For seven years, Deb Ross has been helping prepare the city of Rochester, New York, to welcome thousands of visitors for the total solar eclipse.
Rochester, which is in the path of totality, is expecting between 300,000 and 500,000 visitors and to earn between $10 million and $12 million over eclipse weekend.
“I think probably I was little over the top, so maybe people were saying, ‘Seven years out, really Deb? Six years out, five years out, this a little early, isn’t it?'” Ross told ABC News. “But the fact is pulling all these folks together and working for something that’s going to happen far in the future for three minutes and 38 seconds, that is a kind of wacky proposition. But it was really fun, and everybody just jumped right on board.”
As chair of the Rochester Eclipse Task Force, Ross has recruited the local government, museums, small businesses and even the local transportation council to make the event memorable for visitors by creating eclipse-themed events, food and merchandise.
“We’ve had practice runs, we’ve had a lot of meetings to get at the nitty gritty, and I’ve been able to be part of those and watching everybody here play so beautifully together in this sandbox,” she said. “I think what we’ll be doing here on Monday, April 8. is converting hundreds of thousands of skeptics into eclipse chasers.”