Stakeholders in Morden's community took part in a new initiative titled Morden Bold.

Morden Bold is a plan based off work done in Winnipeg to get those from the community to brainstorm bold ideas and concepts which will have a positive economic impact for the city.

Invited by the Morden District and Chamber of Commerce (MDCC), Dave Angus, former President & CEO of the Winnipeg Chamber of Commerce (WCC) was tasked with helping coordinate the ideas and keep the table groups on task.

Angus explains the Bold initiative had great significance for ideas in Winnipeg and will be hugely beneficial for Morden.

"It was a real game changer for our chamber, and we didn't know how it was going to go. We started with an event like this, and we were blown away with how many ideas came from the people in the community, but we were also blown away by the passion and their willingness to contribute to making some of these things happen."

With the guidance of Angus and the dedication of members of Morden, MDCC Chair Michelle Sawatzky, and there were numerous ideas generated, and although some of these ideas won't go anywhere, there has to be the first step.

She shares there were many bright but straightforward ideas:

*Build a suspension bridge over the dam;

*Create a mosasaur statue that calls the lake home;

*Mentorship opportunities for new businesses;

*Continued development of Morden's bike path system, to name a few.

She notes the brainstorming is only the first step, and now they need to move onto phase two.

"We're going to put a report together; we're going to compile these ideas. From there, we're going to get the people back, and we're going to strategize."

Sawatzky says they've made some significant first steps and they're not going to slow down.

Dave Angus, former President & CEO of the Winnipeg Chamber of Commerce was the facilitator for the Morden Bold initiative.