Evaluation Summary
January 25-27, 2 y 2009 Ch hattanoog Marrio and Co ga ott onvention Center n
Prepa ared for th Tennes he ssee Depar rtment of A Agriculture and the Tennessee Agritour T e rism Initia ative Steer ring Comm mittee by
Meg L. Bruch gan h Marke eting Special list
CPA Info #160 o
March 2009 M
Executive Summary
The 2009 Agritourism: Cultivating Farm Revenue conference was held January 25‐27 at the Chattanooga Marriott and Convention Center. A total of 164 people attended the conference. The conference provided an opportunity for participants to learn through pre‐conference tours, educational sessions, a trade show, networking opportunities and educational materials. Participants were asked to complete a form to evaluate their experiences at the 2009 conference and previous conferences. Completed forms totaled 75 for a 44 percent response rate. Agritourism operators and farmers interested in agritourism made up 87 percent of respondents. Tourism industry professionals and agricultural industry professionals and/or educators made up 5 percent of respondents each. The remaining three percent of respondents indicated the other category. Respondents were also asked to rate several components of the conference on a scale of 1=Poor, 2=Fair, 3=Average, 4=Good and 5=Excellent. All components received a score of 3.97 or higher. Cumulative effectiveness scores for sessions ranged from a high of 96 percent to a low of 72 percent. The average cumulative effectiveness score was 82 percent. The top three cumulative effectiveness scores were for the sessions called Increasing Sales and Profits as a Destination Business, Marketing Roundtable and Safety Matters. Respondents were asked to signify whether or not knowledge or skills were gained in several areas as an indication of short‐term conference impacts. Results included the following: 63 percent reported that the conference had increased their awareness of agritourism as an opportunity to add value to farm resources and foster rural economic development 64 percent reported they gained knowledge and/or skills to manage risk 84 percent reported they gained knowledge and/or skills to market their enterprise
59 percent reported they gained knowledge and/or skills improve returns from their agritourism operation Respondents were asked to describe how they would use the information learned at the conference. The most responses, 15, were received on two topics related to improving or expanding an enterprise and marketing. Eleven respondents planned to use the information learned to evaluate business ideas. Respondents also planned to use information for safety and risk management considerations and to assist clients. Participants were asked to indicate how likely they were to attend a similar conference next year. Three quarters of respondents indicated they were very likely to attend, and 19 percent indicated they were likely to attend. A variety of topics were suggested for future trainings including management issues, existing operator experiences, marketing, enterprise‐ specific topics and regulations. The evaluation also asked questions about attendance at previous conferences. More than a third of respondents had attended the 2008 conference, 18 percent attended the 2007 conference, 17 percent attended the 2005 conference and 31 percent were attending their first conference.
For the 37 respondents who attended the 2008 conference, impacts of the 2008 conference included:
41 percent reported and analyzed the potential of a new agritourism enterprise 32 percent of respondents indicated they used the information to expand attractions for their existing operations 27 percent indicated they used the information to assist agritourism operators and farmers interested in agritourism 27 percent implemented new or improved marketing strategies 29 percent used the information to implement new or improved strategies to manage risk on their agritourism enterprise 15 respondents indicated their agritourism net income increased (12 respondents reported increases in net revenue of $31,200) 5 respondents indicated that they added 54 additional personnel to their enterprise
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Conference Overview
The 2009 Agritourism: Cultivating Farm Revenue conference was held January 25‐27 at the Chattanooga Marriott and Convention Center. A total of 164 people attended the conference. Attendance at previous conferences is provided in Table 1. Table 1. Attendance at Previous Conferences The conference provided an opportunity for participants Year Location Attendance to learn through pre‐conference tours, educational 2005 Franklin 284 sessions, a trade show, networking opportunities and 2007 Pigeon Forge 205 educational materials. 2008 Paris Landing 249 State Park Participants were asked to complete a form to evaluate their experiences at the 2009 conference and previous conferences. Completed forms totaled 75 for a 44 percent response rate. Questions from the evaluation form are listed in the appendix.
