The City of Estevan’s economic development co-ordinator has enjoyed his first few weeks on the job.
Dwight Fitz Bramble started with the city in early September. Since that time, he has come to appreciate the potential that exists in the city.
“I like the fact that it’s a small community, it’s a very closely-knit community and a very friendly community,” said Bramble. “So that makes my working environment a lot easier.”
Bramble has spent a lot of time on what he called “exploration.” He is studying where the city stands from an economic standpoint, looking at the trends and other developments that have been happening in the past couple of years.
He has also been meeting and networking with people, including Economy Minister Steven Bonk.
“I’m pretty much laying the foundation for what I have to do,” said Bramble. “Economic development is a never-ending process.”
It’s not a job where he can say he wants to accomplish a certain level of economic development by June of next year, for example.
He has also had positive interactions with the city’s recently-formed economic development board, which has representatives from the City of Estevan, the Rural Municipality of Estevan, the Estevan Chamber of Commerce and five members at large.
His first meeting with them in September coincided with his first day on the job. Their second meeting in October was very positive.
Bramble has also been getting to know the small business owners in the community.
“The small business community is the backbone of Estevan’s economy, there’s no question of that,” said Bramble. “Especially since we’ve had the downturn in the economy because of the external shock with the foreign oil prices.”
More people have been looking at creative ways of doing business, he said, and the local small business sector has emerged from the economic slowdown.
“Most of the small businesses here are owned by local people,” said Bramble. “They support local activities, they’re involved in the community, and Estevan by its very nature, is a small community which requires small business activities.”
The majority of the small business owners that he has interacted with were enthusiastic and optimistic of the direction small businesses should go.
“People are very smart, and they know that a lot of what happens in Estevan is going to be impacted by what happens outside of Estevan, and the impact will be felt much more significantly because it’s such a small community,” said Bramble.
He likes the spirit, the enthusiasm and the enterprising attitude seen locally, which all bode well for the development of small businesses.
One of the things that he would like to explore as the economic development co-ordinator would be the incentives and initiatives the city can implement to encourage and support small business development and operation.
“The city ... does not get involved in the operation of the private businesses, but we certainly have a responsibility to provide the environment and to provide the support and the mechanisms which would help these companies to be successful,” said Bramble.
For the most part, he believes the city is on track. There have been incentives in the past. Utilities are in good shape and the local police and firefighters are great. St. Joseph’s Hospital provides excellent healthcare.
“All of those different agencies contribute to a healthy environment, not only to do business but to live,” said Bramble.
He was particularly impressed with what he saw from the Estevan Farmers’ Market, which recently wrapped up its outdoor sales at the Estevan Shoppers Mall.
Bramble believes he is a perfect fit for the job, thanks to his outgoing attitude, and his experience as a diplomat, a teacher and an economist. And he believes he’s in a good position to do a good job here.
“I’m leaning on the support of everyone, with my colleagues at the city and members of the community, and everybody else,” said Bramble.
