Ann Vogelbacher facilitates the Webster City Area Chamber's First Impressions program onboarding meeting recently in the Sampson Room of Fuller Hall. Vogelbacher, who has worked as director of the Central Iowa Tourism Region for many years, lives in Webster City.

First impressions are important. Whether you’re meeting someone for the first time, preparing for a job interview, or deciding where to travel.

Can you remember your first impression of Webster City?

As a place to do business?

A place to visit?

A place to live?

Recently, The Webster City Area Chamber of Commerce invited anyone with an interest in expanding tourism in Webster City to attend what it termed “an onboarding” for the city’s new First Impressions program. About a dozen people attended in person or online.

In 2024, ISU Extension and Travel Iowa, the state’s department of tourism, developed First Impressions as a way of assessing a town’s strengths, weaknesses and opportunities through the eyes of a first-time visitor.

Sometime this summer, four people will travel here to relate their first impressions of Webster City. Before arriving, they’ll research Webster City online. In this effort, they’ll do what many of us do when traveling to a destination for the first time: consult social media, perform some Google searches, or refer to popularly-used tourism resources such as Trip Advisor.

Then, independently and incognito, they’ll visit Webster City, some singly, others with their family. All will stay overnight, eat several meals in local restaurants, and visit local attractions or enjoy recreation here.

It is hoped the visits will provide a first-hand, fresh perspective on what real visitors to Webster City see, experience and think.

After returning home, each of the visitors will compile a detailed report of their experiences, taking into consideration up to 80 different aspects of the city in the process. This data will be analyzed at ISU and put into a final report.

Last fall, two Iowa cities — Maquoqueta and Corning — were selected to pilot the First Impressions program to test its effectiveness and refine it for further use.

The Daily Freeman Journal reviewed the 46-page community report completed for Corning, a city of about 1,500 in rural southwestern Iowa. It’s a well-written, honest and revealing look at Corning, with very specific suggestions for improving its first impressions among visitors.

Here are a few comments from the report’s “lasting impressions” section: What could Corning do differently to market themselves and/or assets better to attract visitors?

— “I’m impressed with their commitment to historical preservation and an attractive Main Street. It obviously is working to bring in businesses like Primrose (an upscale restaurant), and Fire and Salt (a gourmet food shop with an afternoon cocktail hour) which are the elevated kinds of experiences that people will travel to enjoy.”

— “Be pet-friendly … a large percentage of travelers want to take their pets with them.”

Other suggestions included making Corning more “birding friendly.” Bird watching, or “birding,” is one of the fastest-growing hobbies in America. Another suggestion: Improve the city’s presence on several websites and create one local website as an information clearing house for visitors.

One traveler wanted more healthy options on the breakfast menu at the hotel where they stayed. Another suggested a biking/walking trail, which they compared to Webster City’s Boone River Trail, to connect local attractions.

Webster City is one of five Iowa cities selected to participate in First Impressions 2025. Others include Perry, Washington, Manning and Independence.

Webster City Area Chamber of Commerce Director Anna Woodward said this about First Impressions: “We’re pleased our application for this innovative new program was accepted. It was a competitive process, and one we expect to benefit from.”

The program isn’t free; the city will spend $2,000 to bring First Impressions to Webster City.

The final report — accessible, affordable market research — is expected to be well worth it.