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Ken Fiske, VP Edmonton Tourism

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Proof__2_________PROOFED BY:_______________________________________________CHANGES MADE:__________________________DATE:_________________

EDMONTONIANS JANUARY 2008

he local entertainment media lovedher back in the day: Edmonton Week, theEdmontonian, the Edmonton Journal. JuneeWhelan—attractive, feisty but fragile in many

ways—carved out a meager living singing nightly in thesmoky lounges of the city’s night clubs. Making it alonewas not a new challenge: the Trocadero’s first femalevocalist was a survivor. By age nine, Junee had movedfrom an orphanage to Vancouver where she landed on thestreets caring for her new, baby brother. By 20, she was asingle mother. Three years later, in 1955, Junee’s firsthusband Robert Gaebelhaus was killed by assailants infront of the Troc—it was her 23rd birthday… she waspregnant with her second child.

The singer performed daily on CFRN’s Noon Show and itwas her gig as Klondike Kate in Cape Breton Island thatinspired Don Clark to establishKlondike Days inEdmonton. In a Journalcolumn dated December13, 1963, Barry Westgatesaid June Whalen andHank Smith (no longermarried to Edmontoniansesteemed editor BarbDeters) had teamedprofessionally, and that Junewas excited about arecording contract to bereleased in England,Australia, Canada and theU.S. She had wanted torecord locally with TommyBanks but daughter SusanJanzen—herself a Klondike Kate in 1986 and 1987—doesn’t know what became of that deal. Senator Banksdelivered his personal reflections last month at the funeralof Junee Whelan who died at the age of 73 after a longillness. He handed Susan a never-before heard CD of hermother’s music. Said Clint Buehler in an early 1960sedition of the Edmontonian: “She has a lovely voice and away with a song that puts her right at the top as anentertainer.”

It takes a lot of courage to quit good paying,high profile—some would say powerful—jobs to followyour dreams. But I know a couple of ladies who did justthat: Roseline Donaldson and Dianne Young have left thesecurity of their executive management positions with theStollery Children’s Hospital Foundation. Dianne is justwrapping up a very successful stint as its president andCEO. The duo goes back to their days at Telus.

Now, they’ve signed on to open Canada’s first YoungChefs Academy, a successful cooking school for kids in the

U.S. Why? Roseline says, “Being around kids all the timeand seeing… what they eat. This opportunity is a way ofteaching kids to recognize proper foods. Unfortunately, alot of kids are being left alone to fend for themselves, and[this cooking school] will help those situations.”

For more information on the Young Chefs Academy andhow to enroll your child, call 780.416.1231 or Roseline’scell 780.221.4759

The Agrios name is pretty well known in theseparts: lawyer Jack (QC, OC) chaired the organizingcommittee for the 2001 World Championships of Athleticsamongst many other things. Less known is daughter SusanAgrios who is North America’s only fitness trainer withadvanced teacher training in Yoga Nidra. Yearly trips toIndia and monthly trips to California enable her to studywith world renowned Yoga Masters—like Gurmukh whowas featured in the June issue of Vanity Fair.

Yoga Nidra guided meditation induces profoundrelaxation for the body and mind.Susan explains that “meditation isa science, a technology. Studies arebeing done at Harvard supportingmeditation as a healing modality.It has been successfully applied toa wide variety of conditions.”

Susan runs Training by Agriosand found that, while clients weregetting physically fit, many werestill stressed, unable to sleep andjust not happy… something wasmissing. So she shifted gears byoffering meditation sessions inaddition to physical workouts toimprove their mental health aswell.

Having taughtgrades 1 through12 for 10 years,Susan believes,“It would bewonderful tohave meditationtaught in theschool system. Itwould help a lot ofstudents deal with emotions… allowing them to be moreefficient and productive.”

You can find out more about meditation classes byvisiting Susan’s website at www.trainingbyagrios.com oremail her at [email protected].

A while back, I went to the Doug Udall Galleryon 124th Street for a showing of works by my favouriteartist, Joe Fafard. His miniature statues are phenomenal—he did this one of Doug Udall about five years ago.Hindsight can be painful: There was a time I could have

bought a little Fafard fora few hundred dollars—now they’re about$29,000. I’ve beeninsuring the gallery forabout 40 years, since aDutch fellow by the nameof Eric Hansen startedthe Downstairs Gallery ina basement across fromthe Bay on 103rd Street.He doesn’t just do thelittle statues but also bigcows and horses—about200 to 300 pieces a yearwith the help of sevenpeople working for him.

He’s a great talent. Actually, I think Cam Allard has aFafard or two at the Courtyard Block on Jasper Avenue—check it out.

For the first time in many years, I didn’t make itto the annual Night Owl lingerie “Men Only” show atManulife Place. The mistress of the ring is always ownerGloria Barrigan. Seven models wore gowns and undiesthat would knock your eyes out. Gloria tells me the hit ofthe evening was a self demi bra in white pleated chiffonwith crystal detail. I have no idea what that is, but I gatherguys would score big points if they gifted one to theirsignificant others.

I recently spotted Mike Nickel having breakfastat Ricky’s Diner with his former City Hall secretary. I’mguessing that he and Debbie Rechmey were asking eachother what happened. He guesses he got caught in a leftwing movement. I’ve always thought highly of his work oncouncil. While Mike was disappointed in the outcome,don’t dismiss him from politics just yet.

I must be one of the few guys in Edmonton whodoesn’t want drugstore mogul Daryl Katz to take over theOilers. He and I don’t have warm and fuzzy feelings foreach other. It goes back about three years when I tried tointerview him at the opening of one of his dispensaries. Myillustrious editor isn’t going to let me rehash the incident.Let me just say this: Katz is the wealthiest guy who evercussed me out, again and again… and all I was trying to dowas what his public relations people had invited me thereto do.

I understand why some of the Edmonton InvestorsGroup guys want to sell—my goodness, a few are evenolder than I am. I just want them to remember why theygot into the game in the first place: love for the Oilers andlove for the community. You know that all that glitters isnot gold… so please walk carefully.

Call Muggsy Forbes at 780.482.4545 or e-mail [email protected]

TT

Bobby Cairns, Junee, Tommy Banks,

Phil Shragg, Bob Miller

Yoga master Gurmukh

and Susan Agrios

Doug Udall statue

with Muggsy, Marty & Mark

EDMONTONIANS JANUARY 2008 3


t’s a Happy New Year! Here are thethings I’d really like to see happen in our faircity this coming year:

Keep the LRT going, Mayor Stephen Mandel.Don’t stop until it reaches the four ever-growingcorners of our magnificent city, and all the way to theEdmonton International Airport. Most cities in the U.S.and Europe have direct connections to the city core viarail and this is a must… in our lifetime, please.

PS: Finish last year’s paving schedule, too: 170thStreet has been a huge project and should be first onthe list to be finished when the snow disappears inspring.

Get the Edmonton Oilers healthy. It seemsthat GM Kevin Lowe has been dealt an unfair handfor the past two years compared to most other teams.When these kids are going full speed, it’s full valuefor the dollar spent. When they’re healthy, they’restill one of the most exciting teams in the NHL.

Find the money for a new downtown arena.Northlands has always done a great job but we need anew arena for so many reasons: comfort, betterparking, world class entertainment. It’s all about

location, location, location. It’s not an NHL problem,it’s a civic need. Maybe Daryl Katz is prepared tokick in $100 million if he can buy the Oilers. We’d allbenefit from a full service entertainment complex, thatdoubles as a hockey arena.

PS: Make sure the LRT goes inside the buildingthis time.

Get the full force of the RCMP and EdmontonPolice Services working on the horrendous drug andgang problems in our city. I don’t want to be lessthan sensitive to EPS Chief Mike Boyd when I saythis but I’m going to throw up if I read one morequote about “he’s a good kid but just hung aroundwith a bad crowd”… or even better, “Selling drugsreally isn’t a bad thing,” (source: Edmonton JournalDecember 4, 2007). Innocent people are being shotdown, struck down. So please get these guys. Arrestthem and then throw away the keys to their cells.

Support the world class health centres we’rebuilding. The Lois Hole Hospital for Women andthe Mazankowski Alberta Heart Institute willopen this year and both are positive testaments to theamazing facilities we have in our city. A few dollarsfrom each of us will help maintain and furtherenhance these treatment centres. Ditto the StolleryChildren’s Hospital.

Finish the darned ring road system. I respectmy pal in the Alberta government, Jerry Bellikka.But, when he says the Anthony Henday is being“fast-tracked” for 2011, that’s too far down the roadto accommodate the massive growth in our city. TheWest End is a mess and lives are being lost. Fix thisproblem… Go 24/7 to get it done ASAP.

Ditto the International Airport, Reg Milley.The EIA is starting another construction phase.Surely, something can be done to improve theparking area: more shuttles, easier access…especially during the winter. And, how about a fullservice restaurant? There’s some pretty good fastfood available but, with the airlines running wellover schedule most days, we need a comfortableplace to sit for an extended time and have a realmeal.

Co-ordinate fund-raising campaigns. It wouldbe great if United Way President Anne Smith could getevery group in the city to sit down and co-ordinate theirefforts. Our citizens are great supporters of worthy causes.However, with so many new campaigns, there’s a lot ofoverlapping during “ask” periods; it’s hurting everybody.The United Way started as an umbrella system many yearsago… it’s time to see if we can’t do this better.

