The Air Mobility Rodeo at Joint Base Lewis McChord is an international competition with more than 25 countries attending. It will take place July 24-29, 2011.

 Teams will begin arriving on July 18 with Air Mobility Command staff arriving on July 12. Attendees will have free time and most have expendable income. More than 2,000 participants will be in Pierce County for a week and have been known to buy out store inventories. Prior to arriving, attendees will research products online to plan their purchases when they arrive. In years past, attendees have purchased big screen televisions, perfumes and cars along with experiencing the area and staying in our hotels.

Moira and I met with them to discuss how we can involve our member businesses to give them a marketable advantage to the attendees. We are currently collecting discounts from our member businesses for attendees to access prior to their arrival. We will work with the Rodeo to provide the attendees onsite concierge services as well as assisting in planning tours and activities. If you have a discount that you would like to offer attendees, please e-mail me by Feb. 25.