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- State of Florida Attorney General
City council has approved funding in the amount of $24,800 USD ($25,128.47 Canadian – subject to change pending exchange rate at the time of payment) for the City of Thompson to be featured on the Discover Canada Series on Today in America with Terry Bradshaw.
The show is hosted by Terry Bradshaw, of NFL fame for quarterbacking the Pittsburgh Steelers to four Super Bowl victories between 1970 and 1983, and airs on the Discovery Channel. Bradshaw, 63, said 10 months ago he suffers from short-term memory loss, which he attributes to pro football:
Thompson will be featured as part of the series “Hidden gems to live, work and play.”
The objectives of the production will be to educate and inform viewers on things such as: the quality of life in Thompson, the many amenities the city has to offer, the history, lifestyle, education and infrastructure, as well as why this would be an ideal community to raise a family.
Upwards of 50 markets will be able to view the broadcast, once nationally on Business News Network in Canada, and 33 times regionally on networks in Canada and the United States.
While the dollar figure does look quite significant upon first glance, councillors were very supportive of the project and the opportunity it presents for the city.
“This will be great for our (Thompson) image and changing our image,” said Coun. Penny Byer, “you could not buy one advertisement on television for that amount of money, there is nothing that cheap. We have an opportunity for an investment if you will, that will be hard to match in any other way.”
Byer went on to say that she would not be against looking for funding partners, but that it was an opportunity that should not be passed up.
Coun. Luke Robinson also stood behind the idea, stating that Thompson is still virtually unknown Canadawide and that this was a chance to get the city's name out to the rest of the country.
“You talk to people in Ontario or B.C., and they ask you, Thompson, where is that? Is that near Winnipeg?” said Robinson, “this will put us on the map and show people where we are and what we do and what kind of an environment we're in.”
Mayor Tim Johnston was cautiously optimistic on the subject, stating the city should look at other stakeholders, not only for funding, but also at sending a joint message.
“We need to have a meeting with our stakeholders, to gain an understanding of what we're selling,” said Johnston, “there's an opportunity, with the support of professionals doing this, to really step forward with a united voice in how we want to showcase this community. I think there's value to this, but we can't just say yes, here's $25,000, we get a five-minute thing and we did our job, this has to pay for itself in the next three to five years.”
Coun. Stella Locker voiced some concern over the dollar amount, and if there really was a lot of value to the investment.
“I took a look at the program, and it wasn't anything that really excited me,” said Locker, “yes it would be great, but we haven't got the money for a lot of things I'd like and if you haven't got the money then you can't do it, that's the way I look at it. If we had money in reserve for this then fine, but we don't.”
Byer responded to Locker's concerns with the notion that this may be a one-time opportunity and passing it up would be ill-advised.
“We have some pretty serious issues for attraction and retention of employees, and that's only going to get worse,” said Byer, “if we wait for the next time, the next time might not come. You say no once and they figure you're not interested, and you may not be approached again.”
