Katie Lorenz, 2020-2021 Head of Brand Partnerships
My name is Katie Lorenz, and I’m Head of Brand Partnerships for the 2020-2021 school year. This summer, I spent two months living and working in Jackson Hole, Wyoming - quite a different environment from my hometown just north of Chicago. Luckily, I had already begun planning my summer adventure when COVID-19 hit in March, so I quickly began looking forward to escaping the chaos that ensued around the country.
My time in Jackson was split between spending time hiking and working two jobs - an internship at the Jackson Hole Travel and Tourism Board and a part-time job at my favorite local bakery. I was the only intern for the organization, so I had the unique opportunity to work closely with the Executive Director as my mentor. My main project was to gather data and photos for the annual report while the rest of my work mostly revolved around marketing efforts to control the spread of COVID-19 within Jackson. The massive influx of short-term visitors looking to escape big cities perpetuated fear among locals that the virus would come with them, and in some cases, it did.
In the middle of July, Teton County’s active cases peaked at a total of 81. In most other cities, this would be a victory, but for a small mountain town, this was a disaster. I listened, learned, and assisted as the marketing committee took actionable steps to clarify visitor expectations before they arrived. Around that time, an article was published in National Geographic to shed light on the events transpiring in the town of Jackson which helped make our case. The Jackson Hole Travel and Tourism Board continues to work towards striking a healthy balance between meeting the expectations of incoming visitors and locals.
This was not my first time in Jackson. I’ve been visiting my grandparents since they moved there part-time in 2002, and I attended ranch camp just outside of Jackson in Dubois, Wyoming for five summers. My camp experience truly changed my perspective and made me appreciate places like Jackson for its natural beauty and the inherent sense of freedom it promotes among its residents and visitors. Due to the extensive time I’ve spent in Jackson, this summer felt like the perfect opportunity for me to give back to the town that had given me so much.
Throughout the summer I worked with many local businesses which gave me the opportunity to practice my strategy for my position in MUSIC Matters. I often thought about how MUSIC Matters might be most beneficial to the businesses I was working with - a process I will need to complete many times in the year ahead as I strategize partnerships with a variety of local and national brands. This experience prepared me for the year and even gave me a few ideas for potential corporate sponsors!
Many of the local businesses I worked with were those who I’d silently appreciated throughout the past eighteen years, but this was my opportunity to tell the people behind the scenes how deeply grateful I was for their contribution to the community. In fact, the bakery where I worked has been my family’s favorite since they opened in 2011, so I felt very lucky to be part of the crew and give my time back to the bakery I’d admired for so long! During my employment there this summer, I was lucky enough to get to know the owner and her husband very well. We eventually discovered we’d both gone to the same high school and worked our first jobs at restaurants right next to each other in our hometown - what a small world!
Overall, this summer was a restart button for me. A time to step back from the chaos of regular life and re-ground myself. Spending time in the mountains gives me the same feeling as listening to a good song. It fills my soul with an indescribable feeling, getting rid of any stress or negative emotions. In an effort to bring that feeling into the rest of my life, I know that remaining exposed to all things music through my work with MUSIC Matters will be a key player to supply that necessary energy for me this year, and I look forward to every minute of it!
