A plan to replace the current Fort Frances slogan, “Boundless,” will have to wait until after a new council is elected next fall, after the current council voted Monday night to defer a decision to choose a new tagline—or go without one.
“We have been phasing out the boundless tagline for a couple of years now, so we felt it was appropriate for council to pick a new tagline,” Communications Coordinator and Deputy Clerk Ally Lewis told council.
“If council does feel that they do not want to make that decision and they do want to defer it to [the next] council, they are more than welcome to. It just means that any future branding we were hoping to have anchored by the tagline will be paused for the time being.”
Five candidate slogans had emerged from a town hall event held at the Memorial Sports Centre in May that gave residents the chance to weigh in on what they’d like to see out of the new branding to better capture the town’s essence. Five different categories had been suggested as general qualities that any new tagline should reflect: sunsets, fishing, northern lights, photography and play (sports and recreation).
After hearing suggestions and building recommendations based on how the categories resonated with locals, the search was narrowed down to five taglines:
“Where Sunset Country Begins.”
- “Hooked on Rainy Lake.”
- “Canada Plays Here.”
- “Our Northern Light.”
- “Catch the Moment.”
“Personally, none of the five options really speak to me in terms of the future of our community,” Coun. Wendy Brunetta said at Monday’s meeting. “I would prefer to let the new council choose this new tagline. I also believe that a new council working towards what’s ahead for the community, it’s important to have something like a tagline, strategic plan, vision and mission to work on that together as a group. I think that’s something that would be really great for the new council to work on together to build a cohesive focus for the future of the organization.”
Other councillors agreed with Brunetta that while none of the five options were ideal, deferring presented an opportunity to allow the next council to work as a team in making a choice aimed at capturing the town’s essence.
“We have important things that are in the works; we have a community improvement plan coming this October, we’re going to get a new strategic plan,” Coun. Kaleb Firth said. “I do see the merit of what Council Brunetta is saying. I think we can slow this down, and it’d be a fun exercise for the new council to get the feedback working together to bring something forward.”
Despite none of the tagline options particularly standing out to council, Lewis said deferring wasn’t ideal since any marketing done before the new council is elected will not feature the new branding.
Deputy Mayor Mike Behan ended the discussion by noting the importance of finding the right vision and doing it right, agreeing to not rush the decision and let the new council have input.