The evaluation form first asked respondents to indicate the best term that described their role and interest in agritourism from a list of five responses. Potential responses included agritourism operator, farmer interested in agritourism, tourism industry professional, agriculture industry professional/educator and other. Agritourism operators and farmers interested in agritourism made up 87 percent of respondents (Figure 1). Tourism industry professionals and agricultural industry professionals and/or educators made up 5 percent of respondents each. Figure 1. Participant Role and Interest in Agritourism (n=75)
Agriculture Industry Professional/Educator 4 5% Tourism Industry Professional 4 5% Other 2 3%
Farmer Interested in Agritourism 28 37%
Agritourism Operator 38 50%
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Since this was the fourth statewide agritourism conference held, it is interesting to know how many respondents had participated in previous conferences. As shown in Figure 2, 37 respondents attended the 2008 conference, 20 attended the 2007 conference, 18 attended the 2005 conference and 34 were attending their first conference. Fifty‐one respondents participated in one previous conference, eight participated in two other conferences and 14 attended all of the previous three conferences.
Figure 2. Previous Conference Attendance
First Timers 34 31%
2008 37 34%
2005 18 17%
2007 20 18%
Evaluation of the 2009 Conference
Respondents were also asked to rate several components of the conference on the following scale: 1=Poor, 2=Fair, 3=Average, 4=Good and 5=Excellent. Those components included pre‐conference tour, conference registration, conference notebook, selection of topics, quality of sessions/speakers, conference facilities, trade show, meals, Monday evening event and value for the respondents’ enterprise/profession. As shown in Figure 3, all components received a score of 3.97 or higher. Registration received the highest average rating with 4.78. The conference notebook received an average rating of 4.70, and the conference facilities were rated at 4.67. The quality of sessions/speakers received an average rating of 4.46, and the Monday evening event received a 4.42. The value gained for the respondent’s enterprise/profession received a 4.39. The selection of topics and pre‐conference tour were rated on average at 4.30 and 4.13, respectively. Meals received an average rating of 4.11, and the trade show was rated on average at 3.97. 2
Figure 3. Average Ratings for Various Conference Components
5.00 4.50
4.78 4.42 4.13
4.70 4.30 4.46
4.67 4.39 3.97 4.11
Average Rating ( 1=Poor, 5=Excellent)
4.00 3.50 3.00 2.50 2.00 1.50 1.00 0.50 0.00
Respondents were asked to indicate the effectiveness of each session they attended in improving knowledge, usefulness and quality of instruction by utilizing a rating scale ranging from 1=Not Effective to 10=Very Effective. Average ratings are listed in Table 2. Cumulative effectiveness scores for the sessions have been calculated in percentage terms and used to evaluate the combined effectiveness of improving knowledge, usefulness and quality of instruction. The scores were calculated by adding the average rankings for each of the three categories and then dividing by the highest possible score (30=10 possible points per category x 3 categories). The cumulative effectiveness scores are also listed in Table 2. Cumulative effectiveness scores for sessions ranged from a high of 96 percent to a low of 72 percent. The average cumulative effectiveness score was 82 percent. The top three cumulative effectiveness scores were for sessions called Increasing Sales and Profits as a Destination Business, Marketing Roundtable and Safety Matters.
