here is donating a huge amount of time and resources and efforts to this. And I don’t see, with the exception of Jessica (Icenhour) and John (Overton, finance director for the city of Mount Airy), nobody else has put in the effort, nobody has put in the time. I think it’s time for Mount Airy to step up and be a partner. I really do,” Oberle said.

Partnership board member Burke Robertson suggested that the board table the matter until another time.

Partnership board member Ed Shelton said the Mount Airy TDA needed to stick with the original plan for the ad campaign.

“I understand where they are coming from, but we are getting away from our original concept. We need to know if they want to work it the way we had it set up, or if they don’t, because we are spending too much time and effort spinning our wheels,” said Shelton.

“They are certainly within their right to do whatever they want to do, and nobody is disputing that, but we set out on this with everybody working together. Everybody accepted the concept, then we adjusted the concept. I think we need to know if they want to continue with the way it was set up, if they don’t then we are going to have to reorganize,” Shelton said.

Perkins responded trying to further explain the stance of the Mount Airy board.

“We are asking for a real picture framed in the Very Surry format. And that’s our compromise and that’s what I think the board would say if they were able to speak as a whole,” Perkins said.

Icenhour said she did not get the sense that the Mount Airy board wants to disconnect from the partnership. She suggested that she would have a meeting with the advertising designer to see if she could find a look that would fit the feel of all parties involved.

Contact Mondee Tilley at mtilley@mtairynews.com or at 719-1930.