Ray LaVoie
Scott Dring doesn’t just love Dublin; he lives and breathes it. You can find him enjoying a bike ride through local parks, volunteering at the Dublin Irish Festival or visiting downtown restaurants and stores any day of the week.
When he’s not enjoying it for himself, he is constantly talking about Dublin, thanks in part to his role as the president and CEO of Visit Dublin, Ohio and the 25 years he has lived in the community.
Over the past two and a half decades, he has enjoyed watching the city expand and is excited for the opportunities the future holds.
Finding his passions
Ray LaVoie
When he was growing up in Centerville, Dring enjoyed boating at Caesars Creek State Park, visiting his family’s cabin in Kentucky and tailgating at OSU football games. He eventually went on to attend The Ohio State University, where he earned a Bachelor of Arts in Journalism in 1989.
With plans to pursue a career as a reporter, he moved to Washington, D.C., and began working for local publications. After a few months, he decided the field was not the right fit for him and found an opening at the U.S. Travel Association that would change the trajectory of his career.
“(Reporting) just wasn’t my thing, and it was hard to live in D.C. It was an expensive town,” Dring says. “I loved to write, but I found marketing and public relations and lucked into… the travel and tourism industry, and I’ve been in it ever since.”
In the coming years, he moved to Florida, where he worked for the Kissimmee-St. Cloud Convention & Visitors Bureau and The Zimmerman Agency for a few years before moving back to Ohio for a position with The Ohio Division of Travel and Tourism.
Scott Dring
While serving as the Division’s media spokesperson and assisting with the agency’s publications, Dring met his wife, Jennifer, who was working for the Ohio Legislative Service Commission, an agency the Division worked with at that time. In 2000, the two married and began planning their life together.
When looking for a place to put down roots and raise a family, there was one community that stood out to them. Having interned with the City of Dublin while working toward her undergraduate degree, Jennifer enjoyed her time there, and the two knew it would be a good fit.
“We saw the opportunity to come to Dublin to (put down) roots,” Dring says. “It’s a great community to raise a family. I think that was what drove us initially to come here, was the community as a whole.”
Growth of a family and a city
Scott Dring
In the coming years, while he and Jennifer watched their three children – Tyler, Olivia and Aidan – grow, they also watched from the sidelines as the city itself developed.
When Dring joined the visitors bureau in 2001, it had just moved into its own building and North High Street was the hub of activity as more businesses and organizations settled into the area.
While his kids attended and graduated from the Dublin City Schools, Dring watched the community become more connected thanks in part to the Downtown Dublin Strategic Alliance joining the historic and Bridge Park halves in spirit, as the Dublin Link connected them tangibly.
Scott Dring
As the community was growing and with events such as the Dublin Irish Festival and the Memorial Tournament drawing more attention and visitors, Visit Dublin worked to bring awareness to the resources, businesses and activities in the community.
“I always hear the quote, ‘Build it, they will come,’ and for me, it’s, ‘Build it, market it, then they’ll come,’ because there’s so much stuff out there,” Dring says.
From Fairy Door and Espresso Martini Trails to offering a free pint to travelers from Dublin, Ireland, he says the visitors bureau’s marketing campaigns over the years have brought in not only hundreds of regional and national awards but also attention to what the community and its businesses can offer.
“It’s not only for a destination purpose, but I think it raises the profile of the city,” Dring says. “Somebody might come here to visit, and they might want to live here someday (or) they might want to start a business here someday.”
Dring himself found ways to get involved in the community as a business professional, a father and a passionate community member. Over the years, he was a member of several boards and organizations, including the Ohio Travel Association, the Dublin City Schools Business Advisory Board and the Dublin Youth Athletics Board.
Future change
After years of being a part of the landscape changes in Dublin, Dring says there are several things on the horizon he is looking forward to, including the opening of SportsOhio.
As a member of the SportsOhio Steering Committee and having led Visit Dublin through years of research, studies and campaigning for the complex, he says the feeling of seeing it all come together is priceless.
“(SportsOhio) is going to be an amenity for our residents for years, and it’s going to attract world-class events down the road,” Dring says. “So, it’s still in its infancy (regarding) what SportsOhio can become, but it’s rewarding, it’s exciting to see. That was our vision 15 years ago, and now it’s reality.”
Dring has spent 25 years promoting the city he loves, and his drive to bring awareness to Dublin has never faltered. As he and Jennifer enjoy the life of empty nesters with all three children pursuing careers and furthering their educations, Dring enjoys living and working in the very community he works so hard to share with others.
“I think the next five to 10 years are going to be amazing,” he says. “(In) the future, it’ll be a whole new realm. Right now, we’re very much a regional destination, bordering on being a national destination, but I think it’s going to push us over nationally (with) the things happening here in the next five to 10 years.”
Rachel Hanz is the lead editor at CityScene Media Group. Feedback welcome at rhanz@cityscenemediagroup.com.
