UNews - Donna Townley

Cross border connection

trevor.kenney — Wed, 18 May 2011 17:22:54 +0000

��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ of Lethbridge Economics instructor/researcher Donna Townley spent a recent weekend in Montana doing some cross border teaching that she hopes will help the regional economy in the Flathead Valley.

Townley was outlining the benefits of improving and increasing relationships with Canadian visitors and their neighbours. The Flathead Valley is an area frequented by Canadian visitors, and encompasses Whitefish, Kalispell and other communities.

Economics instructor Donna Townley is helping the Flathead Valley region of Montana understand the benefits of Canadian tourism.

Working in partnership with the Montana West Economic Development Group and the Kalispell and Whitefish Convention and Visitors Bureaus, they produced a seminar for the regional business community that explained the Canadian economy, the purchasing power of the Canadian dollar and her research-based discoveries of who visits the Flathead Valley and why.

While it may be common knowledge that there are a lot of Canadian visitors and residents in the area, the actual definition of 'a lot' is a surprise to many. Townley says that increased awareness of the impact that Canadians have on the regional economy should help businesses better serve Canadian visitors.

"The people who attended understood much better that there is a market in southern Alberta for the Montana experience, and they want to build a bridge, not close the gate," says Townley.

She adds that the seminar gave attendees a better understanding of the Canadian point of view, and the economic impact of how Canadians can help their local economy.

"Increasing or even securing Canadian tourism into the Flathead Valley will strengthen the Valley's economy," she says. "I was very pleased to have the support of the Glacier Bank and their people, who talked about Canadian currency. As well, there was a lot of interest in changing credit card machines to take Canadian debit cards, as well as other measures."

Townley says the debit card shift would be of significant benefit, since a recent survey conducted by VISA indicated that more than 65 per cent of Canadians – who are already among the world's highest users of debit cards – would want to use their debit cards south of the border.

She adds that her presentation was a combination sales pitch and crash course in first-year macroeconomics, all the while outlining some big picture reasons why Montana is of continued interest to Canadians. Providing a basic understanding of what influences the value of the Canadian dollar, as well as the Canadian economy, also went a long way with those who attended the event.

"I used prices for everyday items such as pizza, beer, groceries, a tank of gasoline and other typical things Canadians might purchase to illustrate that, even when the value of the Canadian dollar falls to the US dollar (or lower) Canadians will still travel to the Valley, because prices are generally 20 per cent higher in Canada for the majority of items," says Townley.

"The ultimate purpose was to inform local business owners about Canadians so they will be able to continue building strong relationships across the border and provide the best customer service possible."

More than 130 people attended the seminar at Flathead Valley Community College. Guests included business owners from Montana and Alberta, local and regional government representatives, and interested citizens. Townley says she is still getting e-mail questions and comments from guests.

"We hoped to identify those businesses looking for opportunities for Valley-wide cooperation to attract Canadians to the area for entertainment, shopping, recreation, home purchase and business investment," says Kim Morisaki, manager of Client Development and Resources, Montana West Economic Development. "We have heard only great reviews and everyone loved her presentation."

This story first appeared in the Legend. For a look at the Legend in a flipbook format, follow this link.

Honouring long service

trevor.kenney — Tue, 17 May 2011 21:24:26 +0000

The ��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ held its annual Long Service Awards and Retirement Recognition Ceremony recently, honouring 116 employees who have completed 10, 15, 20, 25, 30, 35, and 40 years of service. A total of 23 retiring employees were also honoured.

Following is a list of honoured employees.

RETIREES

Art Aitken, Dayna Daniels, Richard Epp, Rex Forsyth, Eldon Gardner, Wolfgang Holzmann, Bill Hudgins, Joan Kendall, Leslie Lavers, Lucie Linhart, Gerald McConaghy, Linda McLeod, Ken Nicol, Seamus O'Shea, Doug Parker, Ramrattie Ramtej, Donna Seyed Mahmoud, Ches Skinner, Philippe Teillet, Linda Van Esch, Wendy Vogel, Nick Wade and Ian Wells

LONG SERVICE RECIPIENTS

40 Years | Maria Draper

35 Years | Chris Charles, Bryan Kolb, Peter McCormick and Gerda VanderFluit

30 Years | Jane Allan, Cheryl Calver, Dayna Daniels, Gayle Durand, Rex Forsyth, Laurel Hamilton, Jay Johnston, Linda Kucheran, Greg Martin, David Naylor, Shari Platt and Leanne Wehlage-Ellis

