But the pandemic also highlighted the fragility of Canada’s domestic supply chains. The country was left scrambling when it came to personal protective equipment (PPE), hand sanitizer, and even vaccines, revealing a pressing need to grow our own domestic capacity across markets and sectors, particularly for necessities like food.

This is especially true with what’s happening in Ukraine, as an even greater threat is being posed to food security. While many in North America would dismiss this threat as something that will only impact Europe and Russia, the reality is that this conflict’s impact is global.

There’s a lot at stake in Ukraine, beyond the loss of human life. Chiefly, agricultural security: Ukraine is one of the world’s major producers of sunflower oil, meal and seed, corn, rapeseed, and soybeans, and is the world’s largest producer of wheat, with exports going to countries across Europe, Asia, the Middle East, and Africa.

Agriculture employs 14 percent of the population in Ukraine. The sector is valued at $27.8 billion and accounts for 41 percent of the country’s exports. However, the Ukrainian Nature Conservation Group (UNCG) estimates that it will not be possible to sow approximately one-third of the total land area in Ukraine, rendered inaccessible by the armed conflict. If these crops are abandoned, resources will be in short supply, which will inevitably cause rising prices and increased competition for them, stoking conflict among people and nations.

In 2021, almost six million people were food insecure in Canada alone, more than one-third of them in the province of Ontario where a sixth of households have reportedly been struggling to make ends meet. Globally, by 2050, two billion people are expected to be food insecure.

In the Greater Toronto Area (GTA), food bank usage has tripled since before the pandemic. Second Harvest, Canada’s largest food rescue charity, found that 60 percent more Canadians are expected to use food banks and other support programs in 2023 following a year that saw a 124 percent increase in usage.

What is unique about this situation is that many of these people are working. Costs are simply unsustainable as wages lag behind increases in costs due to inflation, and rising interest rates are making mortgages unmanageable, putting a strain on social safety nets like food banks and food pantries, organizations that simply can’t keep up with demand.

Canada is known for being a net importer and exporter of food, a consequence of being a signatory to NAFTA version one. From oil to pulses, instead of satisfying local demand with domestic supply, Canada often sends its commodities out for processing elsewhere. This is especially true of the agricultural sector, both conventional and organic.

Local food systems could be a big part of the solution when it comes to food security. Local or regional food systems are integrated and structured as collaborative networks that embrace sustainable food production, processing, distribution, and waste management principles into their operations, in addition to prioritizing the health of local economies, environments, and communities.

They come in many forms: community-supported agriculture (CSA), food shares, farmers markets, farm stores, pick-your-own (PYO), farm to table restaurants. Whatever form they take, they all share a common goal: contributing to sustainable local food systems and improving access to fresh, nutritious food.

Beyond improving access to locally produced food, these networks offer a local magnifier effect in that they promote social interaction and civic engagement, provide education and awareness, and improve access to healthful, sustainable food options. Plus, more of the dollars spent will remain in the local economy, often in support of small family-operated businesses.

In the context of global affairs today, this may be a highly responsible way that governments and communities can invest in themselves and meet their own needs. For instance, the recent lettuce shortage is something that could have easily been mitigated through local production. When droughts and a virus impacted California’s lettuce crops, Canada was left with little option but to wait for supply from producers in Arizona and Mexico, as domestic capacity was insufficient to meet the market’s needs. Where there was lettuce available, it was extremely overpriced, causing restaurants to remove it from their offerings.

Canada once produced its own lettuce and with advancements in vertical gardens, hydroponics, greenhouses, and other growing methods, there is no reason that something like greens couldn’t be grown on a local scale year-round to reduce the country’s reliance on imported foodstuffs. Local food is fresher, more nutritious and of a higher quality overall than imported foods that have been forced to ripen on a truck or an airplane. As such, a local food supply could do so much more than just reduce food insecurity on a basic level: it could contribute to a healthier population and environment.

Part of the reason locally grown foods offer better quality and taste is that when you eat local you’re eating in season, so the food is at the peak of its flavour and freshness. It will also contain more of the nutrients needed by the body at the time of harvest. Fresh foods can be preserved in a number of ways to be enjoyed year-round.

It’s also an investment in the environment. Beyond more sustainable, equitable, and holistic agricultural and employment practices, local suppliers need less fuel-intensive transportation to bring their products to markets. From farm stands to pick-your-own options, there’s a far smaller footprint associated with local food systems, which most of the time end up being organic.

The United Nations Food and Agriculture Association (FAO) defines organic agriculture as: “a holistic production management system which promotes and enhances agroecosystem health, including biodiversity, biological cycles, and soil biological activity. It emphasizes the use of management practices in preference to the use of off-farm inputs, considering that regional conditions require locally adapted systems.”

Organic is based on four principles: health, fairness, care, and ecology. Organic processes emphasize sustainable, cultural, biological, and mechanical methods in place of synthetic pesticides and agrochemicals. On the other hand, mass agricultural production relying on synthetic pesticides, fertilizers, and agrochemicals has contributed to land degradation which negatively impacts over 3.2 million people around the world.

The harsh reality, according to the FAO, is that agriculture is the largest employer in the world, but those who do 80 percent of the agricultural work also represent the majority of the global poor.

Given these figures, the focus not only needs to be on how to grow more food, but also on how to preserve the environment, ensure equitable employment standards for agricultural workers (many of whom are temporary foreign workers who work for inadequate pay in less than ideal conditions), and ensure that food is grown so as to provide optimal nutritional value, freshness, and quality.

Rightly, the figures presented should generate an ominous feeling of insecurity in all of us: even a developed country like Canada is susceptible to food insecurity, and in fact, many Canadians continue to fall into that condition each day.

The good news is that the country doesn’t have to be dependent on other nations for its food and other necessities. Canada encompasses much arable land that’s ideal for growing and though some parts of it will have a shorter growing season because of the colder months, there are technological advancements that should encourage the nation to grow more of its own food supply.

Investments in organic transition programs, funding to support sustainable agriculture, greater adoption of community gardens, and investment in infrastructure and food education could bolster domestic capacity and strengthen domestic supply chains.

This is particularly important in the context of the current economic environment: prices are rising with no sign of slowing and income is not keeping pace; a persistent housing shortage is being exacerbated by rising mortgage rates on already inflated housing prices; gas prices are climbing; and more and more people are having to choose between housing or sustenance.

The recent train derailment in East Palestine, Ohio also emphasizes the importance of preserving our fresh water supply—along with any resource that could be threatened and upon which the population relies—in addition to our food supply.

When resources are in short supply, geopolitical tensions and conflicts are also heightened, which means now is the time to invest in local capacity to reduce our reliance on an external supply chain that at any point could be interrupted. Besides, local food supplies are better for individual health, the wellbeing of the community, the strength of the local economy, and the environment.

The post Overcoming Food Insecurity<p class="company">A Local Approach to a Global Problem</p> appeared first on Business In Focus Magazine.

COTA is the membership-based association for organic agriculture and products in Canada and represents the entire organic supply chain: growers, processors, distributors, consultants, and retailers. The organization focuses on improved market access, data and research, government relations, and regulatory affairs to expand awareness about organic and its many benefits.

“Organic is 3.3 percent of market share in Canada, but we are the fifth largest organic market in the world,” says Tia Loftsgard, Executive Director of COTA, of the Canadian organic sector. “We are very much an import nation for organic with much of our organic production in Canada being exported, therefore we play a major role on the world market for raw commodities. But the opportunity that we have that COVID exposed is that we should be sourcing and producing as much locally as we can.”

Why organic?
Most people are familiar with the word organic, but not with the effort that goes into ensuring that certification is achieved and upheld. Organic is the only federally regulated sustainability assurance system that encompasses the entirety of the production system: from field to purchase.

The United Nations Food and Agriculture Association (FAO) defines organic agriculture as “a holistic production management system which promotes and enhances agroecosystem health, including biodiversity, biological cycles, and soil biological activity. It emphasizes the use of management practices in preference to the use of off-farm inputs, considering that regional conditions require locally adapted systems.”

This is accomplished using sustainable cultural, biological, and mechanical methods instead of synthetic pesticides and agrochemicals, the overuse of which has caused soil and water contamination and a loss of biodiversity. The health of people and the environment are prioritized throughout.

As Loftsgard notes, “The organic sector cares about everything, not just about the production methods. They also care about having more sustainable packaging and reducing plastic in the world. We respond to what the market needs.”

Organic is a consumer-led initiative that allows consumers to use their purchasing power to put their values to work: supporting equitable employment practices and sustainable and holistic environmental practices, and at the same time satisfying their desire for more nutritious, fresh, quality products.

Loftsgard lists the four principles on which organic production is founded: “The principles of organic are health, fairness, care, and ecology. You can see many elements that tie into addressing rising food insecurity.” It begins with rethinking how food is grown.

“Organic requires a lot of training and education,” she says. “It does take a leap of faith to get the education and training to move in a new farming direction,” but its positive outcomes cannot be overlooked.

Mass agricultural production has contributed to land degradation, which is a direct threat to food and water security, which in turn becomes a source of conflict and migration, and that’s not the best way to meet the needs of an increasingly food-insecure population around the world.

