Lethbridge,
Alberta
Lethbridge,
Alberta was like a second home to me for at least a
decade when I lived in Calgary, owned a thriving
advertising agency, and was active with several key
industries located that Southern Alberta community.
Of major importance was agriculture, creating
campaigns for the Alberta Government, Cargill, the
potato industry at nearby Taber. My first
manufacturing client in the city was Prebuilt
Industries, managed by Elmer Ferguson and operated
by the Merriman family, whose principals were
Chester and his son Dale. Prebuilt manufactured
portable camps and a popular line of travel
trailers and motor homes, which were sold across
Canada by a network of dealers, many of whom also
sold mobile homes - a strange mix but common at the
time. I had the opportunity to meet and work with
this army of over 200 dealers and to provide them
with marketing tools in both French and English.
This led to our winning the industry's public
relations account, which opened up new
horizons.
The Lethbridge company's
well established brand name was "Scamper and
owning my first travel trailer led me into the
wonderful world of recreational vehicles, even to
enroll my family in a trailer club. The RV travel
experience is an area we intend to feature much
more on this web site, so we welcome your items and
stories. My associate, Don Markowsky became so
impressed with the RB industry, he went into it
full time, and pioneer in the RV rental field. He
focused on the European market, primarily Germany,
and to my knowledge is still active, working from
Calgary. Last time I saw him was at Rendezvous
Canada, a major travel industry event.
More of the Lethbidge
profile to come, including airport
information.
Here is some official
background information from Lethbridge Conventions
and Visitors Bureau (LCVB)
Lethbridge, the service center for southwest
Alberta, offers the ideal setting for conferences,
meetings and special events. There are 16 major
hotel/motel facilities in Lethbridge providing 1272
rooms for year round occupancy. This number
escalates to over 2,000 rooms with dormitory and
suite accommodations during the summer months when
the Lethbridge Community College and the University
of Lethbridge residences open up to convention
guests. Varying levels of accommodation, based on
rental rates and on-site services, provide a choice
to the convention and event visitor. Four of the 14
facilities have complete convention service with
the ability to facilitate as many as 1,200 people.
Larger events can be held at the Lethbridge
Exhibition Pavilion and the Enmax Centre and the
Lethbridge Soccer Centre.
Tourism and Hospitality
Information
http://www.city.lethbridge.ab.ca/profile/19.htm
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