It may seem odd that a group of foresters would get together to save trees, but that’s exactly what the Cortes Ecoforestry Society has done. Its executive board is made up of loggers and sawmill owners, and has over 400 members backing it. (Aug 25 2008)
“We’re very focused on growth in Tofino these days,” says Lynda Kaye, a PR consultant who is increasing visibility for Tourism Tofino. “Considering that we already serve over one million visitors per year, it’s a growing economy.” (May 04 2009)
Pacific Homes of Cobble Hill is a small-scale case of the kind of expansion shown by Jim Pattison Enterprises, which steadily moved into new lines of business with which the original organization was well-acquainted by association. Vancouver’s Jimmy Pattison started, famously, in car sales and relied heavily on radio advertising. So he bought radio stations and moved into sign advertising. (Mar 02 2009)
“Business by the Beach,” the branding adopted by the coastal retirement and tourism community of Parksville, conveys both its natural charms and its growth. Nearby Nanoose Bay has half the population but a higher income. (Feb 02 2009)
Between Parksville and the Comox Valley The old Island Highway meanders through communities so tiny they don’t appear on many maps. Drivers who take the extra time will find unexpected vacation attractions and a ferry that will take them to two islands even further from heavy traffic and the normal pace of life. (Jan 19 2009)
Barry Bezare is going global. The Qualicum Beach kayak maker has signed contracts with dealers along the Gulf coast and Texas and with a distributor in Australia. He’s looking for new partners with deeper pockets than those who backed him the last four years since he launched Lightspeed Kayaks, and confident he has assembled the model line and the unique features to guarantee a healthy market niche. (Dec 01 2008)
Ladysmith is one of the oldest communities in B.C. and one of the fastest growing. The town has seen a 53-per-cent increase in population since 1990, with its largest growth occurring between 1991 and 1996. During that period, the Ladysmith population grew by 24.5 per cent, or an average of 4.9 per cent per year. (Dec 01 2008)
Some Vancouver Island businesspeople and professionals give money and volunteer time; some take their professional skills to the Third World. All agree they are happier for the effort. Some of the Island’s happy givers: (Dec 01 2008)
Residential real estate sale numbers are well down in October across Vancouver Island from both the month before and from the same month in 2007. (Nov 17 2008)
Just days after the completion of a hotly contested land deal, in which developer Ender Ilkay finally purchased controversial parcels of Western Forest Products land he had long ago optioned, the deal’s engineer, WFP boss Reynold Hert, resigned. (Nov 17 2008)
Bob Evans, vice president of Community Marine Concepts and the main push behind the Victoria International Marina project, is far from happy that the marina was held up over a decade in the courts. (Nov 17 2008)
In just under 20 years Nanaimo’s Inuktun Services Ltd. has gone through the classical evolution from creative, off-the-wall beginnings to business-first thinking, rationalization of products and strategic marketing. (Nov 03 2008)
If you build it, they will come. The concept strikes fear in the hearts of most Gabriola Islanders and cuts to the core of the debate over whether or not to build a bridge to Vancouver Island. On the plus side there would be no more dependance on B.C.Ferries. On the down side, too many non-Gabriolans might use the bridge too. (Oct 20 2008)
Mandy Farmer was actually supposed to take over Accent Inns from founder-father Terry several years ago. “Then I started having babies. We decided to wait till I was done.” With Ginger,2, and Oscar,1, firmly established, the job she’s been doing on and off for several years became officially hers last month. But for many years, says Mandy, “what was clear was that I was not going to run Accent Inns,” because her father was intent on passing it on to the “right person,” based on merit and not family. (Oct 06 2008)
For the past 10 years Port Alberni’s population hasn’t increased enough to make any kind of difference. In fact, it dropped 5.5 per cent in the 2001 census and has remained the same since. (Oct 06 2008)
Vancouver Island has often been called “The Rock”, and aptly so. As part of the Cascadia subduction zone, it was formed as two tectonic plates collided. Of course, that was billions of years ago. Fast-forward to the present and the upside of that is great rock for gravel. (Oct 06 2008)
