Smallmouth Bass capital logo created for Brock Township

DAN CEARNS, The Standard

BROCK: The Township of Brock has had a new logo created, to commemorate their title of 'Smallmouth Bass Capital of Canada.'

The logo was unveiled at a meeting, on Monday, June 12th, and features a curved fish leaping towards a hook with a sunset in the background.

A report from, Recreation and Leisure Coordinator, Alicia Bagshaw explained why the Township decided to hire a graphic designer, to create this logo, rather than go with a public contest.

"Council directed staff to host a logo design contest, challenging residents to create their own logo design which could be selected as the final logo for the Smallmouth Bass Capital of Canada. Before the contest was posted to the public, the Region of Durham reached out with some concerns of hosting a logo contest. Staff and Council met with the region to discuss their concerns for hosting a logo contest. One of the main concerns with allowing residents to design the logo was copyright infringement. There was no way for the Township to monitor if the designs were original, or if a component of them were copyrighted. An additional concern, brought forward by the Region of Durham, was a logo contest would not provide us with a certified/licensed graphic designer, which in turn would not provide the best quality logo design. Depending on the format, the design was provided [in], the Township may then have to hire a graphic designer to put the logo into a format which would be useful to the Township. So there were no real cost savings by doing a contest instead of hiring a graphic designer."

The report also noted, this logo was created while the Township was "working to secure the designation of 'Smallmouth Bass Capital of Canada.'" The report did not name the graphic designer the Township used.

Ward 3 Councillor Angela Canavan complimented the new logo.

"I love this design. I think it's fantastic," she said.

She also questioned how the Township plans on displaying this logo.

Ms. Bagshaw responded; explaining the Township plans on having it displayed on the gateway signs in Beaverton, at the harbourfront, and online on the Township's website and social media platforms.

Mayor Walter Schummer stated, he feels the Township needs to take this display rollout a step further.

"We're losing a lot of promotion on this, by not having it on our major highways," he said.

Ms. Bagshaw responded, stating the Township is in the "early stages" of rolling out signage for this logo, and Township staff will be looking at opportunities to put this signage on highways, and looking into what the Ministry of Transportation would require from the Township to allow this to happen.