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2 EDMONTONIANS APRIL 2009

Proof__2_________PROOFED BY:_______________________________________________CHANGES MADE:__________________________DATE:_________________

with Mark & Martyello to you and hello to spring.

No doubt this is a far-fetchedthought. Bear with me on this… I was at a

jam session with members of local band ‘The Hacks’the other day. They have a great shot of The Beatleson their studio wall. Well, we got to talking and maybea little drinkin’ and it was decided that it is time forRingo and Paul to put out a tune or two together. They

were a killer rhythm section. I would be very sad ifthey didn’t fire it up one more time before it is too late.So there Ringo, Paul—the gauntlet has been throwndown. That should do it….

Now on to other things…I have been quite busy atfundraisers as of late.Considering the shape of theeconomy, I am happy to reportthat the last three events Ihosted have made money fortheir causes.

The 2009 Alzheimer BenefitDinner of Nations was held atthe Crowne Plaza on Friday the13th. This event pits localcelebrities against each other asthey try to raise the most moneyin tips. This year’s event sawCITYTV’s Michele McDougall,Jesse Lipscomb, Global’sDaintre Christensen, Andrew Misle, CISN’s ChrisScheetz and Ched’s MR. Brian Hall go head to head.Some highlights include: MLA Thomas Lukazukleading his table with a $800 dollar bid to mess upHallsy’s hair. No go. “Not enough,” said Hallsy. Out ofthe corner of my eye, just after Michele drove a dinnerroll off my head, I witnessed Chris dressed as a womanin order to raise some cash. The bun off my head wasordered by one of Michele’s tables. The winner of the

waiter contest was Chris. Word was that they raisedover $90,000.

The Edmonton Chapter of the Ireland-CanadaChamber of Commerce held its second annual St.Patrick’s Day Ball at the Sutton Place Hotel on the14th of March. Great news. The entire room wasinvolved with naming a new education endowmentfund. The Edmonton Journal’s Nick Lees put up an18-year old bottle of Jameson Whiskey to the personwho came up with the new name. The winner of thehooch is Tony Flanaghan of Amalgamated Mining.He came up with the name, The Wild GeeseEndowment Fund. He also put his money where hismouth is… won a bidding war against ChamberPresident Colm O’Carroll for a trip across the Atlanticon the Queen Mary 2. Flanaghan wound up paying

$5100 for the trip. Roxanneand Patrick Devaney ofSherlock Holmes/Rose &Crown and my new localwatering hole Devaney’s putthe trip up of auction.

Hats off to the co-chairsof the ‘Sips, Sticks andStilettos’ event. DougGoss and Dr. BobWestbury held a fantastic event atErnest’s Dining Room at NAIT. The nightwas a fundraiser supporting the B2Tenorganization and the Ladies First Hockey

Foundation. Both these organizations help our nation’sathletes and the women’s national hockey team reachtheir Olympic goals.

Those in attendance included big supporters likePremier Ed Stelmach, Angus Watt, Don Metz, BruceSaville, John Day, and Irv and Dianne Kipnes.Guests enjoyed a night of fantastic food and wine aswell as a live auction, and a hot stove hosted by CBC’sCassie Campbell with members of our woman’snational hockey team. A special highlight was when

clothier Sam Abouhassan paid $1000 to have a phototaken with all the members of the hockey team. A verynice contribution even after he donated a custom madesuit for the auction. Watch for our Premier wearing anice suit.

Blast from the past. He left our city as a captainand landed in Vancouver via Regina as a major. I raninto the Salvation Army’s Major Brian Venables at itsWestern Canada Public Relations & DevelopmentRetreat in Kananaskis. He is the divisional secretaryfor PR and development in Vancouver. He did somegreat work for our city and BC is lucky to have him.

Coming up… The Spirit of Spring FashionShow and Luncheon is set to go Sunday, April 19th. Itis a sure sign of spring. There’s also a silent auction.You will see many local guest models strut their stuffin cloths from Blu’s Womens Wear, C’est Sera, Derk’sMenswear, Night Owl and TK Clothing Co., to name afew. Hair by Lorenzo Lawrence Salon. The event issupporting McDougall House, which is a recoveryhome for women. Tickets at participating stores or780.498.6216

The 5th Annual Jeans & JerseyDinner and Auction in

support of theAlberta DiabetesFoundation will rollSaturday, April 25th.A night of comedy,live and silentauctions, great food,and pending playoffsspecial guest andhonorary chair AndrewCogliano, #13 of theOilers. No worries withwhat to wear—just put onyour favourite sportsjersey and a pair of jeans.The event will take place

at the Sawmill Banquet Centre. For info and tickets,get hold of Angela at [email protected] or780.492.8702. I really like the whole concept of ADF:The whole mandate is to raise money and find a cure.Period. √

Mark Scholz, owner of MES Communications Inc.offers a variety of services including production,creative and entertainment. For more information orto suggest a story idea, [email protected]

HHPaul & Ringo

the Queen Mary 2

Brian Hall

Andrew Cogliano

EDMONTONIANS APRIL 2009 3


heir faces and voices are familiar to mostEdmontonians. They come into our livingrooms and join us in our vehicles. But, howmuch do we really know about the wonderfuland talented ladies in Edmonton media? I

decided to find out about eight of them in radio andtelevision. I fired off the same questions to each of them,and happily share their candid responses with readers. Inthe interest of fairness, they are presented in alphabeticalorder.

SEANNA COLLINS– EZ Rock Mornings/Global EdmontonHometown: Born in Edmonton, raised in CalgaryYears here: 22 years… since September 1987Hobbies/distractions: I have very limited free time butwhen I do, I enjoy gardening, the theatre, walking with mydog, watching movies, dinner with my husband andfriends… plus running my ladies group Babes WithoutBabes.Best part of being a media celebrity: I admit it... thespecial treatment and perks that often come along with thejob and also being able to lend my name, voice and skills tocharities that need extra help.Worst part of your job: Getting up before the birds, nevergetting enough sleep or having enough time... and havingto deal with people who are overly judgmental, critical andnever really hear what you say, only what they think yousaid. Advice for up-and-coming female broadcasters: Growsome thick skin, set your goals high and be confident thatyou can achieve them, and negotiate a great contract. Favourite Restaurant: Is there a bad one? Sorrentino’s,the Lingnan, Tazza, Il Forno, Violino’s, Mayfield DinnerTheatre, the King and I… so many more.Other women you look up: I am blessed to know somany wonderful women in Edmonton who are friends,acquaintances and business associates. I’d hate to leave outany but some who inspire me are Liz O’Neill of BigBrothers Big Sisters, Judy Harcourt of Harcourt &Associates, Susan Reade of SONIC FM, Lynda Steele ofGlobal Edmonton, my personal friend Pat Williams... andthe late Lois Hole and Eleanor Clark.

NICOLA CROSBIE– Global EdmontonWeatherHometown: Duncan,B.C. A lovely littletown in the CowichanValley on VancouverIslandYears here: 3 1/2years Hobbies/distractions: Sewing,baking, workingout… mad about golf,tennis, running,reading, writing forpleasure… my two beautiful childrenBest part of being a media celebrity: It thrills my girlsthat their friends see their mom on TV—but to them I’mjust “Mummy”Worst part of your job: Everyone knowing if I make amistake at my job... and having a bad hair day in front ofthe whole city.Advice for up-and-coming female broadcasters: Takeany job you can in media and do it with excellence. Istarted with wheeling a video tape trolley around anewsroom... but I did it really well and was given otheropportunities. Always be pleasant and don’t gossip.

Other women you look up to: Dr. Helen Steed, surgeonand gynecological oncologist. She does amazing work inresearch at the Royal Alex, helping women with ovarianand other female reproductive cancers. She’s young, a busymother of two and a marathon runner as well.

CARRIE DOLL –CTV EdmontonHometown: I’m anorthern Alberta girlYears here: 13 yearsHobbies: I love totravel and my familyand I squeeze in tripswhere we can. We alsolove the outdoors andspend a lot of time inthe mountains hiking,biking and skiing. I’malso returning to mymusical roots. I studiedclassical piano for 10

years but put it on the back burner when I went touniversity. I’ve rediscovered my passion for it and recentlybought both a piano and a guitar.Distractions: My son. It’s hard to get anything done whenhe’s around because we have so much fun together! MyBlackberry—I use it for everything including as an alarmclock, e-mail and now Twitter.Best part of being a media celebrity: My job enables meto meet/interview/chat with a lot of wonderful people…from the amazing kids I meet through my charity work atthe Stollery Children’s Hospital to those in our communitywho show courage and leadership, and confront life’schallenges quietly and with conviction... to interviews I’vedone with celebrities like former U-S President BillClinton. It’s the people that make this job great.Worst part of your job: The news by nature is negativeand sometimes that negativity can wear on me. That’s whymy co-anchor Daryl McIntyre and I seize the lightermoments in our newscast where we can laugh and have alittle funAdvice for up-and-coming female broadcasters:Immerse yourself in the industry. Watch/listen/readeverything you can on a daily basis. Embrace long hours(there will be lots of them) and get involved in yourcommunity by volunteering your time. Finally, if you’re notreally passionate about the work, choose another career.The pressure is intense and the feedback in not alwayskind.Favourite restaurant: Sorry. I honestly can’t pick just one.I tried… can’t do it… too many favourites. Other women you look up to: My Mom. She had 10children—enough said. I will forever admire Lois Hole-even though she’s no longer with us—mother, successfulbusiness woman, Lieutenant-Governor. She seemed tostrike the right balance in everything she did. Also womenwhose husbands and children serve in the line of duty.

