Canada
My vast experience includes conducting investigative qualitative and quantitative research and writing articles. I provide news articles, social media content, website content, presentations, reports, videos, brochures, emails, flyers, newsletters and blogs. I write in a variety of styles from technical to storytelling and for a variety of audiences.
On this website, you will find articles I have written for Melissa Strle Communications, ATB Wealth, The Strathmore Times newspaper and Field Agent Canada. I also have many more examples of written content not included on this site.
Some of my articles and research have been referenced in the Toronto Star, Ottawa Sun, Market Business News and other major Canadian newspapers.
By Melissa Strle June 23, 2021 A press release is newsworthy information written by public and private companies for use by the public and the media or press. Press releases provide journalists and the media with company announcements and relevant company information. The goal is to position your brand in front of a wider audience.
Content Writing Content writing educates and entertains readers through the creation of content for digital channels. It generates organic traffic (visitors coming from search engines) from search engines with high-quality, valuable content.
Over the past year, industries have been shaken up due to the effects of COVID-19. During these unprecedented times, some industries have flourished, while others have struggled. New ways of doing business have been adopted and accelerated, such as curbside pickup, delivery, drive-through service and contactless payments in the restaurant and pub sector.
Published Friday, January 30, 2021 Calgary's downtown office vacancy rate is higher than any other major city in North America. A released this month by real estate firm CBRE Limited announced that Calgary's rate reached an all-time high of 29.5% in Q4 2020.
ATB Wealth Articles
If you are like most people, the latest global pandemic of COVID-19 may have changed the way you view the world. Living in an uncertain and unpredictable world has rocked some of our long term norms and ways of living.
One reason many families do not address will and estate planning is that they do not believe it is necessary, as they expect the law or their surviving partner will ensure matters will be addressed as intended.
You have spent a lifetime accumulating assets, and as you look at your will and estate plan, you want to make sure that your wealth transfers efficiently to your beneficiaries.
You're there! You’ve decided that it’s time to create your estate plan. But now what? Where do you begin to start and what do you do? Who do you talk to? These are just a few of the questions that might be racing through your mind. Here are some steps you can take towards successfully creating your unique estate plan to feel prepared for the future.
Becoming a parent is a milestone event in our lives. Many new parents reflect on how their life is different and the responsibilities associated with raising a child for decades to come. Occasionally, these new responsibilities result in a number of action items to secure the future of the family.
Strathmore Times Articles
Melissa Strle Times Reporter Western Feedlots Ltd. announced last week that it voluntarily decided to suspend cattle feeding and ownership operations at its operating sites near Strathmore, High River and Mossleigh. The company, which started in 1958, will feed and market existing cattle and once that is complete, operations will be terminated.
Melissa Strle Times Reporter Strathmore native Kari Fulton, along with members of the Canadian Search and Disaster Dogs Association (CASDDA), arrived back in Canada on Oct. 26 after providing search and rescue services in Haiti after the devastating hurricane rocked the region on Oct. 4.
Melissa Strle Times Reporter Martin Shields, MP Bow River, was at the Langdon Crossing Bar & Grill on Aug. 24 to meet with local people for an informal coffee talk regarding the constituency. Shields acknowledged that it’s tough out there right now for the Alberta economy because a lot of people are unemployed in the oil and gas sector.
Melissa Strle Times Reporter Strathmore heralded in another successful Stampede and Heritage Days from July 29 to Aug. 1 amid unpredictable weather and rampant rainstorms that cancelled some performances on Saturday night.
Melissa Strle Times Reporter Canada Post and the Canadian Union of Postal Workers (CUPW) are under pressure to resolve negotiation talks that have been going on for almost a year, as the threat of a possible postal strike looms for Canadians and the citizens of Strathmore.
Melissa Strle Times Reporter Bow Valley College is looking to offer more program choices through an expansion to its local office, or a physical move to a better space. The college currently offers two program choices through its Strathmore campus located in the FCSS building in downtown Strathmore.
Melissa Strle Times Reporter The Strathmore Minor Hockey Association will soon be starting its season, with evaluations starting the second week of September and running to the first week in October. Association president Kevin Brelis said the association expected registrant numbers to go down this year due to the flailing Alberta economy; however, numbers have stayed about the same.
