Destination Battlefords held their annual general meeting Wednesday and Executive Director Ryan Bater was unusually excited to give his report.
He was enthusiastic because after last year’s rebranding and the name change to Destination Battlefords, and after completing the move to their new location in the river valley and extensive renovations there, the organization is now able to fully focus on some of the other major projects they have going on this year.
The organization did go into a deficit of $124,000 last year, which concerned some people, but Bater explained that was a one-time only expense to invest existing financial reserves into the brand launch.
The brand is “The Battlefords — Everything Under the Sun” which is seen on their promotional materials and stands set up throughout the community.
It was adopted as part of the organization’s shift towards “promoting the community and not just an organization,” Bater told directors at the meeting.
Destination Battlefords is projecting a balanced budget for 2016. To meet the budget, they intend to have only two seasonal staff. That is down from previous years, but both Bater and Kerry Volk are now working out of the River Valley Centre location full time instead of at their former location downtown, and that is expected to help financially.
In general, Bater called 2015 a “very good year” and was buoyant about the prospects for 2016.
“I feel really good about the organization right now,” said Bater.
“The ship has righted, and we’re going in the right direction, and things are really good. All of our renovations are done.”
Bater presented the strategic plan for 2015-16, which included a number of initiatives happening this year.
The organization’s strategic focus has been on convention and events, tourism marketing, investment attraction and internal operations. Event attraction has been one of the biggest priorities this year.
Major events include the Provincial Snowmobile Festival happening Feb. 26-27 and also the Provincial 55+ Games on July 5, 6 and 7 in the Battlefords. Some 650 athletes are expected for the latter event.
Also, the Battlefords have officially submitted their bid to host the 2018 Saskatchewan Winter Games.
Destination Battlefords was heavily involved in that bid application, with the community competing against Lloydminster for the right to host the games.
Both locations plan to use Table Mountain for some of the outdoor competition, but the Battlefords could also boast amenities including the CUplex, the Civic Centre and other local venues.
Bater was hopeful the Battlefords will be awarded the winter games and said he is excited about the other major events already confirmed.
“We’re setting some goals to make the Battlefords a real powerhouse in terms of event and convention hosting,” said Bater.
Bater also talked about the organization’s website and mobile app, and their extensive social media marketing efforts. He spoke of efforts to optimize their website for search engines such as Google, in order to get maximum hits.
“This is how people are getting information and making decisions,” said Bater.
He described some of the partnerships the organization has been able to forge to promote tourism in the region.
One example was working with the Battlefords Trail Breakers Club to develop a partnership with Tourism Saskatchewan for a half-page ad in Snowriders magazine. That is in connection to the upcoming Provincial Snowmobile Festival.
Bater pointed to that as a way to “pool financial resources to place an ad that would have cost $4,000.”
There was one piece of housekeeping at the meeting, and that was a bylaw amendment allowing the organization to trade and promote itself as “Destination Battlefords” instead of as “Battlefords Tourism.” That passed unanimously.
