Awards and Distinctions

Congratulations to Mary Lee Prior, the Town of Vermilion's Manager of Economic Development, for receiving the Gerry Gabinet Mentorship Award.

Mary Lee was nominated by her peers in Economic Development for mentorship and leadership in Economic Development in Alberta.

Congratulations to the Town of Vermilion for winning the EDA's Regional Collaboration and Partnership award for Rural Fibre Infrastructure with their partner Alberta Broadband Networks.

Government Finance Officers Association is pleased to announce that Town of Vermilion, Alberta, has received GFOA's Distinguished Budget Presentation Award for its budget.

The award represents a significant achievement by the entity. It reflects the commitment of the governing body and staff to meeting the highest principles of governmental budgeting. In order to receive the budget award, the entity had to satisfy nationally recognized guidelines for effective budget presentation.

Congratulations to the Town of Vermilion Finance Department on this Distinguished Budget Presentation Award!

On behalf of the Vermilion Town Council, we are honored to join with our partners of the Vermilion River Watershed Alliance as they celebrate the Emerald award in the category of "Shared Footprints".

The “Shared Footprints” category recognizes those who exemplify land and water stewardship, build shared knowledge to improve air quality, reduce land disturbances and encourages ecotourism.

View the Congratulations to Vermilion River Watershed Alliance video

Congratulations to Mary Lee Prior for winning the EDA's Economic Developer of the Year Award! Mary Lee Prior is the Town of Vermilion's Manager Economic Development.

Congratulations to the Town of Vermilion for winning the EDA's Community Economic Development Award for our V-Net Broadband Project

Congratulations to the Town of Vermilion for winning the EDA's Business Retention and Expansion Award for our #Vermilion Online Festival

With the downturn in the economy over the last couple of years, particularly in the Oil & Gas sector now coupled with the COVID-19 Pandemic it has been hard on communities particularly in rural communities. The Town of Vermilion had worked hard trying to keep our small community strong and dynamic enough to withstand the downturn. In April in-an-effort to keep our businesses we first created a category in our business directory called “Online Shopping”. Any businesses in the community that moved their product to Shopify or an online shopping platform we added and promoted to the world. Any that did not know how to do it we helped. We wanted to keep our community viable and promote them somehow online. Later in April we evolved our #ExploreVermilion campaign to market our Vermilion businesses into first of its kind and a COVID-19 Response – the #VermilionOnline Festival. From April 20 to May 31, 2020 the #VermilionOnline was a means to instill optimism within Vermilion’s business community and keep people shopping at home. The #VermilionOnline festival transformed the Town of Vermilion’s Facebook page into a hub of virtual experiences highlighting local entrepreneurs, creators & producers. The legacy includes an activated community of entrepreneurs ready to take on the future via online education & inspiration.

CAMPAIGN GOALS

Increase optimism in Vermilion’s business community operating under restrictions caused by COVID-19 precautions.
To give a connection point for shoppers and explorers to discover the Town of Vermilion online options. #ExploreVermilion
Further Vermilion’s Economic development, business retention & #ExploreVermilion tourism strategy
Keeping our businesses viable keeps our crime levels down, financial levels up and instills better overall health and wellness within the community.

Who was involved? Town of Vermilion; Seekers Media; Zen Seekers; Festival Seekers; Snowseekers; Travel Alberta; 28 local businesses to reach a national audience. Seekers Media created a reoccurring Facebook-centric event where local businesses and experiences broadcast their offerings LIVE to the public. The Town conducted educational workshops and one-on-one training for Vermilion’s business community in how to cultivate a digital strategy that yields revenue generation and a sustainable approach to social media. The businesses were trained and coached to do Facebook lives. They were required to watch a training video that was recorded on ZOOM and had to sign a waiver to be on our Vermilion FB page doing a live video. We advertised the program and had businesses calling us and lining up to learn and be showcased online. Something to sustain our community through these times. Now that our businesses doors our open we are still facing the challenges of having people come to Vermilion. We are expanding our online program through a couple of avenues over the summer to keep the momentum of #ExploreVermilion and #VermilionOnline Shopping going. Follow our social media pages to see how we progress through COVID-19.

There are always challenges when you take on a project.
Progressive Thinking: We had to be innovative and progressive as a small municipality to showcase are community to the world. Funding: The timeframe was so short we had no opportunity to apply for grants and had to make the program work with inhouse dollars. We have since applied to the Travel Alberta program that just came out to see if we can obtain funding to evolve our programming further.
Creative & Technical Expertise: To increase the awareness of our Vermilion business community the Town of Vermilion entered into agreements with Seeker’s Media to assist in the production of our #VermilionOnline Festival through our social media channels our produce YouTube Channels and our Social Media Reporter. We needed assistance in-order to turn out the program fast in response to COVID-19.

Congratulations to the Town of Vermilion for winning the EDA's Business and Investment Attraction Award for our Development Incentive Programs

A. The purpose of this program is to provide financial assistance to business owners who invest in quality building interior improvements to existing and new industrial buildings that enhance the aesthetics and functionality of vacant ground buildings.

*This program is NOT eligible for landlords for building improvements.

Industrial Development Brochure

B. The purpose of this program is to provide financial incentives to business owners who invest in quality building interior improvements to retail and commercial buildings that enhance the aesthetics and functionality of vacant ground floor Storefront(s).

