A sea change has happened in local tourism since Diane Medler took the reins at Discover Kalispell in 2010. To mark her retirement on Tuesday, Medler looked back on her years spent navigating the ever-changing trends and an influx of visitors to the area.  

Medler said Kalispell had not been marketed as a travel destination when she stepped into the executive director's position at the tourism bureau. Much of her job was letting people know where Kalispell was and what the city had to offer. 

“We're more than just a pass-through to Glacier National Park, right? So those early years were spent really developing our identity and our brand ... reasons why you should base your Northwest Montana vacation in Kalispell,” she said.  

The Kalispell Convention and Visitors Bureau had just been created when Medler accepted the position nearly 16 years ago.  

She worked across the U.S. during her early career, but Medler always knew she wanted to come back to Montana. She spent her first years in the Flathead Valley working as the marketing and advertising manager for Coldwell Banker Wachholz and Co. She told the Inter Lake in 2012 that she applied to work at the visitors bureau as a challenge.  

There would be challenges ahead in the years to come, as a wave of new visitors no longer meant that the region’s businesses would plan around the annual opening and closing of Glacier National Park’s Going-to-the-Sun Road. 

Though much of her focus is still on making sure tourists know about what Kalispell has to offer during their visit to Glacier National Park, other priorities would come into play — like organizing events in the off-season, establishing Kalispell as destination for business conferences and retreats and educating visitors on how to recreate here responsibly.  

The influx of visitors right after the Covid pandemic made her organization and others across Montana realize that they needed to change their strategy for marketing the area. They took a community-first approach, educating visitors on best practices for responsible travel and protecting local natural resources.  

“We're all travelers at some point ... so when we are visiting someplace, we need to respect their community,” Medler said. “Certainly, enjoy your vacation, but be mindful of your impact on a community. So, it’s the same thing here, right? We want visitors to enjoy their time here, but we also want them to be mindful of their impact and help us to protect this place.”  

Medler said this meant working with stakeholders at Montana Fish, Wildlife and Parks, the Forest Service and National Park Service to amplify their messaging about what visitors need to know when they travel here.  

In 2013, the organization helped facilitate the first Spartan Race in the area, which still takes place annually near Bigfork. The bureau also helped organize dragon boat races and the Montana Pond Hockey Classic, which drew in hockey enthusiasts locally and beyond for several winters.  

“We're proud of the events that the Discover Kalispell team and organizers [for those events] put on ... And Discover Kalispell will continue to prioritize that ... We've also been proud of the amount of grant funding we've been able to provide for local events, whether it's a youth soccer tournament, lacrosse tournament or the hockey events here at Woodland Park,” Medler said.  

Marketing the area correctly meant being able to tell an “authentic story” about the community, she added.  

“If you do it effectively and have a true authentic voice to your destination, and know what your target audience is, you can make those connections and help to move the needle  during the times of year that you want to,” she said.  

That also goes toward establishing Kalispell as a destination for business. Medler said the bureau’s group sales managers have made a big impact by talking with meeting planners from across the region, asking them to consider Kalispell as a location for their next conference.  

She said Discover Kalispell has always been a small but mighty team. She’s enjoyed little turnover at the bureau, as Visitor Center Coordinator Meche Ek has been there since 2012, in addition to “great marketing and communications managers.” She said they also have been able to rely on the larger team at the Kalispell Chamber of Commerce, which exists under the same umbrella as the visitors bureau.  

Medler said the future of Discover Kalispell is bright, though the structure of the organization may look different after her departure.  

Kalispell Chamber of Commerce President and CEO Lorraine Clarno will take over leadership of Discover Kalispell, in addition to her role at the chamber. Other roles at the organization will remain, like the group sales manager position (which they just hired someone to fill) as well as the visitor services manager and marketing and communications manager.  

“I'm feeling very optimistic and excited about the future of Discover Kalispell, and I think it's going to be very bright. I'll be watching from a distance, but continuing to cheer them on and volunteer where I can,” Medler said.  

Her retirement plans include some travelling and enjoying the rest of summertime in the Flathead Valley, but she isn’t ready to step back from efforts involving the community. Medler still sits on the Conrad Mansion Board of Directors and plans to keep an eye out for opportunities to volunteer with the chamber or Discover Kalispell.  

“I've certainly enjoyed being in the travel and tourism industry here in Montana—being able to promote this amazing place where we live, help drive customers to our businesses and  guests to our hotels,” she said.  

Reporter Taylor Inman can be reached at 406-758-4440 or [email protected]. If you value local journalism, pledge your support at dailyinterlake.com/support.