Sharing the love of Rock Falls is Jones’ mission

ROCK FALLS — Some people’s career path begins with a stepping stone. Melinda Jones’ started with a Rock.

It was the height of the pandemic and Jones had just assumed the interim director job at the Rock Falls Tourism Department. Like others in her shoes in cities across the nation, she was looking for a way to safely bring people together for some sorely needed fun.

That’s when the department hit upon an idea that was music to people’s ears: Jammin’ on the Rock, a free live music show in the city’s RB&W District on the riverfront. The event was a success, and it helped set the stage for more events, reminding people that Rock Falls was much more than just one of the Twin City siblings — it’s a destination. Since then, Jones has shed the “interim” part of her temporary title and is the director of the Rock Falls Tourism Department.

It’s a role that she was born to play.

Growing up in Rock Falls, Jones was nurtured by what her hometown had to offer: friends, parks, places to hang out — they’re the fond memories she made as a child and that she’s brought to her job as the city’s chief cheerleader.

“I’ve always loved Rock Falls,” Jones said. “When people would cut down Rock Falls, even to this day, it’s really a thorn in my side, because we have great things to offer and all they’re doing is trying to find the negative. I’ve always had my heart into it.”

There’s not much in terms of things to do and places to go in Rock Falls that Jones hasn’t seen — businesses, community interests, tourism trends, people who come and go — and what’s she’s learned about her hometown has helped her in her mission to make Rock Falls a place that its residents want to stay in and visitors want to come to.

So far, she’s succeeded in both — but it took time and hard work, and the planning has paid off.

Just a decade ago, Rock Falls’ events calendar wasn’t peppered with events such as Flock to the Rock, a nature-related event each February featuring educational programs and eagle watching along the Rock River at Lawrence Park; or last September’s inaugural Taco Throwdown, where local food vendors showed off their twists on the Hispanic treat and taco lovers ate their way toward prizes; or Eats ‘N Beats in July, which brings music-lovers and food-lovers together for entertainment at the RB&W District park.

Jones and her team at the Tourism Department came up with new ideas and improved on others. They’ve also highlighted the city’s history with events such as the Louie Bellson Music Fest, held each June to celebrate the life and music of the city’s famous drummer. It’s been a project that’s been close to Jones’ heart, who once marched to the beat of another drum when her alma matter’s Marching Rockets were hitting their stride: “I went to Rock Falls High School and was part of the marching band when it was really good,” she said.

Much of Jones’ job involves figuring what works and what doesn’t with each event, and ensuring that people come back for more. Some events, like the Bellson festival, are becoming signature events for the city.

“For some of these, we like them to be known as, ‘This is what Rock Falls is known for,‘” Jones said. “‘They’re known for the Bellson Music Fest,’ ‘They’re known for the Taco Throwdown,’ that’s what we want it to be, and see which ones work.”

Other annual events include the Art In The Park Outdoor Art Gallery and Sculpture Walk in August, the Holiday Light Display in November and December at Centennial Park, and both a Lumberjack Show and Beard Contest in October, coordinated with Selmi’s.

Another part of the job is getting people to mark their calendars for events, and that involves marking the Tourism Department’s calendar. Event listings are posted and updated regularly on calendars at visitrockfalls.com and on social media — and it’s not just Rock Falls events on the calendar: Other local events are there, too, such as ones from the Rock Falls and Sauk Valley chambers of commerce and Sterling Main Street.

Events aren’t the department’s only duty. Making Rock Falls a destination city means making sure people know about its destinations. Take the Hennepin Feeder Canal for example: It’s a place that Jones said too many people take for granted, but it really does have a lot to offer, whether you’re a nature lover, fitness enthusiast, or a history buff fascinated by early 20th century transportation. Informational displays on its function are located at bridges on East Second Street and First Avenue.

“You want them to learn things while they’re here, and learn why the canal was made,” Jones said. “It’s a historic state park. All of that wasn’t really promoted back 20, 25 years ago. I think people are more athletic and want to be outdoors more, and promoting those trails and outdoor things is a good way to get people here.”

Another chief behind-the-scenes responsibility that helps bring in visitors is promotion. “We do a lot of advertising in the suburbs and in southern Wisconsin, parts of Indiana, the Quad Cities, the Bloomington area to get people to come here,” Jones said. “I don’t think people realize how much advertising we do to get people to come here.”

