When Todd Marcotte came in Saturday morning to cover shifts for his young staff, the first thing he did was post a photo tribute to the Humboldt Broncos on his business’ electronic sign.

“I put it on my Facebook that night that it happened, then came into the store and took all the pictures off of Facebook and put them on our outside signs to pay respects to the Broncos and their families,” said Marcotte, the food store manager of Humboldt Co-Op.

Some of his staff are best friends or relatives with some of the players in the crash, he said. The store has brought in counselling for them, and is changing schedules so they can be with their friends.

“We just want to do whatever we can. We’re obviously community minded and we’re local and so we feel a strong bond with the Broncos, so we just want to do whatever we can to help out.”

He also feels overwhelmed by the support he’s getting from the store’s suppliers.

“Everybody wants to help, so it’s just been awesome to see.”

The store has designed a Humboldt Strong shirt that’s expected to arrive Wednesday or Thursday, while the C-Stores are selling bracelets and bumper stickers.

The Co-Op is just one of several Humboldt businesses displaying public support for the team and the broader community.

Tanya Hocachek, owner of The Brick, said her staff put up a sign Monday to show their prayers and their support for the community.

The support shown by the community is amazing, she said.

“Those boys are going to have such a huge road ahead of them and to have the support from everyone and to show the town is behind them, it’s huge.”

Dentist Dustin Wawryk with Humboldt Dental Associates said he knows there’s nothing his staff can really do - but with his sign, he wanted people to know he’s thinking about them.

“It’s a small enough town where even if you don’t know someone directly, you know someone who knows that someone. And you can feel it, walking around right now.”