Build a dome over our city, Mr. Stantec TonyFransceschini. OK, I’m joking. It’s the coldestpart of the winter right now and every year weseem to forget that we live in a very harsh climate.So, Martin Salloum, is January the best time tohost a global warming conference, eh?

This is a great city, but many things are due forimprovement simply to keep pace with theincredible demands of our burgeoning population.They would make for many happier New Years. √

Marty Forbes is VP and general manager of The Bear,EZRock and The TEAM 1260 Sports Radio. [email protected]

II

ello, 2008, nice to meet you. So herewe go. What will the new year bring us?What will we do with it? I put out the wordto some of my favourite Edmontonians about

their New Year’s resolutions—from a personal, civic,provincial or global view point. What I got was inspiring,thoughtful and funny. They were helpful for me personallyin setting my own goals.

I hope to get more active… work toward living on amore peaceful planet… give and do more for those in needin our city… walk the walk and not talk the talk on being abetter environmentalist… be a better boyfriend… andfinally get my eyes tested. A tall order but I’m motivated.Achieving a little of each would be huge for me.

I want to thank all of the people that sent me theirresolutions. I hope readers can glean some inspiration fromour 2008 promises. If you have made a New Year’s pactwith yourself inch-by-inch, steady as she goes, give it yourall. It ain’t over till it’s over… bird in the bush is better…um-er… bird in the hand is better… whatever: Good luck.

Kevin Lowe, general manager, Edmonton Oilers: “I have acouple of resolutions. Firstly, I won’t trade anybody.Ha Ha. Seriously, I amthinking about theenvironment. As amember of WaterkeepersCanada, I will continue tobe a spokesperson for thatorganization but withregards to our family, Iwant us and our children tobe more environmentallyconscience. We are going to focus more on monitoring ournegative consumption. Hopefully, we can lessen ourfootprint on the planet.”

Janet Riopel, general manager, Cityof Edmonton Growth Initiatives,president & CEO of TREYLCommunications Inc.: “There arealways things that I know I should doless often… but here are things Iresolve to do more often in 2008:Give the gift of time to those I loveso much, my family and friends.Dance—wherever and whenever I

can. Laugh till my belly aches. Speak the little bit ofSpanish I have worked so hard to learn. Find joy in my

workouts (even just a little would be good!). Discover atleast one new place in this big, wonderful world. Focus myenergy and enthusiasm on things that will benefit this homethat has been so good to me.”

Craig Roskin, general manager,Citytv Edmonton, Rogers Media –Television: “These are personal.Respiration… maintaining.Frustration… minimizing.Incubation… doodling.Speculation… market watching.Inflation… calorie counting.”

Mayor Stephen Mandel: “To bemore diligent in working out in orderto keep fit. And, to be creative indelivering the needed services to thecitizens of Edmonton especially in thearea of affordable housing andtransitional housing for the homeless.”

DeniseCarpenter,senior VP ofpublic &governmentaffairs, EPCOR: “…I have lots, butthis one is the biggest: I’ll finishfirst at least once on a bike ridethrough the river valley with Lori-

Ann Muenzer (if she let’s me).”

Michael Bobroff, VP marketing, Medicine ShoppeCanada: “I resolve... to score higher marks on my eye examtests this year.”

Muggsy Forbes, VoxPop veteran columnist: “Ok. I wishthat all the peoples of the world would quit using theirreligion as an excuse to kill. There are a lot of differentreligions—too many, in my mind—but most were nevercreated to be used as an excuse to kill your enemies and/orfriends. It’s a scary world out there because of it.”

Nick Lees,columnist,EdmontonJournal: “Howabout this?Resolution: Toshow Edmonton areal Britisheccentric byencouraging mybrother Jim tocome over fromEngland. He quitlaw to become a probation officer on the Liverpooldockside. He can speak and write in six languages and doesThe Times crossword in five minutes. He now stocksshelves in a supermarket to pay for his golf habit.”

Graham Hicks, Hicks on Sixcolumnist, Edmonton Sun: “Mypersonal New Year’s Eve resolutionwill be ‘breaking bad habits’—thoselittle bad habits that you’re done for10 years and really should fix. On abigger scale, I’m hoping PremierStelmach tackles the issue of lookingafter the desperately ill folks who arehomeless—the mentally ill, addicts,

etc.—who require 24-hour care. We can’t just leave themon the streets.”

Marjorie O’Conner, owner Fit International/FitnessGuru: “Even though I celebrate health, I have aweakness for sweets… and I tend to be heavy on thegas pedal. I’m going to slow down in 2008 andbreathe more slowly… and lay off the Twizzlers.”

Lynda Steele,anchor/seniorproducer, GlobalNews: “Personally?Let’s try this oneagain: I resolve tospend way more time

with friends and familychilling out and having fun,and way less time with mynose to the grindstone in 2008.I’ll get it right eventually. Civically? (Is that a word?) Ihope the 25 Edmonton areamunicipalities can play nice, stop bickering, and moveforward as a united, positive group focused on making theEdmonton region the best it can possibly be.”

Jackie-Rae Greening, CFCW/Big Earl operationsmanager: “My New Year’s Resolution is going to belearning to say ‘no’. (Though my husband says I’ve alreadylearned the word quite well). I always vow to leave moretime for myself and my family but, before you know it, mydance card is full. So, I’m actually going to block off myDaytimer with ‘sorry, you’re busy, Bucko’ reminders. Busyre-charging the batteries.”

Marty Forbes, VP/GM Astral Media Radio Group, andfellow-VoxPop newbie: “My resolution for 2008 is verysimple and totally in my control: to appreciate everything Ihave and everything I’ve accomplished so far in life. I’velost far too many good friends at far too young an age overthe past few years. Life is just too fragile so I’m going tospend way more time enjoying and experiencing everythingthat life makes available to me and my family.”

Couldn’t have said it better myself. √

Mark Scholz, owner of MES Communications Inc. offers avariety of services including production, creative andentertainment. For more information or to suggest a storyidea, email [email protected]

HH

Janet Riopel

Kevin Lowe

Nick Lees

Stephen Mandel

Craig RoskinCraig Roskin

Denise Carpenter Lynda Steele

Graham HicksGraham Hicks

4



FOUNDERDICK MacLEAN

JANUARY 2008Vol. XIX

Published by 399620 Alberta Ltd. on the first day of eachmonth at 333, 10240 - 124 Street, Edmonton, Alberta,Canada T5N 3W6. ©All rights reserved. No part of thispublication may be reprinted or reproduced in any formwithout written permission from the publisher.

Manuscripts: must be accompanied by a stamped, self-addressed envelope. Edmontonians is not responsible forunsolicited manuscripts.

All stories Copyright ©Edmontonians

Publications Mail Agreement No. 40023292Return undeliverable Canadian addresses to:Circulation Department333, 10240 - 124 StreetEdmonton, AB T5N 3W6Email: [email protected]

SHARON MacLEANPublisher and Advertising Director

Telephone: 780.482.7000Fax: 780.488.9317

e-mail: [email protected]

INSIDEVOX POPMuggsy Forbes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .2Marty Forbes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .3Mark Scholz . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .3POLL STATIONCell phones/Banister . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .4

LEADERSHIPWords/Hill . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .5

EDMONTONIAN IN EXILEFamous Five/Edmondson . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .5

COVER STORY/TOURSIMHorn-blowing/McHugh . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .6Award winning programs/Deters . . . . . . . . . . . . . .10

MY E-SPACEOffshores/Rayner . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .12

CORPORATE ETHICSSteroids/Somji . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .12

LIVELY LIFESTYLESMenu Magic/Berry . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .14Absolute Bodo . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .15

BARB DETERSEditor

[email protected]

COLUMNISTSLinda Banister

John BerryLinda Bodo

Janet EdmondsonMarty Forbes

Muggsy ForbesBruce Hogle

David NorwoodErin RaynerMark Scholz

Nizar J. Somji

FEATURE WRITERSBarb Deters

Don HillRick Lauber

Peter Drake McHugh

PHOTOGRAPHERSTerry Bourque

Janis Dow

SPECIAL PROJECTSEdmontonians Transformers

Tom BradshawLes Brost

Steffany HanlenLarry Ohlhauser

GRAPHIC PRODUCTIONRage Studios Inc.

THIS MONTH’S COVER

Ken Fiske, VP Edmonton TourismPhoto by Terry Bourque

Graphic Courtesy of Edmonton Tourism

No. 1

1919YEARS

C E L E B R A T I N G

DO YOU OWN A CELL PHONEOR BLACKBERRY? WHY?

To begin, participants were asked if they owned a cell phone or aBlackBerry device. A total of 68 percent of those surveyed said theydid, while 32 percent said they did not. Those who did own a personalcommunication device were asked to name the biggest benefit ofowning one. Nearly half (49 percent) referred to use in emergencies orfor personal security. Other respondents emphasized the ease andconvenience of communicating (31 percent), with some specificallymentioning communication with family (12 percent) and workconnections (six percent). Finally, 13 percent of mobile ownerssurveyed felt accessibility anywhere/any time was the most valuablebenefit of owning a cell phone or BlackBerry.

WHERE DON’T YOU USE YOUR CELL PHONE OR BLACKBERRY?