If you bought Ocean Spray cranberries Thanksgiving, you may be eating some of the two million pounds produced in the Comox Valley each year. They are just one of the niche crops that are popping up all over the Comox Valley as its residents diversify their regional economy. (Sep 15 2008)
They call it “Quadra style” but it’s really a laid-back way of life common to both Quadra and smaller Cortez Island that the residents enjoy and have no great urge to change. (Aug 25 2008)
Most populous of the Gulf Islands, Salt Spring Island is rumoured to provide part-time homes to luminaries such as Robin Williams, Al Pacino, and Barbra Streisand, but this is said to cut no ice with the 10,000 year-round residents, famous for their mellowness. (Aug 18 2008)
For 23 years Harold Aune and partner Marie Hutchinson have been plugging away with their high-quality, high-price Whitehall rowing boats, adjusting here, adapting there, trying to develop the right product for the right market in order to scale up production and become that Vancouver Island rarity: a mass-manufacturer. (Aug 18 2008)
In 1974, as they foresaw their lands being gobbled up by developers and speculators, Salt Spring Islanders voted to join the Island Trust to put a brake on growth. (Aug 18 2008)
July 21. Financial Resources. Find out about government loans and what venture capital opportunities are out there through this interactive video conference. 9 a.m.-noon at Business Victoria, G-7, Sussex Place, 1001 Douglas St. $20. See www.sporg.com to register. (Jul 21 2008)
Cowichan Bay is a body of water indenting the eastern shore of Vancouver Island long-used as an n on-loading area for logs. But it is also a thriving little community that has great pride in being funky and fun. The village dates back to about 1860, when the Hudson’s Bay Company sold the land to settlers. And, like most of Vancouver Island, logging and fishing figured predominantly in its economy. (Jul 07 2008)
Gravel mining and fish processing keep Hardy's economy chugging while tourist promises growth
Port Hardy, along with most of the North Island Region, is an amazing place wrapped in a bright red bow. Unfortunately, the bow is made of red tape. (Jun 16 2008)
There are two things visitors are guaranteed to find in Chemainus: boutiques and murals. Though “Little Town That Did” was once a logging town, relying on the forestry sector for jobs and business for area merchants, it has now embraced tourism as no other community. (Jun 02 2008)
June 2. Meet Tourism Victoria’s New President and CEO. Meet with Rob Gialloreto and board chair Roger Soane for an informal forum. 8-9:30 a.m. at Tourism Victoria; 4th floor, 31 Bastion Square. RSVP needed; call Lacey at 414-6972 or e-mail lacey.sheardown@tourismvictoria.com. (Jun 02 2008)
Most people don’t know the difference between a salmon and a steelhead, but in Gold River they definitely do; and they know their Japanese little neck clams from all those other bivalve molluscs. Much of the economy of this village of 1,362 people (a population increase of three since 2001) is based on fishing and seafood harvesting. As for the rest, the forest workers, many fish for fun. (Apr 07 2008)
English is the lingua franca of international business and technology, so ambitious people, young and old, are picking B.C. ESL (English as a Second Language) schools, along with post-secondary institutions. They are injecting millions of dollars annually into the economy. (Apr 07 2008)
Who's leaving and who's joining small and big firms; who's been recognized for significant achievement and who's offering a new service useful to you. (Apr 07 2008)
Mar. 1-31. Vital Signs Indicator Survey. Take part in this online survey at www.victoriavitalsigns.bc.ca. This is an annual survey that evaluates the Capital Region as a place to live, learn, work and grow. (Mar 15 2008)
On the surface, the Cowichan Valley appears a sleepy backwater whose residents are glad it is just that. But lifetime Lake Cowichanite Dave Johel thinks the area has bags of potential for growth and development. In fact, he’s banking on it. (Mar 15 2008)
Mar. 1-31. Vital Signs Indicator Survey. Take part in this online survey at www.victoriavitalsigns.bc.ca. This is an annual survey that evaluates the Capital Region as a place to live, learn, work and grow. (Mar 02 2008)
On the surface, the Cowichan Valley appears a sleepy backwater whose residents are glad it is just that. But lifetime Lake Cowichanite Dave Johel thinks the area has bags of potential for growth and development. In fact, he’s banking on it. (Mar 02 2008)
Don Calveley of Victoria has started up a business from scratch ( Truffles Catering) and rescued another from near-bankruptcy (the Canoe Club). As ultimately rewarding both experiences were, he’s been there, done that, and wants to relax a bit “at this stage in my life.” (Feb 16 2008)
