Following an afternoon press release by the City of Oakdale stating it had been “rumored” that the city was considering changing its slogan and had no intentions of doing so, the Oakdale Tourism and Visitors Bureau sent out its own Friday night statement that it would forego the launch of “Pioneer Perfect” and embrace the city’s original motto “Cowboy Capital of the World.”

Many residents were irate after The Leader published a March 11 story regarding a presentation by OTVB Chairman Keith Boggs from the March 2 Oakdale City Council meeting introducing a marketing slogan of “Pioneer Perfect” to use on promotional materials.

Local media sites, chat rooms, and even traditional downtown conversations were centered on the displeasure of branding that wasn’t Oakdale’s identified “Cowboy Capital of the World” adage.

By Friday afternoon, March 13, Oakdale City Manager Bryan Whitemyer announced that it had been “rumored” that the city was considering changing its slogan.

“This is not true,” Whitemyer wrote in the release. “The City of Oakdale and its residents have long been proud to be the ‘Cowboy Capital of the World.’ Oakdale is and will always be the “Cowboy Capital of the World.”

That night Boggs and the OTVB issued their own press release which stated it would “embrace” the “Cowboy Capital Mantra.”

“In light of passionate community response to the “Pioneer Perfect” brand campaign as proposed by the Oakdale Tourism and Visitors Bureau,  the tourism working group has unanimously agreed to forego the launch of this effort and embrace the traditional community slogan “Cowboy Capital of the World, ” Boggs’ release stated. “We recognize that it takes a community to drive positive change and we are committed to building partnerships and fostering a collective spirit. To that end, the “Cowboy Capital of the World” brand slogan will replace the proposed “Pioneer Perfect” campaign recommendation.”

For the full story, read the March 18 edition of The Leader.