Even though Jones is leading Rock Falls’ tourism efforts, the department’s success is a team effort, from the people she serves with to the community she serves.

She says she enjoys it when community members pass along ideas and share their perspectives on what makes the city great and what kinds of things can bring residents together and attract visitors. One such idea came about a few years back from someone who told her about the traveling Vietnam Wall memorial, a scaled-down replica of the Vietnam Veterans Memorial in Washington, D.C, featuring the names of soldiers who lost their lives during the Vietnam War. She liked the idea, and thought it would be a good fit for Rock Falls.

“Someone came to me and asked if I ever thought about bringing the Vietnam Wall in,” Jones said. “It took me two years to get it figured out because there was a lot of research on how to make it happen with different companies and such,” , but that day finally came in September 2023, and it turned out to be worth the effort. Large crowds came to the RB&W District to see the traveling exhibit. Jones also enlisted the help of local veterans organizations to make the visit happen, as well as coordinate presentations and ceremonies around it.

“I love when the community comes and asks me, ‘Have you ever thought about this?‘” she said. “I have all of my ideas, but it’s about the community coming together, and I want them to come to me and say, ‘I think you should do this.‘”

Another player in tourism’s team effort is the city. Each event takes planning and coordination, and Jones works with city officials to make sure everything happens without a hitch. The Tourism Department is a public entity and is operated by the city and its Tourism Committee, which is made up of city and elected officials and community members. The committee ultimately is the one that signs off on the tourism events; it meets at 10 a.m. on the second Wednesday of each month at City Hall, and like other city committee meetings is open to the public with opportunities to make public comments. The department’s basic functions such as advertising and payroll come from the city’s hotel-motel tax.

It’s also up to Jones and her staff to attract sponsors to help pay for events.

There’s a lot of moving parts, and Jones has to make sure they’re all moving in the right direction, but she’s quick to point out that she’s just one member of the team.

“I never want to take credit for anything,” Jones said. “I always say it’s ‘we’ — we’re a team. I never want to say ‘I did this,’ or ‘I did that.’ It’s always a team. I’m real firm on that. We both come up with it, or the community tells us something.”

Before taking on her current role, Jones had spent 30 years as a medical transcriptionist. Her path to her tenure as tourism director began with the coordination of a craft show during the city’s sesquicentennial (its 150th anniversary) in 2017. The show wound up being more of a success than Jones anticipated, and when she decided to take a more active role in the community, it coincided with a vacancy in the Tourism Department’s assistant director position. Jones was hired as assistant director in 2019 and became interim director in July 2020 when the previous director left the position. It was a role she would serve in until April 2021, when she was named director.

Jones assumed the interim director role during the height of the coronavirus pandemic, when stay-at-home mandates were taking a toll tourism everywhere. Getting people together again and making sure they were safe became on of Jones’ first missions. That’s when the idea hatched for Jammin’ on the Rock. Even though that event no longer takes place, it had a profound effect on the community, Jones said, and inspired a slew of additional events.

“Toward the fall, I wanted to do an event because nobody could do anything and we were all stuck at home,” Jones said. “It was Jammin’ on the Rock, and it was having musicians come and play for free. It was a very safe environment and everybody was very spread out sitting outside at the RB&W District to enjoy music.”

Jones said she received many “thank yous” during the first Jammin’ on the Rock from people who were excited just to be outside and active.

Today, she’s still giving people things to be thankful for, and you’ll often find her at the events the department coordinates, at an informational booth where she spreads the word about what Rock Falls has to offer, hears feedback and suggestions, and meets and greet out-of-town visitors, seeing the city through their eyes, as a great destination.

When the job is all about fun, the job is fun, she said.

“It doesn’t feel like a job, not at all,” Jones said. “I get to come in and do something fun. The community loves it, and it just makes me feel good. I love my job, every day. I don’t ever come in and go, ‘I don’t want to go to work today.’ I love to be able to promote Rock Falls. I love my community and I want what’s best for it.”

Find Visit Rock Falls on Facebook and Instagram, or go to visitrockfalls.com for an up-to-date calendar of events or for more information. Local tourism brochures can also be picked up at the Rock Falls Community Building, 603 W. 10th St.