GILLIAN FOOTE – The BearHometown: Tatamagouche, Nova Scotia—the smaaaalltown on this season’s The Week the Women Went on CBCYears here: 5 YearsHobbies/distractions: Social butterfly...always out andabout at events in the city. Host the Rush Lacrosse Leagueat Rexall. Concert goer, charity events, traveling, always onthe go.Best part of being a media celebrity: Meeting greatpeople and doing cool/exclusive things are awesome, butbeing able to use my profile as a platform to help othersthrough charity events like Stollery broadcasts… raisingmoney for our community is near and dear to me.Worst part of your job: If I had to name one thing, itwould be my alarm ringing so early in the morning. Itnever gets easy...especially being busy during theworkweek, which is very common.Advice for up-and-coming female broadcasters: First ofall, have fun. There’s no other industry like this one. Get toknow your community, be open-minded, flexible, workhard on your profile and get out there. Develop thick skinand don’t burn any bridges. It’s all about ‘touching hands’,networking, and meeting great people.Favourite restaurant: Piccolino’s, The ThanhThanh andMikado

Other women you look up to: I respect many women inmedia in this market; however, the woman I look up tomost and admire isn’t in the media. She’s a nurse at TheStollery and her heart and soul are committed to that place.It blows me away to hear some of her stories and how shetouches peoples lives in the smallest ways, and how thepatients and their families touch her. She learns so muchfrom them and knows not to take things for granted. It’s apowerful feeling when you touch a person’s life. Lovingwhat you do for a living and giving back is the ultimate.

JACKIE RAE GREENING– CFCWHometown: St. Albert—born & raised and still livethere.Years here: When I wasgetting started in thebusiness, worked in RedDeer and Drumheller, beenworking in Edmonton for20 years.Hobbies/distractions:Curling. Curling. And…curling.Best part of being a media celebrity: The different andinteresting people I get to meet from celebrities to non-celebrities.Worst part of your job: When I used to do the morningshow, emceeing a charity event until late at night and thenhaving to get up at 3am.Advice to up-and-coming female broadcasters: Workhard, have fun.Favourite restaurant: Sicilian Pasta Kitchen on JasperAvenue.Other women you look up to: My Mom where I learnedmy love of sports and volunteering. Lois Hole… growingup in St. Albert, we used to go out and pick peas at theHole’s. As I watched her become our L.G., I was soimpressed that she didn’t change from the person I knew.

J’LYN NYE – Joe Morning ShowHometown: I call Sault. Ste. Marie and Thunder Bay,Ontario home—depending on which parent I’m visiting.Years here: 8 plus… since December of 2000Hobbies/distractions: Love to read, love to write (bookcomes out this fall, being published by Key Porter)… Lovemusic, motivational speaking, hanging out with my twodogs Tim and Neil, working out, renovating my house, anda good bottle of red wine.Best part of being a media celebrity: Um, good tables atrestaurants. LOL. No, the best part is the people I get tomeet… the wonderful experiences I have had because ofmy job. I love meeting people, hearing their stories. I lovekeeping the people of Northern Alberta entertained andinformed. I consider myself very lucky to have had 18wonderful years in television and now a great job in radioin the city I love.Worst part of my job: Getting up at 3 am. Actually, it isn’tthat bad. I think the toughest part of the media gig has beensome of the comments over the years about my hair, myclothes, my weight.. It always amazes me some peoplehave no problem being very nasty to a person they’ve nevermet.My advice to other up and coming female broadcasters:I truly believe if you don’t have a passion for your job youwill never succeed. Find that passion and unleash it—whether it’s reporting, producing, writing, anchoring orbehind a radio mic. Give everything you have, every day.And develop a very thick skin. You’ll need it.Favourite restaurant: My new favourite is Bistecca Italiaat 23rd Avenue and 111 Street and Café Deville on 124thStreet.Other women you look up to: Without a doubt LyndaSteele. She is the consummate professional and I considerher one of the best in the business: not only an incrediblejournalist but an incredible friend as well. Also, I look up toany woman who has the confidence in herself to takechances… to take a leap of faith and do whatever it takes tomake her life complete and happy. Strong, confidentwomen are empowering to others.

TT

Continued on page 18



STATIONany of us are on the quest to find that special someone, but life is busyand it can be difficult to find the time to meet that perfect partner onour own. To compensate, new forms of matchmaking are constantlyemerging and becoming increasingly popular. This month’s Poll Station

focused on the new ways of dating.

With Linda Banister

PollPoll

FOUNDERDICK MacLEAN

APRIL 2009Vol. XX

Published by 399620 Alberta Ltd. on the first day of eachmonth at C-100 Park Side Tower, 8920-100th StreetEdmonton AB CA T6E 4Y8. ©All rights reserved. Nopart of this publication may be reprinted or reproduced inany form without 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 DepartmentC-100 Park Side Tower, 8920-100th StreetEdmonton AB CA T6E 4Y8Email: [email protected]

SHARON MacLEANPublisher and Advertising Director

Telephone: 780.482.7000Fax: 780.488.9317

e-mail: [email protected]

INSIDEVOX POPMark Scholz . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .2Marty Forbes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .3POLL STATIONMatch making/Banister . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .4

WOMEN IN BUSINESSSalute/List . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .6Alyssa Haunholter . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .7Katie Soles . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .7Norene Stasiewich . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .8Marcela Manderville . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .8Westcorp Properties . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .9Leanne Krawchuk . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .10Melissa Dunkley . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .11Miller Thomson LLP . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .12Quantum Speed . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .14Gail Taylor . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .15Suit Yourself/Pullishy . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .16

CELEBRATING 20 YEARS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .17

THE BUSINESS OF LOVECounselling/Jespersen . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .18

VISIONARIESKerr/Gazin . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .19Armour/Croucher . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .20Briefs/Croucher . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .20Social Media/Schwabe . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .22

BARB DETERSEditor

[email protected]

COLUMNISTSLinda Banister

John BerryLinda Bodo

Cheryl CroucherMarty Forbes

Muggsy ForbesBruce Hogle

Ryan JespersenDavid Norwood

Erin RaynerMark Scholz

Walter SchwabeNizar J. Somji

FEATURE WRITERSNJ Brown

Barb DetersGreg GazinRick Lauber

Peter Drake McHughMarg. Pullishy

PHOTOGRAPHERSTerry Bourque

Barb DetersCindy GannonMurray Sielski

SPECIAL PROJECTSEdmontonians Transformers

Tom BradshawLes Brost

Steffany HanlenLarry Ohlhauser

GRAPHIC PRODUCTIONRage Studios Inc.

THIS MONTH’S COVER

Kim KerrReal & Virtual

Photo by Terry Bourque

No. 4

2020YEARS

C E L E B R A T I N G

MMWHAT IS THE MOST IMPORTANT CHARACTERISTIC IN A MATE OR PARTNER?

To begin the survey, respondents were asked to identify what theybelieved to be the most important characteristic in a mate or partner.The most frequent answer was honesty (31 percent), followed bycompatibility (14 percent), personality (10 percent), trust/loyalty(nine percent) and compassion (eight percent). Appearance wasonly mentioned by two percent of the respondents, and 11 percentwere unable to provide a response.

WHAT’S THE BEST WAY TO MEET SOMEONE?

Next, respondents were asked for the best way or place for someone tomeet a prospective date. Most frequently, respondents thought meetingsomeone through their friends was the best way (20 percent).Respondents also mentioned work (15 percent), through hobbies andclubs (nine percent), at a social event (eight percent), or at church (sixpercent). Interestingly, 30 percent of respondents did not know the bestway or place to meet a prospective mate or partner.

WHAT ARE YOUR THOUGHTS ABOUTDIFFERENT DATING SERVICES?Before respondents were asked about a number of differentdating services, they were asked if they believed there were anynegative perceptions surrounding dating services in general. Sixtypercent believed there were, while 27 percent indicated theybelieved there were not.

Respondents were then asked if they, or someone they knew,had ever used an online dating service. Sixty percent indicatedthey did. Interestingly, the same question was asked back in2006. Since then, there has been approximately a 30 percentincrease in respondents that have tried it, or have known someonewho has (61 percent versus 31 percent in 2006). Of theserespondents, 85 percent ended up dating, or knew someone whohad dated, the person they met through the online dating service(compared to 81 percent in 2006). Furthermore, 48 percentmarried, or knew someone who married, the person they metonline.

Respondents were then asked about speed dating, where menand women rotate to meet each other over a series of short“dates”, usually lasting from three to eight minutes. Not quite aspopular, only 14-percent indicated they, or someone they knew,had participated in speed dating. Of these respondents, 43 percentindicated they had, or known someone who has, dated the personthey met while speed dating; of those, one person married theperson they met.

Finally, respondents were asked if they, or someone they knew,had ever used a professional dating service to meet a prospectivepartner. Eighteen percent indicated they had tried a datingservice. Of these respondents, 94 percent dated, or knewsomeone who had dated, the person they met; and 40 percentmarried, or knew someone who married, the person they metthrough the service. √

Monthly Poll Station Online QuestionVisit www.edmontonians.com to register your opinion

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 ownerof Banister Research and Consulting Inc., a full service provider ofmarket research and program evaluation services.Visit www.banister.ab.ca.

