Arnold Hanson, BRAED Chair

I hope that everyone is enjoying the sunshine and scenery that Summer 2014 has brought to East Central Alberta!  From Camrose to Wainwright, Viking to Consort, Chauvin to Forestburg, the crops are blooming, RVs are on the road, and people are buzzing about summer holidays. 

At BRAED, however, we are hard at work setting the foundation for a number of projects that were announced at our Annual General Meeting held in Bruce, Alberta on June 25.  In addition to our commitment to better engage with communities this year, we will be focusing on a number of projects aimed at providing opportunities for economic development capacity building.

The Youth Engagement & Entrepreneurship Task Team has agreed to participate once again in our Economic Development Summer Internship Program, aimed at providing young people between the ages of 18 and 26 with meaningful work experience in an economic development setting.  Our member communities can apply for funding assistance to hire an intern that fits within the parameters of the program, offering increased human resources, and an opportunity to create a relationship with a young person that may return to the area to put down roots.  The interns are also asked to sit on at least one BRAED task team, giving them the chance to see what BRAED has to offer, and report back to their municipal councils as to the progress BRAED is making.  Applications for the 2015 Summer Internship are available now, and close on September 30, 2014.

The Marketing & Communications Task Team will be focused primarily on branding and widening the exposure of BRAED.  Our goal is to update our banners, work more diligently on bringing our website up to a high standard, and highlight our "You'd Love to Live Here, Too" tagline throughout.

The Business Investment, Attraction & Retention Task Team will be busy this year, focusing on a number of projects, including The Business Walk Program.  This program was launched in Canada by Invest Kelowna and the Central Okanagan Economic Development Commission, and has been an utter success.  Since 2012, the program has been growing and expanding, and has been cited by a number of economic development professionals as a best practice in business retention techniques.  To learn more about the program, click here.

The BRAED region will pilot this program in three of our communities, working with a number of volunteers from various business resource provider groups - such as Chambers of Commerce, Rural Alberta Business Centres, and Municipal Government - to provide on the ground support through a three-hour blitz of areas of the business community.  Our group will ask four simple questions to business owners: how is business; what do you like most about doing business in our region; what can be done to help you thrive; and, do you require a one-on-one meeting with a business resource provider?

Above I have briefly highlighted three of our upcoming projects, but there are plenty more upcoming, which can be reviewed in our 2014/15 Operations Plan.

Keep checking your e-mail and our social media outlets for updates on these projects, application forms, and news!

Best regards,

Arnold Hanson, Chair

Reeve, Beaver County

The day began with approval of a number of reports including the newly developed Strategic Plan (2014-17), the 2013-14 Annual Report, 2013-14 Financial Statement, and the 2014-15 Operations Plan.  After discussions, and questions answered, we approved all four reports.

Next, our Chair, Arnold Hanson began a roundtable discussion giving those in attendance the chance to introduce themselves and give a brief overview of why they decided to attend the AGM, and their thoughts on BRAED as an organization.  It was a very positive experience, and helped to establish BRAED's strengths and weaknesses. 

Our Keynote Speaker, The Honourable Doug Griffiths gave us an interesting and entertaining talk on his Thirteen Ways to Kill a Community.  Solid fact and interesting anecdotes rounded out the presentation, providing those listening with a foundation from which to think about community building.

The Eastern Alberta Trade Corridor made a big announcement at the AGM, with Bud James, Chair, announcing a two-year secondment agreement with the Government of Alberta.  The agreement provides the EATC with an Executive Director for two years, with Elvira Smid fulfilling the role.

Michael Reeves, President of Ports to Plains gave a brief overview of our relationship with the US-based organization, and we made the announcement that the EATC is becoming a member of Ports to Plains.  This means that every BRAED member is also a part of Ports to Plains.  This is an exciting time for BRAED, with our exposure increasing into the United States and Mexico, and we look forward to opportunities that arise from this new partnership.

Being in East Central Alberta, with a very low unemployment rate, along with low population rates, many of our businesses rely on foreign workers in order to survive and flourish.  With the announcement of the suspension, their concerns for the health of their businesses were enhanced.  Mr. Benoit provided us with an overview of the reasons behind the temporary suspension, the forecast of changes to the program, and how this might affect our Region.  We had a roundtable where he was able to answer questions posed by those in attendance, and listen to letters written by businesses.

We thank Mr. Benoit for his time, and for clarifying the decision made by the Federal Government.

Click online for BRAED's

2013-14 Annual Report  and 

2014-15 Operations Plan 

For more information, or to see copies of these documents, please contact Shay Barker at [email protected].

Tuesday July 29 

BRAED Task Team Meetings, Town of Killam Office

BIA - 1:00 PM

Marketing - 2:00 PM

August 15

Outstanding Summer Economic Development Intern Scholarship Grant Program Deadline

September 25

BRAED Board Meeting, Camrose

September 25-27

Canadian Rural Revitalization Conference, 

Prince George BC

September 27-29

Economic Developers Association of Canada Annual Conference,

Calgary

September 30