Welcome To Retirement: Diane Merson Took Sea Isle Tourism Into the Modern Age
Diane Merson with her husband, Ken.
Diane Merson, who cultivated and promoted Sea Isle City as a desirable destination in her role as its tourism representative for the past 27 years, recently retired.
“Since I called Sea Isle City home, it’s been a great place,” Merson says.
Marriage to Ken Merson brought the New York native to town as a resident in 1990. Three years later, she was hired as Sea Isle’s tourism rep. The first small office she occupied contained a typewriter and manual files.
“It was a step back,” Merson says. Her previous experience in the public relations and insurance fields involved working with computers. Within months, she had converted the tourism office’s manual file system to a computerized system.
“ ‘Techie’ is accurate” in describing her, Merson says without hesitation.
So, it’s no wonder that Merson counts the SIC mobile app and visitor website as two major milestones achieved during her time as tourism representative.
“We did accomplish a lot,” she says of these tools she and her co-workers put into place. They matter because they “really help to put information into visitors’ hands easily,” the seasoned tourism expert explains.
SIC’s visitor homepage address is visitsicnj.com. The official Sea Isle City free mobile app is available for either iPhone in or Android; it can be found at visitsicnj.com/mobile-app.
In addition to technical matters, Merson managed the Tourism Center; scheduled, planned and oversaw festivals and events like Skimmer Festival, Fall Family Festival, Movies Under the Stars, concerts and more; coordinated the Visitors Guide & Events Schedule; oversaw marketing and advertising; and acted as board secretary for the Tourism Commission.
“Diane was the glue that held each tourism committee together,” says Tourism Commission Chairman Jim Bennett. “She was an excellent administrator and operator.” Bennett notes that Merson was the “forerunner” for the development and success of both SIC’s Skimmer Festival Weekend and the Fall Family Festival.
Bennett counts working with Merson back in 1999 on the first Baby Boomers Rock ‘n’ Roll Revival, featuring Jerry Blavat, as one of his “fondest memories.” Another was pulling together the first Polar Bear Plunge in 1995 with Merson and the late Irene Jameson, Sea Isle’s beloved first public relations director and the Plunge’s originator and queen.
Annamarie Germanio, former Tourism Commission vice chairman, recalls how effectively Merson worked with Jameson, as well as marketing consultant and Sea Isle Times publisher Monica Coskey, in professionalizing Sea Isle’s tourism promotion efforts.
“Diane was absolutely, positively wonderful to work with in every way,” Germanio says. “She was dedicated, working many extra hours, day and night, for many years.”
From Merson’s perspective, “It was always a busy job with a new audience every year. We grew by adding things,” and not just any old way, she adds. “I always said that first impressions meant everything. You always have to do it right from the start!”
Katherine Custer, Sea Isle City’s director of community services and public information officer, considers herself “fortunate” to have worked with Merson since 2007. They became next-door office neighbors when the Tourism Welcome Center opened in 2012.
“Diane was exceptionally good at her job. She always strived to host the best events possible and create the best marketing campaigns,” says Custer. “I always called her ‘my model of efficiency.’”
Not only that, “Diane completely understood the tourism industry,” Custer adds. “She had her finger on the pulse of it in Sea Isle City and in the region.”
Even in retirement, Merson notes how Sea Isle City’s housing trends affected past tourism promotion efforts and how today’s trend might affect future tourism promotion efforts. In her 30 years as a resident, Merson watched as old cottages were torn down and duplexes were built up. Today the duplexes are disappearing, she muses, and larger, more elaborate homes are being built. Sea Isle is seeing more homeownership now and fewer rentals. This transition affects visitor traffic, especially during the summer season. These days, the town is full from Thursday through Sunday. Midweek, visitor traffic is light due to fewer rentals.
Those new tourism patterns will be addressed by the two people who will be taking over Diane’s former responsibilities.
New tourism representative Chris Oney will manage media and marketing efforts for Sea Isle City and serve as board secretary for the Tourism Commission. Oney began his position in March, which did not allow him much transition time working directly with Merson. First, they labored on job transitioning in person, then virtually due to the COVID-19 pandemic shutdown. But Oney had known and worked with Merson in the past. During his eight years as a Cape May County Chamber of Commerce employee, SIC’s new tourism rep worked with Merson in conjunction with the Cape May County Department of Tourism at the annual Philadelphia Flower Show.
“Diane has a real heart for Sea Isle City,” says Oney. In his new role, Oney plans to “keep her legacy and build on her projects … keep what works and add some new.”
Longtime tourism assistant Trish Jackson will now manage Sea Isle City events in conjunction with the recreation department. Running events solo should come naturally, says Jackson, who has been with the SIC Tourism Office for more than 12 years. She worked side-by-side with Merson in seeing that events and festivals ran smoothly.
“It’s been nice working with Diane,” says Jackson. “I wish her an enjoyable retirement.”
After promoting tourism, Merson initially approached retirement as the ideal time to be a tourist. Traveling is a favorite pastime for Merson and her husband. The couple vacationed in plenty of places including London, Paris, Prague and beyond. With retirement on the horizon, Diane and Ken Merson eyed Portugal as their next destination. That plan has been put on hold until more is known about traveling safely in the aftermath of the pandemic.
SIC’s retired tourism rep will be content for now taking trips closer to home.