Next, participants were asked about their own etiquette while usingtheir personal communication devices. When asked about talking ontheir cell phones or BlackBerrys while driving, 41 percent said thatthey never do, 31 percent rarely do, 25 percent sometimes do, twopercent often do, and another two percent declared that they always

do. Sixty-six percent said that they never talk on their cell phones orBlackBerrys while in quiet places such as restaurants, museums,movie theatres or elevators, and 19 percent stated that they rarely do.Thirteen percent mentioned that they sometimes talk in quiet places,and two percent revealed that they often do.

With regards to text messaging or e-mailing while in meetings ortalking with someone, 82 percent of participants indicated they neverdo so, 12 percent rarely do, four percent sometimes do, and twopercent often do. Finally, participants were asked about “multi-tasking” by talking or texting while shopping, banking, waiting in lineor conducting other personal business. Forty-nine percent said theynever do, 16 percent rarely do, 24 percent sometimes do, nine percentoften do, and three percent always do.

WHAT IS YOUR PET PEEVEAND SHOULD USE BE REGULATED?The final topic of the survey referred to the etiquette of otherEdmontonians that use personal communication devices. Participantswere asked their biggest “pet peeve” with the use of cell phones orBlackBerrys. Forty-eight percent emphasized talking while driving, 15percent mentioned talking in quiet places, six percent highlightedtalking loudly in public places, and a three percent cited “multi-tasking.”

When asked if cell phone and BlackBerry etiquette has become anissue in our city, 76 percent of participants felt it has, while 13 percentfelt it has not, and 11 percent were unsure. Furthermore, 74 percentfelt that bylaws or regulations for cell phone and BlackBerry useshould be implemented, while 23 percent felt bylaws wereunnecessary, and three percent were unsure. The most commonlysuggested bylaws included: banning use while driving (80 percent),prohibiting talking in quite places such as theaters or museums (14percent), and restricting talking in public places in general (eightpercent). Four percent of respondents, however, spoke to the difficultyof enforcing such bylaws. √

The Poll Station surveyed 100 City of Edmonton residents on thetopic and, while the results of the research are not statistically reliable,they do provide a qualitative indication of what Edmontonians arethinking.

Want a question included in the Edmontonians Poll?Contact Linda at 780.451.4444 or e-mail [email protected].

Linda Banister is a certified management consultant and the owner ofBanister Research and Consulting Inc., a full service provider ofmarket research and program evaluation services. Visitwww.banister.ab.ca.

STATIONhile mobile phones have been available in North America since the 1980s,personal communication devices such as BlackBerrys and cell phones arebecoming more widely utilized. This month’s Poll Station asked Edmontoniansabout their usage of such personal communication devices, as well as cell phoneand BlackBerry etiquette.

WWWith Linda Banister

PollPoll

68%

41%

31%

25%

2% 2%

32%

Said they own a cell phone or BlackBerry

Said they never talk ontheir cell or BlackBerry

while driving

Said they rarely talk ontheir cell or BlackBerry

while driving

Said they sometimes talkon their cell or

BlackBerry while driving

Said they often talk ontheir cell or BlackBerry

while driving

Said they always talk ontheir cell or BlackBerry

while driving

Said they do not own acell phone or BlackBerry

Perc

enta

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EDMONTONIANS JANUARY 2008 5


rogressive governance. Everheard that term before? Theexpression recently came up ina conversation with a

colleague. I bet you are attracted by thesound of those two words—progressivegovernance—just as much I was when Ifirst heard them.

Why? Let’s look at language and howwe use it.

Words do matter. They mean all theworld to us. Yet, we often give littlethought to the way we speak to eachother. But deep down in the humancentral nervous system words havepower to not only inform, but form theway you think.

Modern day neuroscience is nowaffirming that the language you speak—whether its English or Swiss, Inuit orTibetan—will act as a filter on what youcan perceive. Maybe that’s why so muchtime is spent crafting ‘missionstatements’… finding the right words tostring together in a meaningful motto tolive by… slogans that could spell thedifference between success and less thanspectacular results for your organization.

Eric Newell tells a great story abouthis days at the helm of Syncrude in theearly going of the 1990s, a frightful timefor investment in the oil-patch. Facedwith financial oblivion, he came up witha phrase that spelt $4 billion worth ofinvestment. “We nailed it with fourwords in the end,” Newell grinned,recalling the moment in his chancellor’soffice at the University of Alberta.“Securing Canada’s Energy Future.”

Language is like a chameleon. It canmorph and change with the times. Takethe word ‘gay’, for instance. To mymother’s generation, the word isevocative of Fred Astaire and GingerRogers dancing the night away. Today,the word describes a political movement.

The same can be said for the languageof business. Words like ‘client’ havemigrated in meaning. Children in school,for example, are commonly referred tothese days as ‘clients’ and their parentsas ‘stakeholders’ in the school system. Isit any wonder that parents and their

children demand value for theireducational dollar as one might in anyother business relationship? Butsomehow, I don’t think this is what ismeant by ‘education’. Somewhere alongthe way, we’ve lost sight of the word’soriginal intent.

WORDS OF POWER Words are the algorithms that power thehuman psyche. They’re not so differentfrom the strings of code that instruct yourpersonal computer how to behave… theinvisible bits of business under the hood.

Now here’s an idea I want you toconsider: Think of how nationalidentities are built around key bits oflanguage, a defining statement or motto.

In America, for instance, just abouteveryone is familiar with and lives bythe maxim ‘life, liberty and the pursuit ofhappiness.’ Let’s take apart thatstatement. The key word is pursuit. Itmeans that you are forever in the act ofbecoming something. To be always inpursuit means, by definition, you cannever be satisfied.

In Canada, we live with the idea of‘peace, order and good government’; thissuggests Canadians are more interestedin maintaining the conditions to be ratherthan forever be in pursuit of one thing oranother.

You would be right to think that somelanguages resist translation.

“The English language is very noun-oriented,” explains Leroy Little Bear,the former director of Native Studies atHarvard University. “It is about things…about matter,” whereas, “Blackfoot, thelanguage I speak, is about process…about action.” Considered a top scholarin the study of indigenous languages andhow it translates into leadership andgovernance, he has argued that the intentof many key words and ideas inBlackfoot do not square well withEnglish translation.

“I do not like to say that Blackfoot isverbal,” Professor Little Bear continued,“because the word ‘verb’ is a noun!”

When I first met Leroy, several yearsback, he walked me through theindigenous ‘way of knowing’, and how itcan open up a world that’s literally aliveand animate with meaning; the shift to a‘process oriented’ language such asBlackfoot will colour the way one thinksand behaves.

In contrast, an Indo-Europeanlanguage, such as English, with itsemphasis on nouns as a measurement ofthings and events, has consequences thatmight well be transparent to the speaker,especially in cross-cultural negotiations.

LAND CLAIMSNegotiations between the First Nationsand governments at the provincial andfederal levels have been ongoing fordecades.

Leroy Little Bear has made it clear thatindigenous language speakers regard theword ‘land’ as a process, and describe itas a living dynamic, moment bymoment, like the play-by-play of anongoing hockey game; the earth and allcreation is literally alive.

On the other hand, Indo-Europeanlanguages—English, for example—capture the ‘land’ in a noun, puts itinside an enclosure, a measurementwhich is perpetually frozen in time andspace.

Now here’s where it gets interesting:Modern neuroscience has robust tools tomeasure what’s going on inside thehuman brain and central nervous system.No doubt you’ve heard about CAT-scanners and fMRIs (functional magneticresonance imaging machines) thatprovide snapshots of how humansperceive and take in the world.

Recent experiments at the Universityof Alberta propose a novel way ofmeasuring psycholinguistics: howlanguage is perceived in the mind ofindigenous language speakers and theirIndo-European counterparts.Conventional linguistic theory suggeststhere ought not be any difference.Translated ‘words’ should light up thesame areas of comprehension in thebrain of both First Nations and Indo-European subjects. But they don’t.

What about a word like ‘land’? Givenwhat we know today, thanks toneuroscience, is it possible that bothsides—the First Nations and thedominant culture—over a hundred yearsago could comprehend what was meantby ‘land’ from either perspective? Theirlanguages might have forbidden it.

So what does this curious fact ofcognition tell us now, especially forleaders negotiating global governance,trade and social issues? √

Don Hill is a ‘thought leader’ at theLeadership Lab and LeadershipDevelopment at the Banff Centre. He isalso an award-winning writer andbroadcaster with a large footprint on theInternet. Listen to his radio seriesInspiring Leadership, a 20-partdocumentary on contemporaryleadership and the challenge of leadingin the 21st Century every Saturdaymorning at 8 AM on the CKUA RadioNetwork.

PPBy Don Hill

algarians hold the “FamousFive” in the highest esteem.There’s a great sculpture inCalgary’s Olympic Plaza

that portrays these suffragettes meetingto plan their strategy for the “Persons”Case. The 1929-court ruling legallydeclared women as persons under theBritish North America Act and madethem eligible for appointment to theCanadian Senate. (Check the back of a$50 bill for a view of the statue.) Ninetyyears ago, Hannah Gale was the firstwoman in Canada, and possibly theBritish Empire, to be elected to agovernment position. Where was that?Calgary city council. Feminist politicshas deep roots in this city.

Calgary’s current city council is not soforward thinking. Last month, a motionto change their titles from aldermen, aterm used in Calgary since 1894, tocouncilors, a term used by every othermajor city in Canada, was defeated by avote of 8 to 6.

This is not the first time that thisbreak from tradition has been debatedhere. Groups like Calgary Council ofWomen, Equal Voice Alberta South andCitizens for Calgary Councilors havelobbied for the use of a gender neutraldesignation for years. The concept haseven survived a challenge through theAlberta Human Rights commission,which ruled earlier this year that theterm “alderman” is not discriminatory.

