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you don’t need to head south to find shopping, services and charities worth supporting. You just need to look in your own backyard.

That’s one of the ideas behind Think Airdrie, a new awareness campaign launched last spring to turn the focus on what this city has to offer.

“This goes beyond a ‘shop local’ campaign,” says Leona Esau, who works with Airdrie Economic Development and is one of the Think Airdrie committee members. “The mission of the committee is to educate and empower Airdrie’s citizens and businesses to think of Airdrie first for their needs.”

It’s all about spotlighting how much this city’s business, service and non-profit community has grown over the past decade, Esau says. Despite this growth, she says, many residents, particularly newer ones, still default to going to Calgary for many services.

“Part of this campaign … is breaking habits and thinking if there are products and services they can find here first, before going somewhere else,” says Esau.

And it’s not just about choosing a local dentist or commissioning a local graphic artist to do work (which is just what Think Airdrie ended up doing as it sought a logo).

“It’s about closing the loop,” Esau says. This means if a local business sponsors an Airdrie event, a team or a fundraiser, consider patronizing that business. And if you hear a business you patronize supports a local team, non-profit or charity, consider supporting them, too.

“The big key and what we hope to get out of this is promoting awareness of Airdrie businesses and everything that is in Airdrie,” says Mike Brandrick of Palliser Lumber Sales Ltd., president of the Airdrie Chamber of Commerce and a Think Airdrie committee member. “You don’t always see it – you don’t always know what’s here. If you’re a commuter and you don’t go to the east side or to Main Street very often, you don’t always know what’s there.”

Although primarily aimed at Airdrionians, Brandrick says that some of the Think Airdrie messaging can appeal to residents of Calgary’s northern communities who live closer to Airdrie than they do to the city’s downtown. “If they can’t find it in their part of Calgary, they can probably find it in Airdrie,” he says.

The idea of closing the loop described by

Esau resonates with Brandrick. “Businesses can’t continue to provide support to community groups if the residents aren’t giving the support in return,” he says.

Newcomers to Airdrie – and there are a lot of them – can benefit from Think Airdrie, as it will help them learn more about their city, says Wade Cormier, sales manager with The Range 106.1 FM and another committee member.

“When I moved to Airdrie in 2004, it took me a few years to realize what was in Airdrie, and it took some effort to find what was in Airdrie,” he says. “Airdrie has a lot of hidden secrets and … one of my roles, especially at the radio station, is to put light on those secrets.”

Cormier doesn’t see Think Airdrie as an ‘Airdrie versus Calgary’ initiative.

“It’s lifestyle-related,” he says. “Dual-income families tend to have a busy lifestyle and don’t tend to see what they drive past every day. Not everyone is aware of Habitat for Humanity [in Airdrie] or the humane society, or the lack of humane society infrastructure, or the availability of drama classes.”

Think Airdrie is also about thinking about Airdrie as a great community in which to live.

“One of the key points of the Think Airdrie project is pride,” says Cormier. “Have pride in the city and the neighbourhood you live in, and how it supports you.”

Esau says the first priority of Think Airdrie is education. “Educate [people] about what’s here, the high level of customer service, the level of products you can purchase here and how business supports [the community] in turn,” she says.

Phase 1 of the campaign involves educating citizens, businesses and not-for-profit organizations about the contributions each makes to each other, Esau says. The awareness-raising includes distribution of Think Airdrie logo decals that are appearing on business doors and developing information packages.

“We held a logo competition and had 28 designs from 12 local designers,” says Esau. Airdrie resident Jana Bienz’s design of thought balloons depicting the diverse sectors in Airdrie (industry, retail/services, community/housing/ lifestyle, culture) was picked to lead the charge.

Brandrick says his goal is to see Think Airdrie evolve into a fully community-run committee that doesn’t need to be driven by the City and Chamber of Commerce. “The hope is people see the logo, they understand what it means and become passionate about the city and what it can offer,” he says. life

THINk AIRDRIE coMMITTEE

MEMBERS (AS oF ApRIl 2010):

Tricia Andres-Mcdonald, Belo sol swimwear

Joan bell, Airdrie yoga studio

Leona esau, City of Airdrie economic development

James froese, global Pet foods

Kim harris, City of Airdrie Community development

Lorna hunt, executive director, Airdrie Chamber of Commerce

Al Jones, Here’s the scoop/Advanced distribution

Lynn Kehoe, Cream Body and Bath sherry shaw-froggatt, frog Media/airdrielife wade cormier, the range 106.1 fM

Mike brandrick, president, Airdrie Chamber of Commerce

WITH coNTRIBuTIoNS FRoM: candice Kolson, Airdrie farmers Market sarah deveaux, Cater tot Consignments chris Macisaac, Airdrie economic development

Jody simpson, global A.P.e.