PORT TOWNSEND — The audience at Wednesday’s Olympic Peninsula Tourism Summit witnessed a diverse program, hearing about the importance of tourism and preservation from a reality TV star and a congressman.

About 150 people were on hand at Fort Worden for the daylong event, which included discussions about the impact of tourism on economic development and the importance of the film industry.

A lighter tone was provided by U.S. Rep. Derek Kilmer, D-Gig Harbor, who was expected, and reality TV star Mick Dodge, whose appearance was a surprise.

Dodge, 63, can be seen on “The Legend of Mick Dodge,” which has become a reality TV hit on the National Geographic Channel.

Dodge provided a contrast to the casual business dress at the conference, sporting his trademark vest, tunic and tattooed bare feet.

Delayed by a Hood Canal Bridge opening, Kilmer appeared in jeans and a sport jacket.

“Because of the bridge opening, I didn’t have time to change into a suit, which I had wanted to do,” he said.

“Talking to Mick Dodge, I wish I’d had the opportunity to go barefoot.”

Dodge spoke extemporaneously for about 10 minutes.

“There’s nothing wrong with chopping down a tree, there’s nothing wrong with hunting, and there’s nothing wrong with fishing,” Dodge said.

“But I decided to find a different way and walk a humble life — just follow my feet, how to approach this with humility and honor.

“But the trouble with humility is that it leads to whining.

“What I found between humility and honor is humor and joy.”

Dodge said he doesn’t have a television and has not seen his own show more than a few times, adding that he prefers oral and written traditions to electronic media.

He agreed to participate in the TV show because he saw it as an opportunity to show off the region.

At first, the producers asked him to do things for the sake of the program that didn’t make sense, like set up an encounter with a bear, but he agreed to compromise some truths in order to tell the story.

“After the show came out, a lot of people said, ‘This isn’t real,’ but I don’t know what you find real about television,” he said.

“To me, we were making a comedy show.”

Dodge said he disagreed with naming the show after himself and that he thought the show was going to be called “Legends of the Land.”

“This land sits up at the northwest corner of the United States, and it is holding a vision,” he said.

“And if you are bringing people into the land to connect with that vision, the vision is stored.

“You step into the mysteries of the land, the mists and the rain, and they are stepping into a new story.”

Dodge steered the discussion to his barefoot state.

“What’s the first thing that happens when you step out of your shoes?” he asked, pausing.

“You got to pay attention.”

Dodge and Kilmer met briefly between their speeches, with Dodge inviting Kilmer to take a tour of the woods.

Kilmer accepted, saying that both he and Port Angeles office manager Judith Morris would visit Dodge and go barefoot for the occasion, something to which Morris — the wife of a former Olympic National Park superintendent — did not commit.

Kilmer said tourism and economic development are intertwined.

“When Fort Worden was first built, the gun batteries looking out on the Sound were meant to keep invaders out,” Kilmer said.

“Nearly a century later, we are trying to bring people in.

“Places like Fort Worden that celebrate the rich maritime legacy of our region aren’t just important stories.

“In fact, they are a key part of one of our region’s most successful economic engines: tourism.”

Tourism, he said, creates jobs.

“When people stay in Tacoma or camp in our parks or paddle our rivers, those are dollars that will grow quality jobs right here at home,” Kilmer said.

“That should give every one of us hope for a bright economic future for the Peninsula and this entire region.”

Kilmer said tourism, as a business-development enterprise, is competitive.

“Other regions, other states, other countries aren’t simply sitting still,” he said.

“They want to take our jobs, take our businesses and take our tourists.

“So the question is, what are the smart moves we can make to keep them from doing that? So that’s a test for us.

“I think that’s a test for Congress, too, because I don’t think other nations are farting around with government shutdowns and sequestrations; they want eat our lunch.

“So one of my goals to make Congress more functional is to not let them.

“We should focus on the stuff that matters rather than the political bull that doesn’t.”

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Jefferson County Editor Charlie Bermant can be reached at 360-385-2335 or at charlie.bermant@peninsuladailynews.com.