There are 12 men (including the mayor)and three women on council. You mightthink that those sneaky chauvinists slidthe motion through while the womenfolkwere all out Christmas shopping. But no,all three female “aldermen” voted toretain the archaic label. Alderman DruhFarrell, a member of the fairer sex, saidthat the term is “rooted in history and isan honourable title”. So are “mailman,fireman, policeman” and any number ofother manly designationsthat we stopped usingaround the same timedisco died.

We may have “come along way, baby”—but, inCalgary at least, we’vestill got a way to go. √

[email protected]

CC

Edmontonian Edmontonian IN EXILE

By Janet Edmondson in Calgary

6 EDMONTONIANS JANUARY 2008

Proof__2________PROOFED BY:_______________________________________________CHANGES MADE:__________________________DATE:_________________

everal factors are combining to drive a perfect storm oftourism prosperity. Clearly, the booming economy isdriving exponential growth. And, after you get past theveritable alphabet soup of acronyms, pie and flow charts

and mind-numbing statistics, you discover a cornucopia ofdelights… neat stuff that the Capital Region hopes will make it anattractive, tourism destination for Europeans, Americans, Asiansand other Canadians. The world isn’t coming for the oil. Visitors

are coming for the arts and cultural activities. At the offices of Edmonton Tourism at the World Trade

Centre downtown, Ken Fiske points out that the city hostsover 30 annual festivals, making it a perfect place to hold

client meetings, conferences and special events. TheInternational Fringe alone boasts 100 troops and 1,000live performances over a 10-day period. OnlyEdinburgh, Scotland has a bigger event. Musicians from

around the world have huge respect for Edmonton’sFolk Festival held in the natural amphitheatre ofCloverdale in the river valley—another big drawwith tourists. And, you can’t ignore the success ofThe Works International Art & Design Festival.

Fiske is proud that children have grown up withthe Edmonton Heritage Festival, bright tents andsummer activities, next generation arts,Ukrainian dancers and Caribbean parades,orchestras and plays under the stars.

Different too is Edmonton’s dedication tocity events. Festival volunteers number12,000 and put in 154,000 hours annually.Professionals, students and artists work side-by-side and give up their holidays tocompete for positions on coveted eventcrews. The new Art Gallery of Alberta andthe Royal Alberta Museum (should its

expansion ever get built) are expectedto be huge attractions for the

region.

SSBy Peter Drake McHugh

PAYS OFFHorn-blowing

STORYcover

Urban appeal meets frontier adventure

Ken Fiske, VP Edmonton Tourism, Events & Motion PicturesPhoto by Terry Bourque

7EDMONTONIANS JANUARY 2008


“Today’s tourist has changed.” As the vice-president oftourism, events and motion pictures at Edmonton EconomicDevelopment Corporation, it’s not only Fiske’s job to knowsuch things, it’s his passion. “They want adventure but theywant it in a package. They might want to tour Candy CaneLane (the westend neighbourhood Christmas lightextravaganza), take in Capital Ex or see bison at Elk IslandPark, go dogsled racing, or take a tour of art galleries,topped off with a pub visit or a fine meal in the city. Wehave music in the parks, theatre on the streets andsculptures in the malls… and that is tremendouslyimportant when you market a city.”

He is not wrong. Highly reputed as Festival City,Edmonton holds a fascination both for Albertans and thosewho come from away.

Who knew the arts are big business for the CapitalRegion? Sure in 2007, Edmonton was Canada’s CulturalCapital. But too, the newspapers often carry articlescriticizing the city and the province for “wasting” money onthe arts while the streets are pot holed. In fact, the arts makemoney for the city and the province: A 2005 economicimpact study, conducted by EEDC and the Edmonton ArtsCouncil, pegged regional contributions of the arts

community at $123.7 million. The number of patronsattending events, organized by 126 groups, was estimated atalmost four million.

SPENDING MONEY TO MAKE MONEYThere is much at stake. The promotion of Alberta throughthe Strategic Tourism Marketing Council—a partnership ofgovernments and the private sector—as a preferreddestination for residents, visitors and vacationers is very bigbusiness. The multi-billion dollar tourism industry currently

employs more than103,000 workersthroughout theprovince andcontributes morethan $2.3 billionannually intaxationrevenues to all levels ofgovernment.

The Council’s latest Strategic Tourism Marketing Plancalls for increasing expenditures from $5.3 billion in 2006to $6.2 billion in 2010. The primary source of income is afour-percent provincial levy on hotel rooms which fundsprograms in all the tourism destination regions as well asmarketing initiatives in-province, nationally andinternationally. In Edmonton and Calgary, allocations aresupplemented by a voluntary private sector contribution ofone percent of room fees. Locally, this DestinationMarketing Fee applies to more than 6,500 hotel rooms andfunds are administered as private dollars by EdmontonTourism. Occupancy rates in 2007 neared 75 per cent.

Continued on page 8

Shaw Conference Centre hosts an average of 850 events annually

with more than 400,000 attendees—121,000 are non-residents.

Economic impact of the Shaw was$37 million in 2007

Grant McCurdy

Courtesy Edmonton Tourism



But others are doing their part too—from Travel Albertaand Edmonton and Area Tourism Destination Region toTrans Alta and the Edmonton Arts Council, from theDowntown Business Association and Northlands tohundreds of businesses and organizations—to keep theregion’s tourism industry healthy.

THE GREATER GOODThere’s a lot to be said for cooperation and collaborationamong competitors. Take Edmonton’s hotels, for example.Despite all vying for overnight-stays, they have cometogether in clusters in the west, south and downtown tocollectively promote their own and the communities’ bestinterests, using a portion of the one-percent fee they havecollected.

Grant McCurdy is the general manager of The WestinEdmonton and co-chair of the Edmonton Hotels Downtowngroup which represents 12 establishments. “There is nodownside to cooperation. Without it, there would be chaoswith everyone running in all directions and unable toaccomplish much.”

He wants The Westin to benefit but, because others dowell, doesn’t mean it is a problem for his hotel. “We arehonest with each other and working together is good foreveryone.” To the new traveler in Edmonton, McCurdypoints out that we are a high tech community and we aretop hat and tails, but there is still that down-to-earth qualitythat tourists like. “First, we have to get them here and thenEdmonton can sell itself.”

UP, UP AND AWAYGetting visitors here isn’t perfect, but it is getting better.Edmonton International Airport is expected to eclipse itsall-time record for passengers by year’s end with a forecastof more than six million travelers arriving and departing.“That’s a 50 percent increase in passenger volumes in justthree years,” according to Edmonton Airports’ spokesman

Jim Rudolph. The statistics are remarkable.Passenger loads of 485,466 in November2007 compared with 419,781 a yearprevious, up 17.1 per cent. Internationalpassenger growth more than doubled at101.8 per cent in 2007, boosted by AirCanada’s return of a direct internationalflight to Heathrow in London. Passengergrowth for domestic flights increased 14.2percent—no doubt aided by oil patchworkers heading home to other provinces forholidays. There is also an increase in the useof regional jets from Canada and the U.S.that encourages more direct routes to andfrom Edmonton. These days, we’re beingbetter served with 48 non-stopdestinations—the preferred way to fly—including 11 to cities south of the 49th.

LOVE YOUR PARTNERFiske is putting more emphasis on partner-ships in the region. “We already partner withthe Yukon and Northwest Territories andother regions and it is a win, win situation.Over the past few years, we’ve seen anincrease in people who want a package…they might spend some time looking atnorthern lights in the north andsearching out cultural activitiesand a dining experience inEdmonton and that’s just finewith us. The important thing isthat they have a positiveexperience. The world market istoo big to go it alone. When weall partner, everybody does betterthan they would alone.”

There’s no malice or gloating inhis assertion that Edmonton has ahuge advantage over Calgarywhich is known, almost solely, forthe Calgary Stampede—one eventduring the year and if you aren’tthere in 10 days, you seldom see acowboy on the street. Instead,Edmonton markets itself year-roundwith the events to back-up the argument that there is a lot todo no matter when you visit.

“People want to experience more,” he says. “They mightgo north… or out to surrounding communities such as FortMcMurray or Fort Saskatchewan or St. Albert but, in theend, they want to be treated well and have an experiencethey can enjoy and talk about.”

Local marketing initiatives arepaying off. According to the latestavailable statistics, Edmonton is thetop destination in overall person-visits to Alberta… and tops inperson-visits from other provinces.Edmonton also is Alberta’s primarymetropolitan destination based onU.S. person-visits and total U.S.

revenues. Not surprisingly, West Edmonton Mallremains the province’s No. 1 tourism attraction—22 million people pass through its doors annually.

OLD FRIENDS, NEW OPPORTUNITIESThat said, it is still true that 72 percent of visitors toEdmonton come from inside Alberta, nearly 80percent from Canada. This is not a bad thing—in fact,

Continued from page 7

Approximately 4.4 million peoplevisited Greater Edmonton in 2004,

generating expenditures of $1.03 billion.

—Alberta Economic Development

Robin Cumine



considerable emphasis is placed onkeeping Albertans’ tourism dollarsin-province and attracting ourneighbours.