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Table 2. Session Effectiveness
Sessions Number Responding Average Rating on a scale of 1 (Not Effective) to 10 (Very Effective) Improved Quality of Usefulness Knowledge Instruction 7.29 8.12 8.08 7.70 8.04 8.39 7.76 9.56 8.46 7.22 8.25 6.70 7.86 8.11 7.95 7.81 8.69 7.84 9.59 8.50 7.51 8.27 7.51 8.38 8.54 8.60 7.77 8.58 8.84 9.76 8.98 7.72 8.73 Cumulative Effectiveness Score
Sunday Pre‐Conference Tours Monday General Sessions Agritourism in Action: Boyd Orchards The Ins and Outs of On‐Farm Food Service Concurrent Sessions Evaluating Your Resources Mystery of the Motor Coach Market Revealed Safety Matters Who needs records anyway? Tuesday General Sessions Increasing Sales and Profits as a Destination Business Marketing Roundtable Liability Legislation and Insurance Lessons Learned from the Agritourism in Action Educational Bus Tour 59 44 36 30 96% 87% 75% 84% 42 26 36 31 81% 79% 86% 82% 64 45 81% 82% 42 72%
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Participants were asked to indicate whether or not the conference experience had increased their awareness of agritourism as an economic development opportunity and increased their knowledge in managing risk, marketing their enterprise and improving returns from their operation. Results included the following: 63 percent reported that the conference had increased their awareness of agritourism as an opportunity to add value to farm resources and foster rural economic development 64 percent reported they gained knowledge and/or skills to manage risk 84 percent reported they gained knowledge and/or skills to market their enterprise 59 percent reported they gained knowledge and/or skills improve returns from their agritourism operation
Planned Use of Information Learned Respondents were asked to describe how they would use the information learned at the conference. Comments were grouped according to related topics and counted. Topics, example comments and number of comments received are listed in Table 3. The most responses, 15, were received on two topics related to improving or expanding an enterprise and marketing. Eleven respondents planned to use the information learned to evaluate business ideas. Respondents also planned to use information for safety and risk management considerations and to assist clients.
Table 3. Planned Use of Information Learned Topic and Example Comment Improve/Expand Enterprise
We will use the information to venture into some new areas that we have not done yet. Refine activities in our enterprise.
Number of Comments 15
Marketing
Build a more effective Web site. Update our marketing plan. Re‐evaluate our farm from a guest safety standpoint and make improvements. We will join more trade associations to benefit from joint marketing. We will evaluate other means of increasing revenue, without increasing risk exponentially. We will improve our signage and marketing materials.
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Evaluate Business Ideas
It has helped me realize all things that need to be taken into consideration. Networking and ideas are great, but it helped identify the many details that must be considered in the decision making process. To begin brainstorming for agritourism add‐on ideas for the farm. Establish a general business plan and pursue cultivating revenue.
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Safety and Risk Management
Use of some knowledge gained will benefit our farm in improving safety measures and advertising new events.
5
Assist Others
Assist farm families in developing farm plans and adding agritourism as a diversification option for their farm.
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Suggestions for Improvement of Conference Respondents were asked to indicate how the conference could have been improved. Suggestions from respondents for ways to improve the conference are summarized into four topic categories in Table 4 including considerations for sessions, conference logistics, trade show and other.
Table 4. Summary of Suggestions for Conference Improvement
Category Summary of Comments Have more speakers directly involved in agritourism like the 2007 and 2008 conferences. (10 comments) The beginner sessions were very basic (as designed, I suppose), but the corresponding advanced sessions were somewhat specific (only a certain enterprise will pursue bus tours), so they weren't of particular interest. Maybe add a generic "Discuss what works" open discussion session for folks who don't want the other sessions. I would have liked at least one more session in each concurrent session. They were good, but only one beginner and one advanced per session. If your farm is beginning and 2 people attend the conference, there is only one session for them to participate. If 2 beginning and 2 advanced per session you could split up and gain double knowledge at this conference. There didn't seem to be as strong of speakers/diversity of programs this year. Ask agritourism operators from other areas to bring ideas, what to do, what not to do. I would have liked to see a session on the importance of and steps to build a website. More technical and marketing issues and less of entrepreneur activities. More livestock‐oriented issues ‐ hogs or cows or large poultry. Horses; petting areas; specialty livestock. Better topics, smaller diversified groups. Hear from a resource person (general session) that could then work individually with you for long term site plans. Instructors could improve session with expansion on PPT rather than reciting bullet points. Make sure hand outs are legible. Visual projections were not good on all the presentations ‐ appeared it was a projector issue. Meals were disappointing. Tuesday breakfast was cold. Monday lunch ‐ best meal with buffet hot food. Monday evening ‐ fair. Tuesday lunch – poor. (5 comments) Have conference in smaller town. Facility: recycling trash bins needed in the large hall. More vans on the tour. More economical hotel. I feel it was wonderful, though I would have liked to have seen a larger trade show. Lowering the cost for exhibit entry may encourage a larger participation. (3 comments) Would like to have more info on getting supplies for farm‐venders etc. Contest awards seemed chosen from previous success stories. Judging should be more independent. Introduce government employees on the front end. Like contests on marketing materials.
