BRE Survey
(From left) Chamber CEO Darla Lindbjerg, Pharmasave Partner Al Chilton, Downtown Business Association President Garry Kowbel, and Swift Current CAO Susan Motkaluk officially launch the BRE Survey

Local businesses are being asked to "push the green button" and make their voice heard.

The Swift Current Business Retention and Expansion Initiative was officially launched Monday, with an online survey now live through the City's website until February 14th.

"Our teams will be out there, on the ground, and our goal is to get 100 surveys, minimum, filled out by Valentine's Day," said Susan Motkaluk, Chief Administrative Officer for the City of Swift Current. "It's about talking, communicating and collaborating, getting the business community together, sharing data and information, and ultimately... what we're looking to do is achieve a gap analysis to say, where should we focus our efforts and how can we better prioritize, and it's really all about prosperity for everyone."

"We have to find out, as a business and a business community, what the people of Swift Current want and what the business community needs to deliver that to them," said Al Chilton, a member of the City's Economic Advisory Committee, and a partner at Pharmasave. "You cannot manage what you do not measure, and in a way, this is taking a measurement."

The BRE Initiative is the first major step to be taken by the newly-formed Business Retention and Expansion Committee, which is a partnership between the City and a number of other organizations, including the Swift Current and District Chamber of Commerce.

"All of these groups have the same mandate, and that is to help business in the community," said Chamber CEO Darla Lindbjerg. "If business thrives, so does everybody else, so we're looking forward to the results."

The BRE Committee also includes the Swift Current Downtown Business Association, Community Futures Southwest, Tourism Swift Current, Great Plains College, and the Rural Municipality of Swift Current.

After the survey closes, the committee will follow up on immediate issues arising from feedback taken in the survey, and then engage the business community in a strategic planning process that looks at the findings of the economic analysis and generates strategies for economic prosperity in Swift Current and area.