Perc

ent

Perc

ent

31%

20%

30%

15%9%

8% 6%

14%10% 9% 8%

2%Said honestywas the most

important

Said meetingsomeone through

mutual friends


work


hobbies/clubs


social events


church

Said they didn’tknow the best wayto meet someone

Said compatibilitywas the most

important

Said personalitywas the most

important

Said trust/loyaltywere the most

important

Said compassionwas the most

important

Said appearancewas the most

important

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MELISSA DUNKLEYCo-President, Master Coach Trainer

Results Now Inc.13 Desjardins TerraceSt. Albert T8N 5T9

[email protected]

www.resultsnowinc.com

Quantum SpeedHigh Performance Skating Systems

STEFFANY HANLENOwner & Founder

Speaker & Performance Coach780.436.4159

[email protected]

VANESSA HETTINGERGeneral Manager & Master Instructor

[email protected]

www.quantumspeed.ca

ALYSSA HAUNHOLTERVice-President of Government Relations

North West Capital780.504.2623

[email protected]

LEANNE C. KRAWCHUKPartner

Parlee McLaws LLPBarristers & Solicitors

Patent & Trademark Agents 1500 Manulife Place, 10180-101 Street

Edmonton, Alberta T5J 4K1 780.423.8625 Fax: 780.423.2870

[email protected]

MARCELA MANDEVILLEPrograms & External Relations Manager

Alberta Women Entrepreneurs#100-10237-104 Street

Edmonton, Alberta 780.422.1410

[email protected]

KATIE SOLESPresident

Soles and Company1363 Falconer Road

Edmonton, Alberta T6R 2C5780.433.8936

[email protected]

NORENE STASIEWICHFounder & CEO

Pivit, Inc.780.660.4838780.471.1845

[email protected]

GAIL A. TAYLOR, CIMAVice-President, Investment Advisor

The Gail Taylor Investment Groupof CIBC Wood Gundy

1780 Manulife Place, 10180-101 Street Edmonton, Alberta T5J 3S4

780.498.5078 • [email protected]

www.gailtaylor.com

Westcorp Properties Inc.JANE BARRIGAN JESS

General Manager Metterra Hotel on Whyte

10454-82 AvenueEdmonton, Alberta T6E 4Z7

[email protected]

www.metterra.com

JOANN KIRKLAND General Manager

Matrix Hotel10640-100th Avenue

Edmonton, Alberta T5J 1J1780.429.2861

[email protected]

DONICA WILKIE-MORROW General Manager

Varscona Hotel on Whyte8208-106 Street

Edmonton, Alberta T6E 6R9780.434.6111

[email protected]

Miller Thomson LLPBarristers & Solicitors

Patent & Trade-Mark Agents 2700 Commerce Place

10155 - 102 StreetEdmonton, Alberta T5J 4G8

Fax: 780.424.5866www.millerthomson.com

JESSICA BUCKWOLDAssociate

[email protected]

MARIA CHAUStudent-at-Law780.429.9737

[email protected]

CAROLINE COOPERAssociate

[email protected]

WENDI CROWEPartner

[email protected]

FIONA FJELDHEIMAssociate

[email protected]

DRAGANA SANCHEZ GLOWICKIAssociate

[email protected]

SANDRA HAWESPartner

[email protected]

TANIS JALBERTAssociate

[email protected]

DEBRA CURCIO LISTERPartner

[email protected]

TERESA MEADOWSPartner

[email protected]

ROBYN MEARAStudent-at-Law780.429.9744

[email protected]

MONIQUE PETRIN NICHOLSONAssociate

[email protected]

CHARMA STANGAssociate

[email protected]

CONNIE TAYLORPartner

[email protected]

LAUREN TORESONAssociate

[email protected]

ANALEA WAYNEAssociate

[email protected]

DALE WESTONAssociate

[email protected]

his fourth annual edition ofEdmontonians devoted to womenin business is our largest. Itreflects the growing number ofwomen who are entering the

professions... starting thier own businesses...making a difference in our community andcountry.

Within all industry sectors, women are movinginto areas that require higher education. Ourknowledge based economy not only providesgreater opportunities, but also more diversechallenges for women entrepreneurs. As newtechnologies emerge, so does the need to keepinformed... to improve products and services... toexpand to new markets.

Interestingly, many women entrepreneurseducate themselves as they build their businesses,and many start up with no business-relatedtraining. Some feel they don’t need courses thatteach them traditional approaches; they arelooking for creative new models that are moreflexible and more likely to suit their particularcircumstances.

Two resources are at the forefront of “self-education”: The Internet has opened doors to alimitless wealth of information, managementtools, and networking opportunities. Access toother business women and support groups iseasier than ever before.

Generally, women are more willing to sharetheir successes and failures with other women.

There are a number of local and nationalorganizations that offer networkingopportunities, role-modeling and mentoring, andcareer resources among other services to womenin business. In addition, sector-specific groupsand larger corporations provide programs andleadership forums.

Women are also more likely to embark onjourneys of “self-discovery”... working withconsultants or coaches to improve theirperformance levels and strengthen theirpresentation skills.

Edmontonians proudly profiles this year’sWomen in Business—a diverse and dynamiccollection of executives and entrepreneurs whosecareers and lives are inspiring. √

TTWomen in BusinessWomen in Business

SALUTE TO4th Annual

Featuring



lyssa Haunholter is a motivated 29-year old—with somewhat of a feisty streak. Sheʼs driven by challenges withoutboundaries.

“I donʼt know what my limits are, and I am going to do everything I can to keep pushing them until I get to thatpoint,” she says. “If I have something I can contribute, I am going to contribute until someone tells me I canʼt…

even when they do, that will likely drive me even more.” These are exhilarating times for Alyssa and the companies she works for. She is Vice-President of Government

Relations for North West Capital Inc., North West Upgrading Inc. and Enhance Energy Inc. “North West Capital is aventure capitalist firm with the foresight to pursue business development and investment opportunities in the energysector where technical complexity is often a deterrent for others. Four years ago, that vision led to the beginning plansof designing a world scale upgrading and refining business, North West Upgrading, and an enhanced oil recovery

business, Enhance Energy.“North West Upgrading is building an upgrader in Albertaʼs Industrial Heartland to upgrade bitumen into the clean fuels

that Albertans need, using technology that is able to create pure capture-ready CO2. Enhance Energy is developing one ofthe largest carbon capture and storage projects in the world that would use the CO2 produced from upgrading and other

industrial activity for enhanced oil recovery and secure CO2 storage,” she expains. With todayʼs heavily-debatedenvironmental concerns, these are hot topics, indeed.

As a child, Alyssaʼs life goals were varied: “Although I always contemplated various career paths including law, medicine,business and politics, I feel fortunate because my choices thus far have exposed me to all those disciplines. I always

knew that I needed a challenge… to prove to myself that I could be faced with any obstacle and find a way toovercome it.”

Alyssa pursued studies at the University of Alberta. “I took a degree in Sociology and Political Science.”She was exceptionally busy, piggy-backing her own painting company jobs with her classes. “I keptthinking that I was going into the business side of things, but always had a passion for

politics and policy.”

That passion led her to an impressive career experience with Iris Evans,now minister of Alberta Finance and Enterprise. “I was her executiveassistant, chief of staff and senior policy advisor and we worked togetherin three different portfolios.” Those years were nothing short of “amazing”and remembered fondly.

There are few empty slots in Alyssaʼs daytimer and her Blackberry is seldom idle. The self-confessed workaholic—not her favourite term, by the way—recognizes her priorities, knowswhat is important. “I probably would say that prioritizing my personal life is not as easy to doas prioritizing my professional life. That being said, I will always make time for my familyand friends, no matter what.”

Instead, Alyssa looks at her activity-filled days in a positive light: “When you seeopportunity, the work never ends. I love what I do… and working for two small companiesat the beginning stages of a business, we donʼt have a large team and there are not a lotof people to delegate things to, so we all work off our own strengths, and do everything ittakes to get things done. We believe in our business and that is the driving force.”

Alyssa, an Edmontonians ̓Sizzling Twenty under 30 in 2007, wants “to be part ofsomething big. I want to contribute to making this world a better place in some capacity

and, whether that is working with companies whose vision and mandate are aligned with myown personal philosophies, consulting, working with governments or on policy...

“I think at the end of the day, we just have to have our eyes on what makes us happy.” √

nergy and passion are not the only descriptors that come to mind when Katie Soles describes what she does for a living;they are just the most immediate. Within just a few minutes of talking with her, itʼs readily apparent that she is invested—heart and soul—in the belief that change, when consciously, carefully, and creatively managed, is a powerful tool forachieving positive results in industry, business or government.

It is this very foundation on which Soles and Company has been facilitating results-driven change—whether in thecontext of corporate culture or social programs, mergers and acquisitions, or broad visions for the future—for over 20 years. Asan “expert in the psychology of change,” Katie describes the process as “unlocking the best thinking of all the people we areworking with—whether they are on the ground or at higher levels—and putting those ideas into motion in a constructiveway.” To that end, Soles and Company custom tailors its services to clients ̓needs. Rather than relying on permanentemployees, Katie says, “We deliberately assemble a constellation of the best players in the business and build an all-star team for every project.”

This approach has clearly paid off for both the company and its clients: Counted among the companyʼs manysuccesses is the delivery of a Leadership Summit for Indiaʼs Fortune 100 companies. On the social front, it has lentits expertise to such issues as homelessness and safe communities. The company has gained recognition bothlocally and internationally for its groundbreaking work, and Katie herself has won several awards that recognizeentrepreneurial excellence.