Considerations for Sessions (21 comments)
Conference Logistics (9 comments)
Trade Show (5 comments) Other (4 comments)
Participants were asked to indicate how likely they were to attend a similar conference next year. Three quarters of respondents indicated they were very likely to attend, and 19 percent indicated they were likely to attend.
Suggestions for Future Program Topics 6
When asked to provide suggestions of topics to include at future conferences, respondents gave a wide variety of responses. The responses have been listed in Table 5 by categories including management issues, existing operator experiences, marketing, enterprise‐specific topics, regulations and other. Table 5. Suggestions of Topics for Future Programs Management Issues
Financial management software for farms. Family business/communication issues. Family/employee balance issues. Estate planning ‐ developing a succession plan. Training your employees. Specific program to define lobby efforts to get liability relief. Business structures to limit risk of major liability. More tax information i.e. farm small business farm Repeat the "Who needs records" missed it for safety. Repeat safety. Rules and regulations for the state of Tennessee. Dealing with the public. Business structure. Taxes info. Flow of people to optimize sales and reduce stress. Include brief but more detailed review of Quicken QuickBooks. Examples of use with agritourism. More on business design i.e.: sole proprietorship, LLC etc. Employee education/customer service issues.
Existing Operator Experiences
More “who are doing it” – explain how they started and keep it going and growing. What did you do new, what worked for you, other profit opportunities, what are other operations around the country doing, is anybody having success with sponsorships? What prices are people charging? Time given to a panel Q&A, discussion with successful agritourism operators. Nice to get professional advice, but "Teachers teach" and having chance to hear more about profit potential from those taking steps (put their money down). Anything about new things to have ‐ tours of businesses. Small operations in agritourism (Mom and Pop operations). What worked what didn't/ What flew, what flopped. More livestock facilities/information. Too much corn mazes and pumpkin patches. Low cost/high impact souvenirs and concessions. Start‐up costs. Lessons learned (mistakes made). Things we tried that were (weren't) successful. How to workshops on various things from individual activities at the farm and "a day in the life" schedule of agritourism operator like you always do…the more info the better (specifics). Sharing ideas about what others do on their farms. More ideas beyond the same boring 8 agritourism business ideas. Need something fresh. Marketing Marketing, Internet/website marketing. More website development/Internet marketing. Print Advertising, newspaper. Website/blogging design. Detailed website development/management. More on designing marketing materials. Website/brochure development. More on creating and marketing your farm. Better specifics on websites, direct mail, newsletters.
Table 5. Suggestions of Topics for Future Programs (continued) 7
Enterprise‐Specific Topics
Maybe more educational ideas for school tours. How to design and layout your retail space. Info on festivals ‐ types and how to organize them and get people to attend. Info on what is selling well in other people's retail/gift shops. For those wanting educational tours with school groups it may be helpful to have examples of activities or lesson plans for agriculture (such as Ag in the classroom). Developing curriculum for school tours. Direct marketing meat/pastured chickens fruits and vegetables. Direct marketing of meat and vegetables.
Regulations
Sales Tax. Handling employees and payroll taxes. Tax benefits ‐ LLC vs. sole proprietor. Any updates on legal, insurance issues. Liability/Regulations always informative. Taxes ‐ (sales, F&E, and federal income).
Other
Herbicides and insecticides – irrigation. Equipment info ‐ pesticides and herbicides. More info on where to get supplies such as containers for potted plants. More on farming itself. Domestic kitchen.
Participants learn about record keeping with a “Money Habitudes” card game during a breakout session by UT Extension Area Farm Management Specialists, Laura Howard and Alice Rhea.
