How’s that new year’s resolution working out? Yeah, I thought so, there’s a guilty look about you.
But I am not here to apportion blame. Not today, anyway. Because resolutions are a bad idea.
It’s all very well to sit nursing an eggnog hangover on New Year’s Day and decide you’re going to quit smoking, lose weight or stop stealing electricity from your neighbours. It’s something else entirely to find yourself several days later cigaretteless, hungry and faced with the grim reality of having to pay for your own hot water.
Drayton Valley Alliance Church
Join us Sunday Mornings 10:30 am Everyone Welcome! Phone: 780-542-6501 Email: office@dvalliance.ca Mailing address: Box
Drayton Valley Community Church
DV Community Church. Located at Affinity Funeral Services, officiated by Dwayne Henley.
Emmaus Lutheran Church
A community of faith passionately walking the road of life with the Lord Jesus. Phone: 780-542-5101, Drayton Valley Alberta
B.D. Lock and Key Ltd.
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Valley Worship Assembly
Please take your time and discover what is happening at Valley Worship in Drayton Valley.
Why do we do this to ourselves? Why do we start the year by setting ourselves up for almost certain failure? Things are miserable enough in the middle of January without any extra help. You’re probably broke, you’re almost certainly bloated and there’s a very good chance that you’re also bloody cold. Remember a few weeks ago when we had all that freezing rain and everything was covered in a thin layer of ice? I’m starting to miss that.
Here’s an important question. Will you have enough money to live comfortably when it’s time to retire? Actually, scratch that. Here’s an even more important question. Will I have enough money to live comfortably when it’s time to retire?
It’s a question that’s worth asking, especially if, like me, you are haplessly stumbling toward your mid-sixties with no clear goals and no plan for the future whatsoever other than the half-formed notion that you’d like to make it to the pub on Friday if possible. And oh yeah, wouldn’t it be nice if you didn’t have to spend the rest of your life collecting carts at the grocery store?
Retiring is expensive. You need money. Quite a lot of money. The gravity of the situation was brought home to me last week while I was slogging my way through my 2025 tax return (oh, the memories!) It turns out I have enough unused contribution room on my RRSP to fund the purchase of a mid-sized airline. But sadly I have so little money that I can’t even, well, I can’t even afford to pay someone else to do my tax return.
There’s always the Canada Pension Plan. I’m a big fan of the CPP, but even there I have a problem. What you get out is determined by what you put in. I didn’t start making contributions until I was 24 on the not unreasonable grounds that I didn’t live in Canada. There’s another gap in my contribution history from the five years I spent at university while I was in my thirties. Hey, it was a tough course and I didn’t want to rush things. Anyway, after that I got a job as a junior reporter with wages so low that my CPP contributions were virtually zero anyway … I think the thrill of getting my photograph in the paper every week was supposed to be reward enough for my efforts. After all that … you get the picture, and as pictures go, it ain’t particularly pretty.
So, what’s a boy to do?
It’s not that I don’t like working. OK, well maybe it is a bit. But it’s more that I’m starting to feel, if not actually old, then rather less young than I used to. I’ve still got some working years left in me, but I can see a time when I’ll be ready to spend my days sitting on the deck composing long and frequently incoherent letters to my Member of Parliament on a variety of issues, none of which I fully understand, before hiking my pants up somewhere in the direction of my armpits and heading off for my evening meal at 4 p.m.
So how do I get there? How do I put away sufficient dosh over the next couple of years to be able to keep myself and the current Mrs. Long in the necessities of life (Preparation H, gin and Maalox as I understand it) through our declining years? It is, as I said earlier, a question worth asking. And, if I had to do things over again, it’s a question I would probably have asked myself before things went quite this far.
There is a little bit of a stereotype around newspapers. Some people think that the only people who read them are seniors. Our data shows otherwise. Typically as soon as you own property or enter the family phase of life you get more involved in the community. And that includes reading the newspaper. So our range of avid readers tends to be 34 plus, not 65 plus. But, regardless, many business owners will decline to advertise in the paper because, “It’s only read by seniors.”
