Bisons announce new sponsor

Justin Seward

Times Reporter

 

The UFA Bisons are proud to announce that CFR Chemicals will be their new sponsor starting next season.
Bisons General Manager Wayne Hansen says that what the company had to offer was a no-brainer decision from the start of negotiations, which began shortly after the Mac’s Midget Tournament in December.
“The huge thing for us is both their company and our organization are very similar in their thought process. They like to develop their employees and internally we’re (doing) the same thing,” said Hansen. “It was really important when we started our search that we found a partner. We firmly believe we found a solid partner that’s going help us increase our presence in the community of our brand.”
With CFR being a province wide company, it will provide some exposure wherever the team is.
“We’re very excited to have CFR on board because they bring some fresh ideas to the table and they’re going to challenge us to think outside the box,” said Hansen.
“We underwent this huge change three years ago when we became a billet program. One of the things that CFR Chemicals is going allow us to do is they’re going to want us to expand on that.”
CFR Chemicals Operations Manager Jeff Gellately is honoured to have their company involved with the Bisons organization.
“We’re trying to get our brand out in the mainstream so it’s a little more recognizable and when I had heard the Bison organization was parting ways with UFA, I took it to our senior managers and we had a discussion,” said Gellately. “We contacted the Bisons and we made a pitch that they appreciated.”
What was most appealing to Gellately was the type of program that the Bisons are running.
“I think for me personally, it’s the program that they’ve put together. Our target market is to build our brand and image in Calgary and although Strathmore and the Bisons are out of town a bit, they play frequently in Calgary,” said Gellately. “They’re a first class organization and I was familiar with them. The program they’ve put together, the way they build these young adults into more than just hockey players.”
For CFR Chemicals, this is a new identity for them but is a really exciting opportunity that is presented to them.
In the past CFR has supported hockey teams buy hosting golf tournaments, purchasing jackets, or helping with signage. This is the first time they have decided to sponsor a team.
“This is a big step for the company to make. The organization for one made it any easy decision and two I think the mileage and exposure in the game, it’s all positive for our organization,” said Gellately.
He added that the logo would not have significant changes.
“We don’t want to change a whole lot of the image of the Bisons because there is history and personally I’m a traditionalist at heart as well.”