Ex-Beban Park Manager Furlong Pitches 2030 Winter Olympics
MARK MACDONALD
NANAIMO – There’s a great new book out on hockey, titled One Night Only, which chronicles the stories of men who played one game in the National Hockey League.
Included in the book, by Ken Reid of Sportsnet, is a chapter on Nanaimo’s own Trent Kaese, now the owner and general manager of the Cottonwood Golf Course by the Nanaimo Airport.
Trent played one game with the Buffalo Sabres in 1986 before setting scoring records while playing pro hockey in England, where he met his wife, Jacquie, who owns the Spotlight Academy modeling/acting agency.
Wayne Procter is at it again, as he has purchased another location for his Gas N Go operations. He has bought the Denman Island General Store from Darrel and Wayne Mcloughlin.
Innov8 President and owner Andre Brosseau has been named a finalist in the Kelowna Chamber of Commerce’ “Top 40 Over 40” awards competition.
ANDRE BROSSEAU
Innov8, which has business technology offices in Nanaimo, Courtenay and Victoria, was recognized as Canon Canada’s Top Western Dealer for 2020 at the Annual Awards Ceremony. During the ceremony, the Ed Koke Honorary Award was presented to innov8 for the company’s dedication to Community Involvement
The Bees Knees Café and Catering is now open in Country Club Centre.
Nanaimo City Council has passed a motion to re-create a Downtown Nanaimo Business Improvement Area.
There are 138 properties within the BIA boundaries, and 22 per cent of those – 30 property owners – petitioned against re-starting the DNBIA. The BIA is funded by an additional tax on downtown properties, and its dissolution a number of years ago followed complaints that most of the BIA money went towards wages and administrative costs, with very little going towards actually promoting the downtown area or creating events that drew people downtown.
This time around, the DNBIA is mandated by council to have no more than one quarter of its annual budget going towards administration costs.
TRENT KAESE
Council has also acknowledged concerns of downtown businesses regarding safety, and has added funding to its budget to address those problems by increasing security patrols.
Congratulations to Blair McDaniel and Justin Thompson of Alair Homes upon being named to the Pro Builder Media’s 404 Under 40 Class of 2021.
Play it again?
John Furlong, CEO of the very successful 2010 Vancouver Winter Olympics, was at one time the General Manager of Beban Park for the Regional District of Nanaimo. He’s back in the headlines again, after making a presentation to the Vancouver Board of Trade titled “BC 2030”, which calls for a return of the Winter Olympic and Paralympic Games to Whistler and Vancouver in 2030.
Furlong’s pitch included the fact that many of the venues used in 2010 could be re-used, so the heavy capital cost of the original event wouldn’t have to be duplicated, making it relatively less expensive. Stay tuned. . .
Nanaimo Minor Hockey Association has hired Gaelan Patterson to oversee the organization, which includes 750 players and over 100 coaches.
Gaelan was most recently assistant coach and general manager of the Saskatchewan Junior Hockey League’s LaRonge Ice Wolves.
The Jim Pattison Broadcast Group is rebranding as Pattison Media, effective May 1. The company owns Island Radio.
The Curry Culture is now open in north Nanaimo at #4-6304 Dover Road.
Quality Foods officially opened its newest five star grocery store in Parksville, with Mayor Ed Mayne and QF President Noel Hayward, who formerly managed QF at Beban Plaza, taking part in the festivities.
The store is 40,000 square feet – twice the size of its former Parksville location. It also includes the latest QF innovation – a machine that sanitizes shopping carts, which has also been added to other QF stores on Vancouver Island.
The store also includes a smoothie bar, sushi bar, cheese counter, bakery, Perk Avenue Café and full service, in-store butcher shop.
Welcome to Nanaimo to Nolin Veillard, the founder and Managing Director of Trak Kayaks, which has moved its operations to Nanaimo.
United Raw Pet Foods Inc., which has two locations serving pet owners in Nanaimo and Qualicum Beach, has acquired The Wild Side Pet Boutique Inc., a leading pet specialty retailer specializing in raw, dehydrated, baked and freeze-dried food for pets.
The Wild Side purchase is the 15th investment completed by United Raw’s parent company,
Dane Creek Capital Corp, and is their second acquisition of a pet specialty retailer. In late December 2020, Dane Creek acquired Growlies Pet Foods Inc. of Victoria.
Lisa Robinson founded Wild Side in Qualicum Beach in 2017, and the Nanaimo location opened in October, 2020. She will continue on with United Raw in management and community education.
The provincial government has chipped in $720,000 in funding for Nanaimo Airport to help with COVID-19 related losses in ridership and revenue.
Nanaimo Airport Commission President Dave Devana says the operation averaged over 40,000 per month in 2019, but in April, 2020 that number plunged to under 2,000 – a 96 per cent decrease. Traffic volumes have not yet rebounded due to current COVID restrictions.
WestUrban Developments has received a development permit for a 213 unit apartments complex a 1300 Junction Avenue in south Nanaimo, at Tenth Street and Lawlor Road.
The apartments will include 118 one-bedroom units, 71 two-bedroom units and 24 three-bedroom units in three, four storey buildings.
The City of Nanaimo’s John Elliott has been named the recipient of the 2020 public Works Association of BC manager of the year award.
The City is also floating ideas to add between 3,000 and 12,000 seats for a medium-sized sports stadium in what is named the Larry McNabb Sports Complex on Third Street.
The seating would go to NDSS field, and there would be expansion of seating at Rotary Bowl and Serauxmen Stadium. Serauxmen’s capacity is expected to reach 1,500 to accommodate baseball fans, although the Nanaimo Night Owls franchise has announced it won’t be fielding a team this season in the summer collegiate West Coast League, due to continued COVID restrictions.
Nanaimo has been ranked 14th in Expedia Travellers’ Friendliest Cities and Towns in Canada of 2021 list, according to users.
Comments regarding dinner recommendations, friendly greetings, good energy and random act of kindest were amongst the criteria for the list, which included 20 locations across the country.
Tilray has announced a medical cannabis distribution agreement with Grow Pharma to distribute its products in the United Kingdom.
Tilray CEO Brendan Kennedy says the partnership is an important step in improving Tilray’s access to the U.K., and distribution under the new agreement there began in March.
Mark MacDonald is President of Communication Ink Media & Public Relations Ltd. and can be reached at mark@communicationink.ca