Melissa Strle Times Reporter Local country singer Drew Gregory won male artist of the year at the first annual YYC Music Awards (Calgary’s Music Awards) at the National Music Centre in Calgary on Sept. 25. The awards were designed to give recognition to the achievements of Calgary’s music community, and a variety of music genres were recognized.
Melissa Strle Times Reporter Olympian Akeem Haynes visited some schools in Strathmore on Oct. 13 to share his personal Olympic journey with Strathmore students. His message was nothing short of inspirational and served as a reminder that all people can chase their dreams.
Melissa Strle Times Reporter Healthcare in the Strathmore area has changed significantly over the last five years as more and more doctors have arrived in the area to provide a range of services for residents.
Melissa Strle Times Reporter Alberta’s fourth annual Open Farm Days was held Aug. 20-21, with over 90 farms, ranches and ag-tourism operators opening their gates to the public to share culinary experiences, stories and demonstrations. Some local farms that joined this event included Field Stone Fruit Wines, Country Lane Farms, Poplar Bluff Organics and Rosebud Valley Honey.
Melissa Strle Times Reporter Large crowds filled the Strathmore Civic Centre on the morning of Nov. 11 as people came to honour, pay tribute to and remember those who sacrificed for our country. As crowds filled the large room, many others stood outside to hear and take part in the important ceremony.
Melissa Strle Times Reporter Double Juno award-winning Canadian blues guitarist Jack de Keyzer will be performing at the Travelodge in Strathmore on Nov. 5 as part of a short Alberta tour which will cover Edmonton, Tofield, Strathmore and Calgary.
An upcoming agritourism and farm direct marketing bus tour for producers and processors will offer farmers and processors the opportunity to learn, network and share ideas.
Melissa Strle Times Reporter Boyd Lalonde from Sechelt, B.C. is walking across Canada for the second time to help raise awareness of depression. He expects the journey to take approximately two and a half years.
Melissa Strle Times Reporter In 2017, Canada will mark its 150th anniversary of confederation. To help celebrate this momentous event locally, the Town of Strathmore is looking to create a Canada 150 planning committee designed to focus on community celebrations and legacy projects to help commemorate this important event.
Melissa Strle Times Reporter Bevan Daverne, Superintendent of Golden Hills School Division, met before a packed house at the Standard School on Aug. 29 to inform parents of details concerning the delayed opening of the new Wheatland Crossing School, timelines going forward, bus routes and possible options to move the students to the new school.
Melissa Strle Times Reporter A&W Strathmore will be raising money for multiple sclerosis (MS) on Thursday, Aug. 25, with their Burgers to Beat MS program. Currently, Canada has one of the highest rates of MS in the world. It affects young adults between the ages of 15-40 and affects the central nervous system. Unfortunately, there is no cure for this devastating disease.
Melissa Strle Times Reporter The storm that caused havoc during the Strathmore Stampede and Heritage Days left its mark on the surround community as well. On Saturday, July 30, a major storm ripped through the Hamlet of Nightingale and caused severe damage to local properties and farms.
Melissa Strle Times Reporter Three-year-old Colton Sheppard of Strathmore recently returned from The War Amps 2016 Western Child Amputee (CHAMP) seminar, held July 8-10 in Saskatoon. Child amputees from Alberta, Saskatchewan and Manitoba converged for the three-day seminar to aid in supporting families and children facing this health challenge, and to mark the 70th anniversary of The War Amps Key Tag Service.
Melissa Strle Times Reporter According to the Alberta Association of Optometrists, parents should take their children for eye exams at six months of age, once between ages two and five, and every year thereafter. Children are covered for the financial cost of full eye exams by the government up to their 19th birthday.
Melissa Strle Times Reporter The Strathmore Reds bantam AA baseball team won silver at the Western Canadian Baseball Championships in St. Albert on Aug. 14. Head coach Jason Tanton provided skilled leadership to help guide the team to win provincials and then to win silver at this major sporting event.
Melissa Strle Times Reporter Debbie Wakelam, owner of Meadowlark Senior Care Homes for the past 15 years, provides a private Alberta government licensed supportive living facility – group home for nine seniors to live in within the Strathmore neighbourhood of Hillview, and she specializes in dementia patients. Wakelam says she is disappointed with the level of health services seniors in private facilities receive.
