By Brittany Hanson/Garden Grove Journal
“Where is Stanton?” is what Carol Jacobs, city manager, asks of the room filled with local business people. Where is Stanton?
On Thursday, Jan. 13, the first annual Business Appreciation Lunch was held at the City Community Center at 7800 Katella Ave. The question of how well-known the city is to the greater commercial world was central to the discussion.
“We always appreciate our businesses, but we don’t always show it,” said Jacobs. The lunch was not only to show a measure of appreciation for the businesses in the city of Stanton, some of which have been there for 60 years, but also to spread new ideas that the Stanton Business Alliance was considering to bring in more economic profit.
The top idea that is being brought to the table is trying to find a “brand” for Stanton, something that can be used to appeal to shoppers to encourage buying in the city.
Speaker Linda DiMario said, “ We are looking for ways to brand the city, to note the strength of Stanton to attract customers.”
It is key, said DiMario,that people understand that the image of Stanton itself is not being changed, but that the point of this exercise and movement is to build a memorable image for people to associate with business in Stanton.
The image factor that became a part of the conversation came from meetings that the city of Stanton has had with the Stanton Business Alliance [SBA].
The SBA is an organization that was formed to better help staff communicate with businesses about needs in the community.
“Sometimes, in the past, we [the city staff] have been a road block [for business]. Part of this alliance is to work with the businesses and communicate about the changes that need to happen,” said Jacobs.
By having quarterly meetings with the SBA, the city found out that one of the biggest topics was drawing more business to the city, something that is hard to do when it is hard to find.
Mayor Brian Donahue said that the most often asked question of him is, “Where is Stanton?”
“So what we’re trying to do here is to create that brand or image, because, you know, you say ‘I’m from Stanton’ and people say, ‘where?.” said Donahue, “It’s just zip zip and you’re through the city.”