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Respondents were given the opportunity to make other comments and suggestions on the evaluation form. These comments were grouped by category and included in Table 6. Table 6. Summary of Other Comments and Suggestions
Sessions/Trade Show Try to get some web hosting and design companies to speak and attend the trade show. Good college professors engage, stimulate and promote dialogue. This is a proven fact. Monologue lectures are the least effective. Extend conference to three days if necessary. Lectures are informative but more is learned on breaks. There is a reason for this. Have time for more detailed idea exchange. Those investigating agritourism need numbers. I really enjoyed the destination business/marketing roundtable. This was very useful and fun. Thank you for all the wonderful speakers. Schallert was amazing! Great choice! Smaller group discussions with group leaders. Group discussions on different topics on setting up food service on your operation, requirements for certain agritourism operations in dairy, cheese, farm dinners. Business consultants to sit with to review each farmer’s situation. Conference Logistics Why not use state park? I noticed Dec‐Feb $49.95. Fantastic Facilities ‐ thank you! Address of location for MapQuest search, a map of facility was great, but we had to get here first. The conference notebook was excellent with most PP slides included! The pre‐registration and sign‐in process was first rate! And the mini notebooks are very nice. Really well laid out trade show. Not just chicken on one day but twice in one day. Better vegetarian choices. The food offered at lunch and dinner was very poor quality. Fruit on the break tables. Need complimentary coffee and light breakfast food in mornings available at trade show meeting area before first session. Could skip plated breakfast. Get sponsors for continental breakfast. If someone has a question please have microphone available and cards are great! Good conference but enjoyed 08 more ‐ speakers and location. Good refreshments. Good organization of schedule. Why not allow 2nd person attend half price? From same farm ‐ KY's price is $75.00. Overall Comments on Conference My first Agritourism conference. Opens a whole new can of questions A+. I really enjoyed the conference. I learned a lot about marketing and use of websites. All of the speakers were great. Really enjoyed Jon Schallert. Jon Schallert was great! A lot of useful info that addresses the main issues mentioned in your "Agritourism in Focus" book. Advertising, marketing and promotions. Thank you ‐ your hard work and preparation are appreciated! Everything was great. I appreciate all the time, energy and hard work that were put into this good job! Thank you for promoting this event it is more than I had expected toward information and start up in every area. Good job! It's hard to please everyone ‐ but you sure try. Very good conference. Great place to network. If we had only heard Jon Schallert it would have been worth the registration.
Previous Conference Experience and Impact
Another objective of the 2009 conference evaluation form was to determine if attendees who had attended the 2008 Agritourism: Cultivating Farm Revenue Conference at Paris Landing State Park had experienced any intermediate or long‐term impacts from that conference. Those that had attended the 2008 conference were asked to answer three additional questions about how they used the information and results encountered between January 2008 and January 2009. 9
The respondents were asked to indicate how they had used information learned at the 2008 conference by selecting all that applied from a list of six options (Table 7). Of the 37 respondents who indicated they attended the 2008 conference, 41 percent indicated they used the information to analyze the potential of a new agritourism enterprise. Twelve percent expanded attractions for their existing operations while 27 percent assisted farmers or implemented new marketing strategies. New enterprises were developed and opened by 19 percent of respondents. Eleven percent or respondents implemented new or improved risk Tim Prather presents a breakout session on safety. management strategies. Table 7. Number and Percent of Respondents Using 2008 Conference Information by Type of Use
Description of Use Analyzed the potential for a new agritourism enterprise Expanded the attractions on your existing agritourism enterprise Assisted agritourism operators or farmers’ interested in agritourism Implemented new or improved marketing strategies on your agritourism enterprise Developed and opened a new agritourism enterprise Implemented new or improved strategies to manage risk on your agritourism enterprise (safety, insurance, etc.) Number 15 12 10 10 7 4 Percent 41% 32% 27% 27% 19% 11%
Twelve respondents indicated their net income increased due to information learned at the conference. Seven respondents reported increases in net revenue totaling $31,200. In addition, other respondents indicated increases of $5,000 gross, 10% and “tripled.” Five respondents indicated that they added personnel to their enterprise following the 2008 conference. A total of 54 jobs were reportedly added by these enterprises.
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Appendix 2009 Agritourism: Cultivating Farm Revenue Conference Evaluation
Please help evaluate the conference by completing this form. Return the completed form to the conference registration desk or to facilitators at the final general session.