Land degradation negatively impacts over 3.2 million people around the world. According to the FAO, agriculture is the largest employer in the world, but those who do 80 percent of the agricultural work also represent the majority of the global poor. By 2050, two billion people are expected to be malnourished unless significant changes to the global food and agriculture system are made.

The focus not only needs to be on how to grow more food, but also on how to preserve the environment, and ensure that food is grown to have optimal nutritional value, freshness, and quality.

Some of the jurisdictions that have established organic transition programs most successfully offer funding and support for farmers who are working to become certified organic, as it takes three years to make the transition, a costly process that includes bringing the soil ecology and health up to the standard that is the foundation of organic agriculture.

“We place a great emphasis on healthy soil, with, every season, recycling organic materials back into the soil and in some cases utilizing new no-till methods that will allow the root and the fungi system to develop naturally without interference,” explains Loftsgard.

This calls for a lot of time and money, but it’s worth it as organic agricultural principles promote more resilient lands that withstand the impacts of climate and pests without the need for synthetic pesticides or fertilizer and reduce the need for irrigation, which saves money, reduces water use, and improves biodiversity and health outcomes for people, the environment, and the economy.

Overcoming barriers
The full advantages and market potential of the organic sector in Canada have yet to be fully realized and that won’t be until some changes are made, including greater government involvement and support in the form of stronger policies, infrastructure, and financial backing.

The Federal Government introduced national organic regulations in 2009 and continues to promote sustainability, but the country still lacks the necessary infrastructure and resources that are required to advance the sector.

As Loftsgard says, “The Canada Organic Regime is federally regulated. It is law. The logo and the word organic are owned by the Canada Food Inspection Agency, yet they do little promotion or education about what it is. They leave that to the industry.”

Government infrastructure by way of a Canada Organic Program would offer a growth strategy and plan for the organic sector to increase organic acreage, and increase investment and funding for the sector, thus creating mechanisms to enforce and review standards while strengthening the organic brand. It would also assist in improving data collection to better differentiate organic from conventional to help maximize the sector’s capacity.

Similarly, as organic systems are likely to be part of local or regional food systems, whereby reliance on fuel-intensive transportation is greatly diminished, the government could also play a more active role in facilitating market/buyer interactions and developing processing and distribution capacity to strengthen local markets and support more sustainable food systems across the country.

However, when it comes to sustainability, the government, with its most recent funding program, has overlooked the organic producers who have been actively contributing to sustainability using holistic approaches for some time.

“The Federal Government has introduced an On-Farm Climate Action Fund where they are encouraging non-organic to move toward more sustainable practices, yet organic farmers have been doing it on their own for many years without any support,” says Loftsgard, who hopes that there will be an opportunity for organic as part of Agriculture Canada’s Sustainable Agriculture Strategy.

“It’s great to see that finally, the government is starting to think about how they can have encouraging policies and programs, but it’s yet to be seen how organic will position in that once the consultations are done and they’ve put the whole strategy in place.”

Interestingly, part of the government’s overall strategy includes the deregulation of genetically modified organisms (GMOs) and some new genetic engineering technology, which Loftsgard cites as “an imminent threat.” As such, COTA is working to ensure that the government understands the implications of this decision and will find solutions that will not be disadvantageous to the organic sector.

A collective future
Through its work, COTA endeavours to recognize organic and its many advantages on a greater scale. In partnership with other organizations, COTA will be making a formal submission for the next federal budget to hopefully gain support for an Organic Action Plan that will advance the sector as it matures, using the success of other jurisdictions as a framework for growth.

On the international stage, Denmark has a 90 percent acceptance rate for organic, and closer to home, Quebec has set its own Organic Action Plan with clearly established land conversion goals, programs, and support mechanisms like a transition program, infrastructure and resources, and a strong consumer education program, which could be adapted for use at the national level.

What is clear is that organic can help the Canadian Government achieve its sustainability goals while fighting against food insecurity and environmental degradation and there are countless strategies that can effectively meet those ends.

Whether it is funding for farmers, stronger policies, better crop insurance that reflects the full range and value of organic crops at a premium, a transition program, an organic plan, or increased education and awareness, COTA will continue to advance the cause of its members.

In this way, COTA will mitigate some of the risk shouldered by organic producers who are working to ensure that consumers enjoy organic products and their many benefits.

The post Advocating for Organic<p class="company">Canada Organic Trade Association (COTA)</p> appeared first on Business In Focus Magazine.

Headquartered on Bainbridge Island, Washington, this employee-owned business is dedicated not only to creating sustainably constructed buildings that showcase excellent craftsmanship, meticulous attention to detail, and exceptional value, but also to fostering strong community relationships.

Founded in 2006, Clark Construction has participated in numerous multi-million dollar projects around the nation, all while remaining dedicated to its group, its partners, and the environment.

“It’s pretty exciting to see the growth and what the company is evolving into,” says President and Founder Rachele Turnbull. “When I started the company I wanted to do construction, but I wanted to do it with my father. My father had been diagnosed with early-onset Alzheimer’s and dementia, and he wasn’t able to work alone. So I started the company to work with him.”

Turnbull’s father had been a builder in Oregon since 1987, building small and very affordable homes in his community. In fact, he was most proud of building a house and selling it for less than any other house on the market, says Turnbull.

“That was a source of pride for him and what he wanted to do,” she says. “We started Clark and I had a few people that I had worked with on the island that wanted to join and do projects. I talked to other architects and people I knew who wanted to build homes or do projects, and they said, ‘Hey, can you take these projects?’ And I said, ‘We can do that.’ And from there, we just continued to grow.”

Turnbull has a background in large commercial construction, working over the years on projects including university buildings, hospitals, high-tech facilities, and clean rooms, to name a few.

“When I came to Bainbridge, I was doing some commercial work as well as some residential, and I felt that smaller commercial and residential construction could really use the sophisticated tools and management style of the larger general contractors in big commercial construction,” she says. “That’s how I always ran every one of the projects I worked on, with the same systems you would see when you’re building hospitals and universities. And that resonated with a lot of my clients.”

Clark Construction is employee-owned, so as the company continues to grow, those who join aren’t just getting a job; they’re joining a company where they can also be an owner. Of the approximately 80 employees today, about 40 are owners.

“This is also their company,” says Turnbull. “They have that pride of ownership. When we have meetings to talk about what projects we’re taking on, we always ask them, ‘Is there something you want to do? Is there something that resonates with you that we should go after?’ And we’re building the company based on where the employees want to go and where our clients want to take us.”

This includes the company’s commitment to sustainability, innovation, and affordability, which is always going to be the core of what they want to give back to the community, adds Turnbull. “We always say, people before profit.”

That commitment to sustainability is holistic, she says. It’s not just about green building practices, but also about building sustainable places that people can afford and maintain. It’s also about sustainability within the company, educating and elevating the people and creating a place where the family can grow, learn, and build their entire career in the company. “Sustainability is what we strive for in everything we do,” Turnbull says, “not just in the building we do.”

This means it’s not only building materials Clark is focusing on. One of the company’s projects, the Loom House, is the first fully certified Living Building Challenge residential remodel ever built.

Established in 2006, the non-profit International Living Future Institute established the challenge to support the evaluation of sustainability in the built environment through a stated philosophy, an advocacy tool, and a certification program.

“I believe it’s still the only one, and it’s [aimed at] those projects that are not sustainable for anybody to build,” Turnbull says. “Somebody has to be willing to push the envelope at some point, and these clients did.”

The Loom House, a 3,200-square-foot home made up of an existing north and south home connected by a large outdoor courtyard, was completely renovated to improve the building envelope, provide self-sufficient systems, and offer updated interiors while preserving the original architectural character of the home.

The owner’s electric vehicles and bicycles are housed on the property in a new, 725-square-foot detached carport and storage room, and the interiors feature locally made, custom furniture and home accents made of organic materials.

Surrounding land includes Japanese maples, blooming trees, rhododendrons, and azaleas, while urban agriculture is provided by a mycological foraging forest on the property, with a variety of edible berries and vegetables.

South home’s photovoltaic system powers the entire property while battery storage ensures energy resiliency. Resources are handled and conserved with the use of a greywater treatment system and rainwater cisterns.

Clark’s reHOME Project is notable for demonstrating how it’s possible to reduce construction waste, keep materials out of landfills, and offer affordable homes for communities by applying smart design and strict sourcing strategies.

The award-winning project at Morales Farm emerged from the combined efforts of Clark Construction, Coates Design, Housing Resources Bainbridge, and Friends of the Farms, and features three small cottages constructed with donated labor and salvaged components to offer local farm workers inexpensive living. More than 26,000 pounds of building supplies, with a market worth of nearly $125,000, were kept out of the landfill during the construction process.

“We learned so much and can push that forward to our other projects,” Turnbull says. “Not ones that we want to be LBC [Living Building Challenge] certified, but ones that want to do whatever they can that’s realistic and practical and sustainable.”

The City of Bainbridge Island awarded Clark Construction another unique project involving converting the former Harrison Medical Center into a new police station for the Bainbridge Island Police Department, and a Municipal Court.

