Partnering

In the early stages of forming our Northern Lakes Economic Development Corporation we chose our motto “partnering for sustainable economic growth”. We felt the importance of focusing on partnerships was worthy of being our primary goal. The difference in our communities today – because of population distribution, product and service availability and the increased mobility of the consumer – demands that we partner with our neighbors to offer a regional advantage.

When I was young, most families did not travel to the city more than once or twice a year. My family went once a year to North Battleford to do our Christmas shopping and to visit my Great Aunt Ida (thank you Aunt Ida, if you hadn’t lived near North Battleford we would have never left Leoville!). Other than this annual trip, all our needs were met – social, recreation, education, retail – within ten miles. Our town had a theatre, hardware store, school, hospital, gas stations, post office, grain elevators, sports teams, bowling alley, restaurants, lumber yard, groceries, library, plumbing/heating/electrical…everything. Not anymore.

Today’s world sees each small town with something to offer, but no small town can offer everything. People are traveling farther for various legitimate reasons on a daily basis and are filling their needs in the most convenient or cost-efficient place along their route and it is very difficult for rural businesses to find their competitive advantage, but there are many very strong businesses that remain and thrive in our small towns. And we all want people to know what we have and we try hard to entice them to visit us and find out for themselves what needs of theirs can be accommodated in our communities.

Much the same way that our small towns now partner together to form hockey teams and 4-H clubs, so must we also share regional resources to attract people or groups of people to patronize our businesses and tourism industry. Our shared vision can give us strength in numbers – we must share information, ideas, knowledge and financial resources to mount a cohesive campaign in order to supply the full package of what others will be looking for when they evaluate whether to establish a business or to travel or live in our communities. I accept that if someone is traveling from Prince Albert to Chitek Lake he or she may stop for fuel in Shellbrook, coffee and fish hooks in Spiritwood, groceries for the cooler in Leoville and end up doing a variation of the same when they travel back to PA. I expect that they will learn something in each town as well – view a poster for a motorcycle rally in the Shellbrook gas station, find a phone number for a good used ATV when buying fish hooks in Spiritwood, see that they can get a tire changed in Leoville…even if we are not conscious of the link between our towns, it is formed in the minds of those who are outside looking in.

We have come a long way from the days when each town pitted a team against the other in recreational activities. We are now on the same team (realistically and metaphorically) and will realize more collective benefit from forming a strong common force through co-operative partnerships.

Further interesting perspectives can be found in “13 Ways to Kill Your Community” by Doug Griffiths

http://www.douggriffiths.ca/speeches.php?id=26