Natchez — home of history, hoopskirts and enterprising ladies who know how to turn a rainy day into a sunny tomorrow.

Clever ideas are not a new thing here, and we don’t suspect we’ll face a shortage anytime soon.

So it’s exciting to know that a group of area tourism enthusiasts — with men included this time around — are back at the drawing board.

A National Park Service grant has funded the hiring of an expert who will facilitate a study and several meetings in hopes of learning what about our house tours may need to stay the same and what may need to change.

It’s good to have an expert on board, but it’s better to have a key group of our smartest citizens behind the wheel as well.

Few in town truly believe that our tours of Natchez’s fine antebellum homes are truly perfect as is. And even though it might sting our egos a bit, most know we’ll need to change with the times to live as a modern tourist attraction.

Understanding that change is needed is the first step to success.

There’s no doubt that many wonderful ideas will come from our residents, and we simply can’t wait to hear what they may come up with.

If understanding is the first step and ideas are the second, the third, and crucial move will — one day soon — be implementation.

Natchez has a pedigree for tourism success; the community will simply have to make it happen again.