“Why bother to work harder? The government is just going to tax me more. Why bother to start this new business? It’s probably going to fail due to the economic situation and all the red tape I have to follow.”

Words spoken in an opening statement to Rocky Mountain House town council by Tim Hoven, vice president of the Rocky Chamber of Commerce.

“Others say that we’re still having to deal with the slow ripple effect of the COVID regulations, with the division within our community,” said Hoven.

Hoven was part of a four-person delegation which appeared before council on Sept. 10, presenting an initiative called ‘Unstoppable Conversations’.

“I think the scariest statement is ‘why bother to work to make our community better?'” asked Hoven, rhetorically. “Because it won’t make a difference. And that’s usually followed by, ‘I did that before and it didn’t work because nothing changed.'”

According to the delegation, ‘Unstoppable Conversations’ is a wide-ranging initiative designed to ‘create a positive difference for our community’ and ‘change the way our community thinks about itself’.

Instead of “why bother”, Hoven says the goal is to move the community to a place of community growth.

Part of the initiative includes an ask of the Town for $10,837.50 – constituting 25 per cent of the cost for an upcoming two-day conference and subsequent coaching.

The Rocky Chamber has committed 50 per cent of the cost, and has also asked the Town’s counterparts at Clearwater County to foot 25 per cent, says Kevin Gangel, CEO and co-founder of Unstoppable Conversations.

Among its strategies, Gangel says the organization takes a visceral approach to community building.

“What’s the unspoken conversations that are happening? What are the mental models, the views that people already have that aren’t necessarily said, that sit in the background and determine what people think is possible,” said Gangel.

In a July 18, 2024 letter sent to council, an Unstoppable Conversations conference would feature a day one theme called ‘Discover Your Hidden Weakness’, followed by a day two theme of ‘Shape Weakness Into A new Form of Power’.

Councillor Dave Auld was initially hesitant, recalling an earlier, business community-driven initiative called ‘Ignite Rocky’, which he says was initially met with enthusiasm, but eventually fizzled out.

Coun. Len Phillips says Unstoppable Conversations differs from Ignite Rocky in that its stated goal is to involve all community members, not just municipal councils or business groups.

“I would like to at least try something and see if we can change the narrative of negativity to positivity,” said Phillips. “Changing that narrative will inherently increase the thoughts and minds of the residents of Rocky Mountain House and be able to spin that narrative to positive and that will create bonuses in the future.”

Coun. Tina Hutchinson is optimistic the nearly $11,000 investment will pay off.

“I think we have to think long term, in that we’re investing in the future of our community,” says Hutchinson. “If we don’t have a positive community culture going forward, will we be stuck in the past?”

Following an upcoming, two-day conference, organizers say there will then be eight to 12 weeks of performance coaching and implementation of an unspecified project that is “unique to the community”.

On Sept. 17, council approved funding of $10,837.50 for the Rocky Chamber initiative to be funded from the Town’s Council Priority Reserves.

Clearwater County is set to discuss the matter during a later meeting.