Estevan has made a positive impression on Doug Griffiths 鈥� the man the city has contracted out to help with its economic development efforts.
Griffiths, the former Alberta 小蓝视频 who penned the best-selling book 13 Ways to Kill Your Community, was in Estevan last week to meet with current and former members of Estevan city council, city administration, the economic development committee and a few other community members who are key players in economic development.
He also toured Affinity Place and other recreational facilities, and met with a number of entrepreneurs from Fourth Street about the future of the community.
鈥淚t鈥檚 usually incredibly intense from the moment we鈥檙e here until the moment we鈥檙e gone, but I have to say in the meetings we鈥檝e had so far, this isn鈥檛 just the Energy City,鈥� Giffiths told the Mercury. 鈥淭he people in this community are incredibly energetic.鈥�
Joining for his time in Estevan was Heather Thomson, a consumer behaviour expert who works closely with Griffiths at Griffiths鈥� company 13 Ways Inc. Her focus is looking to the business community to enhance profits, efficiencies and viability.
Griffiths stressed the downtown core plays an important role in a community鈥檚 future.
鈥淗eather always says we always think the downtown cores are about business, except they were always about socialization,鈥� said Griffiths.
鈥淵ou build socialization, the business comes, not the other way around,鈥� Thomson added.
When they were on Fourth Street, they didn鈥檛 see a lot of traffic. The more things a downtown area has to draw people in, the greater prosperity for the businesses.
A site like the Orpheum Theatre is very important to the social elements.
But they also emphasize how the world is shifting. Millennials and Generation Z members don鈥檛 want the same things as previous generations.
Recreation facilities such as Affinity Place are also big drawing cards.
鈥淭he people in the community are always the most valuable asset any community can have. We鈥檙e going to be spreading out, trying to find out what identifies people, leadership and differentiation in the community that can create new opportunities, too,鈥� said Griffiths.
He recalls when he was working with a community in Ontario that took a traditional approach to economic development. They purchased a big advertisement in Toronto, but the turning point came when he spoke with a Polish family that had been in town for a year and a half.
That community in Ontario reached out to the family, and sent a couple people to Poland, and wound up attracting about a dozen people from the European nation.
Griffiths noticed Estevan has an ethnically diverse population, and they should be viewed as an asset, because they have connections all over the world.
He鈥檚 also seen communities try to find one industry that will employ 300 people to offset the loss of a large industry, and while the city needs to invest time in those initiatives, they can鈥檛 emphasize just one thing.
Most times that 13 Ways starts working with a community, they鈥檙e starting from step 1. But in Estevan, if this is a 100-mile journey, this would be the 鈥�59-mile鈥� mark, thanks to the efforts of administration, the economic development committee and volunteers.
Griffiths believes Estevan is on the right track. They might not get something that employs 500 people, but there might be smaller technological enterprises that employ 50 people.
Since retiring from provincial politics in 2015, Griffiths has worked with hundreds of communities, including some in Saskatchewan. Each community he encounters has some of the 13 problems that kill communities; the question is to what degree. Estevan is working through them, but isn鈥檛 debilitated by them.
There鈥檚 going to be frustration, anxiety and future associated with the eventual departure of an industry, like what Estevan is facing regarding coal, but there鈥檚 also hope, energy and excitement for the future.
Griffiths said he expects to be back in Estevan early next year, and already has plans for what they want to do and who they want to meet. Arts, culture and newcomer groups are among those they hope to meet with.
鈥淲e want to talk to, interview and meet with a diverse group of people through the community, so between now and then, we鈥檙e going to be asking people to join us on Zoom calls and conferences to interview them and ask them about what the potential for the community is,鈥� said Griffiths.
The City of Estevan and the economic development board announced earlier this month they had hired 13 Ways Inc. to develop a strategy and action plan that identifies new economic opportunities and how best to attract businesses and new residents to the city.
He was in Estevan earlier this year, when he brought his Everything is About to Change presentation to the community.
