ful and embedded in the fabric of the community and we try to develop strategies along with them to address the challenges we all face. We’re tapping into their success and asking ‘Why are you doing so well?’ It’s about helping every business within the community grow – and this is a shift. More and more businesses are seeing what they have in the communities they call home and helping those communi- ties grow in every way possible is a good business model. Would you say that the grass roots approach is your priority, your go-to, your model? GM : For sure. I’ll go back to our Community Economic Development Plan: we’re one of the few municipalities in Nova Scotia whose Development Plan is entirely construct- ed by community members. “Because of the diversity of the people of the region, the people of Pictou County really work hard to promote and support cultural events and festivals that are for everyone.” We gather input from all demographics and broad rep- resentation of our community. Community development is the planned evolution of all aspects of community well-being, which includes economic, social, environmen- tal, and cultural considerations. It’s a grass roots process by which communities become more responsible, orga- nized and plan together healthy options to empower our- selves, create employment and economic opportunity. It’s all about community input. Every four years we reach out again and update the plan. That means new community sessions and new ideas from the business community, the residents, organizations, youth, and seniors. We just held these sessions again in January and February and we’re continuing to run an online survey. I’m currently pooling the information from the community to present to Council at the end of June for approval. That will essentially be our work plan for the next four years. It’s our accountability to the Town Council, the Mayor, CAO and the tax payers.
promote the cultural richness of the region.
The Town of New Glasgow just signed several proclama- tions, one for Gaelic HeritageMonth, one for Asian Heritage Month, one for the Marathon of Respect and Equality as well as one for Human Values Day. These are only a few of the ways we recognize and honour the rich multicultural fabric of our community and demonstrate a commitment to inclusiveness and diversity. FM: I believe that you can’t do justice promoting any town or city in Nova Scotia without also promoting the diversity of the region in which it exists. Pam Mood, the Mayor of Yarmouth, Nova Scotia, was recently in the area and during her speech she emphasized some of the very same philoso- phies that we live here: When she promotes Yarmouth, she promotes the regional assets that are in nearby Digby and Barrington and everything the South Shore of the province has to offer. GM: I belong to a Municipal Community Economic Devel- opment group. As a provincial CED organization, we meet a couple of times of year for a ‘Best Practices’ conference – a sharing of knowledge around the table, really – and we usually find that we’re facing the same challenges. The issues of attraction, retention, and growth are always para- mount. One way to approach this issue is through what we call ‘economic gardening.’ This is where we seek out what we call ‘anchor businesses,’ businesses that are success-
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SPOTLIGHT ON BUSINESS MAGAZINE • DECEMBER 2017
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