The rising dollar andconfusion in America aboutwho needs a passport is nothelping the overall market. Onthe other hand, the Brits,Germans, Austrians and Dutch think this isa fine place to visit. The Japanese continueto come for the northern lights and theRockies, and we’re popular withMexicans who come on charter flights for

a completely different experience. Increasingly wealthyChina would be a natural market to pursue but the Harpergovernment does not get on with the Chinese. When the

Americans sign a tourist agreement withChina in the New Year, it will be Canadaalone amongst the group of eightindustrialized nations without an agreementto allow “ordinary” Chinese tourists to visit.

For the Calgary-based director ofcommunications with Travel Alberta, thechallenge is first to get internationalexposure for Alberta and to get travelers tocome here. Don Boynton explains thatAlberta has also gone into pre-WinterOlympics image building, signing dealswith six national sports organizations to upthe province’s visibility before 2010. But,while Travel Alberta loves the outdoorstypes, not all people come to be outdoors.

SOME NEVER LEAVE THEIR ROOMS“Only about 28 percent are what we calladventure seekers,” Boynton says. Another28 percent are “urban explorers, and 24percent are comfort seekers, often in ruralareas curled up with a book. Then there are‘real relaxers’—the 27 percent who will payfor peace and tranquility and perhaps theoccasional excellent meal. Whatever theirpreference, Alberta has a plan for them.”

There’s no argument fromRobin Cumine, manager ofboth The Coast Terrace Innand Delta Edmonton Southhotel. He is about as strong asupporter of the Association ofEdmonton Conference Hotels(AECH) as you will find. And,as the lone co-chair ofEdmonton south hotel group,he’s proud of how the 16members are pooling theirresources. “I also think‘Edmonton Live all Year’ reallyhas an impact on what visitors canexpect. Everything is comingtogether,” Cumine says. “Theprovince is spending significantmoney abroad to bring people to

Alberta and everyone who comes to Edmonton is—inequal parts—impressed and surprised at who we are andwhat we offer. They are surprised to find we are the artsand cultural centre of Alberta.

“I used to work in Calgary and I was sure Calgary did abetter job at promoting itself… I’m in Edmonton and I seethat Calgary appears to have lost its way.”

Cumine cites several changes that auger well forEdmonton. “We have what we refer to as the urbanexplorer who wants to get out there and sample everythingEdmonton has to offer. And, air connections have changed.Not many years ago, you couldn’t even get to Arizona onone flight and now you can. We go there and they comehere… the same with Britain. As it is an advantage to flynon-stop to Britain, the British like flying non-stop toEdmonton as well. Then there is the Grand Prix, whatwonderful exposure for everything this city has become.Urban, sophisticated with a river valley that is the envy ofso many other cities.”

While he believes Edmonton Tourism is on the righttrack, Cumine doesn’t feel the Alberta government is giving

it the support it needs to continue to grow the market for theCapital Region and for the north of the province.

Richard Wong, the GM of The Sutton Place Hotel andthe other co-chair of the Edmonton Hotels Downtowngroup, says teamwork in Edmonton has brought rewards toeveryone. “We don’t so much compete with Calgary, butwe do compete with every other city in North America andbeyond… They have to know how professional we are,how technically savvy and that we can put on world-classevents. There are about 14,000 hotel rooms in Edmontonand to fill them we work with the Edmonton Grand Prix,the film industry, the World Masters, Northlands,convention markets, and many others to keep sustainabletourism going. We’re going in the right direction. Visitorssay we are the warmest, friendliest people anywhere. Iagree. Teamwork makes it possible not to have a biggerchunk of the pie for this area or that but to actually growthe pie.”

LESSONS FROM WAYNE GRETZKYBeth Mossop, general manager of Travelodge EdmontonWest concurs. As co-chair of Destination West Edmontonhotel cluster, she explains, “A lot of businesses and a lot oforganizations, but one strategy. That’s what makes this a

Continued on page 10

Tourism is $1 billion plus industry inGreater Edmonton, encompassing nearly3,000 companies and organizations in the

arts, entertainment, recreation,accommodation and food services sectors.

—Edmonton Tourism

chard Wong

Beth Mossop

International Folk FestivalPhoto courtesy of Edmonton Tourism



success. You haveto have a plan andyou must stick toit. We promotethe region,because it is adisadvantage notto work with theregion and itwith us.Workingtogether andpartnering iswhat opens themarket toopportunity.”

Up the roadat the Fantasy-land Hotel in

North America’slargest shopping experience, Mossop’s co-chair, GM

Barry Zwueste, admits that promoting Edmonton is anendless job: “Much like a squirrel storing nuts. You mustkeep at it because markets change and you have to be on topof that.”

West Edmonton Mall is an Alberta icon destination andcould go it alone for advertising, but Zwueste says that’s notin the cards. “The signature attraction to Alberta is the RockyMountains. That is the lure that brings in internationaltourism and, once they are here, we can all make theirjourney a little more pleasant and show them all the thingsthat are attractive about the Edmonton region.”

To capitalize on that draw, a new ground transportationroute has been opened from the International Airport andWest Edmonton Mall direct to Jasper. For tourists andtravelers, it could be the best of two worlds.

Why work with partners? “You know,” Zwueste explainsthoughtfully, “Wayne Gretzky didn’t make it alone. He hadMessier and Curry behind him and, because he did, heaccomplished more than he otherwise would have.” √

ere’s the thing: Every year, Edmonton Tourism spends hundreds of thousands of dollarsadvertising and promoting the city as a destination. By all accounts, millions of visitors arevisiting. So, the marketing specialists must be doing something right. In fact, it seems everyfew weeks, another news release is e-mailed about yet another award that has been bestowed

on an Edmonton Tourism product.The problem is that few Edmontonians ever get to see these advertising campaigns and promotional

packages. We are not the “target” audience. One of the big successes of late is the highly acclaimedprogram called Edmonton Tourism’s Festival City in a Box presented by TransAlta. It was launched inApril 2006. Corporate sponsorship from TransAlta—to the tune of $600,000—with additional financialsupport from the Edmonton Arts Council is in its third year.

The program is the brainchild of Jenifer Christenson, marketing and communications director forEdmonton Tourism. She explained that the “initiative grew from the recognition that Edmonton’sfestivals are a key selling feature for us. We are a place of festivals. They’re rich with people andcultural diversity… but underlying is a connection to the openness of the Alberta landscape and a senseof freedom and space that comes inevitably with the light in a northern place.” With 30 annual festivals,Alberta’s capital has firmly established itself as the festival city in the province and the country.

Christenson’s goal was to position Greater Edmonton as a destination in the national and internationalmarketplace, ultimately increasing visitation to the area. She also wanted the Festival City initiative to becomerecognized and supported as a critical tourism, arts marketing and economic development project.

Continued from page 9

More than 15,000 peopleare employed in the

Edmonton tourism sector.—Edmonton Economic Development Corporation

...is an award-winning program

HHBy Barb Deters

A campaign by any other nameBarry Zwueste



She set about “ensuring there was festival messaging in all that wedo… in our editorial, advertisements, brochures, promotional videos,campaigns, sales missions, media relations, and themed vacationpackages.”

Christenson recounted how the concept expanded. “One of ourkey areas in tourism is securing conventions, conferences andmajor events in Edmonton –we sell Edmonton as the host city. Abouttwo years ago, I recognized the opportunity to cultivate the meetings,business travel and events market by leveraging this initiative. Aftersome initial research, the idea of developing an eventattraction product made sense, I called it EdmontonFestival City in a Box, recognizing the festivals as anintegral part of selling our city and that our offeringscould be packaged up and contained in a box… ready togo.

“Edmonton Tourism’s Festival City in a Box presentedby TransAlta is intended to encourage association andexecutive planners to choose Edmonton as host city fortheir next meeting, convention or event... It is a salestool in the form of a book that illustrates many of ourassets and amenities including a selection of the manyfestivals which run in our region throughout the year.”Christenson worked with RED Communications todevelop the materials which promote the program.

The initiative is anchored by a user-friendly website atfestivalcity.ca that provides a menu of suggestions to helpintegrate Edmonton’s vibrant festival theme throughout aconvention or conference. It includes ideas to themekeynote addresses, breakout sessions, team building,entertainment, décor, catering and receptions around thebrand—all designed to reinforce the spirit of our cityand offer a unique and highly engaging experience fordelegates.

“The menu is about presenting ideas for festival integrationwhile still allowing the association or executive planner toput their own creativity into their event,” Christensonexplained. “It also includes the Edmonton Festival City RoadShow, a multi-disciplinary arts showcase featuring some ofEdmonton’s best talent… trapeze, dance, music andtheatre performance.

“Unto itself the road show acts as a sales tool.There is no better way to sell Edmonton than bysharing a bit of this live show. It sells theexperience of Edmonton and, for us in tourism, it isthe experience that sells the destination. We’veproduced the show at many local and out-of-marketevents including at the opening gala at theSmithsonian for the Alberta Folklife Festival inWashington, DC.

“This spring, our circle of influencewidened further. Edmonton InternationalAirport partnered with us to develop a live

theming program called Live All Year. This is designed to transformthe normal airport experience into a fun, vibrant experience bybringing live performances, interactive activities and artistic displaysto the terminal to promote Edmonton's many festivals and specialevents.” As well, posters and signage of area festivals will beshowcased at airport entrances. There’s seems to be no end to what will pop out of Christenson’s

Festival City in a Box. “Currently, we're developing a Festival Citytravel media program which will include a monthly e-

newsletter to our out-marketmedia that willshowcasedifferentfestivals andprovide storyideas, photos,etc. Success willbe measuredbeyond whetherthey pick up theangle or storyand publish…This will be greatbut it also allowsanother regularcommunicationsvehicle where wecan reinforce ourmessage.”

