CONFUSION ABOUT VANCOUVER WASHINGTON

Vancouver, Washington is located on the Columbia River directly across from Portland, Oregon. Seems simple enough, yet, over and over again citizens of our community have to explain that we are not in Canada.

Our Mayor’s flagstaff statement is, “We live in America’s Vancouver”. We were actually named by George Vancouver, an English Captain, who traveled by ship to this area. He named our city first, then went to Canada, and named it Vancouver.

Issues that keeping popping up:

When you tell a travel agent you want to go to Vancouver, you have to make sure that she routes you to the Portland/Vancouver International Airport.

A large music group was scheduled to perform in our terrific amphitheater. The plane stopped in Seattle and it was then the group realized they were heading to Vancouver, B.C. No tickets were available so they had to make a three-hour bus trip to our community.

When attending conferences in Seattle, we have to introduce ourselves by saying, “I am from Vancouver, Washington”. Otherwise the assumption is made we are from Canada.

When traveling, we have to make sure our suitcases are routed to Portland/Vancouver International Airport….not Vancouver, B.C.

When using search engines for Vancouver, Washington more than likely, it will include searches for Vancouver, B.C.

National news reporters say Vancouver—that normally means Vancouver, B.C.

Met a consultant through Twitter that lives in Vancouver, B.C – both of us have experienced getting calls for our services only to discover the person had us in the wrong country.

I received a call from a reporter asking my opinion on the subject of unemployment. I called her back and it took us bit to realize that she thought I was in Vancouver, B.C. – the end of the interview immediately.

Recently, I was on a plane and I said I was from Washington. The gentleman sitting next to me said “Washington, D.C.”?

Glad I know who I am – it seems my community continues to have an identity problem.

BUSINESS COMMUNICATION TIP:

Keep track of your successes each day. You will be surprised at how much you actually have accomplished. In addition, you have a record of the date you performed the task.