The News & Observer reports today that the Greater Raleigh (as opposed to Lesser Raleigh?) Convention and Visitors Bureau is embarking on yet another one of those searches to figure out just what the city is all about, for the purposes of putting together a future marketing campaign (What was that song again, Jon Sanders? I’ll let you find and post):

“Many of the people we’ve talked to … are trying to figure out
what Raleigh is,” CEO Denny Edwards, who was hired in April, said after
the bureau’s annual luncheon Thursday at the RBC Center in Raleigh.

The
issue, Edwards said, is that Raleigh is changing as it adds
attractions, including the convention center that is being built in
downtown Raleigh….

The re-branding effort will involve research to “find out who we are,”
Edwards said. That will include interviewing visitors, meeting
planners, travel writers, local officials and others. Soliciting
comment from local residents through the bureau’s Web site also is
likely.

But Mr. Edwards need look no further than this morning’s “The Early Show” on CBS, which featured a segment on “Getting to Know Raleigh:”

Getting to know Raleigh means looking back ? and looking ahead.

It’s a town that takes its history seriously. “Raleigh, in my
opinion, really does a good job of preserving its history,” said
Dutchie Sexsmith, a tour guide on the tourist trolley that rolls
through Raleigh.

“Raleigh was not burned during the Civil War because the governor
at the time, Vance, sent a letter to General Sherman with a key to the
city saying we surrender, please protect our state capital. Sherman,
luckily, did respect our wishes and basically the rest of the city was
saved as well,” she explained.

There you have it! “Raleigh: French at Heart

P.S. The CBS story was brought to my attention by longtime Locke board member Tom Roberg, who is CEO for one of the technology companies featured in the “Early Show” report — LaamScience Inc.

Sorry to taint your proud moment, Tom!