Program canceled effective December 31, 2009.

Due to declining demand and participation, the Downtown Owen Sound Community Benefits Card program will be discontinued at the end of 2009.

After much thought and deliberation, the decision was reluctantly made by the OSDIA Marketing Committee at their November 10, 2009 meeting.

Citing a participation rate of approximately 3.5%, the Marketing Committee (which is made up of Downtown Owen Sound business owners/operators) voted to discontinue the Community Benefits Card Program at the end of 2009. While many recognized the potential value of promotional initiatives such as the Community Benefits Card Program, the unfortunate reality was that demand and participation had declined and the 2009 program only included 13 downtown retailers.

We hope to redirect these energies in 2010 to other initiative aimed at driving local, regional, and tourism visitations to our Downtown. In this regard, we encourage and welcome any feedback and participation you and your staff might be able to offer.