Umbrellas offer shelter for shoppers
Fuller Watson is one of the first sponsors of the BIA's umbrella initiative
Ineke Boekhorst of the Downtown BIA delivered bright courtesy orange umbrellas to Fuller Watson this week. At the receiving end was Justin Fuller.
Photograph by: Maria Rantanen , TIMES
The head of the business improvement association wants to see a "sea of umbrellas" in rainy Haney.
Bright orange umbrellas will be appearing in stores throughout the downtown Maple Ridge area, an initiative of the Downtown Maple Ridge Business Improvement Association.
The first 100 umbrellas have been made up with the names of the first six sponsors who helped pay for phase one of the program.
And there are six other sponsors lined up for the next batch, said Ineke Boekhorst, executive director of the BIA.
Boekhorst delivered umbrellas to Fuller Watson on Tuesday morning as the furniture and appliance store was one of the first companies to jump aboard.
"Businesses really like it... it fits with rainy Haney," Boekhorst said.
Justin Fuller, who represents the third generation of the Fuller family at the store on 224th Street and Lougheed Highway, said he hopes the umbrellas help keep shoppers dry and offer "good customer service." He added he also hopes the program promotes downtown businesses as well.
The courtesy umbrellas will be in businesses in the downtown area for anyone to pick up and use and then deposit at another downtown business.
The business association has hundreds of umbrellas stands, and Boekhorst is hoping they will be in businesses over the next while, especially street-level businesses.
For a list of business that have courtesy umbrellas, people can go to the downtown Maple Ridge BIA's website at www. downtownmapleridge.ca.
