The new director of the Cortez Retail Enhancement Association has vowed to streamline the organization’s local marketing efforts. There are some 100,000 potential retail customers within a 100-mile radius of Cortez.

“We want to get more bang for the buck,” said Mark Drudge, hired as CREA’s executive director in the spring.

Drudge told city leaders this week that CREA’s Cortez Cash program, for example, currently acted as more of a subsidy for large corporations rather than its intended goal of driving customers to local businesses. Over the past five years, 70 percent of Cortez Cash dollars were spent at either Wal-Mart or City Market.

“It’s a $30,000 annual subsidy,” Drudge told city council members Tuesday, Sept. 23. “It’s intent was to have people spend money on unplanned expenses rather than buying groceries.”

Drudge added the Cortez Cash program was a labor-intensive burden for participating business owners, citing some 60 partners averaged about a $300 annual return each on their investment.

“We are currently auditing the program,” said Drudge. “We want to make it more efficient.”

Under the program, shoppers who purchase $300 in Cortez Cash, for example, end up with $400 in buying power at participating businesses. Drudge said tracking each individual $20 bill by its serial number was near impossible, adding CREA was examining the possibility of replacing the actual cash with a debit card system.

Since his hire, Drudge said he had already renegotiated multiple media contracts, enabling CREA to increase its advertising by a quarter without any additional funding. Drudge said he also wanted to be more proactive in assisting partners with promotional needs.

Drudge filled the post as CREA director after Gayel Alexander’s departure last October. His resume includes 27 years of administration, communication, marketing and advertising experience at newspapers and publishing groups in similar markets. He most recently worked for Ballantine Communications Inc., as advertising director for the Durango Herald, Cortez Journal, Mancos Times, Dolores Star, Pine River Times and Bugle.

CREA is a 501c(6) nonprofit organization providing advertising information, education and consulting support to promote Cortez as a shopping destination. The concept was created in 1999 by local businesses willing to contribute a small portion of their income for the promotion.

Last year, CREA helped add more than $150,000 to the local economy.