“When we were awarded that project, it was really exciting because a lot of demo of new materials was necessary,” says Turnbull. “We had a recycled-material project going on, and I thought, it’s such a great symbiotic relationship between the two. Instead of going in and demoing and tearing things out, which would have been much less expensive, we disassembled everything and reused the product.”

This involved and costly process—funded by Clark—even required volunteers to pull drywall screws out of the studs so that the company could reuse the studs for the reHOME Project.

“That was something really exciting that we could do, where we could pay attention to multiple projects with demolition in them,” says Turnbull. “We focus on what makes sense to reuse, and then everything else, of course, is not put in a landfill but recycled.”

The company also addresses affordable and income-qualified housing, completing projects for tribes as well as for a development group in Port Townsend.

Turnbull is excited. “Not only are we building affordable and transitional housing at as low a cost as possible, but still building a great structure,” she says. “We’re excited that we’re able to take a lot of those things that we’ve learned in projects like reHOME and Loom and put them forth for our income-qualified partners.”

Turnbull is also proud of the ongoing community involvement, and employees who strive to ensure Clark continues to achieve success.

“It comes from our people,” she enthuses. “Those are the people that come to work at Clark. If you didn’t already have that ingrained in who you are, you wouldn’t even gravitate to our company.”

Along with success in the sustainable construction industry, Clark has the distinction of being female-founded, not that common in a male-dominated field.

“Less than 11 percent of the construction / general contractor community are women, and less than four percent in the trades,” says Turnbull. “We focus on what’s important to women workers, and that shows in the fact that about 40 percent of our team is women.”

Turnbull prefers the term female-founded to female-owned, as owning implies one woman owning more than 51 percent of the company, which has never been her intent.

“It was about having multiple women and multiple underrepresented groups being able to own the company,” she says. “That is the vision I had and the direction the company wanted to go. So, using the phrase ‘female founded’ is important. I don’t think people realize that being women-owned requires that kind of constraint in the company.”

As for bringing more women into the industry, Turnbull believes there’s a lack of awareness in girls and women who believe construction is a “guy’s world,” but she says it’s amazing how many people on the development side in particular are women.

“It’s a fun dynamic to be working in. We have women consultants who are the engineers and the architects, tons of women in those industries. For the developers we’re working with, South West Group has a woman in charge of all the projects we’re working on,” Turnbull says. “There are a lot of women in the industry, and to have another woman in construction that they’re dealing with is really nice.”

While there are not as many women running the construction side of projects, women in construction do get excited to hear about female founders and leaders in the industry. It allows girls and women to see themselves in those roles. They can see the potential.

“That’s really exciting because we can also say this is a project that has a woman architect, a woman developer, a woman manager,” she says. “To say we’re able to do that is incredible.”

As for milestones, while many businesses in the building industry might say they want to be a huge company with 300 employees, that’s never been Clark’s goal.

“We don’t say we want to do $100 million in revenue or even $2 million in revenue,” Turnbull says. “We say we want to expand our reach in our community. We’re getting well known for that out there. Our milestones are expanding our reach, and who we are in our community, to more of the region.”

The company currently has a lot in the works, including projects in affordability and community land trust homes, as it continues to glean invaluable knowledge from past projects and moves forward sustainably and with integrity.

“That’s what we want here. We want to be the first company on everybody’s mind,” says Turnbull.

While unearthing builders who are focused on community, sustainability, and people as a whole isn’t the easiest task, Clark Construction will continue to forge its own path. “That’s what we want people to think of in the community. We want to be the example, not just for builders, but for any company in the area. We want to be the example.”

The post Putting People Before Profit<p class="company">Clark Construction</p> appeared first on Business In Focus Magazine.

While custom-building a second home is the romantic dream of many, the realities can be daunting. That’s why insightful project owners in the Greater Houston Area of Texas call Frankel Design Build. The company provides building services so comprehensive that Frankel is the only name they need to know for projects completed on time, on budget, and to a superb standard.

As Houston’s most comprehensive full-service design-build firm, Frankel Design Build offers its customers every service they need to make their new home a reality—all under one roof. From full, skillfully executed architectural drawings and sophisticated interior design to construction, swimming pools, and stunning outdoor living areas, the Frankel team leads in green design and home care complete with warranties.

For over ten years, the company has delivered “LEED for Homes®” standards while giving clients what they want in terms of style, design, finishes, and function—and all of it a pressure-free experience. And that’s not just talk. The company’s work features in the Earth Month Clean Building and Energy Efficiency Project that’s being headlined by the United States Green Building Council (USGBC) this year.

With family values at its core, clients become part of the Frankel Design Build family on every project. “Our project owners are all unique people who come to us because they typically know other people we’ve worked for. They know we’re good listeners. We’re good problem solvers. And we’re here to help them come up with something that they may not have thought of themselves,” says Scott Frankel, President.

Part of this preliminary ideation process is a beautifully appointed showroom where interior designers consult with clients to help them curate an ambiance for their homes that reflects style and glamour and suits their lifestyle.

Excellence rarely goes unnoticed. In 2021, the National Association of Home Builders (NAHB) awarded Frankel Design Build one of the highest honors in the industry—its Custom Home Builder of the Year Award—a well-deserved recognition of service quality that exceeds expectations.

The company has also won a host of awards for its sought-after LEED-certified green building projects. Frankel prides itself on designing these energy-efficient dwellings that are as comfortable in winter as they are in summer.

These homes also provide better air quality thanks to fewer allergens being circulated inside and improved water consumption which also means a healthy reduction in cost as well as a significantly lower power bill. Add to that the fact that LEED-designed homes have a higher resale value, and this important feature becomes less of a luxury and more of a necessity for any prospective homeowner.

Ensuring customers’ ease and comfort is a big part of the Frankel Design Build commitment. The company works within a forty-mile radius of its hometown, putting all projects within easy reach of all collaborators. It’s also gaining popularity in Washington County.

In addition to customers receiving professionally rendered 3D representations of their proposed homes, making wise and informed design decisions easy, clients also benefit from a comprehensive warranty offer that protects homeowners from construction faults in workmanship and materials.

Frankel Design Build also offers home maintenance that includes keeping clients’ swimming pools clean and beautifully blue. Cementing its relationships with customers in this way allows the team to continue evolving its offerings as customers get to order its home-owner maintenance services online at the click of a button.

As part of its commitment to excellence, the company also belongs to several industry associations. These include the Greater Houston Builders Association (GHBA), the Texas Association of Builders, the United States Green Building Council (USGBC), and others.

Established in 1988 by Jim Frankel, the company evolved from a one-man contractor outfit to a construction leader with over thirty employees. Today, the company includes a construction department, home care and maintenance, architecture, and interior design departments, together with purchasing and estimating.

It also offers its expertise as a full-service pool company that custom-builds every pool in-house. “The company has adapted and evolved to the demands of our clients. Our ability to work together makes our team great. Each person plays a key role in our success,” says Alexis Guillory, Brand Manager and Construction Selection Coordinator. Since Jim Frankel’s sons, Scott and Kevin, joined the company in 2015 as co-presidents, the firm’s revenue also grew by over 500 percent.

And the expansion continues. “I know this is a difficult time for many companies, but we’re actually hiring. We’re moving in a positive direction, growing every year,” Guillory adds.

Not the sort of company that ignores everything but the bottom line, Frankel Design Build is a generous patron of charitable events and efforts that benefit local schools. It constantly encourages clients with school-going children to share news of such opportunities with the team, so, naturally, the schools and recreational centers it builds are particularly close to its heart.

And the company is always looking for ways to support the work these schools do once they’re up and running. “If we’re going to be building beautiful homes there, we want to make the entire community better for our clients,” says Guillory.

Familiar with the current climate of local construction, Frankel Design Build is more aware of the transient nature of economic turns than most.

A case in point is how COVID-19 changed the way people view and use their personal home environments. Spending more time at home, good aesthetics, and more space suddenly went to the top of everyone’s wish list, together with much more emphasis on outdoor entertainment areas. Home offices flourished and swimming pools became more desirable as local recreational centers closed.

Of course, as architectural trends evolve, so do people’s dreams for their homes. And, as the company expands further into Washington county, local preferences will also dictate changes in its designs to adapt to regional tastes and the particular environment.

Guillory points out that the company’s target market of second-home, ranch-style projects set on generously proportioned land around Houston is also growing. The team is charged up and vigorously exploring this relatively new market.

Guillory outlines the opportunity: “It’s really rare for builders to do all their designing in-house. Most times the process involves the client going to an architect, taking the plans to a home builder, and then bringing in an outside interior designer. Instead, we offer all those services under one roof,” she says.

The beauty of this company’s design capabilities is how dynamic and versatile its creatives are. In both its architecture and interior design, it might work in a modern European mode, or in traditional, contemporary, and transitional styles, bringing a freshness to more typical styles.

Priding itself on curating its team as carefully as it does its design principles, Frankel Design Build is confident that its professionals not only meet the high standards its clientele expect but often—pleasantly—surprise them. Above all, project owners know that they can rest assured, with their luxury home projects in exceptionally capable hands.

