It’s interesting to hear Jan Bridal, human resource coordinator for the Boyle Employment Centre, admit that she didn’t have high hopes when the facility first opened up last July.
Boyle, she figured, was too small of a community to generate a significant number of patrons for the facility, never mind the challenges posed by its initial location in the basement of the Boyle Community Centre.
But lo and behold, the Boyle Employment Centre has not only survived, but also thrived.
It has grown from a six-month pilot project to securing provincial government funding through March 2012. It has also graduated from sharing space with the Boyle Public Library to having its own facility on Railway Avenue, which was officially opened last week.
It goes to show that sometimes the only true hurdle in achieving success in a small community is opportunity.
Government bean counters could easily have looked at Boyle’s population and demographics and generated a whole bunch of reasons not to open an employment centre in the community. But, bolstered by a strong lobby from then-Mayor Bob Clark and other members of the former village council, the government was coerced into giving it a shot.
And surprise, surprise; the investment has paid off.
So kudos to the village council and staff for championing the project, and to Bridal for operating the centre in way that has resonated within the community. Its new storefront location provides a much more appropriate setting for an employment centre, and it makes good use of a highly visible commercial building that otherwise might have sat dormant.
All around, a win-win.
