When Lorraine Chachere was a little girl in her native San Diego, her heart jumped at images of far-off places, her feet were already restless to be there.
Time has not cured Chachere of the itch.
As Auburn’s new tourism and hospitality coordinator, Chachere, a recent Las Vegas resident, is keen on promoting Auburn as the sort of place that others imbued with wanderlust want to come and see — and spend their dollars in.
She’s got big plans to create “a buzz about Auburn.”
Making good things happen tourism wise, she said, starts with community engagement, promoting the city’s hospitality, and encouraging locals to act ambassadors for their city.
“Even when it’s been something simple like going to a doughnut shop, people have been very friendly,” Chachere said. “Auburn almost has the feel of a small town. I think for people who live in big cities, that is the draw: they want to escape the hustle and bustle, find something scenic that has different kinds of entertainment venues, or something that is very family friendly.”
When people have guests in town, Chachere said, her advice is to them is “let’s keep them here in Auburn. Let’s keep visitor dollars in Auburn.”
Already, Chachere is working with an agency to remake Auburn’s tourism website by 2017, to promote, she said, all the venues and events that make Auburn special, from the White River Amphitheatre to the Hops and Crops Festival to Emerald Downs and beyond.
“Of course, the overall goal and the greatest measure of success will be increasing the numbers and lengths of hotel stays, and not just leisure travelers but convention travelers,” Chachere said.
To her new job she brings a colorful background.
Her mother was born in the northern Mexican state of Chihuahua, her father was a fourth-generation American.
“My heritage is very important to me,” she said.
She’s a “ballet school dropout who couldn’t do cartwheels,” but is absolutely, positively, no slouch on the dance floor. Indeed, at its invitation, she once spent an entire month touring with a Bolivian dance troupe.
“I have been a member of different dance groups, primarily Mexican folkloric dance groups. Its similar to tap dance and creating rhythms in line with the music. And, of course, there are colorful dresses that are native to different regions, the stories about people and places,” Chachere said.
Cachere and her husband, Robert, a native of New Orleans employed by the second largest wine distributor in the nation, live in Burien with their two children: Mateo, 6 months old; and daughter Paloma, 3.
“I do love to travel, internationally when I can, though things are starting to slow down now that we have two children. It’s a rich life, not so much in possessions but in experiences,” Chachere said.
