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PR tourism agency works out website strategy
the agency to best promote what Prescott- Russell has to offer visitors to the region. “Today, I think it (website) is one of the entry ways for tourists,” Lacelle said during a March 20 phone interview. “It’s a key dri- ver for tourism nowadays.” Besides serving as a place to identify and highlight local at- tractions and services that might appeal to tourists, a website can also serve as a link to the social networks, ranging from the more familiar Facebook and Twitter to the up- and-comers like Vine and Pinterest.TPRT’s main reliance for social networking will be through Facebook and Twitter because they tend to attract the older age brackets, education politics arena. “I view the job of trustee and chair as a significant commitment,” stated Pietersma, explaining that he wants to refocus his ef- forts on his own business, Pietersma Tin- works, hand other things. “There is no schedule really, because things happen and you have to constantly change your day,” he stated, “and reflect on solving problems because public educa- tion is so important. There are other proj- ects I want to pursue and, in order to be fair to the job of trustee, I want to step back and let someone else pick up the baton.” More time to devote to his family also fig- ured in Pietersma’s decision to step down as both chairman and school trustee.
both adults with families and also seniors and pre-retirees, which are the primary demographic sectors for the group’s tou- rism promotion. The 15 to 21 age bracket may be drifting more towards Pinterest and other “cutting edge” social networks but facebooking and tweeting are still popular pastimes for the younger generation. The annual hardcopy tourism guide avai- lable in stores, restaurants, hotels, motels and other places will still be part of the TPRT promotion strategy but the website should be online and ready before June. “There will be a lot of emphasis on the actual activities going on in the region,” Lacelle said. An up- “One of the things that galvanized my decision is that my son, Sam, has joined my company, and I want to take the time needed to help develop his skills and pro- vide him the mentorship he needs going forward.” During his 10 years with the UCDSB, Piet- ersma has represented Dundas County and also sat as first vice-chair and later chair- man. He oversaw the Building 2020 process which revamped the Upper Canada school district setup, including closing down small- er schools with lower student numbers and amalgamating those education catchba- sins with other neighbouring schools, and also building new schools in other areas to meet growing local populations. “It (Build-
to-date calendar of events on the website at www.tprt.ca. will also have as a supplement online tour suggestions of the region for vi- sitors who may include Prescott-Russell on their vacation itinerary but aren’t sure what to do when they arrive. The goal in both cases is to try to help tai- lor visitors’ interests in recreation, culture, food, or other leisure pastimes with what is available in various communities. There will be optional surveys that web- site visitors can participate in or not at their choosing.“We want the website to be dyna- mic,” Lacelle said, “and as interactive as pos- sible.” ing 2020) was one of the hardest things I ever had to do,” Pietersma said. “When I was first elected I never thought I would be championing closing schools. But I be- came aware of the challenges of running small schools, that they couldn’t offer our students rich experiences with such small numbers in the classroom. We had to put our students first.” The Building 2020 pro- cess resulted in a Grades 7 to 12 model for UCDSB secondary schools, confirmed equal access to French immersion and core French language programming through- out the Upper Canada district. Pietersma was also involved in develop- ing the UCDSB’s accountability framework to support the CREW Strategic Plan.
GREGGCHAMBERLAIN gregg.chamberlain@eap.on.ca
L’ORIGNAL | Having a good website is now a basic part of every business plan for the 21 st Century. The people in charge of Prescott-Russell’s new regional tourism network want to make sure they have the best possible website in the world online before the start of summer. Tourisme Prescott-Russell Tourism’s (TPRT) executive director Martin Lacelle knows that having a website is essential for
Veteran Upper Canada school board chairman retires
GREGG CHAMBERLAIN GREGG.CHAMBERLAIN@EAP.ON.CA
CHESTERVILLE |He fought for local control over decision-making in the Upper Cana- da school district, brought the board itself into the social media maelstrom of the 21st Century, and kept the district’s focus fixed on improving student achievement levels. Now Greg Pietersma plans to step down as chairman of the Upper Canada District School Board (UCDSB). He announced that he will not seek re-election as the Dundas County school trustee in this year’s autumn civic election after a decade spent in the
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