1. Which one of the following terms best describes your role and interest in agritourism? ___Agritourism operator ___Farmer interested in agritourism ___Tourism industry professional ___Agriculture industry professional/educator (Extension, TDA, etc.) ___Other (Please specify.) ____________________________ 2. Which of the following conferences have you attended in the past? ___2008 conference at Paris Landing ___2007 conference in Pigeon Forge ___2005 conference in Franklin ___None of the above If you attended the conference in Pigeon Forge last year, please continue with question #3. If not, skip to #6. 3. Which of the following did you do with information you learned from the 2008 agritourism conference? (Check all that apply.) ___Analyzed the potential for a new agritourism enterprise ___Developed and opened a new agritourism enterprise ___Expanded the attractions on your existing agritourism enterprise ___Implemented new or improved strategies to manage risk on your agritourism enterprise (safety measures, insurance coverage, etc.) ___Implemented new or improved marketing strategies on your agritourism enterprise ___Assisted agritourism operators or farmers’ interested in agritourism 4. With information you learned at the 2008 conference, did your 2007 agritourism net income increase? ___Yes How much? $_______________ ___No 5. Following the 2008 conference, did you add additional personnel/jobs to your agritourism enterprise? ___Yes How many? ___________________ ___No
Please continue with Question 6.
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6. For the 2009 conference, please indicate the effectiveness of each session you attended, on a scale of 1 (not effective) to 10 (very effective), in improving knowledge, usefulness and quality of instruction.
Sessions
Sunday
Improved Knowledge
Usefulness
Quality of Instruction
---Rate on a scale of 1 (Not Effective) to 10 (Very Effective)---
Pre-Conference Tours
Monday General Sessions
Agritourism in Action: Boyd Orchards The Ins and Outs of On-Farm Food Service
Concurrent Sessions
Evaluating Your Resources Mystery of the Motor Coach Market Revealed Safety Matters Who needs records anyway?
Tuesday General Sessions
Increasing Sales and Profits as a Destination Business Marketing Roundtable Liability Legislation and Insurance Lessons Learned from the Agritourism in Action Educational Bus Tour
7. Please rate the following by circling the number corresponding to the applicable rating: Excellent Good Average Fair Poor Pre-Conference Tour 5 4 3 2 1 Conference Registration 5 4 3 2 1 Monday Evening Event 5 4 3 2 1 Conference Notebook 5 4 3 2 1 Selection of Topics 5 4 3 2 1 Quality of Sessions/Speakers 5 4 3 2 1 Conference Facilities 5 4 3 2 1 Trade Show 5 4 3 2 1 Meals 5 4 3 2 1 Value for Your 5 4 3 2 1 Enterprise/Profession 8. Which of the following did you accomplish at this conference? (Check all that apply.) ___I increased my awareness of agritourism as an opportunity to add value to farm resources and foster rural economic development. ___I gained knowledge and/or skills to manage risk. ___I gained knowledge and/or skills to market my enterprise. ___I gained knowledge and/or skills to improve returns from my agritourism operation.
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mation you l learned at this conferen nce? 9. How will you use the inform
_____ ______ _______ _______ _______ ______ _______ _______ __
10. How could this conference h c have been im mproved?
_____ ______ _______ _______ _______ ______ _______ _______ __
11. How did you learn about th conference? (Check a that appl he all ly.) ___Te Tennessee Agritourism T Ag Today News sletter ___N Newspaper/m magazine ar rticle ___D Direct postal mail l ___D Direct e-mail l ___Referred by friend f ___O Other (Please specify.) _ e ____________ ___________ ____________ ___________ ___________ _ 12. How likely are you to attend a similar conference next year? y ___V Very Likely ___So omewhat Li ikely ___So omewhat Unlikely U ___V Very Unlikel ly u ewhat Unlik kely” or “Ver Unlikely to attend a similar co ry y” onference ne ext 13. If you are “Some year as indicated in questio #12, please discuss y d on your reason( below: (s)
_____ ______ _______ _______ _______ ______ _______ _______ __
14. If add ditional edu ucational wo orkshops or conferences are held, w what topics should be inclu uded on the program?
_____ ______ _______ _______ _______ ______ _______ _______ __
15. Othe comments and suggestions: er s
_____ ______ _______ _______ _______ ______ _______ _______ __
Th hank you for providing us with you valuable feedback. H r ur Have a safe t trip home!
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