Even if that was the case, I am writing today to say; don’t write off seniors.
Seniors make up about 17.5 percent of the Drayton Valley population according to the 2021 census. Census data states that in 2021 our community has a population of 6,970, and 1,040 of that is 65+. So why is this important information to know?
Boomers’ spending power is stuff of legend. In September 2025, McLean’s Magazine featured a long form article titled “The Jackpot Generation.” The article explored the wealth transfer of $1 trillion from boomer parents to their children or grandchildren that is expected over the next 10-15 years.
Drayton Valley has typically been considered a young community with the bulk of our population being well under 65. However, as community founders, and boomers who moved here in the early days of the oil boom age in this community we are lucky to have a portion of our population who have strong community ties, some disposable income, and still favour the traditional ways of doing commerce – face to face.
While this population is on the rise in our community, I am not so sure our businesses have grown to include this demographic in their marketing mix.
Last Wednesday at 2:30 pm I went grocery shopping, and I was amazed at how packed the parking lot was. It was seniors’ discount day, and so on top of your regular shoppers you are now seeing an influx of seniors who are discount savvy and are looking to experience the community while doing so. This got me thinking. Why didn’t other retail locations piggy back on the success of the grocery store with a Wednesday seniors’ discount day? Or where are the early bird dinner specials to fill up the slow 2:00 pm – 5:00 pm time slots in the restaurants?
Seniors in 2026, are not shut-ins. They are active in the community, and in life. They have disposable income, and they still believe in traditional business transactions. If you think the newspaper is “only read by seniors,” you’re wrong. But even if it was, then choosing not to advertise because of this fact may mean that you are not reaching a critical demographic in this community and you are leaving money on the table.
Looking forward to a nice relaxing summer? Not so fast. As we (finally!) approach the nice bit of 2026, I thought it would be useful to put together a list of the things I am currently worried about. And if I’m going to worry about them, so should you.
I’m worried about the way our provincial government is extending its own powers. The UCP is attempting to broaden its authority in areas that have traditionally been under federal jurisdiction. At the same time they are limiting the powers of municipalities and school boards to act without provincial approval. If all this comes to pass we are going to have one honking big (and powerful) government in Edmonton. That should give every one the collywobbles. If the NDP had tried something like this while they were in power we’d have been screaming to the high heavens.
I’m worried about our friends to the south. Every time you think America can’t get any more dystopian they find a way to prove you wrong. And the noise! It’s like living next door to a frat house.
I’m worried about retirement. The Canada Pension Plan works just fine. I’m looking forward to collecting my CPP in a year or two. Brand name beer here I come! The thought of ditching the CPP for a new and untried Alberta Pension Plan makes me more nervous than a long tailed cat in a room full of rocking chairs. And yet that’s what the provincial government seems intent on doing. I’m sorry, I’m sure Danielle and the gang have nothing but good intentions, but I don’t trust them not to make a complete and utter mess of things. If they feel like gambling I wish they’d do it with their own money.
I’m worried about the amount of ill-informed bile I see on social media and elsewhere directed at immigrants and refugees. This stuff invariably comes from people who claim to be acting to protect Canadian values. Clearly we have a different view on exactly what Canadian values are.
I’m worried that our thoughts and prayers don’t seem to be doing enough to prevent school shootings, public transit attacks or any of a raft of other atrocities. And I’m worried that I seem to have lost count of the number of those atrocities that have happened already this year. Perhaps we should all try thinking and praying harder?
I’m worried that we seem to spend more time focussing on the things that divide us than on the things that unite us.
I’m worried that these days, when you come across something that doesn’t match your own narrow world view, you’re free to select your own set of alternative facts to back up whatever bonkers theory you’re supporting. And if someone points out that your set of facts aren’t actually very, umm, factual, you’re able to label him as a stooge of big government who’s too blind to see that the Earth really is flat, 9/11 was the work of the Illuminati, the Kremlin is controlled by Disney etc. etc. etc.