Being the “captain of her own ship” is something that, in many ways, comes naturally. “I first learned businessat my fatherʼs knee,” Katie recalls. “I grew up in Calgary during the first boom, and I watched my dad go frombeing a coal miner to vice-president of an oil company. Because of him, I am equally comfortable in theboardroom or on the shop floor.” Add to this a Masters of Organizational Behaviour, a Bachelor of PhysicalEducation and Leisure Studies, and various jobs in government, and the net result is a strong base of boththeoretical and practical knowledge. And it is this combination of theory and pragmatism that characterizes the“grace and elegance in simple processes, current procedures, and timeless principles” that Soles andCompany has become known for. “The magic is in knowing what is needed when and being able to build ateam to deliver that.”

But Katieʼs energy and passion donʼt just begin and end with business. In digging deeper, it becomes evidentthat she is equally passionate about life. And, as with most successful entrepreneurs, balance is important toher. In describing her approach to life, Katie admits, “I have learned lately that itʼs not so much about timemanagement as it is about energy management—managing energy so that it encompasses the spiritual,emotional, physical, and mental.” Part of this energy management is the conscious development of social relationships.Hence her unofficial membership in an unofficial group unofficially coined “FINE”—Friends in Need of Excitement—which exists for the sole purpose of gathering its members together once a month to “do something out of the norm.”And, let there be no mistake, when Katie says “out of the norm” sheʼs not talking Karaoke—sheʼs talking more alongthe lines of bungee jumping and sky diving. Howʼs that for energy?

If change is an indication of anything, it is an indication of movement and growth. It is Katie Soles ̓job to ensurethat the movement is forward and the growth is positive. And itʼs a job she does extremely well, not only because ofher knowledge, education, and experience, but also because of her passion for life, her rapport with people, and hertalent for not only managing, but embracing, change. √

Unlocking

By Rick Lauber

By NJ Brown

AA


EEthe best thinkingthe best thinking

Photo by Cindy Gannon

Alyssa Haunholter

Katie Soles



hey have high symbolic significance and hang above many beds.According to legend, Aboriginal dreamcatchers bestow pleasant dreams,good luck and lifetime harmony. Good spirit dreams pass through thecentre of the hanging web and flow down the dangling feathers to theperson sleeping under the dreamcatcher. Nightmares are caught in the

web and disappear with the morning light.Business dreams, specifically, can go unfulfilled—lack of financing, self-confidence

and/or training can be a nightmare. Now, Alberta Women for Entrepreneurs (AWE), anon-profit association, is here to mentor, support and guide women in the pursuit oftheir aspirations.

Further to this mandate, AWE is now offering NextStep to Success, createdspecifically to assist Albertaʼs Aboriginal women. Marcela Mandeville, Programs andExternal Relations Manager, handles much of the administration and marketing forthe program. “This program is an ideal way to celebrate success, to share experienceand to encourage Aboriginal women to develop businesses that will positively impactcommunities and, ultimately, Albertaʼs economy.

“In addition to providing learning and financial resources, the program will connectwomen with or without entrepreneurial experience and create a supportiveenvironment to pursue viable business ventures,” she adds.

AWEʼs NextStep to Success is an off-shoot of its Business Startup program. Duringthe pilot project last year, “AWE connected with 50 Aboriginal women from across theprovince to share information on entrepreneurship and offer support to women whowanted to create a business. The relationships, comments, and businessdevelopment activities generated during the pilot were very positive.” Marcela sayssession participants explored many avenues including custom-designed embroideryand promotional products, Aboriginal art and supplies, eco-friendly products, pet careas well as public speaking and/or facilitating.

The NextStep to Success program is open to Aboriginal women 18 years of age orolder who live in Alberta and are, or plan to be, the majority owners in a business.Ideas must be sound and the entrepreneur must show a personal commitment tosuccess. Those fulfilling criteria will benefit from valuable services, specifically throughmentoring and coaching. For example, AWE will work with Aboriginal clients todevelop and help implement strong business plans, and to build a network ofresources.

With funding through Western Economic Diversification Canada, AWE can alsooffer non-traditional financing. As well, Alberta Employment and Immigration provided$250,000 toward the program for Aboriginal women entrepreneurs. “NextStep toSuccess offers a specific micro-loan program (up to $10,000) for Aboriginal woman-owned businesses with specialized pre-and post-loan support. We also shareinformation on other development opportunities inthe Aboriginal community that would bebeneficial for clients. NextStep to Successwill include a business planningworkshop series and mentoring circlesto share knowledge and create asupport network for businessdevelopment among women in thecommunity,” explains Marcela.

“Even the best business idea is atrisk of failing without activemarketing. Therefore, visits will beplanned with communities andorganizations that are interested inlearning more about the NextStep toSuccess program.”

Marcela has an impressiveeducational background, havinggraduated with a Bachelor ofCommerce in International Businessfrom the University of Alberta. Shehas worked in research, programmanagement, oil and gas financialanalysis, and as an entrepreneur.She is fluent in English, Frenchand Spanish.

As a “proud member of theSalt River First Nation in FortSmith, Northwest Territories,”Marcela has realized manyof her dreams… and sherelishes the opportunity tohelp her clients follow theirdreams and secure theirfutures. √

For more details onAWEʼs programs, visitwww.awebusiness.com,[email protected],or call 1.800.713.3558.

TT

By Rick Lauber

or Leanne Krawchuk, BComm, LLB, itʼs all about building. But, youʼllbe hard-pressed to find her with a hammer, cordless drill or powersaw in hand.

This smooth, sharp and sophisticated career woman is a legalbeagle and partner with Edmontonʼs office of Parlee McLaws LLP. “I

have specialized in working with clients who are involved in the constructionindustry and assisting in negotiating construction agreements,” Leanneexplains. If there is a new property being constructed, thereʼs a good chancethat sheʼll be involved. Additionally, she is involved with “mergers andacquisitions … the purchase and sale of the business. The other part of mypractice would be involved in securities, public company and privatecompany financings. Then there are takeovers and private placements.”

In the fast-paced world of business, transactions are what appeal toLeanne. “You have a client that you may never have acted for and, within avery short period of time, you do a transaction that typically has a very quickclosing date. You give your core attention to getting the deal done for theclient.” When it comes to the legal field, many will immediately think oflitigation practice. Whereas “litigation goes on for many years typically,”Leanne points out that “four months is a long-time horizon on thecommercial transaction… clients are trying to get deals done in two or threemonths. Often, those transactions are strategic and you help a client growtheir business.”

There is also relationship-building with her clients. “Itʼs not just about thelegal work,” notes Leanne. “You need to take time to invest in getting toknow your clients … I am still a firm believer in talking to your clients on thephone, getting to know them.” Leanne takes the firmʼs “relationship-focused”slogan seriously and strives to develop more of a working friendship with aclient “…so that you can talk about things other than legal matters all thetime.”

Then, there is the family-building. With the long hours involved in herbusiness, Leanne admits this can be difficult: “You have to sacrifice a lot toput in the hours; youʼre sacrificing time away from your family.” Still, shelooks for balance in her life and always manages to find time for husbandGregg Shavchook and their two young boys—a one-and-a-half-year-old andan “almost” six-year old. Being involved with her children, at some level, isvital to Leanne, who has served as “the vice-president of my sonʼsplayschool for a year.” She also tries to instill good values into her children.“I just was at my sonʼs kindergarten class and they had a day in the life ofvarious professions. I think itʼs important to pass along to children that theyfind [a career] that inspires them and, that whatever they do, to work hard atit. You have to have a very strong work ethic… negotiate in good faith… andcertainly be honest.”

Leanne is undoubtedly building her own future with Parlee McLaws LLP. “Iplan to stay where Iʼm at… I love Edmonton and certainly love the firm Iʼmwith and the people that I work with… Iʼm not sure you can find thateverywhere.”

Parlee McLaws LLP is a full-service law firm built on trust and tradition.The first office opened in Calgary in 1883; the Edmonton office opened in1889. Among its many areas of practice, Parlee McLaws specializes incorporate and securities law, commercial real estate, commercial litigation,financial services, and intellectual property and innovation. √

FF

Building

FUTURESBy Rick Lauber

BuildingRelationships…


Photo by Terry BourqueMarcela Mandeville

Leanne Krawchuk



isters are like snowflakes. Each shares similar characteristics, yet eachis uniquely different. So it is with three of Edmontonʼs boutique hotelsand the women who manage them.

The general managers overseeing operations are JoAnn Kirkland atthe Matrix Hotel downtown, Jane Barrigan Jess at the Metterra Hotel andDonica Wilkie-Morrow at the Varscona Hotel, both on Whyte Avenue. The sisterhotels are owned by Westcorp Properties Inc., a locally-based company thatbuilds and manages revenue-generating properties including residential, retail,office, hospitality and mixed-use projects.

This trio agrees that the road to the top in the hotel business can haveinteresting twists and turns. Donica began her formal hospitality career in 1987,and has worked throughout Europe including the French Alps and theMediterranean, and across Canada. In 2004, she took on the position ofDirector of Catering for the Varscona and Metterra. A promotion to OperationsManager for the Varscona in 2007 led to the position of General Manager lastyear.

JoAnn admits she has had “kind of a strange background… I worked inthe education field in the Dominican Republic

and always had a desire to get into thehotel business.” While sharing office spacewith a school counselor, she startedleafing through binders of worldwidecolleges and universities. A hotel schoolin Switzerland caught her eye and “therest is history”.

