Dear Wrestling families & enthusiasts

I had heard through the grapevine that there was a lot of conversation about the future of your event in Topeka on this site and logged on to find out for myself. Once I read the postings, I felt that I needed to register myself so that i could share the position of the community and Lodging Industry. I am the Director of Operations for Parrish Hotel Corp. here in Topeka, the Past President of the Topeka Lodging Assn and maintain constant contact with Visit Topeka Inc..

I can't possibly express to each of you in a short internet posting how much this community values your business. The Lodging Association membership has had continued conversations about how critical KS Kids Wrestling is to our community and what type of things we can do to make sure you all feel welcome while you are here. You will find local hoteliers (Lodging Association Representatives) in each of the hospitality suites at the Expo Center both on Saturday and Sunday. Please feel free to introduce yourselves and let us know if you have any problems at all with your respective hotel or elsewhere in the community.

On a second note, I appreciate several of the comments from others that recognize that there will be bad apples in whatever community you visit. Their are a very small handful of hotels here that give visitors to Topeka a very sour taste by drastic price inflation during major events in town. These are the same hotels that also don't maintain good relationships with the Visitors Bureau, Lodging Assn. or elsewhere in the community. I am very certain that the majority of you found rooms in the $60 to $100 range which is very standard for our market.

While in Topeka, please notice how many Restaurants and Hotels with marquee's welcome KS Kids Wrestling. We hope that you patronize those businesses that take the opportunity to welcome you to our community. I am pretty certain that you will recognize that Topeka appreciates your business.

I recognize and appreciate that Ks Kids Wrestling has been in Topeka for many years. The whole community appreciates that as well. There are many pro's & con's to moving your event to Wichita, but please know that the Topeka community values your business and will do what it takes to retain it. We hope to continue to support and host your event for many years to come.

Thank you for reading this lengthy posting.

Travel safely, enjoy your visit, and good luck.

Please feel free to contact me if there is anything I can do to make your visit to Topeka more comfortable.

Bill Michaud
Director of Operations
Parrish Hotel Corporation
bmichaud@parrishhotels.com
785.215.8242 (office)
785.213.7745 (cell)