I’m worried about inflation. I’m worried about Iran. I’m worried about the Blue Jays’ pitching. I’m worried about gas prices and I’m worried about property tax.
There. I’m glad that’s off my chest. Now It’s time to get out and enjoy that sunshine!
Three degrees with a chance of flurries? I did not see that coming. Dammit!
The Hearts and Hands Quilters’ Guild did more than just draw winners for their annual quilt raffle last week. They also presented 14 quilts to All Are Daughters for use at their women’s rehabilitation facility.
The guild boasts 28 members from the community, and all of them work to build quilts that can be donated to people in need. Each year, they hold a raffle fundraiser for three quilts, and the proceeds are then split between three different organizations.
This year they raised about $700 for their guild, the Kickstand Youth Hub, and STARS, along with their donation of quilts to All Are Daughters.
Trina Beckett, the vice president of All Are Daughters, was on hand at their meeting to accept the donation.
“About a year-and-a-half ago, a group of us women got together to start working on this dream of so many of us to open this recovery centre for women,” says Beckett.
She says there are members of the board who have gone through addiction and have been in recovery for years. Beckett is the mother of an addict, and her experience helping her daughter get through the first few months of recovery made her want to help others going through something similar.
“As a parent, you do anything to help your child because you know they’re in there somewhere,” she says.
Beckett says her daughter was involved with the centre before she passed away last summer. Despite the loss of her daughter, Beckett still wants to see the centre completed.
Right now, the facility is ready to go, but they don’t have an open date just yet. The organization is currently waiting for funding from the Province to cover operating costs, as well as getting licensing in order.
“We do have all our rooms spoken for as sponsor rooms right now,” she says. “We are just waiting for the go-ahead to get open.”
She says there aren’t any recovery centres for women in rural communities. Having both a men’s and a women’s centre is a positive thing, she says.
“We thank you guys for your support as well,” she told the guild. “Without the support of the community, we wouldn’t be able to do so far what we’ve done.”
The winners of this year’s raffles were Mel Sibley from Warburg, who took home Wolves on the Prowl; Pam Baker, who won Winter’s Day; and Wendy Nordell received One Up One Down.
The guild is always looking for new members, and they meet on the third Thursday of each month at the Beehive Support Services Building, but don’t meet in July or August. They also have regular sewing days on Wednesdays.
Spring Shaker sells out
Opportunity Home’s first Spring Shaker was a success, says executive director Danna Cropley.
“The event sold out within the first few weeks,” says Cropley. “Beyond that, the event went absolutely amazingly.”
The evening had a dance, a catered dinner, and silent auction items to help raise funds for the rehabilitation centre. Cropley says it wouldn’t have been possible without the volunteers who helped put the event together. About 230 people attended.
“Jen Winter, Janice Kupsch, and their crew organized the event. The room was full of energy and community; it was so great,” says Cropley.
One of the reasons for the event, along with raising funds to help run the facility, was to educate the public about what the facility does and how it helps those in need. Opportunity Home opened its doors in February 2023, and has seen numerous people complete the 90-day program during its three years of operation.
Earlier in the week, Cropley also spoke to town council with the same goal in mind.
“Because the council is fairly new… we just wanted to update them on Opportunity Home’s mission, vision, and values, [as well] as the value our project brings, not only to the municipality but also our provincial community and out to our country.”
Cropley says the facility has offered beds to people from across the province, British Columbia, and some from the United States. She says she wanted council to see the reach that they have now and how they are supporting Recovery Alberta’s response to the current opioid crisis.
In her presentation to council, Cropley touched on the community, social, and economic value the centre brought to the community. This included the volunteer work the clients provided, homelessness and poverty prevention, as well as reducing taxpayer costs for emergency, health, and justice services.
