Visit Lodi! dubs Lodi kayak shop owner tourism advocate of the year
For his efforts to promote Lodi as a kayaking and paddling region, Dan Arbuckle has been selected as Visit Lodi’s 2017 Tourism Advocate of the Year.
He will be honored during the annual Tourism Luncheon set for May 2 from 11:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. at Wine and Roses.
“Dan’s passion for kayaking and paddling go beyond his own enjoyment of the water, to how he showcases Lodi and everything we have to offer as a water enthusiast’s destination,” stated Visit Lodi! President and CEO Nancy Beckman. “Dan is truly an amazing guy. He is a big-picture thinker, a visionary — and a guy who knows how to get things done. It has been a joy to work with Dan on Visit Lodi’s promotions and media tours.”
Arbuckle was surprised to be receiving such an honor.
“I was totally shocked,” Arbuckle said. “I just never thought they would consider me for the award so I was really humbled and stunned.”
He felt that he was chosen for the award because his business is adding a new layer to tourism in Lodi.
“We bring a lot of other people from out of the area that otherwise wouldn’t have come to Lodi to experience our kayaking,” Arbuckle said. “We also add a lot of color and vibrancy to the community.”
He said he is very grateful to be receiving the award and expressed his appreciation to the community and city for their support.
“I just feel like I owe the business community, and the City of Lodi a lot of thanks for allowing my business to grow and believing in what we are doing,” Arbuckle said. “Without those sort of partnerships I wouldn’t have had the platform to stand on to really do and accomplish the things that Headwaters has been able to accomplish.”
Arbuckle is the owner of Headwaters Kayaks and has been in business for more than six years. He also runs the boathouse at Lodi Lake for the City of Lodi. He began his career in the kayak business by working at a local kayak shop, and when that business shut down Arbuckle decided he wanted to open a shop of his own. In 2010, he opened Headwaters Kayaking.
When he first opened the business, Arbuckle offered to run the boathouse for the city, but his offer was declined. Three years later Parks and Recreation Director Jeff Hood came to him with an opportunity to partner with the city and run the boathouse.
“I think after they saw I was successful and legitimate, they saw it as an opportunity to add revenue, relieve headaches and help grow the boathouse,” Arbuckle said.
So far, Hood is pleased with the services Arbuckle has been providing for the city over the years and his efforts to promote the city.
“Dan has been great for promoting the city,” Hood said. “It’s a well deserved honor. He’s been fantastic to work with at Lodi Lake, and he’s done a great job promoting the boathouse and recreation in general throughout Lodi.”
While he is being recognized for being a tourism advocate, Arbuckle said that wasn’t initially his intentions. His priority was to highlight the Mokelumne River and Lodi Lake.
“It’s one of the best flat water paddling destinations in California,” Arbuckle said. “It’s so calm and so quiet and such a unique piece of water that I was just trying to get as many people out there as I could to share the experience, and then people started coming from all over the place to see Lodi, go paddling and check out this water. Then I started to realize that I had a lot more potential that what I realized.”
In an effort to promote Lodi as a kayaking and paddling destination, Arbuckle hosts an annual paddling event.
“That’s a festival that brings the community together,” Arbuckle said. “We have live music, food trucks. We get people from all over the Northern California area to come out and try the kayaks. We do guided trips up the river, and it’s sort of like the kick off to the season.”
Partnering with other local businesses to create a synergy that brings people to Lodi is another way he promotes tourism. An example would be the Water to Wine tours where people can come to Lodi and go kayaking, have a nice lunch and check out some of the local wineries.
Future ideas to draw people to Lodi include promoting the use of the hashtag #paddleLodi in hopes of spreading the idea of Lodi as a paddling destination on the internet. He is also starting what he calls the Headwaters experience, which consists of day tours based from his shop and other paddling destinations.
In addition to promoting tourism for Lodi’s bodies of water, Arbuckle is an also an advocate for bike tourism in Lodi. He has been a member of Bike Lodi for a year.
“I’m a huge cycling advocate and I’m actually more of a bike person than I am a kayak person as far as my interest level,” he said
Arbuckle helps Bike Lodi with its social media presence, including photographing and documenting rides and writing blogs.
“Dan is an integral part of Bike Lodi,” Bike Lodi President Kathryn Siddle said. “He took Lodi Lake and he turned it into a really special place. You can’t go out there now and not see people on the water in all different forms.”
For those wishing to attend the luncheon and see Arbuckle honored, tickets are $40. Those planning to attend must RSVP by April 21. Call 209-365-1195 for more information.