The post Dazzling Houston with Award-Winning Construction<p class="company">Frankel Design Build</p> appeared first on Business In Focus Magazine.

The history of the organization goes back to 1930 when it was known as the Canadian Tourist Association. One of the country’s oldest member-based organizations, it was rebranded in 1977 as the Travel Industry Association of Canada.

Encouraging travel to and within Canada, the newly-named TIAC was committed to increasing the economic and social benefits of travel and tourism for all Canadians, promoting the growth and development of travel services within the country, and increasing awareness at all levels of government about the economic and social benefits of travel and tourism to the well-being of Canada.

About 20 years later, the marketing portion was carved off, and a pledge was made to the Prime Minister of Canada at the time that TIAC would do everything possible to ensure the Canadian Tourism Commission (now Destination Canada) became a reality by 1995.

Today, TIAC and Destination Canada work hand-in-hand, ensuring Canada is marketed as a destination of choice.

Continuing to grow, TIAC has a base of over 600 members and thousands of affiliate members across Canada. This encompasses everything from large national and multinational companies to medium and small enterprises, all contributing to the vitality of our travel and tourism sector.

Under the experienced leadership of President and Chief Executive Officer Beth Potter, TIAC continues to strive for the success and prosperity of Canada’s tourism sector, and so, all Canadians. An important economic contributor, tourism is Canada’s second-largest contributor to gross domestic product (GDP) at $40 billion a year, topped only by oil and gas. Before COVID, the nation’s tourism industry was responsible for 1.8 million jobs and worth $105 billion in total economic activity.

Since the start of the pandemic, the travel and tourism sector has taken a beating like no other. All related industries, from airlines to hotels, and entertainment venues to restaurants, experienced months of on-again / off-again closures, safety protocols such as occupancy limitations and social distancing, border closures, and many other problematic issues.

Today, over three years since the first reported cases of COVID-19, the Tourism Industry Association of Canada continues working on behalf of its members in travel and tourism.

In 2021, some of TIAC’s successes included the passing of Bill C-2 in late December. This new support—the result of months of advocacy—helped to ensure that the country’s tourism industry, the ‘Hardest-Hit Sector,’ would continue to receive wage and rent relief, saving thousands of jobs from disappearing.

That year also saw other major advocacy initiatives, as TIAC worked with industry partners to secure the Tourism Relief Fund—$500 million in support to the sector over two years.

“The majority of the funding, $485 million, will be delivered by Regional Development Agencies (RDAs) directly to tourism businesses and organizations to help aid in the creation of new tourism experiences, or enhance existing ones,” said TIAC in a media release. “Of this $485 million, a minimum of 10 percent will be invested in Indigenous tourism projects.”

That November, TIAC released its Briefing for National Policy Forum: Priorities for Tackling Labour Challenges in Tourism. Addressing the unprecedented shortfall of workers and major structural changes, the document makes policy recommendations to address issues including supply, skills, mobility, and education and training reform.

Last year saw Potter and her team continue their efforts to help rebuild Canada’s travel and tourism industry. This included working with Tourism HR Canada and government partners to start addressing tourism labour challenges and advocating that COVID testing requirements be updated to remove pre-travel testing requirements.

The team also provided a thorough pre-budget submission to the federal government “with industry input and support, positioning key advocacy recommendations into three priority areas: Financial Supports, Branding and Barriers, and the Labour Shortage,” and many other initiatives helping Canadian travel and tourism to rebuild.

Before last fall’s federal budget, TIAC released Tourism: A High Potential for Economic Growth. Among its dozen recommendations were allocating millions toward domestic recruitment campaigns and an Indigenous Workforce Strategy; financial measures supporting “the creation, maintenance and refurbishment of tourism assets, including a new tax credit for retrofits and upgrades”; the introduction of a National Meetings, Incentives, Conferences, and Events Fund, and others.

“The Government of Canada certainly has been supportive over the last few years, in particular our Minister of Tourism and Associate Minister of Finance, Randy Boissonnault,” says Potter. “Our recommendations in the pre-budget submission this year support the recommendations we put in around a call for a new federal tourism growth strategy. Our industry was just devastated by the impacts of the pandemic, and we’re looking at how we can reinforce, encourage, and grow the workforce in our industry,” she says.

“Also, we want to make sure there’s an ongoing investment in the infrastructure of our industry so that our assets are up to date and that they’re telling the best story that Canada can. So far, our recommendation seems to be heard. But the budget comes out in the spring, so we have to wait and see. We’ve got a few more months before we understand how well the government heard us.”

As Canada’s travel and tourism industry emerges from under the dark cloud of COVID, TIAC/AITC members are rethinking how they operate. Many businesses were closed completely during the pandemic because of various restrictions. Although challenging, this allowed businesses to pause and ask questions about how things were changing, including a shift in consumer needs and desires.

“It had started before the pandemic, but this allowed us to get into it in a much deeper way, focusing on how businesses are operating sustainably and asking how they are developing their own capacity,” says Potter.

“It is more than just eliminating single-use plastic,” says Potter. “It’s really about the entire ecosystem. So this is a big, complex thing to tackle. There are so many different kinds of businesses in our industry, but the positive reaction we’ve had from the industry to the training we’ve made available has been amazing,” she shares.

“We’re also doing a lot of training to make sure businesses can line up what they’re doing with their sustainable development goals. Much of the time it looks big and scary and they don’t know where to start, so we’re trying to make that as attainable as possible for them.”

One of TIAC’s many successes over the years was securing $95.5 million in annual permanent base funding for Destination Canada. Since travel and tourism were seriously impacted by the pandemic and slow to recover, TIAC will push the Government of Canada to hold this funding level at $95.5 million a year, so that Destination Canada’s access to the tools and marketing it needs can continue.

“Destination Canada’s budget is about the same size as California’s,” comments Potter, “so we want to make sure Destination Canada is armed with the budget to go out and promote Canada as a destination, especially in the business event sector. Business events, conferences, and trade shows make up 40 percent of our overall industry. To put that in perspective, if we lost our business events it would be like taking Ontario’s tourism industry out of Canada.”

Naturally, the Tourism Industry Association of Canada promotes several major industry events. These include the TIAC Tourism Congress, taking place in Ottawa on November 21 and 22, and Rendez-vous Canada (RVC). Co-produced with Destination Canada, invitation-only Rendez-vous Canada, to be held at the Québec City Convention Centre, runs from May 30 to June 2.

“That event is really to drive business between international buyers that want to sell Canada destinations within their own country,” says Potter. “As you can imagine, there are a lot of meetings. Last year, we had over 50,000 meetings between all those folks in the three days. They’re done in 15-minute increments. The whole idea is to give small businesses, in Canada especially, an opportunity to meet with international buyers to promote their product or experience at the international level.”

The event saw about 500 international buyers and another 600 to 700 Canadian tourism businesses engage in matchmaking appointments between buyers and sellers.

Celebrating tourism across the country with a week dedicated to the industry, this year’s theme is Canada: Powered by Tourism (April 24-30), which highlights how tourism helps animate communities and provides jobs and economic growth at the community level.

TIAC is also active with the Future Borders Coalition, and is on the organization’s board of directors, serving as Vice-Chair. Predating the pandemic, the bi-national Coalition is dedicated to bettering the Canada / United States border for travel and trade and comprises organizations from Canada and the U.S. involved in all modes of transportation, tourism, and academia.

“It looks at all the policies, the technology, the processes, the legislation that is needed on both sides of the border to facilitate the movement of goods and people,” says Potter. “And it’s an organization that brings governments together, from both the U.S. and Canada, to have very focused conversations on transportation policy, immigration policy, and other border-related policies.”

Now that border restrictions have been lifted, Canada is again welcoming tourists from its biggest international market—the United States—and expects to see cross-border travel accelerate this year. The forecast sees it hitting 80 to 85 percent of 2019 levels in 2023, with full recovery by 2024.

And even with travel restrictions in China and the impact of the recession in Europe, TIAC says overseas travel to Canada will recover modestly this year to somewhere between 60 and 65 percent of 2019 volumes, rising to 90 percent in 2025 with full recovery by 2026.

“When we think about the future of tourism in Canada, our organization is here to make sure that businesses within the tourism sector have the ability to provide those outstanding experiences that Canada is known for, those great interactions with Canadians that visitors talk about with a glint in their eye and a smile on their face. That’s what we want to make happen.”

Sidebar:
Beth Potter On Destination Development:
“We have a community of all sizes of destinations from across the country that we’re working with; from major city centres like Toronto, Vancouver, and Montréal, down to smaller places like Sherbrooke or Saskatoon, and even smaller than that, like Barrie, Ontario,” says TIAC President and Chief Executive Officer Beth Potter.

“We’re working with those organizations to support them in the work that they do and their municipal governments and local businesses. Supporting local and buying local are huge themes, and also wanting to make sure that those main streets are vibrant and animated. So that means a multi-step approach,” she explains.

“If you want main streets to be revitalized, you have to look at everything from who the shops and the retailers and the businesses are on Main Street, to who’s living on Main Street. You won’t have a vibrant, thriving Main Street if it relies only on visitors to your destination; you have to take into account your residents as well. The people who live and work there have to be an active part of what that revitalized downtown looks like.”