She says community investment is a crucial part of the success of the centre, not in terms of dollars, but in terms of interest from the community, volunteers, and feedback.
“I just really wanted to make sure that town council was aware of who we are and what we do,” says Cropley.
Opportunity Home is hosting another event on June 19 from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. that is open to the public: a memorial tree planting ceremony, along with a barbecue and tour of the facility. Cropley says they will also have different resources and services at the event for people to connect with if needed.
She says the tree-planting ceremony will be in honour of some community members who have recently passed away. Members of the public are welcome to donate to plant a tree in memory of someone they have lost.
Potholes and personal faces: Why relationship loyalty wins in regional print
All advertising is bad advertising when you don’t have a marketing goal in mind.
Whether it’s direct mail, digital marketing, broadcasting or newspaper; when you’ve undertaken an ad campaign with no consideration for your marketing goals you’ll be disappointed every time.
Every local business goes through a marketing lifecycle: awareness – consideration – conversion – retention and loyalty. Where your business is at in that lifecycle has to be a primary consideration when you develop a newspaper advertising campaign.
Awareness marketing has its place
If you’ve just opened your doors and you’re new to the community you need to create awareness. You literally need to be the town crier and tell people that you exist. Newspaper ads that announce events and grand openings, publicize your contact information, and let folks know who you are, what you’re doing and why you’re doing it are all part of a general awareness campaign.
When a company says that their newspaper ad is no longer working for them it’s more than likely they’ve gotten in the rut of continually advertising for awareness. The problem with getting stuck in an awareness mentality for too long is that it doesn’t deepen your relationship with the reader. “I’m here!” you say. “Yeah, so what!” They shout back. Once a business is launched the focus should shift to building relevancy, and moving a customer to considering your business over anyone else’s.
Relationship marketing: What does this look like in your local rural newspaper? A little different than you may think.
Local businesses are not global brands, and to advertise the same way would whitewash all the character that you bring to the table. Most certainly locals are looking for a product to satisfy a need but that isn’t the only input that goes into their buying decision. What looks like brand loyalty at a global level is actually relationship loyalty at a local level. Locals love doing business with people they know, either directly or indirectly. Since starting the newspaper there have been many people who have bought subscriptions and purchased advertising, not because they knew me, but because they know someone in my family, or someone on our staff. Locals are relationship loyal and love to support the names and faces behind the business. Don’t believe me – ladies how many candle parties, or tupperware parties have you gone to even though you have way too many candles and storage containers already? Exactly. People love to support people they know.
Leveraging your own name, and staff is one way you create the mental space for consideration and gets you away from general awareness marketing.
Secondly use the medium as a targeting method. When you advertise in the Drayton Valley and District Free Press, you can make some broad assumptions about who may see your ad: they read, more specifically they read the Free Press, they live in the region, they are one of thousands that are getting the same newspaper with the same information on the same day, to name a few.
As you personalize your ads to reflect the deeper character of your business you can also personalize your ads to focus on what’s happening in the community and make connections by resonating with local pain points – “Hey Free Press readers how about that wind storm last week! Sticks and leaves everywhere. Did you know we sell leaf blowers year round?…” “Spring potholes getting your down, come in for a spring tune up to make sure your car is on-road and off road ready…”
Positioning is important
On a local level building relevancy is not just about pushing product it is about positioning. At the end of the day you want locals to know who you are, what you do, and why your business is worth supporting and that you are one of them. You hate potholes too, you have a yard full of sticks too, their pain points are your pain points. To move from awareness to consideration you have to stop crying for customers and start connecting with customers – beginning with who you are.
Resolutions are hard, which I suppose is the entire point. Resolving to spend the next several months lying on the couch watching Netflix and eating Cheetos doesn’t really cut it. There has to be a degree of difficulty and an element of challenge or you might as well not bother.*
And that’s why, according to figures I just made up, somewhere around 95 percent of resolutions will have been abandoned by the end of January; forgotten and consigned to the trash can of history along with the turkey carcass, a pile of empty gin bottles and Ghislaine Maxwell’s chances of ever landing a job as a camp counsellor.
