Chamber parterning with Wisconsin company to publish print & digital 'livability' magazine

LACONIA — The Lakes Region Chamber of Commerce will be working with a Milwaukee publishing company that will produce an annual magazine that features stories about living in this area, including a relocation and economic development guide.

The magazine will also have an on-line component called "Livability Lakes Region" that Art Davis, who gave a presentation yesterday to chamber members gathered at Prescott Farm, said would be periodically updated.

He also said the on-line component would provide updated stories about living in the Lakes Regions and articles about the amenities like schools, hospitals and businesses with Internet links to different advertisers.

Chamber Director Karmen Gifford said it's a way "package the Lakes Region's assets" and put them into a digital format that is free and easily accessible.

Gunstock Mountain Resort Marketing Director Bill Quigley had a number of questions for Davis including the advertising to editorial content ratio, the price of the ads and the number of printed copies and how they would be distributed.

Davis said the ratio would be about 65 percent advertising to 35 percent editorial in the print version, that 10,000 copies would be given to the Chamber to distribute as they see fit. He said ads could range in price from $300 to $5,000 depending on the needs of the customer.

Gifford said the goal of the publication and the Livability Lakes Region Website would be to disseminate information to people who want to relocate to the Lake Region and not necessarily the tourist industry that she said is well represented by the Lakes Region Tourism Association.

She said the project is a way to reach out to business and industry and their potential employees to promote the area as a good place to live, work and operate a business.