Today we’d like to introduce you to Sara Toliver.
Hi Sara, it’s an honor to have you on the platform. Thanks for taking the time to share your story with us – to start maybe you can share some of your backstories with our readers.
I am an Ogden-area native and I guess you could say it’s just in my DNA! After graduating from Utah State University, I worked in Salt Lake for a tech start-up. It was during all the pre-Olympic construction and the commute took its toll. After a couple of years, I accepted an offer from my mom to oversee the PR efforts for her publishing company.
This was in 2000 and the Olympics were right around the corner. Our community was starting to see some of the opportunities this might bring. My mom’s business was located in a rented building on Historic 25th Street in Ogden. We made the decision to purchase the building and open a retail store. There were numerous reasons for the retail store, Mom’s publishing company produced how-to books that were photography-heavy and required numerous props. We figured we could sell the props, or conversely, use the store inventory for props. We also recognized that 25th Street had potential and there were, at that time, very few viable businesses on the Street.
We knew that one retail store wouldn’t be enough to draw regular visitation, so we conceptualized a plan to open 5 retail establishments in 5 years. I completed our business plan as part of my MBA coursework.
During this time, we partnered with other business owners on 25th Street to form a business association. We each contributed funds to start marketing the Street as a destination for our community. It was an incredible demonstration of collaboration for the greater good. We pushed Ogden’s mayor at the time to support our efforts with revitalization efforts on the City’s behalf. We started the Harvest Moon Celebration and other events to attract our community back to downtown.
We opened three retail stores in three years. Shortly thereafter, my husband and I welcomed twins to our family which shifted my focus. I chose to maintain the three stores at that time and “wait a minute” to onboard the last two. When my kids were about a year and a half, my mom terminated her contract with her publishing company, which was still an important part of the stores, and I decided the inflexibility of retail may not be what I wanted for the rest of my career.
I had a friend approach me about considering a position that had opened as President/CEO of Visit Ogden (Ogden/Weber Convention & Visitors Bureau at the time). I decided to apply despite my lack of knowledge about the tourism industry. The Board ultimately decided that my passion for our community, and the relationships I already had, far outweighed this lack of tourism experience, a business that I could learn. They took a risk on me and I’ve now served in this role for more than 15 years.
Visit Ogden is a DMO (destination marketing and management organization) that works to promote our destination to leisure travelers, group businesses, and potential workforce. We work to educate our visitors on how to visit and recreate responsibly in order to create a harmonious balance between the positive impacts the visitor economy provides and our residents’ quality of life.
Great, so let’s talk business. Can you tell our readers more about what you do and what you think sets you apart from others?
The form is making me submit a response, but I don’t see the question. If you want me to identify our work, I feel like I’ve done that above. It’s part of who I am so it’s difficult to separate the two questions.
If there is further information that you feel would be helpful, you can access our strategic plan and Destination Development Plan at https://www.visitogden.com/contact-us/plans/.
What matters most to you? Why?
Our mission statement is: Visit Ogden works with the people and places of our community to sustainably curate, cultivate, and promote meaningful experiences for residents and visitors.
Contact Info:
- Website: www.visitogden.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/visitogden/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/visitogden
- Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/visitogden
- Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@visitogden4611
Image Credits
Ogden Click and Veronica Miehlke
