Mar. 13—DICKINSON- With his unique blend of marketing, event planning, and multimedia skills, Joel Walters has become a driving force in promoting the city's growth and development. As the city's first marketing and events director, Walters is working to showcase Dickinson's many facets through a multimedia marketing approach and a series of community events.

We sat down with to learn more about Walters' story, his passion for music and his vision for the city he calls home.

Born and raised in Grand Forks, North Dakota is and always will be a place Walters is proud to call home.

"It's something that I'm very proud of and I think one of the pieces of my job that I love the most is promoting North Dakota and in this case Dickinson specifically..." Walters said noting that Dickinson is a well-kept secret.

Walter's role entails a mix of marketing, event planning, multimedia and videography and photography skills. From marketing the coming presidential library in Medora, to planning summer events at the upcoming Legacy Square space downtown, Walters spends the majority of his time working in one of his various roles.

Prior to his current position, Walters spent 16 years working for the Dickinson Convention and Visitors Bureau after graduating with undergraduate degrees in communications and music.

Fortunately for him, he has found a way to pursue both of his degrees as he is also an adjunct instructor at Dickinson State University where he teaches music and piano.

Walters is a pianist and a singer whose love for music is something that has followed him throughout his life, beginning as a child.

"My parents were very supportive of [music] and of course gave me and my siblings as much musical training as we could want growing up," Walters said.

When it came time for him to decide on a career, music was the logical choice he said, though he still had a strong interest in communications as well.

"I used to focus a little bit more heavily on music from a career standpoint, and now I've switched it back the other way, but both are still very much a part of my career," Walters said.

Between his job at the city, adjunct role at DSU, President of the Dickinson Area Concert Association, and volunteering on community boards, Walters spends most of his time balancing his roles, even if it doesn't always feel like work.

"I don't know that I necessarily have a hobby, I just have varying degrees of work," Walters laughed.

For Walters, his work is a blend of his hobbies where he is able to do music, but also other interests like photography and videography that he enjoys outside of work too.

In the spare time he does have, Walters of course loves spending time with his two dogs, one an American Bully and the other a Corgi-Healer Mix.

As for his plans for the community, he is working on a marketing campaign that shares the story of the city of Dickinson while highlighting the variety of elements the city has to offer.

"...we are industry, we are education, we are recreation, we are workforce, we are quality of life, all of these different ideas, and that's kind of the thought behind the campaign..." Walters said.

While Walters hopes to share the story of Dickinson with people new or looking to move to the area, he also wants to do a better job celebrating the city's story altogether.

"It is a story that has to be told," Walters said.

Through a multimedia marketing approach, he plans to do a video series that emphasizes each piece of the community each month.

With the upcoming opening of Legacy Square, Walters has a variety of ideas and plans for events to bring downtown from live music to cornhole tournaments.

"I'm hoping people will view this as kind of just like an outdoor space within the downtown area that they can come and be at, sit and have lunch at or whatever they want to do," Walter said.

Walters knew the opening of the marketing and event director position would be a good fit for him given his experience with marketing and multimedia, and it is a switch he enjoys.

"I love it, I'm really glad I made the change to step over into this role," Walters said.