Janice Stromar Named VIREB Realtor of the Year
MARK MACDONALD
NANAIMO – Owner/Operator Justin McElhone is pleased to note his Nanaimo Mitsubishi is getting ready to move into its brand new premises on Kenworth Road in the next little while. Other dealerships in the Nanaimo Mitsubishi group include Nissan of Nanaimo and Nissan of Duncan. Speaking of the dealership, General Manager Hermon Nizghi has been extra busy of late, as he is one of 16 contestants in the Global TV series Big Brother Canada, which started its 10th season in March. A grand prize of $100,000 and a $10,000 Winners wardrobe is up for grabs in the contest, which features all of the contestants living in one house while being constantly on video. Losing contestants get voted out each week.
Wellington Court has sold. The location next to the Island Highway across from the former Long Lake Nursery property – which will become a Porsche dealership – and beside Harbourview Volkswagen. It was in previous years a grocery store, then an outdoors store. The larger building will now be home to KMS Tools.
Harbour Air has launched a seaplane service from Powell River to downtown Vancouver. The Powell River landing/departure point is on Powell Lake, and there will be one morning and one afternoon flight.
In other aviation news, WestJet has announced it is purchasing Sunwing.
Chief Development Officer Janice Krall is pleased to note that Chelsea Carne has joined the team at the Nanaimo & District Hospital Foundation as their new Director of Development. Chelsea formerly worked at Vancouver Island University.
Alvin Tan
Congratulations to Alvin Tan for being one of the Top 10 salespeople at RE/MAX of Nanaimo last year. Alvin also made the Re/MAX Chairman’s Club for Western Canada, and there were only seven members of the club from RE/MAX Nanaimo.
A salute of the spatula to Matteo Pizzo, who has been named Food and Beverage Manager at Vancouver Island University.
Janice Stromar
Janice Stromar of Royal LePage Nanaimo Realty has been named 2021 Realtor of the Year by the Vancouver Island Real Estate Board. Janice served as VIREB President in 2017, and will assume the role of the Chair of the BC Real Estate Association this month. She is well known for her community work, which includes serving as President of the Lantzville Rotary Club, as well as working with the 7-10 Club for the Homeless, Habitat For Humanity and the Royal LePage Shelter Foundation. She has also been on the board of the Nanaimo Executives Association and the Nanaimo Women’s Business Network.
Congratulations to the GEM Real Estate Group of Nanaimo Royal LePage Nanaimo Realty upon being recognized as one of the top five teams in BC for 2021.
Greg Constable’s team at IWCD continues to complete major projects on Vancouver Island. Their latest is the 13,000 square foot Vancouver Island Regional Library in Sooke, which features a circular design.
Seamor Marine Ltd. has had one of its six-thruster Chinook ROV units assist the RCMP recover the body of the operator of a bulldozer at Black River in Nunavut last month. The operator died when the bulldozer he was driving went through the ice in January. The ice was five to six feet thick.
A tip of the hat to Snuneymuxw First Nation councilor Erralyn Joseph, who hit the jackpot for $2,129,071 while playing the Wheel of Fortunes Exotic Far East slot machine at the Nanaimo Casino in February. It was one of the biggest slot machine wins in BC history.
Proline Property Management Ltd., which has offices in Nanaimo, Courtenay, Victoria and the West Shore, has added five new partners to their organization as Eric Spurling retires after founding the property management company 37 years ago. The new stewardship team includes Director of Culture and Community Kathryn Squires Basson, Manager of Strata Department Paul Merrien, Vice President, Finance Dwight Mueller, Accountant, Strategy and Compliance Kathy Soetaert and Vice President, Operations Kelly Whitney.
Nanaimo city council has given third reading to Insight Holdings Ltd.’s plans to rezone 6033 and 6053 Nelson Road, beside Randerson Ridge Elementary School, so they can build 168 housing units, including 28 townhouses and a six-storey building fronting Linley Valley Drive.
Downtown Ladysmith has been busy with film crews, as the Resident Alien television show was in town recently to film eight episodes of its second season. Ladysmith becomes Patience, Colorado in the popular show.
St. Jean’s Cannery, owned by Nuu-chah-nulth Seafood Limited Partnership, will benefit from recent funding through the federal government’s Pacific Integrated Commercial Fisheries Initiative. Nuu-chah-Nulth Seafood receives $1.275 million and St. Jean’s will use some of that to buy a new packaging machine which will help their processing, marketing and sales capacity.
Coast Salish Canna has opened on MacMillan Road. It is the first Snuneymuxw First Nation cannabis retail outlet. SFN is also opening a store at Sealand Market on Stewart Avenue near the BC Ferries terminal at Departure Bay, and has plans to construct a cannabis grow operation in Cedar which could supply up to as many as eight stores on Vancouver Island.
The Green Thumb lands in north Nanaimo continue to move forwards towards development, as city council voted in favour of third reading of the official community plan amendment bylaw. The plans for the 44 acre property includes commercial and residential, with approximately 2,500 residential units.
The downtown Nanaimo Commercial Street Night Market will be back starting June 23, following two years of Covid-related closures. The market will run for 11 weeks on Thursday nights from 5-9 p.m. until September 1.
Mark MacDonald is President of Communication Ink Media & Public Relations Ltd. and Author of the book “It Worked For Them, It Will Work For Me: The 8 Secrets of Small Business I Learned From Successful Friends”, which can be obtained by reaching him through: mark@communicationink.ca