Directors at the Battlefords Chamber of Commerce expressed concern at their meeting Tuesday night about what they are hearing from residents around the community.
Their concern? A persistent “negative” attitude being expressed within the community, an attitude they worry is hurting business.
The issue was raised by Mitchell Cooper, an articling student with a North Battleford law firm who was recently elected to the Chamber board.
Cooper is from Regina originally and moved to the community for his law job last summer.
But instead of being welcomed with open arms, Cooper told the meeting that when he goes into businesses and meets people and says where he is from, “they all say to me ‘why the hell are you here?’”
“That’s like a legit, repeat response. It’s such a negative vibe,” said Cooper.
He called the negativity “completely unwarranted. To be frank I’ve had a very positive experience up here.”
That prompted other directors to say they rarely experience that negativity about the community when they go to other cities. One said that when going to Saskatoon he would mention he was from North Battleford, and people would always say what a great place it was.
Some ways to counter the negative perceptions were talked about at the meeting. Cooper suggested pushing an initiative to get businesses on board with the idea of having their employees take pride in their community.
He pointed to the I Love Regina campaign spearheaded by Mayor Pat Fiacco in Regina, which he said “completely turned the image of Regina around.”
There had been some I Love NB T-shirts in North Battleford in recent years, which were well-received.
“I don’t see why a model of that sort can’t be implemented here,” said Cooper, who suggested projecting an image of positivity would mean more activity and more business.
Director Bill Volk agreed with Cooper’s sentiments, adding it “almost seems the people who are most negative towards North Battleford are the people who’ve never been anywhere and (never) realized what we’ve got here.”
A suggestion was made from directors that a grassroots sort of effort was what was needed, saying that would go a long way.