The post Coming Back Strong<p class="company">The Tourism Industry Association of Canada</p> appeared first on Business In Focus Magazine.

Atlantic Tours & Travel President Richard Arnold’s ‘travel bug’ is highly contagious. If you listen to him speak for more than two minutes about Atlantic Canada which he calls “one of the world’s most beautiful areas,” you’ll likely catch it. And before you know it, you’ll be joining one of his company’s guaranteed-departure guided coach tours to see for yourself if his enthusiasm about the breathtaking scenery and warm hospitality of Canada’s four Atlantic provinces is warranted.

Prefer to drive your own vehicle, but don’t know where to go or what to see? Atlantic Tours & Travel has that covered too, through customized, self-guided tours that draw on the company’s considerable knowledge and expertise. Want to spend a day golfing or sailing? That can be built into your schedule.

Doing just what you want
Want a tour tailor-made for a specific group interest? Customized, guided coach tours are also offered because Atlantic Tours & Travel’s number one concern is satisfying customers. As Arnold says, “Without customers, there’s no business.” Doing what people want and then going one step further to create the ultimate travel experience is number one on the company’s agenda.

Prefer to travel in the shoulder seasons? No problem, regularly scheduled tours run from early May through the end of October, with shopping trips to Bangor and New York in November.

Organizing a national convention at the Halifax Convention Centre? Arnold can customize day or half-day tours to fit with the convention’s schedule, meet attendees at the airport and offer pre- or post-conference travel experiences.

And what about a culinary tour? That’s something Arnold says Atlantic Tours & Travel was doing long before it became “a thing,” and is built into every tour in a region renowned for seafood—lobster, scallops, and crab, along with pure maple syrup, wild blueberries, and fiddlehead greens.

Arnold, who was born in Nova Scotia’s fertile Annapolis Valley, which has a recorded history going back to the 1600s and the first French Acadian settlement, joined Atlantic Tours & Travel in the 1980s as a tour guide, something he loves doing to this day.

Thirteen years ago, however, he had the opportunity to become co-owner with business partner, Gary Biddle, and president of the company, which came with certain responsibilities, mainly more time in the office growing the company, and less on the road.

But the lure of introducing tourists from western Canada and the U.S., from Europe and as far away as Australia to Atlantic Canada can’t be denied. From time to time, he substitutes his business card that indicates he’s the company president for one that simply indicates ‘Director of Fun,’ and hits the road wearing a kilt sewn from the distinctive tartan of one of the four Atlantic Provinces: Nova Scotia, New Brunswick, Prince Edward Island, and Newfoundland & Labrador.

“I don’t even tell the people on the tour that I’m the president,” he says, “because I want to be judged as being a great tour director. I want people to relax and have fun and be worry-free.”

With an extensive travel history and background, he says that the most beautiful place he has traveled to is right here in Atlantic Canada, with each province offering truly spectacular locations, whether it be the breathtaking scenic views of the Cabot Trail or the quaint charm of Peggy’s Cove in Nova Scotia; New Brunswick’s Hopewell Cape Rocks on the Bay of Fundy, carved by glaciers millions of years ago and where visitors can walk on the ocean floor at low tide; Prince Edward Island’s patchwork quilt of green fields and red soil; or Newfoundland & Labrador’s majestic icebergs, plentiful moose and the jelly-bean-coloured painted wooden houses of St. John’s.

What do ‘folks from away’ do?
The short answer is ‘plenty’ but Arnold will tell it his way. When he took over as president in 2011, Atlantic Tours & Travel’s standard tour offering was a seven-day journey around the three Maritime Provinces—Nova Scotia, New Brunswick, and Prince Edward Island—but that was too little time to see everything.

He explains how he instead created a 13-day tour around the three Maritime Provinces but broke it up into two segments, which allowed people to do half or all, with each segment beginning and ending in Halifax.

Then he added an additional 13-day tour to Newfoundland & Labrador, which can be added to the 13-day tour when it arrives in Sydney, Cape Breton to make a grand 23-day tour when you remove the overlapping days or accessed as a stand-alone tour originating in Halifax. Even that tour can be broken into two segments with options to join or leave mid-way.

The first half of the 13-day tour is entitled “Circle the Bay of Fundy”. From Halifax, the tour heads north to the UNESCO World Heritage Site at the Joggins Fossil Cliffs before crossing the Nova Scotia-New Brunswick border to visit Shediac and enjoy a lobster experience with Shediac Bay Cruises.

It continues to the Hopewell Cape’s Flower Pot Rocks and Fundy National Park; and on to Saint John for two nights, with a day trip to St. Andrew’s-by-the-Sea. Then the tour crosses the Bay of Fundy, arriving in Digby, home of succulent Digby scallops, and on through the fruit orchards and wineries of the Annapolis Valley with a stop at the Grand Pré National Historic Site and UNESCO World Heritage Site which commemorates the deportation of the Acadians in 1755 before it returns to Halifax.

The second half
The second half of the tour, “The Enchanting Islands” departing from Halifax, includes visits to Peggy’s Cove and Lunenburg, another UNESCO World Heritage site on Nova Scotia’s South Shore, before it heads to New Brunswick and crosses the 12.9 km (8 miles) Confederation Bridge linking the mainland to Prince Edward Island.

Highlights of the two-night stay include the PEI National Park and Cavendish, home of Anne of Green Gables, and a New Glasgow Lobster Supper. There’s also a theatrical performance at the Charlottetown Festival.

Then it’s back to Nova Scotia via the Wood Island ferry and on to Cape Breton with two nights in Baddeck, the summer home of Alexander Graham Bell, inventor of the telephone. There’s a full day touring the scenic Cabot Trail and another reliving history at the fully restored Fortress of Louisbourg.

When the tour reaches Sydney, the group has the option of returning to Halifax or joining the 12-day Newfoundland & Labrador tour, which begins aboard an overnight ferry, and travelling the scenic great Northern Peninsula before arriving in Port Aux Basques. Highlights include another ferry ride to the big land of Labrador, the mainland part of the province, and a visit to an early Basque whaling station and UNESCO World Heritage site at Red Bay.

Back on the island of Newfoundland, there are visits to the UNESCO Heritage Site of L’Anse aux Meadows where Vikings established a settlement more than 1,000 years ago, and optional boat tours to see whales and thousands of seabirds, including puffins—and icebergs, depending on the season overnighting in the community of St. Anthony. Later you will visit Gros Morne National Park and UNESCO World Heritage site where you will get an opportunity to pick up and hold in your hand a piece of the earth’s mantle and enjoy a two-night stay in Cow Head with its stunning sunsets.

There’s also a stop at the Gander Aviation Museum to learn how the small town of Gander hosted the world on September 11, 2001, when all North American airlines, in- and out-bound, were grounded. The adventure concludes with a visit of Newfoundland & Labrador’s capital St. John’s and the Cape Spear Lighthouse, the most easterly point of Canada, from where Marconi transmitted the first trans-Atlantic message.

Before flying home from St. John’s, tour groups have the option of visiting the islands of St. Pierre and Miquelon, just off the coast. The eight-island archipelago has been a self-governing French territory since 1814 with the signing of the Treaty of Paris between France and Great Britain. According to Arnold, “This tour provides a chance to visit France without leaving North America. What we’ve done is take structured touring and customized it, so people can do it in bits and pieces or do the whole thing, depending on interests and time.”

Made for everyone
He goes on to note that these tours, with guaranteed departures, are by no means Atlantic Tours & Travel’s only offerings and that, if there’s enough interest, he can arrange tours to other locations, including the Magdalen Islands, which are part of Quebec, but accessible by ferry from Souris, PEI; or to the Gaspé Peninsula, via New Brunswick.

There are also some specialized tours, such as the tour to Cape Breton’s music festival, Celtic Colours, every October.

Additionally, Arnold works behind the scenes to provide tour programs and arrangements to U.S. tour companies who bring their clients in their own coaches from various departure points in the U.S., and who may cross into Canada at any of several border crossings—on a ferry between Bar Harbour, ME and Yarmouth, NS or at one of the land border crossings.

Taking Canadians to the world
While Atlantic Canada accounts for 85 percent of Atlantic Tours & Travel business, making it a considerable contribution to the tourist industry as a whole (hotels, restaurants, attractions) and so to the economy of the four provinces, the company also offers international tours, giving Canadians the same worry-free experience international tourists enjoy here.

Due to COVID-19 travel restrictions, there were no such tours in 2020 or 2021, but Arnold more than made up for that in 2022. “I hosted six trips last year, starting in Bordeaux on a river cruise in April, Bermuda in May, and in August with a Rhine River cruise with AMA Waterways. Then I did the Greek Isles and Italy with Norwegian cruise lines. In October there was the lower Danube out of Romania, and I ended the year with Christmas in the Caribbean with Norwegian Cruise Lines.”

In April this year, he’ll be hosting 16 days in Ireland and Scotland on a traditional motor coach tour, flying into Dublin and out of London, and later in the year will be hosting the 10-day Tennessee Musical Treasures tour, flying out of Halifax, with stops in Nashville, Memphis, and the Smokey Mountains.

