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Chamber: Spend tax kickers locally By GREG STILES Mail Tribune The Jacksonville Inn was on pace for a record sales year before Sept. 11. Since then, dining has fallen off and hotel reservations have plummeted. Owner Jerry Evans said the Jacksonville landmark is still ahead for the year, but the decline following the terrorist attacks in New York and Washington is so pronounced that sales will fall below past marks. "Even after people started coming back, we've had Christmas parties canceled because companies have been scaling back," Evans said. The restaurant and hospitality industry has been hit harder than some sectors because of a drop in tourism. But other businesses are feeling a pinch as well. The Chamber of Medford/Jackson County on Wednesday held a press conference at the Mail Tribune to encourage Southern Oregonians to spend their kicker tax-refund checks at local businesses. "Our message is to spend it and spend it now," said Brad Hicks, the chamber's chief executive officer. "We're encouraging people to put their kicker checks back into the economy." The checks, totaling $254 million, average $157 with the median hitting $73 (half are higher than $73, and half are lower). Two-thirds of the kickers are $140 or less. But the potential impact, according to state economists, could be between a half-billion and billion dollars if the money turns over in the state. "Those kickers may help small businesses to last through the recession," Hicks said. Chamber chairman and Red Lion Hotel general manager Todd Thoreson said his hotel has experienced a 5 to 10 percent sales decline this year that "has intensified since Sept. 11." Business travel is down 5 to 10 percent and weekend reservations are off 40 percent, Thoreson said. The result has been an aggressive advertising and marketing campaign coordinated with the Rogue Valley Mall and Medford Center. Like the Jacksonville Inn, Red Lion's Christmas party calendar has uncharacteristic open dates. "Our Christmas parties are usually pre-sold by the end of February and contracted as of Aug. 1," Thoreson said. "We've had 30 percent cancellations. We've been given a variety of reasons - some less subtle than others - but they're all tied to revenue shortfalls." Evans said he has hired college students to work during the holiday season in the past. This year, however, he's wondering how much work he'll have without a full schedule of parties. Bill Thorndike Jr., president of Medford Fabrication and a former chamber president said a half-million dollars of local purchases would have a tremendous effect. "There are certain sectors that are hurting out there," Thorndike said. "It's important to do what ever we can do." Reach reporter Greg Stiles at 776-4463 or e-mail [email protected] Mail Tribune Home | Ottaway Newspapers, Inc. | Dow Jones & Co., Inc. | Privacy | Contact Us Copyright � 2001 Mail Tribune, Inc.