You can’t deny that there’s something admirable about wanting to start the new year as a better person, whether that means reading more, giving up a bad habit, getting some exercise or stopping recycling the same half dozen jokes over and over (sorry folks, it won’t happen again**). But don’t we have enough misery on our plate right now without a failed resolution to remind ourselves of our own failures, shortcomings and general lack of moral fibre? Spoiler alert: yes we do. And besides, isn’t pointing out your numerous character flaws your wife’s job?
So if you’ve already fallen off the wagon, if you just spent 20 minutes going through the back of the fridge in the hope of finding one more slice of illicit pumpkin pie or if you found that first trip to the gym since 1998 just a little bit more than you bargained for, I want you to forgive yourself. Becoming a better person is hard work and, you know, there’s a pretty good chance that most of your friends like you just the way you are. After all, they’ve put up with you for this long, haven’t they?
*Incidentally, I used to have a friend who liked to say that quitting smoking was easy, because he’d personally done it four times. Then he’d laugh like a drain. I think he’s an MLA now.
** Yeah it will.
Here’s an important question. Will you have enough money to live comfortably when it’s time to retire? Actually, scratch that. Here’s an even more important question. Will I have enough money to live comfortably when it’s time to retire?
It’s a question that’s worth asking, especially if, like me, you are haplessly stumbling toward your mid-sixties with no clear goals and no plan for the future whatsoever other than the half-formed notion that you’d like to make it to the pub on Friday if possible. And oh yeah, wouldn’t it be nice if you didn’t have to spend the rest of your life collecting carts at the grocery store?
Retiring is expensive. You need money. Quite a lot of money. The gravity of the situation was brought home to me last week while I was slogging my way through my 2025 tax return (oh, the memories!) It turns out I have enough unused contribution room on my RRSP to fund the purchase of a mid-sized airline. But sadly I have so little money that I can’t even, well, I can’t even afford to pay someone else to do my tax return.
There’s always the Canada Pension Plan. I’m a big fan of the CPP, but even there I have a problem. What you get out is determined by what you put in. I didn’t start making contributions until I was 24 on the not unreasonable grounds that I didn’t live in Canada. There’s another gap in my contribution history from the five years I spent at university while I was in my thirties. Hey, it was a tough course and I didn’t want to rush things. Anyway, after that I got a job as a junior reporter with wages so low that my CPP contributions were virtually zero anyway … I think the thrill of getting my photograph in the paper every week was supposed to be reward enough for my efforts. After all that … you get the picture, and as pictures go, it ain’t particularly pretty.
So, what’s a boy to do?
It’s not that I don’t like working. OK, well maybe it is a bit. But it’s more that I’m starting to feel, if not actually old, then rather less young than I used to. I’ve still got some working years left in me, but I can see a time when I’ll be ready to spend my days sitting on the deck composing long and frequently incoherent letters to my Member of Parliament on a variety of issues, none of which I fully understand, before hiking my pants up somewhere in the direction of my armpits and heading off for my evening meal at 4 p.m.
So how do I get there? How do I put away sufficient dosh over the next couple of years to be able to keep myself and the current Mrs. Long in the necessities of life (Preparation H, gin and Maalox as I understand it) through our declining years? It is, as I said earlier, a question worth asking. And, if I had to do things over again, it’s a question I would probably have asked myself before things went quite this far.
There is a little bit of a stereotype around newspapers. Some people think that the only people who read them are seniors. Our data shows otherwise. Typically as soon as you own property or enter the family phase of life you get more involved in the community. And that includes reading the newspaper. So our range of avid readers tends to be 34 plus, not 65 plus. But, regardless, many business owners will decline to advertise in the paper because, “It’s only read by seniors.”
Even if that was the case, I am writing today to say; don’t write off seniors.
