I had to drive the triangle between Moncton – Fredericton – Miramichi and back to Moncton today with my two brothers. An interesting trip – mostly a walk down memory lane.
Anyway, as we were driving on Route 8 from Freddy to the ‘Chi, we drove into Boiestown and I saw their new logo and tagline: A Great Place to Live and Believe In.
Boiestown is part of the Ludlow Parish and might have 200-300 people in it and as I drove through there doesn’t seem to be much new economic activity but I spent the rest of the trip with this phrase “to believe in” stuck in my head.
Why did they tack that term onto the boilerplate – “great place to live”?
Why “to believe in”?
The more I ruminated, the more I started to like this term.
Despite all the razor thin efforts to make New Brunswickers think the province is booming (I read all three English language newspapers today and you would think the province is booming), I think most New Brunswickers realize the truth. We are in a slow burn. Our population from 1996-2006 actually declined for the first time since Confederation (in a 10 year period). Our jobs situation is somewhat grim – given the mill closures and the impeding impact of the high Canadian dollar on our exports.
I think many New Brunswickers have stopped believing in this province – maybe they never did in the first place. My brother is back after his first full year living in the U.S. and he has some regrets about moving but is resolute that it was the right economic move for his family.
So tacking on “and believe in” to this phrase is more than just semantics or a light memorable phrase.
It goes to the heart of the matter. Maybe the province should adopt this term – if not in literal terms – at least in spirit.
I have met a lot of folks in economic development and in community and political leadership that could use a shot of ‘belief’.
So bravo to Boiestown. You say it. Now live it. And believe it.