Story courtesy of Ian Kennedy and CKSN.ca (The Chatham-Kent Sports Network)
Whenever a community has the opportunity for national exposure on a television network like TSN, receives a $25,000 award, and hosts an event to the scale of the Kraft Celebration Tour, the benefits typically extend beyond those initial rewards. That is exactly what local organizers and politicians are already seeing in Wallaceburg.
“Wallaceburg is a beautiful place to live and work,” said Chatham-Kent Mayor Randy Hope. “It’s a strong community, and this is our opportunity to show all of Canada what kind of people we are, and to highlight the advantages of living or locating your business in Chatham-Kent.”
After being hit hard by the economic shift of the past decade, recently, Wallaceburg has seen an industrial revitalization welcoming companies such as Advanced Emissions Technology and Precismeca to their manufacturing sector.
Wallaceburg’s rebirth, and the chance to put this blossoming community on display were not lost on local Member of Parliament Bev Shipley.
“Any time you have an event that draws people in like this; it gives Wallaceburg an opportunity to showcase the community and what a great place it is. Wallaceburg has a lot to offer, it’s a community that works hard, supports their local businesses, and celebrates their youth and successes. There’s been a real rejuvenation in Wallaceburg.”
In addition to new businesses opening in, and relocating to Wallaceburg in the past year, Wallaceburg has become a focal point for Chatham-Kent with the ongoing growth of festivals including WAMBO and their annual Dragon Boat races, as well as the athletic accomplishments of Shaun Suisham, Sean Pollock, and Seth Griffith.
After Wallaceburg Minor Lacrosse placed the initial application, which helped Wallaceburg find themselves in the top 20 of the Kraft Celebration Tour voting, a rally cry reached, and was answered by residents from across the larger Chatham-Kent community, resulting in more than half a million votes for the small town.
Now, it’s not just the local economy, festivals, and sporting organizations that are experiencing a positive lift from the national publicity, there’s also a feeling within the community that better things are still to come. In fact, the talk of the town is that the Kraft Celebration Tour has provided a boost to Wallaceburg and Chatham-Kent’s most valuable commodity, the people.
“The people of Wallaceburg have always loved and supported their community, which is why we were able to come together to make this a reality,” said Suzanne Brown, a long time Wallaceburg resident and a representative of Chatham-Kent’s Economic Development services.
“Since we won the Kraft Celebration Tour voting, this town has been buzzing with excitement. This experience has boosted our community pride to a new level. There is electricity in the air. For me this is another example of why Chatham-Kent is such a great place to live, it’s the people.”
The Kraft Celebration Tour stops in Wallaceburg August 20th. The celebration including a variety of Kraft activities and a live TSN SportsCentre broadcast will take place from 4:00pm until 7:00pm at Crothers Conservation Area in Wallaceburg.