Seniors make up about 17.5 percent of the Drayton Valley population according to the 2021 census. Census data states that in 2021 our community has a population of 6,970, and 1,040 of that is 65+. So why is this important information to know?
Boomers’ spending power is stuff of legend. In September 2025, McLean’s Magazine featured a long form article titled “The Jackpot Generation.” The article explored the wealth transfer of $1 trillion from boomer parents to their children or grandchildren that is expected over the next 10-15 years.
Drayton Valley has typically been considered a young community with the bulk of our population being well under 65. However, as community founders, and boomers who moved here in the early days of the oil boom age in this community we are lucky to have a portion of our population who have strong community ties, some disposable income, and still favour the traditional ways of doing commerce – face to face.
While this population is on the rise in our community, I am not so sure our businesses have grown to include this demographic in their marketing mix.
Last Wednesday at 2:30 pm I went grocery shopping, and I was amazed at how packed the parking lot was. It was seniors’ discount day, and so on top of your regular shoppers you are now seeing an influx of seniors who are discount savvy and are looking to experience the community while doing so. This got me thinking. Why didn’t other retail locations piggy back on the success of the grocery store with a Wednesday seniors’ discount day? Or where are the early bird dinner specials to fill up the slow 2:00 pm – 5:00 pm time slots in the restaurants?
Seniors in 2026, are not shut-ins. They are active in the community, and in life. They have disposable income, and they still believe in traditional business transactions. If you think the newspaper is “only read by seniors,” you’re wrong. But even if it was, then choosing not to advertise because of this fact may mean that you are not reaching a critical demographic in this community and you are leaving money on the table.
Looking forward to a nice relaxing summer? Not so fast. As we (finally!) approach the nice bit of 2026, I thought it would be useful to put together a list of the things I am currently worried about. And if I’m going to worry about them, so should you.
I’m worried about the way our provincial government is extending its own powers. The UCP is attempting to broaden its authority in areas that have traditionally been under federal jurisdiction. At the same time they are limiting the powers of municipalities and school boards to act without provincial approval. If all this comes to pass we are going to have one honking big (and powerful) government in Edmonton. That should give every one the collywobbles. If the NDP had tried something like this while they were in power we’d have been screaming to the high heavens.
I’m worried about our friends to the south. Every time you think America can’t get any more dystopian they find a way to prove you wrong. And the noise! It’s like living next door to a frat house.
I’m worried about retirement. The Canada Pension Plan works just fine. I’m looking forward to collecting my CPP in a year or two. Brand name beer here I come! The thought of ditching the CPP for a new and untried Alberta Pension Plan makes me more nervous than a long tailed cat in a room full of rocking chairs. And yet that’s what the provincial government seems intent on doing. I’m sorry, I’m sure Danielle and the gang have nothing but good intentions, but I don’t trust them not to make a complete and utter mess of things. If they feel like gambling I wish they’d do it with their own money.
I’m worried about the amount of ill-informed bile I see on social media and elsewhere directed at immigrants and refugees. This stuff invariably comes from people who claim to be acting to protect Canadian values. Clearly we have a different view on exactly what Canadian values are.
I’m worried that our thoughts and prayers don’t seem to be doing enough to prevent school shootings, public transit attacks or any of a raft of other atrocities. And I’m worried that I seem to have lost count of the number of those atrocities that have happened already this year. Perhaps we should all try thinking and praying harder?
I’m worried that we seem to spend more time focussing on the things that divide us than on the things that unite us.
I’m worried that these days, when you come across something that doesn’t match your own narrow world view, you’re free to select your own set of alternative facts to back up whatever bonkers theory you’re supporting. And if someone points out that your set of facts aren’t actually very, umm, factual, you’re able to label him as a stooge of big government who’s too blind to see that the Earth really is flat, 9/11 was the work of the Illuminati, the Kremlin is controlled by Disney etc. etc. etc.
I’m worried about inflation. I’m worried about Iran. I’m worried about the Blue Jays’ pitching. I’m worried about gas prices and I’m worried about property tax.