Agriculture for Life hosted a farm tour on Sept. 21 that enabled teachers from Strathmore, Calgary and surrounding area to see up close a local grain farm, a cattle feedlot and mill, and a ranch focused on producing grass-fed beef.
Melissa Strle Times Reporter A Strathmore team of healthcare providers from the Calgary Rural Primary Care Network was recognized for their contributions to primary health care earlier this year at the 50th annual Mackid Symposium.
Field Agent Articles
The recent news that Future Shop is closing its 131 Canadian stores and is re- branding 65 of the stores under the Best Buy banner has left yet another wave of change in the Canadian retail sector.
Canadian Tire is expanding its reward program in October to offer a digital option for customers to collect Canadian Tire money on a card or smartphone. But, this will not replace paper Canadian Tire money, which has been around since 1958 defining Canada’s oldest loyalty program. Approximately $1-billion in Canadian Tire money has been in circulation since the first launch.
Last week Target announced that it is pulling out of Canada and this news will once again change the Canadian retail industry. There are 133 Target store locations across Canada that are up for sale and companies have the opportunity to study these locations to determine if purchasing these locations suits their companies’ strategic goals.
Steve Jobs came up with a brilliant idea to create Apple stores that showcase Apple products in an interactive environment. As customers enter the store, they are able to walk up to different counters and test out iPads, iPods, iPhones, and many other different Apple products.
Just as loyalty programs like Safeway's Just for U and Shoppers Drug Mart's Optimum program have gained in popularity, just last week Loblaw unveiled its new PC Plus loyalty program. This program is designed to be the latest digitally intelligent loyalty program.
Most people are walking around with mobile devices and using them in many different ways in the retail environment. A Canadian shopper study by Brandspark at Mobile Personas revealed that there are approximately 13.5 million Canadians walking around with mobile devices in tow.
In 2014, Rona started to see more positive results from the turnaround efforts of the newly formed recovery plan it employed after Lowe's unsuccessfully tried to purchase the company in 2012. During the second quarter of 2014, the company showed encouraging signs in sales as same store sales of corporate stores in the retail segment grew for the first time since 2010 compared to last year.
by Melissa Strle, Aug. 23, 2015 Almost every town and city in Canada has a mall. Some are larger and some smaller, while some have high profile tenants and others are more understated. The biggest mall operators in Canada include Cadillac Fairview, Oxford, and Ivanhoe Cambridge.
If you've ever visited a Party City store, you'll see a tightly run business model with an immaculate store appearance reminiscent of Loblaw's store model. The aisles have a crisp, clean look and all store shelves consist of products that are fronted and stocked well enough to produce an impressive display.
Do you ever get tired of waiting in line at the cash register to pay for goods you are ready to purchase? Time seems to be of the essence for many of us in North America, and some retailers have seen this as an opportunity to help reduce wait times at the cash register by providing mobile cash registers that can be used anywhere within stores to help customers through the checkout process.
Just when we thought Wal-Mart already had a big presence in Canada, last week the company announced it is significantly adding to its current store network. The company announced it would be investing Cdn $500 million in 2014 to drive growth in Canada, mainly through fresh food offerings.
Certain industries such as the video rental industry have fallen over the advance of technology and other industries like the book industry have remained under threatening circumstances with the decline in paper books and the advance of digital technology.
The retail sector was transformed in 2013 with new entrants, mega-mergers, technology and shifting trends. The much anticipated Target stores entered Canada and rolled out stores across the country. Grocery giant Sobey's bought Safeway, Loblaw bought Shoppers Drug Mart and the Hudson's Bay Company bought luxury retailer Saks Fifth Avenue.
Discount department stores are about to make a big mark in Canada as more and more retailers find ways to tap the discount market. The market for these types of stores is seeing an increasing popularity, which can be seen as retailers start opening up discount store versions of original stores.
Newspaper Pictures
Melissa StrleTimes Reporter Alberta's fourth annual Open Farm Days was held Aug. 20-21, with over 90 farms, ranches and ag-tourism operators opening their gates to the public to share culinary experiences, stories and demonstrations.Some local farms that joined this event included Field Stone Fruit Wines, Country Lane Farms, Poplar Bluff Organics and Rosebud Valley Honey.
Rodeo Newspaper Pictures