My family had the pleasure of spending last weekend in Durant, Oklahoma.

Yes, you read that correctly. We had the pleasure of spending the weekend in Durant, a small city in southern Oklahoma that we’d previously thought of only as the last civilization along US-75 until Texas.

Our weekend in Durant included 105-degree heat indices and supersized insects. It included an appalling tournament schedule that had 9-year-olds playing baseball from 6 p.m. to midnight three nights in a row. Some bad sportsmanship and a long drive through two large construction zones rounded out the fun.

So what made the weekend such a delight? It was the attitude of the locals we encountered. Volunteers at the tournament were unfailingly friendly, helpful and polite, despite the sweltering heat that often shortens tempers. They gave us directions, provided medical care to players who swooned or twisted ankles, officiated games and happily accommodated multiple substitutions in our line-ups. One man admitted that volunteers had worked hard to secure discounts at hotels and restaurants for tournament visitors.

Employees of the Choctaw Casino Resort were likewise focused on delighting guests. We witnessed a maintenance man stop his work to ensure that a family with a malfunctioning card-key didn’t have to walk back down to the front desk. A front desk clerk solved a problem for us – a botched reservation made through a 1-800 number – that she had no role in creating, and gave us a better room rate in the process. The “customer-first” attitude was omnipresent.

I suspect that the Choctaw Nation spends millions of dollars every year advertising its flagship property in Durant. This weekend reminded me that the most powerful tool in changing perceptions isn’t slick ads. The most powerful tool for Choctaw Casino Resort and the City of Durant – and for most cities, products, companies and services – is people.