*This program is NOT eligible for landlords for building improvements.

Retail Development Brochure

With the downturn in the economy over the last couple of years, particularly in the Oil & Gas sector now coupled with the COVID-19 Pandemic it has been hard on communities particularly in rural communities. The Town of Vermilion had worked hard trying to keep our small community strong and dynamic enough to withstand the downturn. In April in-an-effort to keep our businesses we first created a category in our business directory called “Online Shopping”. Any businesses in the community that moved their product to Shopify or an online shopping platform we added and promoted to the world. Any that did not know how to do it we helped. We wanted to keep our community viable and promote them somehow online. Later in April we evolved our #ExploreVermilion campaign to market our Vermilion businesses into first of its kind and a COVID-19 Response – the #VermilionOnline Festival. From April 20 to May 31, 2020 the #VermilionOnline was a means to instill optimism within Vermilion’s business community and keep people shopping at home. The #VermilionOnline festival transformed the Town of Vermilion’s Facebook page into a hub of virtual experiences highlighting local entrepreneurs, creators & producers. The legacy includes an activated community of entrepreneurs ready to take on the future via online education & inspiration.

CAMPAIGN GOALS

Increase optimism in Vermilion’s business community operating under restrictions caused by COVID-19 precautions.
To give a connection point for shoppers and explorers to discover the Town of Vermilion online options. #ExploreVermilion
Further Vermilion’s Economic development, business retention & #ExploreVermilion tourism strategy
Keeping our businesses viable keeps our crime levels down, financial levels up and instills better overall health and wellness within the community.

November 26, 2020 was the Annual Awards Ceremony of the Economic Developers Alberta.

Our Northeast Collaboration #TakeItToTheLake Marketing Campaign – Town of Vermilion, Lac La Biche County, Athabasca County and MD of Bonnyville for a medium sized community/region received the NEW REPSOL People’s Choice Award for our marketing efforts of our region!

November 26, 2020 was the Annual Awards Ceremony of the Economic Developers Alberta. Our Northeast Collaboration #TakeItToTheLake Marketing Campaign – Town of Vermilion, Lac La Biche County, Athabasca County and MD of Bonnyville for our marketing efforts of our region!

Congratulations to The Town of Vermilion and their municipal partners, Lac La Biche County, Athabasca County, and the Municipal District of Bonnyville for their partnership in launching an Economic Regional initiative called, "#TakeItToTheLake Social Media Marketing Campaign". The campaign promoted tourist visits to the region and this successful campaign reached over 650,000 users on social media.

With the downturn in the economy over the last couple of years, particularly in the Oil & Gas sector now coupled with the COVID-19 Pandemic it has been hard on communities particularly in rural communities. The Town of Vermilion had worked hard trying to keep our small community strong and dynamic enough to withstand the downturn. In April in-an-effort to keep our businesses we first created a category in our business directory called “Online Shopping”. Any businesses in the community that moved their product to Shopify or an online shopping platform we added and promoted to the world. Any that did not know how to do it we helped. We wanted to keep our community viable and promote them somehow online. Later in April we evolved our #ExploreVermilion campaign to market our Vermilion businesses into first of its kind and a COVID-19 Response – the #VermilionOnline Festival. From April 20 to May 31, 2020 the #VermilionOnline was a means to instill optimism within Vermilion’s business community and keep people shopping at home. The #VermilionOnline festival transformed the Town of Vermilion’s Facebook page into a hub of virtual experiences highlighting local entrepreneurs, creators & producers. The legacy includes an activated community of entrepreneurs ready to take on the future via online education & inspiration.

The Northeast Collaboration #TakeItToTheLake Marketing Campaign – Town of Vermilion, Lac La Biche County, Athabasca County and MD of Bonnyville for our marketing efforts of our region!

Congratulations to the Town of Vermilion for their participation in online WHMIS Training.

Congratulations to the Town of Vermilion for their 2016 Sustainability in Action Award for economic development by municipalities with a population of 2,500 to 10,000.

In 2006, Vermilion launched a Streetscapes Project to revitalize its main street and downtown business core.

The project included beautification through installation of benches and trees, as well as substantive infrastructure upgrades to sidewalks, drainage systems and roadways.

Based on the success and partnerships with businesses formed through the Streetscape Project, the town launched a comprehensive Economic Development Strategy in 2010 as part of its Municipal Sustainability Plan. This strategy utilized a cooperative approach between the Economic Development Committee, Planning and Development Committee and administration, with the overall guidance of council.

Other partners included local businesses, economic development agencies, Lakeland College, and the province.

Achievements through Vermilion’s Economic Development Strategy have included:

Revitalization of the town’s image with a new website; YouTube channel; and strategic use of Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter to share information and promote events and initiatives.
Implementation of a Sign Strategy, including banners and directional signage, that complements the town’s new image and helps visitors navigate the community.
Implementation of a Business Retention, Expansion, and Attraction Strategy that has contributed to an increase in development permits from $24 million in 2013 to $45 million in 2015.
Establishment of an Accredited Visitor Information Centre with the support of the local Chamber of Commerce and grants from the federal and provincial governments.
Development of the Good Life Institute, which promotes events happening in the region and hosts community learning events that aim to help people live fuller, happier, and healthier lives.

Together these initiatives have transformed Vermilion, giving it a fresh vibrant look and new appeal for its residents and visitors.