Jane wanted “to get out in the world”after a career in the printing andpublishing industry. She “pursued thesales side of hotels and was bitten by

the bug.” Dynamic, ambitious and proud areamong the words that describe their

shared personality traits. “Iʼm a very driven hotelier. I expect a lot of my team but I also put a lot of

effort into ensuring the guest experience is fantastic,” explains JoAnn. Likeher colleagues, she is a firm believer in the ʻmanagement-by-walking-around principle.ʼ

“Because youʼre open 24/7,” adds Jane, “your work is never done. Youalways have your guests to think about and to ensure that theyʼre safe andhappy.” And, there is always something to be done—“You never go, ohgood, my in-basket is empty.”

Donica stresses that “one of the key components to our success is ourpeople. We have been very fortunate as GMs to employ some of the mostpassionate individuals in this industry… amazing, high caliber talent.”

Despite a certain level of friendly competition, JoAnn points out that theyeven share resources. “If I have a banquet and I donʼt have enough staff, Iwouldnʼt hesitate to call one of my colleagues and say, ʻCan you help meout?ʼ And they wouldnʼt hesitate to help… thereʼs a really fantasticcamaraderie between our hotels.”

As boutique hotels, each focuses on creating and marketing its ownspecial individuality. According to JoAnn, “More independent companieshave boutique hotels. Theyʼre not mass-produced. They have veryinteresting characteristics that are unlike chain hotels. Thereʼs auniqueness in décor, design and location that differentiates boutique hotelsfrom ʻbig boxʼ hotels.” With management decisions, Jane says, “You canmake a change and turn on a dime. Youʼre not dealing with all the red tapeand having to go through different procedures all the time.”

Long-time Edmonton residents will remember the Matrix Hotel as theformer Inn on Seventh, located on 100th Avenue at 107th Street. It wastreated to an extreme make-over and reopened with 184 guest rooms andall the amenities, including a sprawling 8,500 square feet of meetingspace, and a fitness centre. The Varscona, at Whyte Avenue and 106thStreet, has 89 guest rooms. For conferences, it boasts 3,700 square feetof space with full catering services. The Metterra, just two blocks east on

Whyte, has 98 rooms, unique meeting rooms, abusiness centre and fitness facilities.

At all three Westcorp properties, guests arewelcome to enjoy complimentary deluxecontinental breakfast and evening wine-tasting. Additional perks include free valetparking, high-speed Internet access, satelliteTV, and cozy bathrobes. “A comment weoften hear from our guests at the Varscona isthat the hotel instills a feeling of comfort thatis like being home,” says Donica. “Weʼre all

proud of the welcoming atmosphere thatis provided by our dedicated team of

employees.”So, much like each

unique snowflake whichswirls and dances to theground, these three hotelGMs, along with theirindividual hotel properties,are distinctive. Together,JoAnn Kirkland, JaneBarrigan Jess and DonicaWilkie-Morrow form astrong alliance while theirhotels exist as aconspicuous andcomfortable corporatepresence for businesstravelers and vacationers. √

SS

Checking in…By Rick Lauber


Jane Barrigan Jess

JoAnn Kirkland

Donica Wilkie-Morrow



friendly smile… a freshly-pressed outfit… a confidanthandshake. All speak volumes when creating apositive first impression. People judge you by yourappearance and conduct, whether in personal or

professional circles. But, these days, others can evaluate you even when you

do not meet face-to-face. With the Internet, individuals andbusinesses are instantly available. Anybody can simplyGoogle your name and be directed to your website. Throughthis incredible tool, others can learn about you and yourproducts or services even from a distance.

That website presence must be easy-to-use, engagingand professional stresses Norene Stasiewich, founder andCEO of Edmontonʼs Pivit, Inc. No spelling mistake here:“Pivit”, a play on words, promises quick turnaround time… the“i-t” refers to the Internet. “You have to adapt to changequickly, especially in our industry and our economy.” Noreneand a virtual team of experts create websites. “We design,build and develop the applications, and then maintain themafterwards.”

In a highly competitive field, good old-fashioned clientservice makes the difference, says Norene. “I think you haveto listen to your clients… and you have to be there to guideand support them.” What is impressive is that she restrictsherself—currently, she is working with about 12 to 15 clients– not too many to be overwhelming nor too many to providesufficient support. Her impressive client list includes The Cityof Edmonton, Edmonton Tourism, Edmonton Airports, theShaw Conference Centre and Edmonton EconomicDevelopment Corporation.

Norene demonstrates a strong work ethic, honedleadership skills, enthusiastic commitment to quality work andconsideration for her clientsʼ overall vision and return oninvestment. These are qualities the independent motherimparts to her 16-year old son, Silvan,whom she proudly describes as “smart,disciplined, and well-rounded in sportsand academics.”

Like many entrepreneurs, Norene alwayswanted to run her own business. “There camea point when I wanted to make my owndecisions and when I wanted to choose how Iwould work with clients. I was looking for somethingnew… and I thought, if I am not going back to thecorporate world to work for someone else, then what?”Pivit didnʼt just come about overnight. “I began contractingmy services in 2000; however, I didnʼt choose to incorporateuntil 2005.” For a first-time business venture, Pivit is purringalong nicely.

Norene truly demonstrates a “you-can” attitude: Nothingis impossible. She doesnʼt consider hers a solo journey. Shethanks her current team of highly skilled individuals, whoexceed project expectations time and time again. She also

credits her business mentors and partners for theirinspiration, as well as her four sisters and extendedStasiewich family for their ongoing support.

First impressions dwindle, so Norene has her 2009plans mapped out. “Pivit will be focusing on existingwork for both our primary and newly-referred clients. Iam also looking to invest additional time on the nextphase of development for the Connect2Edmontonwebsite initiative.” C2E provides a platform for peoplewho are passionate about Edmonton.

With shared opinions, thoughts and concerns aboutour city, the C2E forum can be a vocal and interactiveplace. This ongoing “conversation” often leads toinspired ideas. The newly-created “Ask” forum hasfeatured Reg Milley, president and CEO of EdmontonAirports, as well as Mayor Stephen Mandel—both havebeen available to answer C2E membersʼ questions.“The C2E site currently has just over 5,200 members,nearly 175,000 posts and is visited by over 30countries. We would like to see our membershipdouble by 2010. And, with the upcoming plannedwebsite enhancements, we think this ispossible.”

Noreneʼs drive, persistence, passion andsuperb client-service skills, provide anexcellent package. Step forward boldly…create and maintain that admirable firstand lasting impression. √

AA

By Rick Lauber

Photo by Terry BourqueNorene Stasiewich



elissa Dunkley has no problems withbeing “tough”—itʼs how she brings outthe best in others.

Melissa was only 23 when shestarted her first company with her

husband Blair. They are also the inspiration behindResults Now Inc. which provides professional corporatecoaching and training services. “Weʼre a company that

goes in and

presents corporate alternatives to people issues…identifying their points of pain in their management skills,corporate culture, evolution or deployment,” sheexplains. “Results Now deals with the peopleperformance issues at the behavioral level which dealswith root causes. Weʼre behavior scientists—we knowwhat people need in place for them to want change intheir behaviors.”

Melissaʼs professional training focuses on “leadershipand sales, primarily.” Training programs are available forsmall, medium and large enterprises and “can bedelivered through an individual̓ s request or an initiativewith human resources where they are trying to doleadership competency development, successionplanning or increased performance from employeeperformance reviews,” Melissa continues. Results Nowcan also assist with “re-engineering the corporateculture.”

Over the course of the past 11 years, Melissaʼscompany has performed much good for manyimpressive clients: including J. Angus Watt of NationalBank Financial, Bruce Clark of CCI Industries, DonKasian of Kasian Architecture Interior Design andPlanning and Dr. Larry Ohlhauser, former head of theAlberta College of Physicians and Surgeons, nowauthor of The Healthy CEO and a memberEdmontonians ̓Transformers.

Ironically, it hasnʼt been all good for Melissa herself.“I wasnʼt born with a silver spoon in my mouth. Iactually had a rough childhood… up until 16, I was inseven foster homes and, after that, I finally found awonderful family who adopted me. I went on to getmarried just out of college. Two years later, I waswidowed.

“Right now, Iʼm battling cancer. Iʼm planning onsurviving this… and not being defined by thisillness.” Instead, Melissa puts a positive spin onher diagnosis to inspire and encourage others.In fact, sheʼs an aspiring competitor indressage who works withi Olympic leveltrainers. “As a mother, partner and coachtrainer, Iʼm always looking for ways in whichto role model to people. We have all hadchallenges in our lives, but it is how we riseabove them and are enriched by those

experiences that truly make us leaders.” Melissa is described by her colleagues as a leader

who believes in the fundamental core of people andtheir ability to change behaviors when given support,skills and the opportunity to grow and rise to be at theirbest. “After spending any time with Melissa, whether it isfor a brief moment or whether you are one whoconsiders her a mentor and a friend, your life is neverthe same—forever changed by her passion andpurpose, which leaves you prepared to move touncharted territory with self-confidence and clarity,” sayscolleague and friend Sandra Hojjati.

Melissa achieved her Master Level of Coachingthrough Edmontonʼs Life Skills College, after 1500 hoursin class, two years internship and 30,000 hoursfacilitating training programs across Canada. “Changecan happen in a single moment. A lot of people actuallythink you can change tomorrow; however, this is notpossible. Tomorrow is actually created by the decisionsyou make today.”

And change still lies ahead for Melissa and ResultsNow. “Iʼm growing my business to be the place whereprofessional coaches and corporations can come to…to tap into manuals, books, training programs andfacilities where they can refresh themselves, review skillsets and update themselves on the leading edge withinthe marketplace.

According to Melissa, co-president, we are“developing the product line of our company… weʼreredoing our website to accommodate the books weʼrewriting and video products, allowing people to tap intoour researched technologies. I want Results Now, in thefuture, to be more accessible.”

