Creating good Cromwell ambassadors should take precedence over supporting an inaugural wine event.
That was the decision this week of the Cromwell Community Board, which had to decide decide between two applications for promotions funding.
It had $6587 left in the promotions budget and applications for $6625 from the Cromwell and District Community Trust and $6500 from the Down to Earth Wine Celebration.
The trust planned, with the assistance of the Queenstown Resort College, to create a Cromwell version of an ambassador programme.
It would film local images and record stories from local identities to boost the knowledge of people engaging with visitors and the public, trust chairwoman Jacqui Rule said.
The ambassadors would then help the businesses they worked for and encourage visitors to stay longer in the community.
Event manager Bruce McGechan is organising the 12-day Down to Earth Wine Celebration, starting at Labour Weekend.
The event was initiated by Tourism Central Otago and Destination Queenstown, supported by the Central Otago Winegrowers Association.
Twenty-five of the 30 winegrowers involved were from the Cromwell basin, he said.
The Central Otago District Council's tourism market support officer Alison Mason recommended the wine event get the funding but at the board meeting, chairman and district councillor Neil Gillespie asked why ratepayer funds should go to the ventures.
Mr McGechan said Down to Earth Wine would generate more jobs and keep visitors in the area longer.
Ms Rule said it was important to get the ''basics'' of good service and ambassadorship right in a tourist town.
''Sometimes I think we're up and down and all over the show.''
Board member Gordon Stewart said he favoured ''local people doing things to benefit the town for free - that's what's more attractive to me''.
His colleague, Helen Hucklebridge, suggested splitting the promotions funding available between the two.
Cr Gillespie said he thought the wine industry needed to be contributing more towards the wine event and the ambassador programme was a ''wiser use of ratepayer funds''.
The board agreed to give $6500 for the ambassador programme and decline the Down to Earth events funding application.
The Vincent Community Board was also asked to give a grant to the wine event and agreed to give $2500.
