The Town of Okotoks is pleased to announce that on June 22, the Economic Development Business Success Stories program received the Outstanding Single Community with a population between 20,000-50,000 award, a prestigious Business Retention and Expansion International (BREI) Award of Excellence. These awards are given to economic development organizations, municipalities and/or states or provinces who have demonstrated an outstanding usage of business retention and expansion strategies and tactics for growing and sustaining small businesses.
“The Town and Economic Development team are proud to receive this award and are thrilled with the success of the Business Success Stories program. It is important for us to help advance the goal of the program, which is to highlight and raise awareness about the incredible local businesses and business owners that exist in Okotoks,” said Economic Development Specialist Lorie Watson, who accepted the award at the Business Retention and Expansion International Conference held in Grande Prairie, Alberta from June 21-23.
BREI is the leading professional association for business retention and expansion, a fundamental strategy for economic sustainability and growth. It represents professionals in the economic development field from across the globe in order to educate, train, and promote best practices for increasing economic activity and growth in both urban and rural areas.
The Okotoks Business Success Stories program, which began in the fall of 2022, is a unique, collaborative and fun way to showcase local businesses, encourage residents to shop local and is an innovative way to grow business retention and expansion in Okotoks. It also serves to inspire or motivate others who may be thinking about starting their own businesses. The program specifically supports Council’s 2022-2025 Strategic Plan priority of fostering a strong local economy.
The program profiles business owners that have participated and includes a personal interview, business information and photos. The features are available on the Town’s website and are also shared on the Economic Development Facebook page.
The program is available to local business owners and provides an opportunity for them to share triumphs, challenges, lessons learned and why they choose Okotoks as their place of business.
Economic Development is continuing to build out the popular program, adding new profiles monthly; the next installment has been filmed and is currently in the editing process and will be published later this summer. To have a look at some local business success stories, learn more about the program and how to participate, visit: https://www.okotoks.ca/business-success