'Rooted In' campaigning kicks off

"Rooted in" banners have gone up around the City of Malta and will soon be hanging in your neighborhood too.

"Rooted in" is a slogan which was decided upon by a large group of people throughout Phillips County who came together to figure out a "brand" for the area. "Rooted In" was the last brand standing when all the meetings were concluded and it is the hope that the phrase, and the banners, represent the people who live here, local industry, and lifestyle to let visitors know what Phillips County has to offer while at the same time showing the pride the residents of the area believe in.

The project was spearheaded by several local organizations including the Malta Area Chamber of Commerce and the PhillCo Economic Growth Council. The groups took their cues for "Rooted in" from cities and towns around the state and a survey was sent out to people in the community. Once the surveys were all returned, and several meetings were held, "Rooted in" was picked as the County brand to show that the people of Phillips County are settled in here, are connected through family, friends and home, while paying homage to agriculture industries which are the roots of the area. The banners are various colors - the City of Malta's are blue, for instance, and Dodson is green and gold, a representation of the DHS Coyotes colors.

The first banners to go up in Malta are the "Rooted in Malta" and "Rooted in Phillips County" and currently are up - supported on light poles with state of the art, high-wind brackets - on Central Avenue and Main Street. Keep a lookout for such "Rooted in" banners in Dodson, Whitewater, Saco, Zortman, and Loring. and other communities as well as the more pointed "Rooted in Dinosaurs" which will be hung up at the Great Plains Dino Museum in the spring. Banners can be purchased for anything, be it "Rooted in Sports" or "Rooted in 4-H" - for a fee of which including the brackets. For more information on the banners people can contact the Chamber of Commerce at 654-1776. (The banners are manufactured and sold by a company in Las Vegas, Nevada, and when bumper stickers, shirts and other "Rooted In" paraphernalia is produced, it will be done so locally.)

The City of Malta purchased a total of 10 banners (and the high-wind brackets will stay up year-round and will hold new Christmas banners during the holiday season) and the Malta Chamber purchased the other two that hang in that city. The Malta Chamber and PhillCo also purchased one banner each for each of the towns and communities in Phillips County as phase one of the project came to the close with the hanging of the banners in Malta in January.

The groups behind the slogan campaign said that whittling-down process of ideas for a Phillips County brand was laborious and with much discussion. When the term "Rooted in" was brought up, one member of the group said it was an "aha moment" and the choice was made.

"We'd been through a dozen different words, phrases, and concepts and then we found that and said that is the one," she said. "It was a fun thing to do and it all took about a year to complete and we hope this is just phase one."