Stampede of economic spin-offs in from Calgary mission?

BY KIRK STARRATT

Kings County Advertiser/Register

Initial feedback seems positive following an economic development mission to Calgary from the County of Kings.

Kings County Councillor Chris Parker, who led the recent mission to the Calgary Stampede on behalf of the municipality, hopes his colleagues will consider funding similar initiatives in the future.

From July 7 to 19, a team of four - including Parker, Janet Hatfield from the Village of Kingston, who has a background in tourism; Jennifer Weisner of the Kings Regional Development Agency and Carson Herrick, a member of the county’s trails committee - pitched Kings County’s assets. Herrick recently moved to Kings himself, and provided a great testament why others should consider doing the same.

Although the outcome is still being evaluated, Parker says the mission was designed with measurable goals in mind, unlike other municipal missions of the past, including two to Scotland.

There has been criticism of spending $30,000 on the Calgary trip, but Parker says the team came in under budget, at less than $26,000. Goals included increasing awareness of Kings County and developing economic spin-offs. The team promoted our cultural, recreational and agricultural activities and businesses.

“We said what we were selling was quality of life,” Parker says. “We all talked about what we offer that Calgary doesn’t.”

The team spoke to more than 6,000 people, handed out 1,200 pins and distributed 350 maps. Many people were planning trips to Nova Scotia, but most were only aware of Halifax and Cape Breton. They collected 3,200 names for a database of people wanting more information about the county, and more than 1,200 business cards were distributed. They distributed 913 of 1,000 information packages prepared, and Parker points out the remaining packages can be used for other purposes. The team collected 59 “Move to Kings” cards from people wanting information on moving to the municipality; five more were received in the two weeks following the mission. He has received a commitment from one individual planning to buy property here: Parker will serve as tour guide when the person visits in early September.  Kings businesses were very supportive, donating several prizes.

“We said what we were selling was quality of life. We all talked about what we offer that Calgary doesn’t.” - Kings County Councillor Chris Parker

The team was able to get a commitment from one City of Calgary department that annually buys lobster to purchase 200 pounds from a Kings County supplier. Hundreds of brochures about purchasing lobster from Kings County were distributed.

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