Not surprisingly the best advice one can share ends up being rather common sense once you pause to consider it.
A good example of that was the advice former Regina Mayor Pat Fiacco offered at the Yorkton Chamber of Commerce luncheon in the city last week.
Fiacco is the man behind a rather successful ‘I love Regina’ campaign, which was simply focused on getting everyone in that city looking at the positives about Regina, and sharing those positives with those beyond the city’s boundaries.
Like cattle on a farm, residents of a community can often look over the proverbial fence and see greener grass that they long for. In letting our eyes wander we can too easily lose track of just how good we have it at home.
We do that as a country, lamenting how this leader or that one are ruining Canada, forgetting that when measured against other countries, our country as it is, stretching from the Atlantic to the Pacific, is in fact an amazing place to live and far from imploding as a few squeaky gates clanging in the wind of social media might suggest.
Similarly, we can often get hung up on what other cities have to offer. The paved highways leading into Yorkton often traveled to get to someplace we think of as better for entertainment or shopping.
But, as Fiacco pointed out, when you take a few minutes to assess your home community you are going to find it offers a great place to live.
“Yorkton here, you’re a sleeping giant,” he offered, noting the Gallagher Centre an envy of many communities, the Western Development Museum is a draw, there are local golf courses, the city is close to lakes, there is the annual film festival, all positives.
Fiacco then noted the city slogan ‘where good things happen,” which he said can be an attitude if people buy into it.
But, Fiacco was also correct in asking if we in Yorkton do a good job of telling the world about what this city offers?
That is how we make our community more vibrant, how we make it grow toward the future, by extolling the virtues Yorkton offers, whether its businesses to access products, recreational facilities to enjoy, or events held to enjoy.
“I don’t have to tell you this but Yorkton has huge potential,” said Fiacco, adding “it’s time you start blowing your own horn.
“You need to tell the world about the good things that happen ... You’ve got to tell your story. It’s not bragging. It’s just the truth.”
That is a rather common sense approach when you think about how Yorkton is a diverse community we should be proud of.
