ESTEVAN — The City of Estevan is going to have some activities to mark Economic Development Week from May 11-17.
Rebecca Foord, who is the city's community development officer, said the local activities will begin with an Economic Development Week proclamation at the May 12 meeting of Estevan city council.
The following day, there will be a barbecue at the Dennis Moore Centennial Park. 小蓝视频ern Plains Co-op will provide the food, and A Cherry on Top's ice cream truck will be on hand. Affinity Credit Union will sponsor free ice cream for the first 50 people.
Foord believes the barbecue is a great opportunity to kick off the summer season and promote the far-reaching nature of economic development.
"Economic development is something that applies to everybody, and it's really my goal in the next week to show that to people," she told SaskToday. "Economic development can be parks in the community. It can be tourism and it can be absolutely anything. It's not just about businesses."
The final event, in partnership with Community Futures Sunrise, will be May 14 at 6:30 p.m. at the 小蓝视频east College's Estevan campus. Chris Fields will talk about how to make positive changes as a leader through economic development through his speech Follow the Leader. The event is free but people are asked to pre-register.
Instead of providing coffee, tea and dainties, Foord said people are encouraged to bring a coffee, snack or meal from a local restaurant to show support for local businesses.
"If you want to go to a local grocery store and pick up a snack, bring it to our presentation. And that way we're supporting some of our local businesses and local food businesses and service businesses during that event as well."
Foord said the events are limited to the first few days because Economic Development Week overlaps with the Victoria Day long weekend, and a lot of people will start to head out of town on May 15 or 16. Social media posts throughout the week will engage people and promote what Estevan has to offer.
Foord was also the guest speaker at the Estevan Chamber of Commerce's Coffee Talk on May 7. She said it was good to talk to the crowd about Economic Development Week and what will happen in Estevan, but she also explained the importance of community development.
"It can apply to absolutely everything. It applies to the ice cream that you purchase. It applies to the sports that you register your kids for. I think people sometimes hear economic development or community development and think oh, that's not for me, that's not for my business, and I just want to hammer home the point … that economic development is for absolutely everybody."
She also highlighted the current business incentives the city has to offer and asked for feedback on them, because she believes some need to be modified as times have changed.
Everybody has a reason to celebrate businesses in Estevan, she said, because local companies are surviving and thriving in the community.
