The city of Humboldt, Sask., is looking to revamp its image as a way of helping people move past the Broncos bus crash.
Spokeswoman Penny Lee said Humboldt became known to many as “the grieving city” after the April 6, 2018, collision.
Sixteen people died and thirteen were injured when the driver of a semi-truck missed a stop sign at a rural intersection and drove into the path of the junior hockey team’s bus.
“Possibly everybody’s felt that, OK, Humboldt is just about the Broncos,” Lee said Friday.
“We’re so much more than that.”
Residents are being asked to fill out a survey that will be used to help the city craft a new look. It may include a new logo and tag line.
“We’ve actually heard businesses, local businesses say, that their suppliers are afraid to come to Humboldt because, ‘Oh no. They’re still grieving,’” Lee said.
“We want to get that message out that … it’s OK. We’re moving on and we want everybody else to move on, but not forget.”
WATCH (Sept. 5, 2019): Mattieu Gomercic on surviving the Humboldt Broncos bus crash
Although many people still use the phrase “Humboldt Strong,” which emerged after the crash, Lee said she doesn’t think the city will adopt it as an official slogan because it may not make sense to residents in future years.
So far, she said, people who have responded to the survey say Humboldt is a clean and friendly place to be.
“To me, that’s exactly what it was before April 6.”