The other side to success is measured by the awards andaccolades offered by those who sit in judgement. EdmontonTourism’s Festival City in a Box presented by TransAlta hasbeen bringing home the hardware:

• Alberta Tourism's Marketing Partnership award at theseventh annual Travel Alberta Industry Conference in Banff2007;

• Finalist for Tourism Marketing (TIAC) 2007; • Third annual Mayor’s Evening for the Arts

honoured TransAlta for its partnership withEdmonton Tourism, June 2007;

• 2006 Mobius Advertising Awards Certificate ofExcellence in the category of Community BusinessDevelopment brochure/books. (This year'scompetition attracted more than 5,000 entries from35 countries. The Festival City in a Box booklet was

selected from 236 category submissions andwas one of only 11 winners from

Canada—and the only winning entryfrom Alberta.) √

Jenifer ChristensonPhoto by Terry Bourque



By Erin Rayner

he continuing saga of steroiduse in the sports world,especially within major leaguebaseball, has taken a new turn

with the release of the Mitchell Report. Assports writers and journalists—who havealways known of the influx of drugs insports—show simulated amazement at theturn of events, there are a lot of parallels wecan draw to the state of our economy.

In baseball, we had clues from the speedat which the game changed… the rate atwhich records were bring broken… thesheer number of individuals chasing theserecords—particularly individuals whopreviously had no history of having thestrength or talent. Based on these clues, itwas clear that there was more going on thanmet the eye. While most were offensiverecords, they were occurring at a time whenpitching had also improved dramatically,making the feat even more remarkable andeven more suspect.

Those who witnessed the tech boom andthe dot-com collapse were privy to howhype, greed and the desire for quick returnsovershadowed sound business analysis.Even exceptionally savvy investors werecaught up, many losing their entire nest eggand building a debt load that has takenyears to recover from.

The recent growth in the economy has,unfortunately, been fuelled by the same“drugs.” They have come in a differentform, although they are displaying the sameresults, perhaps only slower and morepainfully. These drugs are:

Access to debt: As the economy hasprogressed, it has never been easier to

access borrowed money. This has beenfuelled to a greater extent by the availabilityof cash and lower interest rates. The desireto park this cash in “safe”, higher interest-bearing products has been growing. Anumber of schemes have been configured tomake this possible, each with varying levelsof risk. Scrutiny and pure business analysishave been forsaken for the desire to gainmarket share.

False security: The expectation that oilprices will continue to rise… that develop-ment in Alberta will continue at the torridpace it has… that people will continue their

influx into the province… and that there areno impediments to this growth in the shortterm. In fact, as numerous companiesannounced multi-billion dollar, multi-yearinvestments, this hype helped drive costs upat all levels, prompting everyone to investhoping for a quick exit and return oninvestment.

The results of the economy on steroidsare clear on many fronts. Real estate priceswere going up; it seemed that everyoneinvolved in real estate was making a lot ofmoney. Consider a typical scenario: Adeveloper starts pre-sales of a developmentwith prices at $200,000, requiring 10percent down payment ($20,000) to holdthe unit until completion. When completed,

the price of the unit would be, say,$280,000 and easily sold to another buyerthus returning 400 percent on the original$20,000. Seems easy and, as investorsswarmed into the market in large numbers,the prices continued to climb, the marginsdeclined and the risks went up at the sametime.

Of course, the fundamentals had notchanged. The USA was still funding thewar in Iraq. Its economy was being fuelledby lower interest rates, a declining dollar,printing money and easier and easier accessto debt. Unfortunately, there are limits to all

this. At some point, there is nowhere to gowith interest rates, the declining dollarwould bring jobs back into the USA; theaccess to easy debt would increase thedefault rates, creating losses for investorswho would seek to reduce further risk bydemanding their cash back, which putadditional pressure on the lenders. Thevicious cycle commenced.

With respect to the drugs fuelling thisgrowth, we have recently seen manyfinancial institutions in chaos, writing downsub-debts. The entire industry has been inturmoil as investors try to pull cash out ofthe system. Although we have seen somestabilization in Canada, the end is far andthe carnage is not all accounted for yet.

With respect to infinite development, recentannouncements have indicated that manycompanies are beginning to slow down andscale back their activity, some citing theroyalty change as the key to this slowdown.However, it was clear even before thechange in the royalty structure that costswere escalating at a pace that could not besustained. Rather, we needed to slow down,force the costs to cool off and create afinancially manageable situation.

So what happens to individuals who haveinvested funds hoping to make a killing ifprices start to decline? At a recent meeting,Angus Watt, VP with National BankFinancial and commentator on 630 CHED,talked about the three keys to real estate (orfor that matter any form of investment):“staying power, staying power and stayingpower.” Having invested with solid businessthinking and analysis, those with stayingpower will be able to ride the wave. Thosewithout have created opportunities for thosewho do… those who have been waiting inthe wings with the cash to take advantage ofthe good deals, hold the trump cards andhope to benefit in the future.

The old adages, “if it is too good to betrue, it is”, and “cash is king” still ring true.

Have a happy and prosperous NewYear. √

Nizar J. Somji is presidentand CEO of Jaffer Inc., amanagement/investmentconsulting firm; andchairman of the board ofMatrikon Inc., a companyhe founded in 1988.

TT

Economy on Steroids...By Nizar J. Somji

ETHICScorporate

n one of our first cold,blustery winter mornings inDecember, I brushed the newfallen snow off my car

before heading to my interview for thismonth’s profile. After shivering on my cold,leather seats, I arrived at my destination:Offshores, a boutique owned by sistersMaggie and Dorothy Kozina.

As I entered their store at 109th Streetand 102nd Avenue, I left winter behind andwas transported to what could have been achic, beachfront shop in LA. I was dazzledby the showcases of jewelry, piles of purses,and exclusive high-end brands of sunglassesperched between rows of hard-to-find/never-before-seen this far north swimwearlines. Well, we can see them if we read thetabloids at the grocery store check out. Infact, some of these very pages are posted inthe store—I spotted Kate Hudson, BritneySpears, Cameron Diaz and other starswearing the brands found at Offshores.

The children of Polish immigrants,Dorothy and Maggie came to Canada in1981. Their parents worked hard to ensurethey had every opportunity for a better life.Both women mention they would benowhere without their parents’ work ethicand continuous moral support.

Dorothy is the younger of the two. At 31,

she is the strategist andlooks after the financial,distribution and suppliersides of the business. Shebegan in retail in her early 20s, workingpart-time at Below the Belt before joiningher husband in real-estate and managingtheir rental properties. She knew, however,that she wanted to return to retail and workwith her sister.

Maggie is the fashionista. She watchesfor high-quality brands and does theresearch on how and what to bring into thestore. She has a keen eye for whatOffshores’ clientele is seeking and what thelocal swimwear market is missing. Maggiehas considerable retail experience, havingalso worked for Below the Belt where shediscovered her passion for merchandising.It’s where she met the man she considersher “business dad” who offered her theguidance and business sense that shecraved.

With all this experience and the desire towork together, it was only a matter of timebefore the sisters got their vision off theground. On a trip to Bali a few years ago,Dorothy met some suppliers of purses andother Balinese goods that she saw a nichefor in Edmonton. The sisters took a leap offaith and ordered three shipments before

they had even secured their firstcustomer. Then, in Cabo SanLucas, Mexico for Dorothy’sdestination wedding, theybecame convinced theirinterest, knowledge andpassion could fill a void in ourmarket. Two years later—aftermany fears, tears andconcerns—they took theplunge and invested in astorefront.

From a marketingperspective, the Offshoresduo is doing a number of

things right. They have post cards offering adiscount so they can measure how manypeople pick up and use the cards. They alsohave a couple of different messages withconsistent design: one card is for thedestination wedding client and another forthose going on a sunny get-a-way. They’vetried a variety of initiatives in the short timethey’ve been open, choosing not to stick toone campaign alone. They’ve had a wineand cheese fashion show in conjunctionwith a few other area retailers, they havehad an ad on the 24K truck (movingbillboard) and bought commercials on 91.7The Bounce. They even developed acooperative agreement with a travel agencythat offers confirmed clients a discount onOffshores’ products.

The only thing it seems they are missingis a plan. Like many business owners,Dorothy and Maggie go with their contactsrather than creating a strategic and timedplan for marketing. I hear it all the timefrom clients: “I have a friend who doesdesign who will do my cards… and anotherfriend who knows how to program mywebsite… and then I’ll put up somebillboards.” I’m not saying it is bad to work

with your friends; just make sure what theyoffer is the right fit for your business andyour marketing plan.

In Offshores’ case, they mentioned aforay into television advertising on City TV.When asked why they chose this medium,it was because they have a connection at thestation and the cost fit their budget. Luckily,it worked out very well for them and theywant to continue, but this unstructuredapproach—albeit popular with entrepre-neurs—is not the best way to get the wordout.

Marketing is about building relationships.Relationships need defined, consistentnurturing. A friend who is rarely calledupon or rarely calls won’t be a friend forlong. This is similar in the case of a client.Although your business may succeed inspite of unplanned marketing, customerswho aren’t contacted regularly andconsistently will not be customers for long.Shotgun marketing initiatives are incrediblyhard to measure for effectiveness. It’s toodifficult to pinpoint what went wrong:Timing? Target audience? Message?Placement?

