This weeks DGWGO Friday Focus is on another local Community page , that vbery much like DGWGO Aims to get people interested and excited about this wonderful region , The page we are focusing on actually admits that to start with they used DGWGO as a bit of a Guide to get their page up and running , which we are very proud and flattered about indeed ! The Page we are focusing on Today is ‘Dalbeattie Matters’
Dalbeattie Matters website was launched about 8 or 9 years ago and was a joint initiative between Dalbeattie Initiative and Dalbeattie Community Council and Ann Atwell ran it herself for the first 4 years, before I volunteered to help her.
There is so much to see and do in and around Dalbeattie, and the wider area and it was built up to provide the people of Dalbeattie and surrounding area with a single point at their fingertips where they could access information, and we have sections listing all the local groups; as many of the businesses as we can, community council information, local events, links to other websites, etc. It also used to be just mainly local news we put on, but over time, I’ve started putting on anything that catches my attention that I think will be of interest to the local community, or is something they need to know. I always bear in mind that people who grew up in Dalbeattie and have moved away often access it for news of home, as do visitor who are coming to the area.
We had started the FB page around the beginning of December 2012 as we both felt we missing a lot of people by not using FB. Neither of us were really into FB that much although we both had our own pages, and really didn’t do a great deal with it to start with. It only came into its own round around the time of the snow in March last year, when we all needed to pull together to keep our communities as informed as possible about conditions on the roads, and it has grown from there. I only work part time at the moment, so can keep both up usually in the morning before I go to work, but when I was working full time it had to be fitted in around work. Ann was there most of the time doing stuff as well but she gave up in December 2012. Michelle McRobert from the Initiative Office took over from Ann, but she doesn’t have a lot of time and it is mainly me that looks after both sites.
There is so much to do and see in and around the Dalbeattie area and the website and, more particularly now, the FB page are a great way of letting people locally, and from further afield, know what is on offer. Both mediums are great for visitors coming into the area, as they can see what is going on locally and in the wider area, look for places to stay and find places to eat.
D&G is a brilliant area to live in and it is really a ‘mini’ Scotland in one region as we have hills (although much more gentle that the Highlands), we have forests and we have miles and miles of beautiful coast. Although it is a widespread rural area, there is such a lot going on all across the region, from our brilliant food producers, to our artists and craft makers, artisan bakers, attractions for people to visit and our spectacular scenery and it is good to have outlets like our website and FB page to publicise it all.
If you wish to get your Dalbeattie Events uploaded on the Dalbeattie Matters web site vist this link http://www.dalbeattiematters.co.uk/contact.asp and you can get them on the DGWGO events calendar by visiting us at www.dgwgo.com/events Together we can let the world know What Matters and Whats going on !!!!
