Mayor absolutely right on Tournament Capital ‘branding’

I attended the annual Kamloops Chamber of Commerce AGM banquet Thursday night, my last meeting as a director, as I’ve stepped down from the board. They presented me, and fellow outgoing director Mona Murray, with nice plaques, which were greatly appreciated.

It’s been an absolute pleasure to sit on the chamber’s board for the past five years and I’ve learned a great deal through sitting on, or chairing a number of committees, including the Pacific Gateway committee, policy committee, awards committee and social issues committee. I’ve also enjoyed being the chamber’s liaison member on the boards of the Graffiti Task Force and Coordinated Enforcement Task Force.

There were times when I disagreed with decisions of the board but I’ve found it to be a great organization with excellent staff and dedicated volunteer board members.

I had to sneak out of the meeting before Mayor Peter Milobar spoke, as I had some pressing matters back at the office to attend to, but from The Daily News story today I see that he touched on the age-old issue of “branding.” He told the crowd that there is talk of abandoning the Tournament Capital theme for something more mod.

He’s of the view that we need to remain true to the TC branding and I totally agree. I’ve written many times before that it’s a mistake to think a city must be only one thing for all people. There are many facets to our community that we can promote to a variety of markets.

We can be the modern hi-tech city or the quaint heritage-steeped town, the sport-fishing mecca, golf central or tournament capital all at the same time. The secret is to direct each of those attractions to the right audiences.

The Tournament Capital has proven an excellent investment — it ain’t broken so let’s not try to fix it. Add to it, sure, but not abandon it.