Sylvan Lake Chamber of Commerce is encouraging residents to spend their hard-earned dollars locally to help give back to the community. The Chamber is sharing this message through the release of a Shop Local Initiative video posted to their social media pages on Oct. 2.
The Chamber’s Executive Director Denise Williams said, “These are stressful and trying times for everybody. There is a lot of negativity and polarizing opinions about vaccines and AHS (Alberta Health Services) guidelines, and we constantly hear feedback about the stress staff and business owners are under as they try to navigate these conditions.” She added, “If this video reminds people of the power they have when they choose to “shop local” and to spread kindness and understanding when they can, we will have done our job with this project.”
The Chamber received federal funding to support the creation of this video, which combined, took approximately one month to shoot and edit, shared Williams. She added that the video’s script, storyboard, videography, background music, and narration were created and compiled by a local video agency, IQ Productions. The Sylvan Lake and District Archives Society also shared some historical photos that were incorporated into the project.
The writing/script was key to the success of the project, shared Williams. She added that through this project, the Chamber aimed to tell the true story of Sylvan Lake and its long history of entrepreneurism and fortitude through trying times.
“We wanted a positive message and to clearly illustrate the domino effect buying local has in Sylvan Lake. Its impact can be felt everywhere. Businesses sponsor kids sports, donate to the many non-profit businesses, create local jobs, mentorship opportunities for youth, they sponsor a great many local initiatives such as the Sylvan Lake Winter Village, which is a Chamber committee as well - but the majority of the funds for just that alone come from the business community and a great example of how businesses give back and enhance our quality of life.”
Williams shared their excitement to see the finished product. “Our motivation is, was, and will always be to support local businesses in our community. With this project, the goal was simply to encourage locals to do commerce with businesses in town and think locally,” she said, adding, “We showcased many different types of businesses in the video as well. I think they captured exactly what we asked for.”
The Chamber’s Shop Local Initiative video can be viewed on their YouTube page.
