Let’s Make a Pitch event cancelled

Melissa Strle
Times Reporter

 

The Town of Strathmore has cancelled the Let’s Make a Pitch Event due to a low number of applications.
According to Kendra Armstrong, community events assistant with the Town of Strathmore, the joint decision to cancel was made on Sept. 20.
“We waited until noon and then the decision was made along with the mayor and the CAO of the town and Tracy Simpson,” she said. “We had a low amount of applications come through and just didn’t see that it was worth going forward with it this year.”
Armstrong said the town intends to bring the event back in 2017 and then perhaps hold it bi-yearly or every other year thereafter. But ultimately, the decision will be based on funding.
Armstrong said she thought sponsorship might have been down this year due to the economy, and letters had already come out stating that different organizations and businesses would not able to assist this year. However, this was not the reason that the event was cancelled.
In the meantime, the town hopes to get out in the community and find out what’s missing, and what it can do to help increase participation and set the stage for a more successful event next year.
Armstrong said they gave town residents a lot of notice and the event was advertised well in advance, starting with newspaper advertising in early spring.
This would have been the third year of the Let’s Make a Pitch event in Strathmore.
Hope Bridges won the first event in 2014 and was awarded $10,000. Then in 2015, the Western District Historical Society competed with five groups and was awarded $5,000.
Yearly variances in prizes were due to funding.
The Western District Historical Society has been working on the 2015 winning project and was going to present the project this year.
Armstrong is unsure how this part of last year’s winning project will be presented.
“At this point we still have to figure out what we’re doing with that,” said Armstrong. “We’ll have to have something come forward with that, but it’s unclear at this time.”
In the meantime, those who have donated funds towards the 2016 Let’s Make a Pitch event will be reimbursed.