New economic development mascot brings 'plenty of smiles, hugs and high fives.'

Could this old town of ours possibly be big enough for *two* elephants?

The St. Thomas Economic Development Corp. is betting so.

Since summer, Eddie the Elephant has been greeting folks at a number of community events – most recently, on Saturday at the Elgin County Museum’s Jumbomania.

“Eddie isn’t related to Jumbo, but he doesn’t mind the comparison. He’s always admired Jumbo as a hometown icon,” says Sarah Noble, the development corporation’s manager of marketing and communications.

The costumed mascot was commissioned by the St. Thomas Economic Development Corp. – Eddie is a play on economic development, get it? – to be an approachable, community booster, and to trumpet to the world what Sarah says we’ve known all along: “This community is strong, resilient, creative, and absolutely worth celebrating.”

Eddie is the corporation’s head cheer officer, Sarah says, and he has made appearances at a number of local events since his debut at St. Thomas downtown’s Nostalgia Nights.

“The response has been exactly what we hoped for: plenty of smiles, hugs and high fives.”

Eddie was built by the same Toronto company that created Carleton the Bear for the Toronto Maple Leafs and Billy Buffalo for the Buffalo Bills at a cost of about $7,000.

Togged out in his #stthomasproud or his I (Heart) Jumbo T-shirts – both available through the development corporation’s Railway City Tourism – “Eddie loves working in economic development because it’s about building futures, not just buildings.”

“He believes every new shop downtown, every factory job, every mural painted, and every family choosing St. Thomas as home, is part of a bigger story – one he’s proud to parade in every day,” Sarah says.

(To inquire about an event appearance, contact Sarah at snoble@stthomas.ca.)

And while we’re asking questions, let’s ask whatever happened to those Talbot Trail Boys?

Henry Adam Svec, who, by day, is a professor of communication arts at the........

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