Sandy Price's Legacy in Transforming City Tourism

Ask anyone in the tourism industry who the go-to person for all things Oklahoma City and they will say Sandy Price. Sandy was promoting Oklahoma City before MAPS invested so heavily in the community’s quality of life —when our city’s offerings were limited to the Oklahoma City Zoo, Cowboy Hall of Fame (now the National Cowboy & Western Heritage Museum), the Crystal Bridge,the Stockyards, and the original Skirvin. But the limited number of attractions never deterred Sandy from being what one colleague called “the perfect brand ambassador for Oklahoma City.”  

As our city evolved with new attractions, hotels, restaurants and events, it became a true destination that attracted people from across the globe. Sandy continued to spread the word locally, nationally and internationally, equally as proud as she was when the selection was small. 

After four decades promoting the city she dearly loves, Sandy recently retired from VisitOKC, where she served as Vice President of Tourism. We sat down with Sandy to talk about some of her favorite memories and future plans. 

What will you miss most about working at VisitOKC? 

I will miss the team, the people I’ve come to know and love and the opportunity to interact with the community. There is a camaraderie in our industry that is like no other and it has been such a joy to be a part of telling Oklahoma City’s story. I’ll miss all of that. We have such a great team at VisitOKC and I will absolutely miss working with them every day. 

I’ve always loved my job, but it became really fun when our residents learned to love and be proud of Oklahoma City. When people asked me what I did, they would always ask “why would people want to come here?” For the longest time, our toughest customers were our own residents. I always think back to the morning the Bricktown Canal opened and that is when everything shifted. With MAPS people saw we were building the things we said we would and doing it well. And that is why people have continued to vote and support all the MAPS campaigns. They are seeing value in the projects being built whether they use them or not—they know it is for the good of our city and its continued growth. 

What do you see in store for tourism in Oklahoma City? 

Nothing but growth, there will continue to be new things for years to come—restaurants, attractions, new exhibits, sports—the sky is the limit. Someone asked me how I could leave this job at a time when there is so much ahead. There will always be things coming to Oklahoma City and I think the next five years will be exceptionally busy. I am excited to watch it all happen. 

Was there a question you were always asked about Oklahoma/Oklahoma City? 

Always about the weather and tornadoes, our Native American culture, if we had cowboys and lived on farms or reservations. What I found when sharing Oklahoma City was that it was a blank slate, there wasn’t a bad sense of Oklahoma City, just no sense at all so I loved shaping those opinions and thoughts. Things that were unexpected about our city, like the Chihuly exhibit, our public art, our pocket neighborhoods, our amazing food scene, the Asian District, and all our unique communities--things they had no idea about, but I could help paint a picture and shape opinions. 

You spent a lot of time promoting Oklahoma City internationally. Why was there so much interest in Oklahoma City? 

They grew up on the romance of cowboys and Indians and were just fascinated by Oklahoma. I remember the second year I went to ITB Berlin, a Native American dancer came with us and during a press conference he performed a traditional dance in his tribal regalia. I saw a German man, probably in his 80s, with tears streaming down his face as he watched. Afterwards I went over to him, and he said, “all my life I’ve wanted to see a real Native American dancer and now I have.” 

When international visitors came to Oklahoma City they were enamored by Route 66, and when we brought them to the Stockyards they never wanted to leave. They loved watching the cattle auction. Things we might take for granted living here are so special to others and I loved sharing that. I also had to let them know to expect people to want to talk to them, ask questions, and maybe even sit down with them—they weren’t used to people being so friendly. But just as they were curious about us, people in restaurants or at a museum might hear them speak and hear their accent and want to know all about where they were from and why they were here. I loved watching those interactions.  

What are you most looking forward to about retirement? 

Time with my family and my mom. I am also looking forward to being involved with my grandkids and their activities. But I have hope that I will somehow always be a part of the visitor side of Oklahoma City and sharing our story, whether it is serving as a docent or volunteer in some capacity, maybe speaking to groups about Oklahoma City. People I work with have listened to me talk for 40 years and they are probably ready to hear from someone else but since I am never at a loss for words, I think I still have plenty I can share.