Melissa is a master of change, both on the personaland professional level. So often, society views change—whether through job loss, family moves or deaths—asnegative. “Itʼs easy enough to allow ourselves to hit abrick wall. The challenge is to take this “bad news” anduse it for future “good”. While uncomfortable, achievingthis mindset is possible; it just sometimes needs a“tough coach” like Melissa to build on the shoulders ofclientʼs positive intentions and realize them throughconcrete skills for effective change. √

For further information, please visit www.resultsnowinc.com. To book acomplimentary assessment session, call us at 780.459.2770.

MM

By Rick Lauber

Changing Behaviours...One client at a timeOne client at a time

Photo by Murray SieleskiMelissa Dunkley

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nd d

eal w

ith a

ccom

pany

ingpr

ivacy

and

con

fiden

tiality

issu

es. O

ur u

se o

f the

mos

t cur

rent

IT a

vaila

ble h

as a

llowe

dus

to p

rovid

e re

spon

sive

advic

e in

thes

e fa

st m

oving

and

eve

r cha

nging

times

.” As

socia

te J

essic

a Bu

ckwo

ld co

ncur

s, “It

allo

ws m

e to

com

mun

icate

mor

e ef

fecti

vely

with

my

clien

ts; w

e ar

e no

t tied

to o

ur o

ffice

phon

e or

fax

lines

any

mor

e. In

my

labou

ran

d em

ploym

ent p

racti

ce, I

ʼm n

otici

ng th

at c

ompa

nies

are

trying

to n

aviga

te w

orkp

lace

chall

enge

s ra

ised

by th

e W

eb 2

.0ph

enom

ena,

like

blogg

ing a

nd s

ocial

net

work

ing s

ites.

Itʼs a

n ev

olving

are

a of

the

law, w

hich

mak

es fo

r an

inter

estin

g pr

actic

e.”

Mar

ia Ch

au, a

n ar

ticlin

g stu

dent

, add

s, “T

he In

tern

et a

nd e

lectro

nic re

sour

ces

have

incre

ased

the

spee

d at

whic

h ad

mini

strat

ive ta

sks,

corre

spon

denc

e an

d ba

sic re

sear

chca

n be

per

form

ed. H

owev

er, w

hile

this

has

crea

ted,

in s

ome

mem

bers

of t

he p

rofe

ssion

and

the

publi

c, an

exp

ecta

tion

that

ever

ythi

ngsh

ould

be d

one

faste

r, I u

ltimat

ely d

onʼt

think

the

ʻe-ag

e ̓ha

s ch

ange

d th

e ste

ps a

nd th

e tim

e re

quire

d fo

r tho

ught

ful le

gal

analy

sis.”

Inde

ed, t

aking

time

for l

egal

analy

sis is

par

ticula

rly im

porta

nt g

iven

that

lawy

ers

mus

tke

ep c

urre

nt w

ith la

ws a

nd re

gulat

ions

that

cha

nge

to a

ddre

ss e

mer

ging

local

and

globa

lpr

ioritie

s an

d co

ncer

ns.

“As

an e

nviro

nmen

tal la

wyer

, this

is a

big

issue

,” sa

ys T

eres

a M

eado

ws. “

I tea

chco

urse

s, wr

ite a

rticle

s, co

ntrib

ute

to te

xts, a

nd a

ttend

sem

inars

on

emer

ging

topic

s.Ho

weve

r, cli

ents

are

not s

imply

look

ing fo

r a g

ener

al ov

ervie

w of

wha

t new

fram

ewor

kssa

y: Th

ey a

re lo

oking

for s

ynth

esis

and

analy

sis re

gard

ing w

hat it

all m

eans

. Bus

iness

asso

ciatio

ns, s

ecto

r/ind

ustry

new

slette

rs a

nd d

iscus

sions

with

my

clien

ts he

lp m

eco

mple

te th

e pic

ture

by

stayin

g up

-to-d

ate

on c

hang

es in

indu

stry

and

busin

ess

drive

rsth

at in

fluen

ce th

e cli

ent-s

pecif

ic ris

ks a

nd o

ppor

tunit

ies c

reat

ed b

y ne

w leg

islat

ion.”

Acco

rding

to p

artn

er W

endi

Crow

e, “S

tayin

g on

top

of ta

x law

can

be

a ch

allen

ge. N

ewca

selaw

, adm

inistr

ative

poli

cies

and

budg

ets

mea

n lot

s of

read

ing. T

ax le

gislat

ion is

ofte

nre

troac

tive…

so

itʼs im

porta

nt to

read

gov

ernm

ent p

ress

relea

ses

and

com

men

tary

tohe

lp cli

ents

plan

for u

pcom

ing a

men

dmen

ts. O

ur n

ation

al ta

x gr

oup

divide

s ne

w m

ater

ialfo

r rev

iew. I

also

atte

nd ta

x dis

cuss

ion g

roup

s to

sha

re id

eas

and

stay

curre

nt.”

Asso

ciate

Dra

gana

San

chez

Glow

icki, w

hose

pra

ctice

cen

tres

on w

ills, e

state

s an

dde

pend

ent a

dults

, say

s th

at “t

hese

are

as h

ave

unde

rgon

e ex

tens

ive le

gislat

ive c

hang

esin

the

past

seve

n ye

ars.

I find

the

best

way

for m

e to

kee

p cu

rrent

is b

y be

ingco

ntinu

ously

invo

lved

with

the

vario

us o

rgan

izatio

ns re

spon

sible

for m

aking

the

chan

ges.

I also

read

exte

nsive

ly, w

rite

and

pres

ent a

t con

fere

nces

for t

he L

egal

Educ

ation

Soc

iety

of A

lberta

, the

Can

adian

Bar

Ass

ociat

ion, t

he S

ociet

y fo

r Esta

tes

and

Trus

t Pra

ctitio

ners

,as

well

as

local

orga

nizat

ions

such

as

the

Edm

onto

n Es

tate

Plan

ning

Coun

cil.”

The

world

finan

cial c

risis

also

affe

cts th

e leg

al pr

ofes

sion

and

the

kind

of a

dvice

that

isof

fere

d to

clie

nts.

Asso

ciate

Lau

ren

Tore

son

spec

ialize

s in

solic

itor c

ontra

cts a

ndco

rpor

ate

work

. She

indic

ates

that

“as

my

clien

ts ad

apt t

heir

busin

esse

s to

nav

igate

the

econ

omic

down

turn

, my

prac

tice

has

beco

me

mor

e fo

cuse

d on

ass

isting

them

inac

hievin

g th

e sa

me

in a

cost-

effe

ctive

man

ner,

whet

her i

t be

by p

rovid

ing a

dvice

on

finan

cial r

e-or

ganiz

ation

or d

raftin

g co

ntra

cts th

at in

corp

orat

e th

e ne

cess

ary

flexib

ility

tode

al wi

th th

ese

unsta

ble e

cono

mic

times

.”Lit

igato

r Mon

ique

Petri

n Ni

chols

on, a

noth

er a

ssoc

iate,

add

s, “N

ew d

ynam

ics h

ave

arise

n in

relat

ion to

the

shar

ehold

er d

isput

e as

pect

of m

y co

mm

ercia

l litig

ation

pra

ctice

.

Diffe

rent

con

sider

ation

s ap

plied

in a

risin

g m

arke

t, wh

en th

e va

lue o

f bus

iness

es w

asof

ten

incre

asing

. Now

that

valu

es a

re fa

lling

in m

any

secto

rs, w

eʼre

seein

g dif

fere

ntdy

nam

ics a

t play

in lit

igatio

n be

twee

n sh

areh

older

s an

d, th

eref

ore,

diffe

rent

app

roac

hes

to p

rote

cting

our

clie

nts ̓

inter

ests.

”Es

tabl

ished

in 1

957,

Mille

r Tho

mso

n LL

P is

a fu

ll ser

vice

natio

nal la

w fir

m—

the

nint

h la

rges

t in

Cana

da—

with

offic

es in

four

pro

vince

s, e

mpl

oyin

g m

ore

than

430

lawy

ers.

As

such

, it o

ffers

trem

endo

us o

ppor

tuni

ties

to it

s la

wyer

s in

all a

spec

ts o

f the

prac

tice

of la

w. T

he la

wyer

s at

Mille

r Tho

mso

n pr

actic

e in

a v

arie

ty o

f are

as o

f law

and

hand

le s

ituat

ions

for a

var

iety

of c

lient

s.St

uden

t-at-l

aw R

obyn

Mea

ra s

ays,

“The

re a

re a

lway

s ne

w ch

alle

nges

and

eve

ry d

ay is

diffe

rent

. Ano

ther

thin

g I r

eally

like

abou

t bei

ng a

lawy

er a

t Mille

r Tho

mso

n is

the

cam

arad

erie

with

in th

e pr

ofes

sion

and

the

firm

. Peo

ple

are

alwa

ys w

illing

to a

nswe

r que

stio

ns a

nd p

oint

you

in th

e rig

htdi

rect

ion.

”Car

olin

e Co

oper

agr

ees

that

she

enj

oys

bein

g a

lawy

er “b

ecau

se it

prov

ides

a fo

rum

whe

re I

can

use

prob

lem

sol

ving

and

anal

ytica

l skil

ls.Th

ese

skills

have

bee

n es

pecia

lly u

sefu

l in d

evel

opin

g a

succ

essf

ul c

orpo

rate

com

mer

cial a

ndbu

sines

s la

w pr

actic

e.”