Feb. 19. SuperHost. Increase your business, beef up your resume and get that competitive advantage with a SuperHost fundamentals workshop. 9:30 a.m. to 4 p.m. Members $54 + GST. Contact Lacey Sheardown at 250-414-6972 or e-mail lacey.sheardown@tourismvictoria.com. (Feb 16 2008)
In his 19 years at the helm of Tourism Victoria ( or the Greater Victoria Tourism and Convention Bureau as it is legally named), Lorne Whyte has presided over a huge growth in the region’s tourism business and in the activities of the agency itself. (Jan 18 2008)
Scott Gertsma and his brother Neil, co-owners of Sooke Home Hardware, face an important decision. Since buying the company in 1992 they’ve seen decent growth in their retail hardware store, including the building supply sector. Do they split the business and borrow bigtime to set up a separate building supply store? Or do they stand pat and risk having a big box store move in and take market share? (Jan 18 2008)
Carey Porcher wonders about the difference between “being a flake and being a visionary.” And the CEO of Comox Valley–based Island Inkjet makes it clear he is wondering about himself. “It’s a fine line,” he says. “But the difference is that the visionary you can formulate a plan and then deliver on it. Before that happens, flakes and visionaries look alike.” Porcher, who was formally schooled in Victoria and informally educated in 40 countries he visited after he left here, has delivered on so many plans now, the clothing factory in Katmandu and the restaurant in Germany, for example, or the orphanage in the Philippines, that he could be forgiven for wanting to retire from Island Inkjet with its international chain of 260 franchises, and perhaps start up a sustainable community in the Shuswap. (Jan 08 2008)
Companies do give back to their communities, but the larger the company, the more likely it is the gift giving will be done strategically. (Dec 15 2007)
Marty Douglas, the managing realtor at Coast Realty Group (Comox Valley Ltd.) has been through three real estate downturns in his 37 years selling real estate in the Comox Valley and says a fourth one is already in the works. But his commitment to his community is undiminished. “This is a special place. Culturally it is very active.” (Dec 02 2007)
John Schucht has always liked making deals. When, after helping assemble and finance many major developments with Canada Trust over a decade, the company promoted him out of its real estate division, he started his own company to keep his hand in the game. (Nov 20 2007)
The holiday party is an annual tradition in most offices. As employers we deck the halls, offer food, dancing and drink. Therein lies the problem. (Nov 20 2007)
100 feet above the Inner Harbour is rising a residential complex designed to attract a new clientele; the kind of affluent easy travelers from around the world who collect homes the way some collect old cars. (Oct 14 2007)
Cortes Islanders push for a different way to log
Tofino and Ucluelet want locally-owned growth
The McKinnons have turned house- building into a moveable feat, sending their homes round the world
Tourism is not enough, so Parksville looks for more
Coastal communities balance recreation and industry
Tofino is a tourism town—but industry lurks in the wings
Barry Bezare’s Lightspeed kayaks are lighter, faster tougher and ready to go global
Thinking caps replace hard hats in former resource town
Happy are the givers, many are the gifts
Realtors urge calm as unit sales fall
Hert resigns as WFP ambushed by failing market
Nanaimo’s Inuktun inspects America’s pipes
Mandy Farmer was in training to run Accent Inns for years before she realized she wanted the job
The feisty port city tirelessly promotes its recovery
A 100-year supply of rock is Alberni’s new export
Tourism, niche agriculture brighten Comox Valley’s future
On Quadra Island the community preserves its relaxed lifestyle
Community in Focus: Qualicum Beach
Community in Focus Cowichan Bay
Community in Focus: Port Hardy
Reinventing the ‘Town that could’ looks smarter and smarter
Foreign students seeking more from ESL schools
Dave Johel’s suite of companies is poised to make the Cowichan Valley the next big thing
Lorne Whyteis retiring,but he’s not regretting Tourism Victoria’s successful ‘orgasm’ ad
Island Inkjet’s Carey Porcher lives life at a frenetic pace
Show me the benefits, says today’s corporate giver
Comox Valley’s Marty Douglaswantsrealtors back in school
How to make the office Xmas party a forgettable one
Patricia Mariash’s passion for design shows in every Bayview detail
