Scott McWalter has made a loving gesture to Prince George that allows everyone to make their own loving gestures to Prince George.
McWalter has started a Facebook page entitled Hell Yeah Prince George! where the community can post photos, videos, anecdotes and comments in support of the city The site went live on Sunday at 11 a.m. By Monday noon, it had more than 3,500 members and was climbing by the minute. It got major boosts by Mayor Shari Green, MLAs Shirley Bond and John Rustad. Their networks were soon working to build interest in the Hell Yeah Prince George! page.
"I am absolutely blown away by the response from the community but this reaction wasn't exactly unanticipated," McWalter said. "I know so many people who agree that P.G. is a great place to live, work and play. And equally as phenomenal are the people who have moved away and see all the pictures and videos and stories on this page, and they make comments about how much they miss it because they moved away or they have been here to visit."
McWalter works in the marketing and communications department at UNBC and he is a second-generation resident of Prince George.
"I don't think there's a community in this world that doesn't have problems, but I can't emphasize enough how you should feel proud about Prince George and appreciate this place," he said. "We have so much to offer young professionals, families, all the benefits of a city but in the great outdoors. So people now have this page where they can talk about why P.G. is an amazing place to call home."
With the city's centennial, the university's 20th anniversary, and especially the Canada Winter Games all converging "the timing couldn't be more perfect" for people to express their civic pride.
There are other Facebook pages and websites dedicated to this city and McWalter said he wanted to use his page to promote those as well, especially Tourism Prince George's social media channels.
Facebook is also home to some negative Prince George sentiments and it was criticism of the city that prompted McWalter and a group of friends - Kris Foot, Chuck Chin, David Mothus and Rob Viergever - to respond.
"It took one nice cover photo and 15 minutes of my time to start this page, but the general ideas have been forming with me for years," McWalter said. "It's up to the people of P.G. to keep this page fresh and active."