Lewis Carrol once said, “If you don’tknow where you are going, any road willtake you there.” To get the best results fromyour marketing initiatives, know where youare going and plan the most direct route toget you there. √

Check the Kozina’s Top 3 suppliers atwwww.edmontonians.com

Erin Rayner is president of ED Marketingand Communications Inc. You can submitmarketing materials for review; suggestyoung entrepreneurs to be profiled;nominate a Top Three; or ask a businessdevelopement question.Contact [email protected]

For Young Entreprenuers

my spaceEOO

Dorothy & Maggie Kozinaoutside their 109 Streetswimwear boutique.



Does the Canadian Judicial Council(CJC) know more about the tolerance ofmodern-day Canadians than the CanadianBroadcast Standards Council (CSBC)?I’ll let you be the judge. But first thisbackground.

I was in Ottawa last month when Chiefof Defence General Rick Hillieraddressed the Canadian Association ofBroadcasters, and later participated in anews conference with Hockey Canada.That’s when Hillier proudly announced thatCFB Petawawa will host the training campfor the 2008-2009 Canadian JuniorHockey team prior to the World JuniorHockey Championships being played in

the nation’s capital, starting December 26,2008. (The 2007-2008 juniorchampionships wrap up in the CzechRepublic on January 4th.)

The General (of whom I’m extremelyproud as well as his military) saw a naturalliaison between the troops and the hockeyworld in that fitness, endurance andtoughness are bona fide requirements ofboth professions… each believing insetting and accomplishing missions, goalsand objectives.

The only people I can think of who willbe more interested in Team Canada’smanners and etiquette during this month’schampionships, than whether they win orlose, are members of the CanadianBroadcast Standards Council. They’re thefolks who ensure that Canadian broad-casters keep their noses clean concerninglanguage on our radio and TV stations.

But a recent report from the members ofthe CBSC “language police” committeecertainly overreacted to TSN’s superbtelevision coverage of last January’s WorldJunior Championships from Sweden, whenTeam Canada beat Russia 4-2 in the gold

medal game. Highly charged emotionswere understandable throughout, especiallyat the final whistle when players and fansalike joyously sang O Canada, proudlywaved our flag, and wept with joy whenteam members received their Gold Medalsthousands of miles from home.

It was during this hectic scenario whenTSN did an on-ice interview with one of theyoung Team Canada players. During theinterview, the obviously ecstatic playersaid, “We did a f—-king great job.” Keepin mind this game was live without tape-delay—otherwise, the f-word would havebeen eliminated. It was thus impossible forTSN to anticipate or edit out that remark.When the station did re-broadcast thatgame later that night, the entire interviewwas deleted.

Knowing this—plus the fact that theCSBC received only one complaint aboutthe f-word being used in the excitement ofthe moment, and over which TSN hadabsolutely no control—sanctimoniouslanguage police ignored more tolerantmembers of the committee, and ruled thatTSN had contravened the Canadian

Association of Broadcasters Code ofEthics.

What utter hypocrisy… especially whenyou consider the Canadian JudicialCommittee received absolutely nocomplaints, and thus made no move tocensure B.C. Supreme Court JusticePeter Leask for his unnecessary languagelast March in Vancouver, when he acquittedHell’s Angel member Glen JonathonHehn of trafficking cocaine worth $1.5million.

Despite the presence of school childrenin his court room at the time, Justice Leaskused profanity four times, swearing at thecrown prosecutor during his closingarguments, saying: “He (the accused)would have had to be out of his f—kingmind to store it (cocaine) in his own locker,all right?” Justice Leask then used “f—-king” a second time, as well as “shit” and“goddamned.”

The large double headline of theVancouver Sun after the trial’s conclusionsaid: “Cocaine found in his locker butHell’s Angel walks free.” Canadian Presspicked up that story and it was seen inevery daily across Canada.

With their report chastising TSN forreasons already outlined, I’m shocked thosepicayune members of that CanadianBroadcast Standards Council languagepolice committee didn’t also individuallycomplain to the Canadian Judicial Councilabout the obvious inappropriate languageof this B.C. Justice. Not as members of theCBSC committee, but as concernedCanadians about the f-word beinginappropriately used—be it in the courtroom or on the ice. √

Bruce Hogle is the formernews director at CFRN TVand recently retired head ofthe Alberta Press Council. [email protected]

Being away from our home cityfor a month allows us a perspectivewhich can’t be grasped or appreciatedwhen we’re surrounded by our normaldaily activities. I gained some insightsfrom a trip that included stays in Athens,Istanbul and London.

My perspective on traffic congestionor rush hour, for example, changedsignificantly, and those like mewho have been tothese and other largecities can also attest tothe fact that we arerelatively fortunate inEdmonton traffic-wise.All three of the foreigncities are in a constantstate of trafficcongestion; the biggestdifference between themand Edmonton is thatthose who drive thereare accustomed to thecongestion. Having gonethrough an astonishinggrowth in bothpopulation and traffic over the past fewyears, we are still adjusting.

I was amazed at how drivers inIstanbul and Athens, in particular, couldmanoeuvre through a maze of trucks,trams, cars, bicycles, motorbikes andpedestrians—usually all in the samelocation—without so much as a dent,let alone an accident. The only outletavailable to them, and they use it all thetime, is the horn. It’s an amazingcacophony.

These cities also reveal much aboutthe success and necessity of highdensity. With the exception of a fewwealthy enclaves, particularly inLondon, the concept of single-family

homes within the metropolitan areasimply does not exist. All threeagglomerations I visited exemplify highdensity, at least from an Edmontonperspective. Both Athens and Istanbulhave the advantage of being in climateswhere people live much of their livesoutdoors, almost year-round, so living insuch close proximity has long been afact and integral part of life. In thisrespect, they prove that high density—combining a seemingly random and vastmixture of shops, cafes, apartments,bars, and small parks—works.

I felt completely safe in allthree cities, at all times—even off thebeaten tourist track. People of bothgenders and all ages were everywhere.Densification (and not always high-rise)is a smart and almost necessary strategy.Renowned for our wide open spaces andurban sprawl, we have a long way to go

in Edmonton. But, there are pocketswithin our borders where we’re on theright track.

More than a few Edmontonianswere upset recently by the news thatLufthansa German Airlines intends tocommence service to Calgary fromFrankfurt next April, again bypassingEdmonton. They point, with somejustification, to EdmontonInternational Airport’s astoundinggrowth—50 percent in 35 months—asjustification for more service to moredestinations. Edmonton Internationalexceeded six million passengers in 2007.

So, if this is all so incredibly positive,why is Lufthansa overlooking us at thispoint, especially considering the successof Air Canada’s Edmonton-LondonHeathrow flight? Indeed, some areasking why AC, which also flies fromCalgary to Frankfurt, is not introducingthat flight here. My theory is that bothairlines want to be sure that theEdmonton-London service, launched inOctober 2006, continues to be successfulwith consistently high loads before

adding anotherintercontinental route.

It takes more than a year—plus marketing and patience—to build and solidify a route.Load factors are excellent (myrecent flights to and fromLondon were virtually full). Itis further evidenced by AirCanada maintaining the serviceas a daily flight, considering ithad planned to reduce service tofour times weekly during thewinter. Eventually, one of them

will put Germany on thearrivals/departures board.

The City of Edmonton’s Gold BarWastewater Treatment Plant continuesto set new standards worldwide. It hassuccessfully operated for more than six

months as the world’s first industrial-sizenutrient treatment facility to removephosphorus and other nutrients frommunicipal biosolids and recycle theminto environmentally-safe commercialfertilizer. The technology, developed byOstara Nutrient RecoveryTechnologies Inc. of Vancouver, ishelping Gold Bar achieve its nutrientremoval goals, increase plant capacityand reduce maintenance costs while alsocreating a revenue-producing, high valuefertilizer.

The Ostara reactor was commissionedlast spring and, since then, says VinceCorkery, director of wastewatertreatment at the Gold Bar facility, “It hasextracted more than 80 percent of thephosphorus on average... and 10 to 15percent of the ammonia from a flow of500,000 litres per day, approximately 20percent of the Gold Bar plant’s liquidbiosolids stream.”

Corkery noted that the technologycreates a high quality, environmentally-friendly commercial fertilizer, extractingpolluting nutrients that would otherwiseclog pipes and reduce the plant’streatment capacity. Gold Bar willcontinue to work with Ostara to addreactors capable of treating 100 per centof the biosolids stream in the future.

The fertilizer by-product, namedCrystal Green™, has a unique andcommercially-desirable formulation ofnitrogen, phosphorus and magnesium,and Gold Bar produces approximately500kg per day. The product is sorted,dried and bagged on site and isimmediately ready forcommercial sale withoutfurther processing.

Yet another feather inthe hat of “unsung”Edmonton. That hat isgetting rather large. √

David Norwood is a freelance writer/editor.Contact [email protected]

INTELINTEL

ivic Buzzwith David NorwoodC

edia Minutewith Bruce HogleM

BizBizLanguage Police...

where does it start?... where does it end?

Istanbul

Athens



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lients often approach me when I am cateringa dinner party and say, “You pick the winessince you know what goes best with whatyou are serving.”

I don’t mind doing this, but remember it’s all based onmy palate, my experience, my favourite flavours. Here’s thedilemma. What to me is an absolutely exceptional winemay, in fact, taste less appealing to the next person. Wine issuch a personal experience, selection presents a challenge.What to do?