Free of worry
Any final words? “I think what I’d like to emphasize is ‘worry-free travel,’” says Arnold. “We look after all the details, whether for people arriving in Atlantic Canada or Atlantic Canadians traveling abroad. I’m thinking of the trip to France last spring. When we left Halifax we knew we had missed our connection in Toronto and so needed a hotel there, and when we arrived the next day in Bordeaux, the ship had left without us and we had to play catch-up,” he shares.

“But that was something I had the experience and background to deal with. And when we caught up with the ship and got onboard, the group, which had become friends, looked so relieved and thanked me for making this happen.” And that’s what a worry-free travel experience is all about: every detail taken care of, and every unforeseen “crisis” efficiently resolved.

The post Bringing the World to Atlantic Canada<p class="company">Atlantic Tours & Travel</p> appeared first on Business In Focus Magazine.

The business was founded by the Simensen family, led by Unni Simensen, in 1981. In 1997, she passed the business to her son Geir who went on to sell the company to current owners Raj and Anju Gupta in 2017.

The Guptas were friendly with the Simensen family before the sale and used the opportunity to purchase the business when it was available for sale. Nearly six years after the purchase, Head of Marketing and Human Relations Anju Gupta reports that the experience has been very positive, as the business has seen considerable growth since the purchase with even more in store for its future.

One of the biggest areas of focus for the company is in its approach to customer service. From the time clients make an initial inquiry about an upcoming event, a Scanway sales engagement manager will connect with them about the logistics of what is needed and will then offer different menus in consultation with Operations Partner and Executive Chef Raj Gupta.

Scanway has a diverse array of food and wine menus and is more than happy to customize its offerings according to the desires or needs of the client, including taking into account any food allergies. This ensures that clients are not only happy with the service, but that they also receive the best dining experience possible.

Halifax is something of a smaller market in comparison to some of Canada’s other capital cities, so creating a unique identity for a business in the Atlantic region is important if one wants to enjoy Scanway’s success. The business markets itself as ‘an East Coast hospitality group,’ but Anju feels that it stands out in the catering space through both its presentation and the superior quality of the food it makes.

“We get a lot of private events, VIP events, and weddings,” she remarks, recounting recent events at local landmarks like the Seton Spirituality Centre and the Halifax Convention Centre in the heart of the downtown area.

Beyond its customer-facing activities, it is a family-oriented company, as evidenced by its transfer from one family of entrepreneurs to another. Anju describes how employees are also treated as closely as family members. She stresses the importance of an open internal culture, where employees can bring ideas and opinions about event planning and more. By embracing this transparent internal structure, the company has been counted as a top employer in the city, even through hard times.

In the turbulent opening months of the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020, Scanway managed to pivot its operations to stay ahead of any difficulties and be one of the more viable businesses in the area. Before this, the company was primarily concerned with private catering opportunities and business contracts like the ones it still holds with several hotels in the Halifax Regional Municipality.

These hotel contracts came in handy since, during the pandemic. Many people, including local hospital employees and visitors to the area, had to quarantine in the hotels it served, as per quarantine regulations at the time. Scanway provided food to these people in quarantine, which helped it stay afloat and be able to pay its employees.

Anju cites another contract with the Halifax Airport’s Alt Hotel, for which the business began to supply pre-packaged meals, as a key partnership during this time. This regular opportunity also helped to keep the company busy, as did the launch of an online wing of its business, Pantry by Scanway, a packaged food delivery service.

This newer aspect of the business allows restaurant-quality food to be taken directly to customers, who then reheat it. The venture proved extremely successful right away amidst the global boom of food delivery resulting from lockdown measures. Anju is happy to say that Scanway kept running throughout the entirety of the pandemic without a single shut-down day and is quick to thank the workers who put so much effort into helping the business not just survive, but thrive in a difficult time. The contracts with several local hotels, such as Best Western, are still very much active, but overall, the future of the business is taken on a day-to-day basis and with heavy market consideration.

Although pandemic measures have lessened, there are still many troublesome areas that businesses are bumping up against in 2023, both in Canada and globally. The company is feeling the crunch from industry staffing shortages, as well as food price inflation. These pressures are causing widespread employment crises and food insecurity that is affecting people at all levels of industry.

Being in a smaller market has its advantages. Anju feels it is easier to get more regular business in and around Halifax, with brand recognition also being easier to spread than in a larger market like Toronto. The Scanway name has helped it to stay active in its home province for over forty years.

Anju reveals that the company has big plans for 2023 and is also on the lookout for any other kind of opportunity that may be in the market. The current path for the year involves the opening of a food hall in the Purdy’s Wharf building near the Halifax waterfront—a high-traffic location in proximity to nearby bustling hubs like Scotia Square. The opening has been slightly delayed to March or April, she reports, but is otherwise on track and will be momentous for the company.

Minimum wage in the province will be increasing to fifteen dollars an hour in 2023 which will be yet another challenge for the business. “I cannot raise prices accordingly, despite these factors, so to stay competitive, prices will remain low,” she says. The company is determined to keep moving forward in the face of these troubles.

It is also still looking to hire new people who are interested in working in the catering industry. Although the hiring market is amid considerable strain, Scanway is eager to welcome new faces into its family atmosphere. Anju and the team remain confident that the storms affecting all local businesses will be weathered, as the business moves ahead well into its fourth decade with a sense of pride in both its work and identity.

The post High-Quality Catering and a Family Atmosphere<p class="company">Scanway Catering</p> appeared first on Business In Focus Magazine.

Covering 777 square miles and home to 27,000 residents, Dickinson County boasts a remarkable range of popular attractions. “We have numerous things that offer a wide variety for a lot of people,” says Program Director for Downtown Iron Mountain, Mindy Meyers.

One of the area’s greatest attractions is its outdoor recreation in a stunning natural setting. “What makes us special is the accessibility to everything outdoors,” states Norway City Manager, Dan Stoltman.

Perfectly exemplifying this emphasis on outdoor recreation is the Dickinson Trail Network, formerly the Dickinson County Bike Path. A non-profit group run by dedicated volunteers makes it its mission to develop, maintain, and promote a network of non-motorized trails and routes throughout Dickinson County and the surrounding areas, with the goal of providing “an excellent source of outdoor recreation that is easily accessible to local residents and combines exciting terrain with our area’s incredible natural beauty.” The Trail Network also strives to attract tourists and mountain biking enthusiasts to Dickinson County and increase foot traffic and commerce to all businesses in this area.

The region perhaps is best known for its winter sports—with good reason—but is also a haven for warm weather activities. “There’s so much to do in all four seasons,” Meyers says.

Tourists and locals alike enjoy the area’s hunting, whitewater rafting, miles of bike and hiking trails, waterfall tours, snowmobiling, cross-country skiing, downhill skiing, and the largest ski jump in North America, which hosts the FIS Continental Cup ski jumping tournament each year. “We have ski jumpers from all over the world that come and compete,” says Mountain Media House Co-Founder, Elsa Pontbriand. “We see upwards of 10,000 people that come out and watch.”

In 2020, a $2.1 million investment was made to the ski jump. This project replaced the wooden in-run and scaffolding with new steel scaffolding and a new TopSpeed fiberglass in-run. In total, $3.4 million has been put into up fitting the jump so the Kiwanis Ski Club can continue hosting the International Ski Federation (FIS) Continental Cup competitions. There are hopes that, with the recent upgrades, the ski jump might even be a contender for a future World Cup competition.

Pine Mountain ski resort is conveniently located adjacent to the ski jump. “The resort has also seen major investments made over the past couple of years,” Pontbriand explains. “It draws people from all over the world here for downhill skiing.”

Public parks abound throughout the Dickinson area, many with state-of-the-art facilities, including ballparks that pull in big tournaments and championships. The City of Norway’s Marion Park claims three baseball fields, two soccer fields, one multipurpose field, four lit tennis courts, and horseshoe courts. Norway’s Strawberry Lake Park includes a walking trail, a canoe and kayak launch, accessible fishing piers, a ball field, BMX track, and plenty of parking. During the winter, the park opens an ice-skating rink and warming house and the walking trail is repurposed for cross-country skiing.

The Dickinson area has six golf courses including the multiple-award-winning Timberstone Golf Course, Bomber’s Golf Course’s U.S.G.A. 9-hole course set alongside rolling hills and the Menominee River, and Pine Grove Country Club’s eighteen-hole course, which is set amongst stunning natural scenery with virgin stands of pines, oaks, and maples. The city of Norway has Oak Crest golf course, an eighteen-hole course, and a restaurant.

Looking for a more science-minded activity that showcases the area’s commitment to ecologically-friendly power generation? The local hydroelectric facility, which produces 95 percent of the City of Norway’s power, offers a tour that encapsulates the spirit of the area. “The outdoors and our eco-friendly generation of power is kind of what makes Norway Norway,” Stoltman says.

Norway Spring is a well-known and unique local attraction. This bubbling fountain of pure, fresh water flows from deep within the earth to refresh visitors on a hot day. During the summer months the natural spring, conveniently located just off US 2, sees a steady stream of people armed with water bottles and jugs, eager to enjoy the cool, artesian spring water. The well was formed in 1903 when the Oliver Mining Company drilled a 1,094-foot shaft into the earth in search of iron ore. Since then, the site has been covered with carefully arranged rocks to create a lovely waterfall effect where the water bubbles to the surface.

