Response to ostrich snafu earns awards for Taber
The Town of Taber didn't bury its head in the sand last year when about 20 ostriches got loose in the southern Alberta town, and a year later the municipality has won three awards for its response to the bizarre incident.
The ostriches ran loose in the town's streets Nov. 24, 2022 after escaping from a local farm early that morning, evading police officers and the animals' owner. All of the large, flightless birds, which can run up to 70 kilometres per hour were captured by early afternoon, though one died after being struck by a vehicle.
After the incident, the municipality decided to recognize the efforts that went into apprehending the ostriches by donating 20 turkeys to the local food bank and challenging people to donate to their local food banks.
As the Town of Taber noted in a news release on Monday, the reaction was overwhelmingly positive and attracted international attention for the community of about 9,000 residents roughly 250 kilometres southeast of Calgary.
The town said its innovative Flightless Birds for Foodbanks campaign earned three awards from the Association of Marketing and Communications Professionals.
“I don't believe I'll ever see an event like this again in my career, but I'm thankful for the opportunity my team granted me to let my birdbrained idea take flight to offer a little levity to the situation,” said Meghan Brennan, the town's communications and projects co-ordinator.
“While the awards are a true honour to receive, my fondest achievement has been witnessing the public's positive reaction and engagement with their local government.”
Brennan has been recognized with the association's Gold Hermes Creative Award, which “honours the messengers and creators of the information revolution.” The municipality also earned a Communitas Award for Excellence in Community Service: Making a Difference, given to “exceptional businesses ... who are changing how they do business to benefit their communities” and a
Platinum Marcom Award, which honours excellence in marketing and communication.
Since the ostrich incident, the municipality has made an effort to make its communications with the public more fun and relatable, said Brennan.
“Our citizens' response to our funnier information posts has been overwhelmingly positive and we're thrilled to be continuing that trend in the future — where appropriate, of course,” she said.
The strange incident showed Taber is willing to laugh at itself, no matter how absurd the situation, said Taber Mayor Andrew Prokop.
“This very bizarre ostrich western rodeo roundup was very unique, challenging, entertaining and involved many individuals trying to help recapture the escaped birds,” said Prokop.