From the fantastic weather and the beautiful natural surroundings to friendly Whistlerites and even great food, Mayor Ken Melamed heard compliments on just about every aspect of Whistler from hundreds of people from across Canada over the past week.

By all accounts the Federation of Canadian Municipalities (FCM) conference, held last Friday through Monday (June 5 to 8), was a success for Whistler. The largest conference to be held in the resort to date, it brought an estimated $4 to $6 million in economic activity to town, Melamed said Tuesday (June 9).

What’s more, it gave “important” people from across Canada (including federal party leaders Michael Ignatieff and Jack Layton and ministers John Baird and Bev Oda) a first-hand taste of what Whistler has to offer — improving the resort’s reputation across the country and helping Canadians “fall in love with Whistler,” he said. Melamed said his unofficial poll of delegates showed about 75 per cent had never been to Whistler before.

“It was just such a huge success,” he said.

As the conference wound down Monday at the Telus Conference Centre, FCM President Jean Perrault extended a thank you to all Whistler residents for the warm welcome and attention.

“They have been absolutely marvellous,” Perrault said. “They are indeed ready to welcome the world for the 2010 Winter Olympic Games.”

Melamed said those kinds of comments were common as he helped host the 1,800 FCM delegates, plus their companions and the trade show exhibitors at the Municipal Expo. He said he couldn’t walk 10 feet in the Village without being stopped by someone offering a thank you or compliment.

First-term Whistler Councillor Tom Thomson said almost everyone he talked to marvelled at the beauty of Whistler and the friendliness of locals. Toronto Mayor David Miller told delegates in a breakfast address on Monday that Toronto won’t be able to top Whistler when it hosts the FCM conference next year, but it would do its best to show everyone a good time, Thomson said.

“It was as good as Whistler gets,” Thomson said. “… All of Whistler should be proud of the image we put forth to the rest of the country.”

Melamed and Thomson both said a highlight of the conference was Sunday night’s mountaintop gala, which saw a capacity crowd of delegates and their companions enjoy dinner, entertainment and views on both Whistler and Blackcomb mountains. The Peak 2 Peak Gondola was also in operation for the evening.

Whistler council members were stationed at various gondola terminals to welcome delegates as they arrived, and senior Whistler Blackcomb (WB) staff members were also on hand. “It was a constant rush of positivity,” Thomson said of the response from attendees.

The resort was also showcased through tours of Olympic venues, the library and other facilities, and Melamed said many delegates took part in activities such as mountain biking and canoeing.

The municipality’s cost to host the conference was about $400,000, but the return on the investment is “huge,” Melamed said. Thomson said many delegates told him they can’t wait to come back to Whistler with their family and friends.

The FCM conference wasn’t the only major event in Whistler over the past 10 days — the Canadian Association of Municipal Administrators (CAMA) wrapped up their meetings June 3 to make way for the Big City Mayor’s Caucus and FCM, which was followed by the Canadian Urban Transit Association (CUTA) annual conference. Melamed said the Conference Centre was running at capacity, with several hotels hosting meetings and other events associated with one of the conferences.

And if all the verbal compliments to Whistler weren’t enough, the municipality also received several awards from the various conference groups. The district energy system at Whistler’s athletes village, also known as Cheakamus Crossing, earned the municipality a 2009 CAMA Environmental Award. The athletes village development as a whole earned Whistler a 2009 FCM-CH2M Sustainable Community Award.

“We’ve kind of known it was a special project, but it’s… always gratifying to get those awards and the recognition of your peers,” Melamed said of the honours for the Olympic legacy neighbourhood.

Another award was expected on Tuesday — this time from CUTA for Whistler’s transit system.

Melamed thanked the municipality’s Shannon Story and her team of conference organizers, former councillor Bob Lorriman, Tourism Whistler and WB staff, Chamber of Commerce officials and all Whistler business operators and community members for the successful conference.