Every Friday night throughout the summer months, stock car racing at the Norway Speedway always draws a crowd as well as racers from Michigan and Wisconsin. The fair comes to the Dickinson County Fairgrounds in Norway each year, and there are multiple festivals in Dowtown Iron Mountain. Italian Fest is a celebration of the Italian heritage and history of the area, while Oktoberfest transforms Iron Mountain into an authentic Bavarian celebration complete with polka dancing, sing-alongs, German cuisine and, of course, beer. BrewFest also features beer from regional microbrews, as well as malt beverages, hard seltzer, cocktails and wine. Last year’s event included ten breweries and two distilleries, as well as a variety of food trucks and live entertainment.

The area’s small town charm is another tourist magnet. “I think one thing that makes the area really special is downtown Iron Mountain,” Meyers says.

From gift shops and clothing boutiques to coffee shops, visitors will enjoy a variety of locally-owned, unique establishments with plenty of charm. “There’s a little bit of something for everybody when they come through the town,” she states.

“We have one restaurant, Spiro’s, where people come just because of the aesthetic of sitting outside in the summertime amongst the flowers,” she says. “We have bistro lights hung up across two of our streets’ downtown and into alleyways. So we’ve really created this cozy, Hallmark downtown.”

Community leaders work with shop owners to keep Iron Mountain’s downtown looking its best, from seasonal decorations to matching banners promoting current festivals. “Our downtown development authority has worked closely with business owners in our downtown to coordinate decorating storefront windows in a cohesive manner so you know something special is happening,” she says. “So when you drive through at Halloween time you get the spooky, fall, cozy vibe or at Christmastime, everybody’s got their windows decorated. I think that makes a big difference.”

Iron Mountain has a beautification committee dedicated to planting flowers throughout the downtown, creating lovely scenes brimming with hanging baskets and pocket gardens. “It’s all done by volunteers,” she affirms. “They have that community pride and they want people to notice that things are nice here. They take pride in their home.”

Norway residents are equally committed to their downtown. “When you’re small and tight-knit and everyone knows everyone, it seems to bring a lot of community pride out where people want to take ownership in their downtown in their community,” Stoltman says. “We have a really active downtown development authority that meets every month. They’re interested in improving the downtown, and we support them so they can continue to improve and work with businesses to make sure the storefronts are looking as inviting as possible.”

This community-wide effort has led to cohesive branding throughout the town of Norway. “Our city emblem is a Viking,” he says. “We have three Viking ships on each entry into the city limits and we have a Viking pocket park downtown with a giant Viking statue.” The figure is located just off US 2, at the intersection with Main Street. Drivers passing by the community cannot miss it. “The intention is really to grab people’s attention, and I think it has,” he says.

Art lovers enjoy the public art on display throughout the area. A few years ago, the Iron Mountain Downtown Development Authority worked closely with Mia Tavonatti and her team of artists to create the Power of Words project. “We have murals throughout our downtown with words that our communities submitted like, hope, inspire and believe,” Meyers says. Iron Mountain’s streets are lined with “these big, beautiful, colorful murals that draw people to our downtown.”

The location is particularly popular for graduation photo shoots. “We have a lot of senior photos that happen downtown,” she notes. A local running club hosts a mural run every spring, with the race winding past these vivid downtown art displays. Two more public art installations will be added this year. “Our community anticipates the installation of these works that will be displayed in a frequented alleyway and above one of our busiest nightlife streets downtown,” she adds.

Tourists eager to enjoy all that the Dickinson area has to offer will find the destination surprisingly convenient. With Green Bay, Wisconsin only a ninety-minute drive away, the community offers small town charm close to urban centers. Minneapolis, Saint Paul, and Chicago are just five hours away via major highways.

“We’re fairly central in the Upper Peninsula and we sit right on the border of Wisconsin,” says Pontbriand. “It’s easily accessible. We have an airport that flies daily to Minneapolis, Minnesota and Detroit, Michigan.” This makes the Dickinson area an ideal location on which to center a vacation and explore the Upper Peninsula. “We’re a good home base,” she points out. “We have much to offer.”

The location, natural beauty, outdoor recreation, and small-town charm keep tourists coming back to the Dickinson area year after year. “It’s like a little pocket of magic we have here that doesn’t exist in a lot of other places,” she summarizes.

The post A Tourist Treasure<p class="company">Dickinson Area EDA</p> appeared first on Business In Focus Magazine.

The city, known worldwide for its beautiful beaches, resorts, convention centers, casinos, and entertainment venues, came together and rebuilt.

Atlantic City faced consecutive challenges, including the foreclosure crisis, recession, and COVID-19. The collective economic impact of these crises also changed the landscape of neighborhoods and industries, while demonstrating the tenacity and resilience of Atlantic City, including a fully operational municipal government throughout the pandemic. Following the easing of pandemic-related restrictions and the growing popularity of online gambling, Atlantic City’s casino revenues increased 10 percent, with total casino revenue going from $4.7 billion in 2021 to $5.2 billion in 2022.

“This has always been a resort city,” says Jacques Howard, Atlantic City’s Planning and Development Director. Having joined the team in 2020 as Assistant Planning and Development Director, Howard was promoted to his current position in 2022.

In 1978, Atlantic City became home to Resorts International, the first legal casino on America’s east coast. “It was always a town where gambling occurred, and a town known for its premier entertainment… the town was buzzing. And with the creation of the casinos, it localized and vertically centralized activities.”

Casinos and so much more
As a barrier island, the planning and development of AC is a unique process, shaped in large part by its vulnerability to environmental and climate impacts. Planning and development were strong before 1978, but after that, the city saw changes from local, state, and federal perspectives, particularly from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). Regulations were instituted governing the quality of water, air, and soil, the protection of certain species and waterfronts, and more.

Today, these EPA regulations continue to shape development strategies in Atlantic City, and other areas throughout the U.S. “So our role has been amplified to take into consideration these environmental concerns,” says Howard, “and most recently, with the concept of JEDI (justice, equity, diversity, and inclusion) and the governor of New Jersey instituting new regulations to advance what we call environmental equity.”

Planning comprehensively for the City, therefore, now requires a greater focus on the impact of climate change on development, neighborhoods and resilience. Historically, waste plants and other noxious developments have frequently been located in areas that are poor, Black, and non-white, adversely affecting these communities. “So the move now is to mitigate those effects, and this encompasses those elements as well as the broader issue of climate impact changes,” Howard explains.

Buttressing the barrier islands
Famous for its history, entertainment, attractions, casinos, and sparkling depictions in film and television dramas like the Prohibition-era Boardwalk Empire, Atlantic City is also known as a barrier island. Forming a barrier between the mainland and the Atlantic Ocean, it helps to protect the mainland from wind, waves, and strong currents.

Rutgers University’s Center for Coastal and Environmental Studies said that New Jersey’s barrier islands mean many things to different people, such as fishing, clamming, attractive spaces for both beach-goers and bird watchers, and glittering Atlantic City casinos. However, barrier Islands have their downside.

While proving “a refuge from the problems and rush of daily life,” according to New Jersey’s Barrier Islands: An Ever-Changing Public Resource, “Barrier islands are inherently unstable: they move and change shape in response to storms, tides, winds, and human efforts to create stability.”

With this in mind, New Jersey has seen climate impact studies and key recommendations, some specifically related to a predicted rise in sea levels. And with Atlantic City itself a barrier island, it is the most affected by proposed legislation and regulations that can affect redevelopment activities and the preservation of neighborhoods within Atlantic City.

Canal care
Much of Atlantic City is built on infill, and as a barrier island, the city, in its early days, identified ways to mitigate flooding. These included the Baltic Avenue Drainage Canal. Originally built in the mid-1800s, the Canal runs underneath the city from one point to the other, drawing the overflow of water and dumping it out on the other side of the island.

In late 2020, the Baltic Avenue Canal reactivation project was created following a federal grant of $2.45 billion. The Canal’s deteriorating old wooden structures were upgraded with new pumps and gates. With built-in resiliency measures for long-term durability, the height of some bulkheads was also increased to eight feet, helping mitigate flooding in key neighborhoods.

“We have pump stations in addition to floodgates and the Baltic Avenue Canal,” says Howard, adding that, “the reconstruction of bulkheads and the existing jetties and beach replenishment take place regularly.”

Along with flood mitigation measures, the city was also recently part of a major study, along with five municipalities in Atlantic County, called Atlantic County Coastal Resiliency. “That study presented any number of innovative means by which we could preserve the integrity, to the extent possible, of the city’s neighborhoods and the city’s ability to create development while at the same time recognizing the need to create open spaces as well,” shares Howard.

“Specifically, our role is everything that is planning-related: from a concept plan to an adjustment to an existing zoning ordinance, to redevelopment and/or new development, which would include all kinds of projects—anything from residential to mixed-use, industrial, or institutional,” says Howard.