There. I’m glad that’s off my chest. Now It’s time to get out and enjoy that sunshine!
Three degrees with a chance of flurries? I did not see that coming. Dammit!
The Hearts and Hands Quilters’ Guild did more than just draw winners for their annual quilt raffle last week. They also presented 14 quilts to All Are Daughters for use at their women’s rehabilitation facility.
The guild boasts 28 members from the community, and all of them work to build quilts that can be donated to people in need. Each year, they hold a raffle fundraiser for three quilts, and the proceeds are then split between three different organizations.
This year they raised about $700 for their guild, the Kickstand Youth Hub, and STARS, along with their donation of quilts to All Are Daughters.
Trina Beckett, the vice president of All Are Daughters, was on hand at their meeting to accept the donation.
“About a year-and-a-half ago, a group of us women got together to start working on this dream of so many of us to open this recovery centre for women,” says Beckett.
She says there are members of the board who have gone through addiction and have been in recovery for years. Beckett is the mother of an addict, and her experience helping her daughter get through the first few months of recovery made her want to help others going through something similar.
“As a parent, you do anything to help your child because you know they’re in there somewhere,” she says.
Beckett says her daughter was involved with the centre before she passed away last summer. Despite the loss of her daughter, Beckett still wants to see the centre completed.
Right now, the facility is ready to go, but they don’t have an open date just yet. The organization is currently waiting for funding from the Province to cover operating costs, as well as getting licensing in order.
“We do have all our rooms spoken for as sponsor rooms right now,” she says. “We are just waiting for the go-ahead to get open.”
She says there aren’t any recovery centres for women in rural communities. Having both a men’s and a women’s centre is a positive thing, she says.
“We thank you guys for your support as well,” she told the guild. “Without the support of the community, we wouldn’t be able to do so far what we’ve done.”
The winners of this year’s raffles were Mel Sibley from Warburg, who took home Wolves on the Prowl; Pam Baker, who won Winter’s Day; and Wendy Nordell received One Up One Down.
The guild is always looking for new members, and they meet on the third Thursday of each month at the Beehive Support Services Building, but don’t meet in July or August. They also have regular sewing days on Wednesdays.
Opportunity Home’s first Spring Shaker was a success, says executive director Danna Cropley.
“The event sold out within the first few weeks,” says Cropley. “Beyond that, the event went absolutely amazingly.”
The evening had a dance, a catered dinner, and silent auction items to help raise funds for the rehabilitation centre. Cropley says it wouldn’t have been possible without the volunteers who helped put the event together. About 230 people attended.
“Jen Winter, Janice Kupsch, and their crew organized the event. The room was full of energy and community; it was so great,” says Cropley.
One of the reasons for the event, along with raising funds to help run the facility, was to educate the public about what the facility does and how it helps those in need. Opportunity Home opened its doors in February 2023, and has seen numerous people complete the 90-day program during its three years of operation.
Earlier in the week, Cropley also spoke to town council with the same goal in mind.
“Because the council is fairly new… we just wanted to update them on Opportunity Home’s mission, vision, and values, [as well] as the value our project brings, not only to the municipality but also our provincial community and out to our country.”
Cropley says the facility has offered beds to people from across the province, British Columbia, and some from the United States. She says she wanted council to see the reach that they have now and how they are supporting Recovery Alberta’s response to the current opioid crisis.
In her presentation to council, Cropley touched on the community, social, and economic value the centre brought to the community. This included the volunteer work the clients provided, homelessness and poverty prevention, as well as reducing taxpayer costs for emergency, health, and justice services.
She says community investment is a crucial part of the success of the centre, not in terms of dollars, but in terms of interest from the community, volunteers, and feedback.
“I just really wanted to make sure that town council was aware of who we are and what we do,” says Cropley.
Opportunity Home is hosting another event on June 19 from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. that is open to the public: a memorial tree planting ceremony, along with a barbecue and tour of the facility. Cropley says they will also have different resources and services at the event for people to connect with if needed.
