MANDZIUK'S DEPARTURE A CHANCE TO RE-EVALUATE DO
OSOYOOS TIMES-March 25, 2009
The departure of Glenn Mandziuk from the top spot at Destination Osoyoos (DO is certainly the end of an era.
Under his leadership during the past 15 years, DO has, without a doubt, evolved into one of the province's best economic development organizations.
And it can't be ignored that the organization's efforts, with Mandziuk at the helm, to promote Osoyoos outside the South Okanagan have been monumental.
But it also can't be ignored, from comments that arise at public meetings and letters to the editor that appear in this newspaper, that two camps have formed in Osoyoos when it comes to ideas on how the town's economic engine should run.
Many say that DO has spent too much time promoting Osoyoos's image and brand outside of Osoyoos and not enough time focusing on Osoyoos itself, especially the smaller businesses that make up the downtown core.
With Mandziuk leaving, the character of DO is surely to change.
And with the Town's contract with DO coming up for renewal at the end of the year, maybe it's time for the Town to re-evaluate its economic development aims.
This is not a question of how to fix DO, but about possible ways to better define its mission since there are concerns that the organization is not on the right track.
Should we put an end to efforts to attract tourists, recruit workers, entice developers and show off our wonderful community to the rest of B.C., Canada and the world?
Definitely not.
Could we find a way to better balance how DO works outside and within our community?
Yes we could.