Some of the Planning and Development Department’s many responsibilities encompass planning and zoning boards, redevelopment plans, conveyance of properties, auction sales, and revocable licenses. “There’s quite a range of activities that we’re responsible for—everything from resiliency issues and sustainability to circulation to building development—plus urban agriculture.”

Working toward the future
While many of Atlantic City’s longtime industries remain—such as clamming, shellfishing, and candy manufacturing (it is where saltwater taffy originated in 1883)—the area is welcoming new sectors, including offshore wind. A decade ago, a mini wind farm was established through the Atlantic County Improvement Authority (ACIA). Atlantic City and surrounding areas are ideal for offshore wind, owing to their waterfront access and deep harbors.

“The state of New Jersey wants to be the lead entity throughout the Atlantic coast for wind-generated energy,” says Howard, adding that two giants of the green energy sector, Ørsted and Atlantic Shores, now have a presence in the state.

Realizing offshore wind farms will require workers in the future, Atlantic Cape Community College recently established the new, 1,700-square-foot Wind Training Center at its Worthing Atlantic City campus. It was financed as part of a state grant of almost $3 million to further grow New Jersey’s offshore wind sector. This initiative and others, such as supporting the blue economy—everything derived from the sea—and working on an innovation zone for start-up companies, will see the city’s economy expand into other areas.

“In our case, we would be creating a district that would hopefully be populated with the opportunity for flex space and a reason to come in,” says Howard. “We’re trying to increase the perception and the reality of the city as a family destination, but we’re also looking to diversify the city’s economy.

While many still think of Atlantic City as strictly a gaming town, it is changing under Mayor Marty Small, Sr., who is leading the transformation of this legendary spot into more of a family destination. “This upcoming Memorial Day Weekend, we will see Atlantic City open the world’s largest indoor / outdoor beachfront waterpark, at the same location that recently opened the largest arcade on the East Coast and an indoor go-kart track. Mayor Small has taken initiatives to build up our entrepreneurial force by creating an Entrepreneurial Center, and has undertaken several other initiatives to attract growth industries and increase future job opportunities for the residents of Atlantic City,” says Howard.

And this vision, underpinned by smart and mindful planning, is sure to play a key role in shaping the area’s bright future.

The post Renewing the Past and Embracing the New<p class="company">Atlantic City, New Jersey</p> appeared first on Business In Focus Magazine.

Sweetwater County’s stunning scenery and wide-open, unspoiled spaces are huge draws. The high desert that comprises the community—eighty-five percent of which is public land—is known as one of the state’s most dramatic landscapes. Visitors and locals alike revel in this unique outdoor playground.

“Sweetwater County is abundant in outdoor recreational opportunities,” says Kayla McDonald, Economic Development Specialist for the Sweetwater Economic Development Coalition (SEDC). “You have it all here.”

Lake Flaming Gorge, the largest reservoir in the state of Wyoming, delights tourists with its ninety-one miles of fishing, boating, hiking, and paddle boarding. The lovely byway that meanders around the pristine waters has earned the designation All-American Road—one of only thirty-seven in the United States—and is a destination in its own right with its wealth of spectacular views. Tourists can explore these via a full-day guided bus tour provided by Sweetwater County Travel and Tourism. The byway tour includes nine scenic stops as well as lunch and ice cream.

Killpecker Sand Dunes is one of the county’s most remarkable destinations. Centuries of erosion along two rivers have formed 11,000 acres of soft sand to explore, as well as otherworldly buttes and spires, including the Boar’s Tusk, which stretches a towering four hundred feet into the sky. The site is ideal for riding dune buggies, dirt bikes, and ATVs. Beginners learn the ropes along flat stretches of sand and smaller dunes, while experienced riders challenge their skills on massive, ten-story-tall dunes. Other tourists enjoy sledding, surfing, or skiing down the dunes. Playing Frisbee or beach volleyball or just admiring the stunning sunset views are other common activities. Hiking the dunes is also popular and is sometimes rewarded with a glimpse of the rare desert elk, found nowhere else on the continent.

Sweetwater County’s wild horses are another unique attraction. These majestic animals roam free through the beautiful high desert and can be viewed from the Pilot Butte Wild Horse Scenic Loop. The twenty-four-mile gravel road takes tourists along gorgeous vistas and overlooks where, in addition to the famous wild horses, travelers may spot a variety of wild animals, from rabbits and coyotes to desert elk, hawks, eagles, and more.

Many tourists enjoy exploring the county on a mountain bike. They find plenty of places to ride as the area boasts the top trails in Wyoming, according to singletracktrails.com.

Sweetwater County is also home to an award-winning downtown where Rock Springs charms visitors with quaint streets lined with historic buildings, locally-owned boutiques and shops, restaurants, and craft breweries. With more than seven hundred events held there annually, visitors will almost always find a special event to attend during their visit.

In addition to the hundreds of smaller events, Sweetwater County hosts several signature events each year. Wyoming’s Big Show is a weeklong extravaganza packed full of carnival rides, rodeo action, concerts, 4-H exhibits, livestock exhibits, dining opportunities and more. The annual River Festival includes a microbrewery beer garden, Cajun shrimp boil and spaghetti dinner, live music, fireworks, races—including the Run with the Horses Marathon—and a car show. Art on the Green, a 24-hour live painting and sculpting competition, is held on the same weekend.

Known as the ‘Home of 56 Nationalities,’ Rock Springs celebrates its diversity with International Day, showcasing the community’s rich and diverse history with exhibits, costumes, live entertainment, and food representing local ethnicities.

Sweetwater County’s location is ideal for the tourist industry. Two of the county’s towns, Rock Springs and Green River, are conveniently located along the intersection of I-80 and Hwy 191 in southwest Wyoming, a gateway to Wyoming’s National Parks.

“Visitors to Wyoming primarily enjoy a road trip around the state and the location of Sweetwater County offers a prime opportunity for travelers to get out and explore our high desert landscape as part of that overall road trip,” says Jenissa Meredith, Chief Executive Officer of Sweetwater County Travel and Tourism.

Local leaders are eager to support and promote the county’s tourism industry, and the industry continues to grow. “It is no secret that the incredible landscape, abundant wildlife, and outdoor recreation opportunities that we all know and love are also very attractive to visitors from around the country and world,” Meredith says.

“While our advertising efforts alone generated $65 million in visitor spending in 2022, total visitor spending typically reaches almost $160 million annually (calculated by Dean Runyan & Assoc.), which is money realized in the cash registers of our valued local businesses. Tourism is big business in Sweetwater County. It is truly an honor to work for a dedicated board, and with a talented team of marketing professionals, to showcase this great county.”

Funded by lodging tax dollars, Sweetwater County Travel and Tourism commissions a conversion and advertising effectiveness study to track the success of marketing campaigns. The study has found that the return on investment for every advertising dollar spent is $399. The average tourist party is made up of 2.7 people spending an average of $1,400 over three days in Sweetwater County while enjoying an average of 4.1 activities. An increase in advertising awareness between 2021 and 2022 has been effective as evidenced by a more positive opinion of the area.

Every three years, Sweetwater County Travel and Tourism commissions a lodging study to determine if guests at local hotels and campgrounds are business or leisure travelers. The first study, done in 2007, revealed that the leisure occupancy in Sweetwater County was eight percent. Today leisure travel averages have skyrocketed to over 30 percent.

“We take our jobs of marketing Sweetwater County as a tourism destination very seriously, and it has been exciting to see the visitor economy grow and thrive over the years,” Meredith says.

Sweetwater County Travel and Tourism launches a multi-media marketing campaign every spring to encourage summer tourism, and all year long, it stays active on multiple social media channels, develops tourism products, works to recruit events to the community, and hosts local tours.

In addition, it operates the Explore Rock Springs & Green River Visitor Center. Conveniently located on Hwy 191, where many travelers pass on their way to Yellowstone and Grand Teton national parks, the center reminds tourists that there is a wealth of local attractions beyond those well-known destinations.

Sweetwater County Travel and Tourism is certainly not in it alone. There has been a team effort to increase tourism to the county, with multiple organizations pitching in for the good of the community. “The relationship between our organization and the chambers of commerce, our visitor centers here, and the travel and tourism board with Sweetwater County is a great relationship,” McDonald says. “We cross-promote for all of us.”

Additional ideas are on the table to attract even more visitors. This includes everything from renovating historic buildings in Rock Spring’s picturesque downtown to converting an old train depot into a train museum to attract train enthusiasts to Green River, which has already earned the designation Train City, USA. “They’re trying to be creative in attracting more tourists,” McDonald says.

Local leaders are also working to attract businesses that would bolster the local tourism industry, as well as the local economy as a whole. “We’re trying to get more of the recreational type businesses here,” McDonald says. These efforts come on the heels of a recent success regarding business expansion as firearms company KelTec recently announced a move to Sweetwater County and the acquisition of a 33,000-square-foot facility after the economic development coalition made a concerted effort to recruit the company. “That’s huge for us,” she adds.

With new businesses moving in and a tourist industry that continues to grow, Sweetwater County is on the rise. Whether it is to stop by and admire the stunning scenery and enjoy the outdoor activities or to take advantage of the related business opportunities, the area is getting noticed for good reason.

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