In an effort to drive growth and development in town, Mayor Rick Bonnett has taken five area developers to a large international business conference in Whistler, B.C.
Set for Jan. 25 to 27, the International Council of Shopping Centers (ICSC) is one of the biggest business conferences in North America, said Bonnett. Developers, contractors, small and large businesses and 45 municipalities — including the cities of Calgary and Edmonton — will be participating at the conference.
Bonnett said the developers are paying for their own accommodations and travel expenses. They will be working closely with him and Stephen Novak, economic development officer for the town, to entice businesses move here.
He said the only thing the town offered to pay for is the $50 membership to ICSC but developers declined that and said their companies will pay for their share.
Bonnett made the suggestion last year after realizing that local developers need to know companies they would like to pair up with in order to bring new businesses to town. “They (developers) actually lined up and said, ‘Absolutely.’. ”explained Bonnett.
“The only thing we did as the town is we arranged everything,” said Bonnett.
He looks forward to bringing companies together in the hopes they will develop in Ponoka.
“This year we’ve got people that can say, ‘I can do that,’” said Bonnett.