Conn

ie T

aylo

r is

a pa

rtner

who

has

a lo

ng h

istor

y wi

th th

e fir

m, h

avin

g ar

ticle

d th

ere

in 1

985.

She

exp

lain

s, “I

han

dle

claim

s fo

r peo

ple

who

are

inju

red

and

that

give

s m

ean

opp

ortu

nity

to le

arn

abou

t and

und

erst

and

the

clien

tʼs s

ituat

ion…

to h

elp

them

toge

t fai

r com

pens

atio

n fo

r wha

t has

hap

pene

d; h

owev

er, i

t is

the

rela

tions

hip

with

the

clien

t tha

t I tr

easu

re m

ost a

bout

my

job

and

that

give

s m

e th

e gr

eate

st jo

y an

dsa

tisfa

ctio

n.”

“Peo

ple

ofte

n on

ly co

me

to la

wyer

s du

ring

diffic

ult t

imes

in th

eir l

ives

or w

ith th

eir

busin

esse

s,” s

ugge

sts

Fion

a Fj

eldh

eim

, an

asso

ciate

. “As

a la

wyer

pra

ctici

ng in

com

mer

cial li

tigat

ion,

I un

ders

tand

the

impo

rtanc

e of

wor

king

with

my

clien

ts to

reso

lve th

eir l

egal

issu

es a

nd h

elp

them

with

thei

r bus

ines

s or

per

sona

l cha

lleng

es.”

Partn

er S

andr

a Ha

wes

says

, “As

a lit

igat

ion

lawy

er, e

ach

of m

y file

s pr

esen

ts a

nar

ray

of in

tere

stin

g fa

cts,

mak

ing

my

job

chal

leng

ing

and

varie

d. D

epen

ding

on

the

file, I

can

lear

n, fo

r exa

mpl

e, w

hat i

t is

to b

e an

ele

ctric

al e

ngin

eer,

a co

ntra

ctor

, afir

efig

hter

or a

med

ical e

xam

iner

with

out h

avin

g to

bec

ome

one.

”As

socia

te A

nale

a W

ayne

, the

inco

min

g pr

esid

ent o

f the

Can

adia

n Ba

r Ass

ocia

tion-

Albe

rta B

ranc

h, c

onclu

des:

“The

reʼs

obvio

usly

the

grat

ificat

ion

of d

oing

som

ethi

ngal

truist

ic on

a d

aily

basis

, whe

ther

itʼs

help

ing

som

eone

with

a h

ouse

dea

l or m

akin

gsu

re s

omeo

ne g

ets

cost

s fo

r fut

ure

med

ical c

are

if th

eyʼve

bee

n se

vere

ly in

jure

d. F

orm

e, th

e bi

gger

pict

ure

lies

with

my

prid

e in

bel

ongi

ng to

a g

reat

pro

fess

ion,

bei

ng a

part

of p

rom

otin

g ac

cess

to ju

stice

, and

wor

king

alon

gsid

e lik

e-m

inde

d pe

ople

. √

By B

arb

Dete

rs

AAM

iller

Tho

mso

n LL

PM

iller

Tho

mso

n LL

PT

he

Wom

en o

f T

he

Wom

en o

f



or two Edmonton women, life is not only like hockey, life is hockey. Steffany Hanlen and Vanessa Hettinger operate Quantum

Speed High Performance Skating Systems, a division ofHanlen Consulting, established in 1980.

“Quantum Speed is an on-ice developmental process forhigh-end athletes that allows them to take their personalskills at skating and their mental performance to awhole other level,” explains Steffany, owner andfounder. With expert coaching and practice, theybecome stronger, faster and better players.

Steffany and Vanessa, the general manager andmaster instructor, work with both amateur andprofessional players, aged six to 24. Theimprovement process starts with an assessment andcontinues to a complete skating evaluation…keeping emotional, intellectual and physicalconsiderations in-mind. At the end of each session, playersshow incredible improvement, much to the immensesatisfaction of Steffany and Vanessa—and, often, to theamazement of the players, parents and coaches.

They even work with pro players in the National Hockey League, manyat the top of their game. There is an expectation that “high-end athletes ofall ages are already confident and may have gotten to a certain level or skillset, but it gets normalized,” says Steffany. Injuries, being traded or a losingseason “can just kick the guyʼs confidence.”

Vanessa adds, “Every so often, every player is a rookie again and thatʼsvery hard on a personʼs self-esteem. When we see them in the off-season,we recognize that. We have players come back in their fifth or sixth yearand say ʻI had a terrible season… Iʼm so glad to be back working on myskills again.ʼ

They realize they are dealing with human beings. “We treat athletes withthe highest level of respect and awareness as people first and athletessecond,” notes Steffany. There is no “cookie-cutter” approach to thetraining, continues Vanessa, “We look at each player as an individual.”Strengths and weaknesses are assessed and a plan for improvement isdrawn up.

In hockey, a team has to work together to win the game. Quantum Speed isdefinitely on the same page. “Hockey is highly competitive, but weʼre verysupportive in what we can do for each other,” says Steffany.

Vanessa agrees. “We work very well as a team and focus on differentaspects of our expertise and the playersʼ needs.” It is this approach that hasbecome their working mandate: “Our business is based on the teamphilosophy that individuals will get better when they are trained by a team.”

Each works in her respective role while respecting and supporting theother. They believe in each other and each otherʼs dreams… allowingenough freedom to pursue personal and professional goals. Steffanywants to continue her work in the public eye as an author, inspirationalspeaker and a member of Edmontonians Transformers. Vanessa is eyeinga future as a skating coach in the NHL.

Since Quantum Speed started in 2002, things have gotten easier—but ithasnʼt always been smooth skating, so to speak. Part of the problem wasthat there is no educational degree to help open the door. While Steffanyworked as an Olympic and world-class performance coach as well as askating coach for the Edmonton Oilers and St. Louis Blues, she relied moreon street smarts—or what she jokingly refers to as “the Bachelor of S-H” (S-H, in this respect, stands for Steffany Hanlen).

Vanessa, the younger of the two, is busily building her credibility throughresults-based performance. Her career path isnʼt in sync with hereducation—she boasts a BA in political science and economics with acertificate in globalization and governance. No doubt, her participation onthe Pandas womenʼs hockey team, while studying at the University ofAlberta, influenced her change in direction.

Despite occasional bumps, bruises and body checks Steffany andVanessa are enjoying life on the ice. And, Quantum Speed is stick-handling its way to success. √

FFBy Rick Lauber

Photos by Terry Bourque

Vanessa Hettingerand Steffany Hanlen



etʼs continue with running the ball…”Should the score be lopsided at halftime, many

football coaches will steadfastly swear by theoriginal game plan. Our worldʼs current economic

recession can be likened to such a gridiron battle. Although bleak financial forecasts exist, Gail A. Taylor,

CIMA, Vice-President and Investment Advisor, with The GailTaylor Investment Group at CIBC Wood Gundy, points outthat recessions have occurred regularly, and “we were

due.” Gail reminds us that, historically,recessions last between 12 and 18months and there will be a recovery.

Parting with money now, ratherthan hoarding it under yourmattress, may seem frightening;however, Gail urges her clients tostay the course with theirinvestments. “Stick to yourfinancial plan,” she advises.

Gail has a game plan inmind. Although this is one ofher “best years” ever, shestrives for more. “I want togrow the practice. Iʼd like tomanage more assets than I doright now.” Currently, sheworks with 150 individual and

corporate

clients, a discerning group with many holding “between$500,000 and $5 million” in assets. A rarity in the male-dominated field of investments, Gail has the smarts andgumption to excel.

Her work days fly by and husband Harold, who “oftenmakes a wonderful supper for us,” sometimes has to providea loving prod. “Many nights, he has to call me to tell me itʼstime to come home because I lose track of time!” Heʼs one ofthe lucky few that can get away with telling Gail what to do.

A self-admitted “very entrepreneurial ʻType A̓ personality,”Gail knows what she wants and tackles new challenges withfervor. As she approached her 50th birthday in 2005, shedecided to run the grueling 26-mile New York City Marathon.Despite having “never been a long-distance runner,” shedoggedly stuck to her guns, crossed the finish line, andraised $20,000 for the Mexican group, Children of the Dump.“It was just about doing it… it was the most excitingexperience.” Will she repeat? “Never!” she laughs. She hassince replaced her running shoes with a remote control forthe Wii Fit program.

Another less physically-exerting marathon lies ahead. “Ijust recently got accepted at Queenʼs University in Kingston,Ontario,” she smiles. “Iʼm going to start in the fall and workfull-time and do my Executive MBA at the same time.” Gailexpects the 15-month program will mean about “20 hours perweek for studying.”

As she dons her reading glasses to hit the books, onewonders if she views the world through rose-coloured

glasses. “I really think that I can make the world abetter place. My passion is eradicating extremepoverty. I donʼt understand how we could have aworld with as much abundance as we have andhave 800 million people in starvation.” Is thisnaïve? Gail doesnʼt think so.

Thanks to her office team—Doreen Breitkreuz,Alicja Krzymien, and Laurie Booth— whosignificantly ease her office workload, Gail canbetter pursue her passion through communityinvolvement. To date, she has served onnumerous boards including HealthBridgeInternational, the University Hospital Foundation,Mental Health Foundation – Capital Region, andthe Riverview Rotary Club. “I believe in helping thelocal community and not just the global one,” sheexplains.