Personally, I like to start with something light…something that stimulates my appetite. A sparkling winewill do this, or even a nice Riesling or Gewurztraminer.

The long-standing old dictum of white wine for fish andred for meat has gone out the window. I have served a nicepiece of barbecued salmon with a pinot noir. Delicious.

The rule of thumb, according to the wine reps I spokewith, is to match the weight and body of a wine with thedelicacy or richness of your food item. A light, refreshingRiesling would be absolutely clobbered by a rich, creamy,Lobster Thermidor. However, if you served a Chardonnaywith the lobster, the wine’s rich, full, buttery flavour wouldpair nicely. The Riesling, on the other hand, would gonicely with something light—a fresh fruit plate with cheeseor a quiche.

Canadian Natalie MacLean, one of North America’sforemost wine writers, has published a book called,Red and White and Drunk All Over, available atChapters in Edmonton. The Financial Times of London,calls her “…a new force in the wine writing world—afeisty North American answer to Hugh Johnson andJancis Robinson.”

This excellent book takes the reader on a wonderfulodyssey from grape to glass. She shares her journey to learnhow wine is made, marketed, matched with food,consumed and cellared in stories about her travels and whatshe finds. It has been described as, “A Year in Provencemeets Kitchen Confidential and then goes sideways.”

Better yet, Natalie de-mystifies choosing wines foryour meal on her website: Simply click onwww.nataliemaclean.com/matcher/. All you have to dois choose either your food or wine, select it in theappropriate box, hit the next button, and follow herdirections, and presto, her suggestions are there.

Kendall-Jackson has also come-up with this veryhelpful chart that gives you some ideas on what goes

best with what wine. Clip and keep it with you whenyou’re shopping.

But, if you are really into learning about wines and foodpairing, NAIT has several wine courses slated for theupcoming months, with classes on wines from theOkanagan, Napa Valley, Chile, Argentina and Australia. Aswell, various liquor stores, such as Select Wines and Bin104, often have tastings. It’s an excellent way to meetsomeone from the vinery and sample different varietals.

So, remember, wine is based solely on your taste buds.What pairs best with what food is determined by yourpalate. Cheers! √

Contact Chef John Berry at [email protected]

Uncorking the mystery of pairing wine

with Chef John Berry

Magic

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CC



arning: PCSS—Post-Christmas StressSyndrome—is a common affliction thataffects scores of Canadians during themonth of January. Untreated, this malady

seriously impairs one’s ability to cope with several postholiday tasks, including: • Removing, packing and storing of Christmas decorations; • Labouring over clothing that has mysteriously shrunk;• Facing the bottom line of your credit card statement; and• Suffering from eggnog and rum-ball withdrawal.

Fortunately, this disorder can be easily remedied with self-administered therapy. If followed accurately, results can beapparent in as little as 24 hours. Side effects may includeserenity, restored energy and the ability to cope with life’slittle challenges.

Soothe your mind, body and soles with a decadent spaexperience without ever leaving the confines of your home.These mini spa treatments can easily be whipped up athome with ingredients you probably already have. So relax,unplug the phone, light a few candles and treat yourself tothese revitalizing pick-me-ups that are guaranteed to de-stress and delight.

THE MINDSoak your skin as well as your soul with a homemadeherbal bath. A warm bath can do wonders for your peace ofmind. Take the time to smell the roses… and the lavender,rosemary, chamomile and mint.• A lavender bath soak is sure to relax and rejuvenate. Mix

one part dried lavender, two parts oatmeal and one partblack tea leaves and place in cheesecloth, tie with raffia.Toss in tub and fill.

• For a relaxing treat after a long day, brew roses orchamomile in a pot of tea, steep for 30 minutes and straininto your bath

• To help your body relax during a soak, take deep breathsthrough your nostrils, breathing in for four seconds, thenout for four seconds. Mentally work your way throughyour whole body, making yourself aware of tension spotsand willing your muscles to relax. For maximum benefit,soak no more than 20 minutes—after that, your skinstarts to shrivel.

• If your upper body feels tightfrom stress, give yourself aquick chest massage to help youbreathe easier. Place yourfingers under the collarbone onthe opposite side of your body,and gently massage the musclesthere in a circular pattern; startin the centre of your chest andwork your way outward. Takedeep breaths and feel the tensionmelt away.

THE BODYChilly winter weather and continuously running furnacescan quickly suck the life from your skin. Banish dead skincells with an invigorating full-body scrub, focusing on theespecially rough patches: knees, elbows, and feet.• To really make your body glow, mix 1 cup honey, 1/2

cup sesame seeds, and a sprinkling of dried lavender ormint. Smooth the sticky paste over your body in slowcircular movements; shower off with warm water.

• Hydrate your face with an easy facial steam. Take a bowlof steaming hot water and add a couple of drops ofessentials oil. Lavender and geranium oils are great for allskin types, tea tree oil is best for oily skin and Germanchamomile for dry skin. Lean over bowl with your face10 inches away and tent your head with a towel. Soak upthe steam and relax for 10 minutes. Facial steams are notrecommended for those with sensitive skin and shouldnot be done more than twice a month. Always followwith a toner and moisturizer.

• Salt rubs exfoliate the top layer of derma, leaving soft,subtle skin behind. Moisten 3/4 cup of fine grain sea saltwith 1/8 cup of grape seed or almond oil. Add three dropsof lavender or citrus essential oils and rub over body.Rinse and pat dry.

• A facial mask can add moisture to dried-out skin, while ascrub can rub away dead skin cells, revealing a fresh faceunderneath. Start by washing your face with a gentlecleanser; then apply a damp, warm washcloth to open upthe pores. If you have dry skin, mix an egg with 1tablespoon of olive oil, then spread the mixture on yourface and let it dry. Wash off with cool water to invigoratethe skin. If you have oily skin, apply a mask of eggwhites only. For patches of dry skin that need a gentleexfoliation, mix finely ground oatmeal with cream andrub gently on skin.

THE SOLESPampering your feet is the ultimate luxury. To make yourenvironment more spa-like, put on some classical musicand treat yourself to a heavenly at-home pedicure.• Fill a tub or foot bath with warm water and drop in a half

ounce of sea salts. Add a tablespoon of olive oil and soakyour feet for 10-15 minutes. The salts will soften up dryskin and calluses, while the olive oil moisturizes.

• Massage feet with an exfoliating body scrub and scrubdown calluses and dead skin cells with a pumice stone.Rinse feet with cool water.

• Trim toenails, cutting them in a square shape to preventingrown toenails. Gently push back cuticles with anorange stick—do not cut.

• Dry feet and apply a foot cream, massaging cream intoskin in upward strokes, moving from toes to calves.

• Add a dab of cuticle oil on nail beds and rub into cuticles.

Alternately:• Place marbles in a foot bath filled with warm water. Add

sprigs of rosemary and a pair of tired feet. Gently runsore soles through the marbles for a soothing massage.Finish with a cooling peppermint-scented lotion.

Note: Before using herbal products, do a patch test,particularly if you have sensitive skin or plant allergies. Ruba dab of the concoction on the inside of your arm, wait anhour for any reactions. √

Contact Linda Bodo at [email protected] or visit www.absolutebodo.com

LIVELYlifestyles

with Linda Bodo

Home Sweet Spa

WW



The competitiveprocessWe often talk to vendors who arereticent about selling their businessesthrough a competitive process. Theywould rather deal with one buyer thanmarket the opportunity to a number ofpurchasers. As merger and acquisitionprofessionals we have found that if youonly have one buyer at the table, youdon’t have a buyer—the buyer has you.

Having multiple buyers creates acompetitive situation which positionssellers better in the deal. It keepsbuyers honest and is a good way totest the limits of value. Currently we areseeing a significant spread between thelowest and the highest offer. Receivingmultiple offers confirms the value of acompany or market price. We neverknow exactly how a buyer values yourcompany or what is motivating themto make an offer in the first place. We

typically market an opportunity to theobvious strategic and financial buyers.Although half of the time the buyer issomeone unknown to us but in arelated industry that sees a strategic fitwith the company. Often these buyershave learned about the opportunityfrom other professionals who receivecopies of the anonymous sale summarythrough our sizeable network.

We were involved in a proprietary,technology deal where all the valuewas in the patented technology beingsold by the inventor. One of thecompany’s distributors approached theowner out of the blue and made anunsolicited multi-million dollar cashoffer for his product. He responded bysuggesting that it would cost doublethat amount. The distributor promptlydoubled its offer and the owner sold.All highly unusual, but from thevendors’ point of view a quiet sale, fora price he was happy to accept. Ourfear was that without running a

competitive process the true value ofthe product had not been establishedand the company may have beenworth three or four times that offer.

Another advantage of a competitiveprocess is having back up buyers in thewings. On occasion during the duediligence process a purchaser mayerode an initial offer based on findingsin that process. Sometimes these issuesare valid, other times they are not. Withonly one buyer at the table it is verydifficult for a vendor to counter theseobjections especially if the vendor isanxious to close.

We have extensive knowledge andexpertise in this area. If you areconsidering selling, please contact meat [email protected] or call780.441.6793 so we can discuss youroptions.

with Stephen W. Kent, CA(780) 441-6793

ACQUISITIONS, DIVESTITURES &

CORPORATE FINANCE

Documents

Edmontonians Jan08