Vulcan welcomes Leonard Nimoy

The world's eyes turned to VULCAN this month and their much anticipated visit by Leonard Nimoy. Over 2500 people attend the festivities in Vulcan this month which included Mr. Nimoy's visit, a town parade, the unveiling of a bust of Nimoy's Star Trek character Spock, as well as a hand print of Nimoy's famous 'Live long and prosper' salut. These items will be added to the memorabilia collection that makes Vulcan a tourist destination for many sci-fi enthusiasts. Way to go Vulcan for meeting your long-anticipated goal of bringing Spock back to Vulcan.

Image from Reuters UK

Capitalizing on Rural Assets

There are several perceptions about rural communities and one community has learned to capitalize on those perceptions: Irricana. Irricana has turned community assets into the "Top Ten Reasons to Visit Irricana".

10. Our gas station washroom is the cleanest gas station washroom in Alberta. (Go ahead and check).

9. You never have to wait at a stop light (we don't have any stop lights!)

8. If you forget the return address on your mail the post master will probably recognize your writing.

7. We actually have "slow races".

6. The neighbours are still "your" best form of security.

5. An acceptable vehicle, to drive into town to pick something up, is still a tractor.

4. Who needs billboards when you have round bales to paint on?

3. The Fire Department knows the fire hydrants by their character names (our fire hydrants are painted like cartoon characters).

2. You can still turn a combine or wagon around on main street.

1. We are a "one horse town"... and proud of it. (www.irricana.com)

You will notice that the numbers count down. On the leaflet where these reasons are listed the number one reason is listed on the bottom, rather than the top. I believe this is because the message is to showcase community pride.

What a wonderful way to monopolize on rural assets and influence those perceptions about rural communities. Sometimes these lists of 'what to do' or 'why you should visit' a community often list activities and places. Whereas Irricana has listed more intangible activities which are very attractive in rural communities.

Irricana has demonstrated community pride and a method to capitalize on the rural assets that exist in the community. The extra step taken was to publicize the information, or, tell the story. What a great exercise to go through with a community to focus on the rural assets and share that information with others.

Eckville Launches Recreation Plan

Planning has been the focus for Eckville over the last few months. Eckville has just released a Community Recreation Plan at a community wide event. The community had previously identified the need to bring together volunteers, residents, and leisure in a more effective way and recognized the need for a recreation director to aide in that process.

The Eckville Community Development Association and Recreation Board has conducted extensive research both within and outside of the community and with communities of similar size. Out of that research it was evident to have a recreation director work with a plan to meet the recreation needs of the area. Over the last four months the two groups have worked with an ACE contractor to formalize a recreation plan with all the research and community input that had already been gathered.

The recreation plan is fantastic because the process was driven by the community. The community identified the priorities, goals, vision and outcomes and now the plan is in print. One of their first steps is to hire recreation director on a two year pilot project. There is little doubt whether the plan will be used or not. This plan will not become dusty on a shelf because the community has been involved from the start and the accountability is held there. This document is "living" because it is "flexible, accessible to community members, and will be continually reviewed".

Eckville is in a position of growth and opportunity in terms of recreation opportunities and now they have the plan to reach those opportunities. Way to go Eckville!