She says the tree-planting ceremony will be in honour of some community members who have recently passed away. Members of the public are welcome to donate to plant a tree in memory of someone they have lost.
All advertising is bad advertising when you don’t have a marketing goal in mind.
Whether it’s direct mail, digital marketing, broadcasting or newspaper; when you’ve undertaken an ad campaign with no consideration for your marketing goals you’ll be disappointed every time.
Every local business goes through a marketing lifecycle: awareness – consideration – conversion – retention and loyalty. Where your business is at in that lifecycle has to be a primary consideration when you develop a newspaper advertising campaign.
Awareness marketing has its place
If you’ve just opened your doors and you’re new to the community you need to create awareness. You literally need to be the town crier and tell people that you exist. Newspaper ads that announce events and grand openings, publicize your contact information, and let folks know who you are, what you’re doing and why you’re doing it are all part of a general awareness campaign.
When a company says that their newspaper ad is no longer working for them it’s more than likely they’ve gotten in the rut of continually advertising for awareness. The problem with getting stuck in an awareness mentality for too long is that it doesn’t deepen your relationship with the reader. “I’m here!” you say. “Yeah, so what!” They shout back. Once a business is launched the focus should shift to building relevancy, and moving a customer to considering your business over anyone else’s.
Relationship marketing: What does this look like in your local rural newspaper? A little different than you may think.
Local businesses are not global brands, and to advertise the same way would whitewash all the character that you bring to the table. Most certainly locals are looking for a product to satisfy a need but that isn’t the only input that goes into their buying decision. What looks like brand loyalty at a global level is actually relationship loyalty at a local level. Locals love doing business with people they know, either directly or indirectly. Since starting the newspaper there have been many people who have bought subscriptions and purchased advertising, not because they knew me, but because they know someone in my family, or someone on our staff. Locals are relationship loyal and love to support the names and faces behind the business. Don’t believe me – ladies how many candle parties, or tupperware parties have you gone to even though you have way too many candles and storage containers already? Exactly. People love to support people they know.
Leveraging your own name, and staff is one way you create the mental space for consideration and gets you away from general awareness marketing.
Secondly use the medium as a targeting method. When you advertise in the Drayton Valley and District Free Press, you can make some broad assumptions about who may see your ad: they read, more specifically they read the Free Press, they live in the region, they are one of thousands that are getting the same newspaper with the same information on the same day, to name a few.
As you personalize your ads to reflect the deeper character of your business you can also personalize your ads to focus on what’s happening in the community and make connections by resonating with local pain points – “Hey Free Press readers how about that wind storm last week! Sticks and leaves everywhere. Did you know we sell leaf blowers year round?…” “Spring potholes getting your down, come in for a spring tune up to make sure your car is on-road and off road ready…”
Positioning is important
On a local level building relevancy is not just about pushing product it is about positioning. At the end of the day you want locals to know who you are, what you do, and why your business is worth supporting and that you are one of them. You hate potholes too, you have a yard full of sticks too, their pain points are your pain points. To move from awareness to consideration you have to stop crying for customers and start connecting with customers – beginning with who you are.
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Talking taxation blues
Early May is a special time of year. The snow has gone. The birds are back. There’s finally a touch of summer in the air, but still no sign of wasps or mosquitoes.
Rodeo weekend “sensational”
Organizers for the Drayton Valley Pro Rodeo are happy to say this year was a success.
Gus Pietsch says tickets were sold out for Saturday, with both Friday and Sunday also close to capacity.
Landfill fire causes temporary closure
Drayton Valley/Brazeau County Fire Services spent 12 hours fighting a fire at the Drayton Valley landfill on Monday.
Oh, to be young again
Here’s an important question. Will you have enough money to live comfortably when it’s time to retire? Actually, scratch that. Here’s an even more important question. Will I have enough money to live comfortably when it’s time to retire?