25 Years | Shamsul Alam, Lana Barton, Bryson Brown, Cathy Campbell, Patricia Chuchryk, Leslie Gatner, Allan Gergel, Nancy Grigg, Tyler Hayward, Mary Anne Hellinga, Wolfgang Holzmann, Bill Hudgins, Margaret Joblonkay, Kas Mazurek, Alice Miller, Richard Mrazek, Thomas Robinson, Doug Ross, Jadranka Smiljanec, Brian Sullivan, Richard Tedesco, David Townsend, Sandy Wiest and Joan Zimmer

20 Years | Patti-Jo Aiken, Linda Anderson, Roberto Aragon-Garcia, Jochen Bocksnick, Carl Budny, James Byrne, Peter Dibble, Deborah Grant, Bill Halma, Andrew Hurly, Janet Macdonald, Karen McCallum, Louise Miller, Al Mueller, Claudia Notzke, Sergio Pellis, Dwayne Pepin, Vern Peterson, Maria Quinteros, Kathy Schrage, Colleen Sullivan, Brian Titley, Donna Townley and Mark Walton

15 Years | Doug Berry, James Dobbie, Jackie Edwards, Lance Grigg,
Michelle Hogue, Marie Matkin, Ian McAdam, Gerald McConaghy, Chris Moroz, Jeff Oliver, Derek Peddle, Michael Perry, John Poulsen, William Ramp, Keith Roscoe, Elizabeth Schultz, Ivan Townshend and Kenneth Vos

10 Years | Louise Arsenault, Stella Baah, Brenda Bell, Donald Birchfield, Ryan Buckman, Jill Cassidy, Lorena deLange, Christopher Epplett, Margaret Forgie, Don Gill, Bill Glaister, Val Hill, Patricia Horrocks, Nancy Hosgood, Frank Huss, Deborah Jarvie, Helen Kelley, Carol Knibbs, Keith Knowles, Josh Korthuis, Christopher Kukucha, Greg Lacey, Corie Lazenby, Wayne Lippa, Karen Mahar, Jeremiah Merkl, Josephine Mills, Joy Morris, Chris Nicol, Chris Picken, Jeremy Pierson, Mike Pinder, Catharine Reader, Michael Robinson, Victor Rodych, Tammy Rogness, Mark Sabo, Robin Schafthuizen, Shelley Scott, Behnam Seyed Mahmoud, Gerry Ste. Marie, Robert Sutherland, William Tietz, Raquel Trillia, John von Heyking, Kevin Ward, Katherine Wasiak, Robert Williams, Barbara Williams, Jim Wishloff, Robert Wood and Jing Zhu

To view the Legend in a flipbook format, follow this link.

Townley asks if Montana is open for business

trevor.kenney — Fri, 29 Apr 2011 17:10:13 +0000

��Ѹ��Դ��߿�Ƭ of Lethbridge Economics instructor/researcher Donna Townley is working in partnership with the Montana West Economic Development group and the Kalispell and Whitefish Convention and Visitors Bureaus to produce a seminar for Flathead Valley businesses interested in improving and increasing relationships with Canadian visitors and neighbors.

At a free morning-long seminar on Friday, Apr. 29 at Kalispell's Flathead Valley Community College, Townley will give a snapshot of the Canadian economy, the purchasing power of the Canadian dollar and her research-based explanation of who visits the Flathead Valley and why.

While it may be common knowledge that there are a lot of Canadian visitors and residents in the area, the actual definition of 'a lot' will surprise many, and hopefully lead to an increased awareness of the impact that Canadians have on the regional economy.

"The ultimate purpose is to provide local business owners information about Canadians that they will be able to use to continue building strong relationships across the border and provide the best customer service possible," Townley says.

The seminar is sponsored by Glacier Bank and will cover the Canadian economy, currency exchange, international credit and debit cards, marketing, advertising, Canadian holidays and border regulations.

Of special interest is a short presentation on technology that allows businesses to track Canadian sales, as well as a panel discussion by local business owners who will discuss their current activities to build customer relations.

Local financial organizations will also be available to answer questions about banking and credit card practices and how to overcome obstacles.

"We hope to identify those businesses looking for opportunities for Valley-wide cooperation to attract Canadians to the area for entertainment, shopping, recreation, home purchase and business investment," adds Kim Morisaki, manager of Client Development and Resources, Montana West Economic Development.

Among other activities, Flathead Living and Lethbridge Living Magazine have come to an agreement to distribute one another's publications in the other's city.

A number of copies of Flathead Living will be available to a targeted market in Lethbridge, while Lethbridge Living magazine will also be available in the Flathead Valley area over the summer.

UNews - Donna Townley

Cross border connection

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Townley asks if Montana is open for business

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