Square 2 elusive

The town is taking a proactive approach to our current economic woes by hiring Twist Marketing of Calgary to help establish a unified brand across Fort Frances.
Notwithstanding that it is almost 2014 and we’re only now getting around to finding a “brand,” any effort to move our community forward is welcome. Certainly it’s far better than simply sitting on our hands bemoaning our plight.
At the same time, however, one can’t help feeling we’ve been down this road before and getting nowhere. Sure, things don’t happen overnight but we’ve been talking about the risks of being a one-industry town, and how to make Fort Frances a tourist destination rather than just a point of entry, for 20 years or more.
We’ve had community consultations before; the town has conducted strategic planning exercises. Ideas have been floated and directions plotted yet what do we really have to show for it?
We have a town mascot in “Little Amik.” We bill ourselves as the “Great Canadian Main Street.” We did go great guns on a mural project—for a while (winding up with a grand total of two).
We talked of a fish museum (Sioux Narrows beat us to the punch). We talked—to no avail—of creating some type of monument here, like “Husky the Musky” and “Max the Moose.” Talk of developing the Point, of course, remains in limbo.
We want tourists to stop here but still haven’t figured out where they can park. We know the Rainy Lake Hotel is an eyesore yet there she still sits.
There are things to be proud of. Our waterfront walkway. The Townshend Theatre and Ice For Kids Arena. The new library and upgraded museum. But while these are wonderful amenities, the wheels keep spinning on ways to create more jobs, expand the tax base, and become a destination.
Talk, they say, is cheap (well, relatively cheap given this latest branding exercise is costing the town upwards of $50,000). What’s needed is people willing/able to turn that into action.
Hopefully, this time is the charm. After all, we seem to be good at starting at Square 1. The challenge is—and always has been—getting to Square 2.