So, what the scoreboard reads at halftime isirrelevant. Return to the locker room to determinehow much more you have to give to win. Gail̓ sgame plan covers all the plays whether your goalsare socially responsible investments, charitablegiving and/or succession planning: Create yourfinancial plan and follow it. √

Gail Taylor is an Investment Advisor with CIBC Wood Gundy inEdmonton. The views of Gail Taylor do not necessarily reflect thoseof CIBC World Markets Inc. CIBC Wood Gundy is a division ofCIBC World Markets Inc., a subsidiary of CIBC and Member CIPF.

“L“L

Gail TaylorPhoto by Terry Bourque

Invest with purposeFollow the game plan:Follow the game plan:

By Rick Lauber

Marathoner Gailwith trainer

Jessica Zapataof Infinite Fitness



t’s a hand up, not a hand out. Just ask 38 year oldCherie, a single mother of three whose world hitthe skids when the word ‘recession’ was still the‘R’ word nobody was quite prepared to utter aloud.

“I got laid off in January,” Cherie explains. “I mostlyworked in labour jobs up until then, and then I thoughtmaybe I should try something else.” Rather thanallowing the job lay-off to bring her life to a standstill,she saw it as an opportunity to move forward, perhapsundertake some retraining and follow her dream ofworking with troubled youth.

After exploring some of the available alternativesthrough Employment Insurance and the Boyle StreetCoop employment programs, and whipping her resumeinto shape, Cherie quickly realized that she had toreinvent herself to a certain extent.

New clothes. A new look. A new attitude. All prettychallenging to achieve when your major focus issurvival and finding work. It is overwhelming anddisheartening.

Enter Suit Yourself, a not-for-profit organizationwhose sole function is to reach out to women likeCherie, to give them a little retail therapy without thefinancial consequences, when they need and want tomake fresh starts in their lives. The organization,established in 2001, was the brain child of KarmenMasson, a legal professional who says, “I was lookingfor an opportunity to give back to the community,looking for positives, for ways to create good karma forothers.”

Her concept was simple: Get working Edmontonwomen to donate their still fashionable office/work-appropriate clothing, shoes, accessories, jewelry andeven toiletries to Suit Yourself. The goods would then beprovided free to women who needed just a little extraboost entering or re-entering the workplace. With thehelp of her mother, sister and brother-in-law, Massongot the word out. The clothing and a roster of volunteerswilling to consult and help the clients with theirselections came pouring in.

Today, more than 800 clients later, Suit Yourself ishoused in the heart of St. Basil’s School. The formerclassroom closely resembles a 700 square-foot walk-incloset, with racks of clothing, sorted by size (from twoto the high 20s), a couple of change rooms carved out ofa small corner, mirrors, and all the other paraphernaliarequired to make the experience fun for both client andvolunteer consultant. The volunteers have absolutely noprofessional training in the field of fashion, but commonsense, combined with good taste and an impressiveselection of clothing, makes the job fun for everyone.

“To tell you the truth, I never needed to dress up forthe kind of work I did, so I really didn’t know verymuch about clothes, like what’s in style, what suited me,what colours look good with my skin tones, and thatkind of stuff,” Cherie admits. “I really didn’t know whatto expect when I went there, but the woman who helpedme find my clothes sure knew a lot more about fashionthan I do. She was a big help, and I felt so good whenwe were finished. I still do.”

Cherie left with three complete outfits,and virtually everything she needed to

get herself started. Though she hasnot yet found new employment,

she’s optimistic and moreconfident—intangible

benefits that came withthe garments she selectedat Suit Yourself. “I thinknow, I look at myself in adifferent way. I’m morepositive about myself, myoutlook is better and I feelmore confident when I gofor interviews.”

Women are referred tothe program through avariety of pre-employmenttraining and employmentplacement programs in thecommunity.

For Masson, who has twosmall children, a full timejob and teaches businesslaw part time at a technicalschool, her night job isvolunteering. “If I everneed reminding of thepurpose of this very

necessary service, I thinkabout the many times I’ve been

involved in matching an outfit to arecipient and, at the end of the fitting, theclient invariably gives you a big hug andsays, ‘This feels just like Christmas.’ SuitYourself gives them one less thing toworry about.’”

Remember the pants that would be perfect if you justdropped another five pounds? The shoes that hurt yourbunions? The silk shirt your spiteful sister-in-law gaveyou because she knows the color washes you out? Timeto put them to good use.

Masson will do the April 2nd luncheon presentation atthe Alberta Women Entrepreneurs (AWE) Conference atthe River Cree Casino from April 1st to 3rd. Registrantsare asked to bring clothing for donation to SuitYourself. All clothing should be clean, on hangers and

in ready-to-wear condition.If you are not attending the conference but have

garments you would like to recycle, contact SuitYourself at 780.488.9930, or check out the website (www.suityourselfclothes.org) for more

information. √

IIBy Marg. Pullishy

Sometimes…Differencemake the

clothes do

Photos by Terry BourqueKarmen Masson

Have your say online atedmontoniansvisionaries.wordpress.com



Cindy Benson [Miss Edmonton 1981-82and partner in Leonard and Associatesphotography] says women “by and largehave a terrible time in business withcredibility with men.” Cindy’s advice for young women going intobusiness today: “Not to expect too muchtoo fast and be prepared to work like adog.”

~ Dick MacLean Dossier/Time Out 1990

“It doesn’t seem that long ago that sportseditors would fight to keep figure skating(fancy skating) off the sports pages… Any self-respecting sports ed would banish such storiesto women’s pages along with the recipes,patterns, gossip-mongers, et al…”

~ Don Fleming Mink & Manure Set 1991

Body Shop founder Anita Roddick states:“The world of retailing taught me nothing.Huge corporations (are) dying of boredomcaused by the inertia of giantism…“All the big companies seem to be led byaccountants and lawyers and becomemoribund carbon-copy versions of eachother.”

~ Tom Peters On Excellence 1992

“Prima donnas on the podium… WillEdmonton’s next symphony conductor be awoman???“The combined credentials of the nine[candidates] are pretty dazzling, and the twowomen, Maria Alsop and JoAnn Falletto, areamong the most interesting.”

~ John Charles Arts Beat 1993

Dancer/choreographer IndreaRabmovich says, “…hybrids springfrom the urgency with which artistsneed to make their statements to theworld. If that means mixing art formstogether—so be it.”

~ Fred Keating Arts & Entertainment1994

“If I see or utter the word ‘empowered’one more time, I’m going to throw up.”

~ Tom Peters’ farewell column 1995

“Best printable joke heard at the WorldFigure Skating Championships: Whatdo you call a woman who works as hardas a man? Lazy.”

~ Barb Deters Hot Flashes 1996

“…the job demands such a large part ofyour life… I would love to be marriedand have a little of the security thatcomes along with that lifestyle. But, thisis not an advertisement calling on alleligible single men,” says Kate Ashton,general manager of The Westin.

~ Robert Simpson Faces 1997

“One of the funniest exchanges [at theAnnual Premier’s Dinner] was betweenlawyer Gary Scuir and Shirley Schlotteras they tried to figure out where theyhad previously met. Having explorednumerous possibilities to no avail, Garyfinally asked, ‘Did I ever sue you?’”

~ Barb Deters Hot Flashes 1998

“April 27: Reach for the stars at theUnique Lives & Experiences lecture seriestonight at the Winspear. Dr. RobertaBondar, Canada’s first woman in space,will prove what women already know: theso-called ‘fair sex’ aren’t the space cadetssome men would like us to be.”

~ Eva Marie ClarkCalendar Cogitations 1999

“Picking a winner for this year’s WinterWhiner contest has been difficult… Theaward goes to [CFRN’s news group] fortheir consistently shrill, simpering weatherwhine, and for the oh, so pixy shudderShawna Randolph gives whenever thetemperatures threaten to drop. You cancount on CFRN to terrorize the public intowinter hibernation. Not only is theirweather information negative, it’s hurtfulto our city.”

~ Ken Karpoff Business of Sport 2000

“Sandra Woitas, principal of NorwoodElementary School and a formidable advocateof inner city children, took steadyaim at a collection ofbusiness and governmentexecutives gathered at theMayfair Golf & CountryClub last month… Woitasfired a volley at the assembledcrowd. ‘If you can take anhour-and-a-half out of yourday to attend this luncheon,you’ve got the time to be amentor.’ Touché.”

~ Muggsy ForbesFunny, Pompous & Unfair

2001

“…Edmonton Variety Shows,started by Marie Wilce… gaveguys like Bob Goulet his start.Senator Tommy Banks startedplaying in the pit at the tenderage of 15. He couldn’t evenread music, says he still can’t.”

~ Muggsy ForbesFunny, Pompous & Unfair 2002

“You have to wonder ‘does the hip mom begetchic children?’ How much does she sway herkids from trendy to develop their own classicstyle?”

~ DK Parker Styling in the City 2003

Lieutenant-Governor Lois Hole onWomen of Vision recipient HarrietWinspear: “She’s one of a kind… thecrown jewel,” she says of the centurion,“…who likes to make things happen.”Mrs. Winspear, in her usual sharp-witted and self-deprecating style ofhumour, commented on the arts: “Idon’t play a thing. I donate money.”

~ Social Studies Women of Vision 2004

Karen MacKenzie, the new director of thefaculty of management, University ofLethbridge Edmonton campus “…wants toextend the Bachelor of Management in

First NationsGovernance program.‘We have may qualifiedAboriginal students.This program isattracting students whowant to make adifference in theircommunities.’”

~ Cheryl CroucherBizIntel 2005

THAT WAS THE APRIL THAT WAS

2008

2006

2007

egendary playwright Oscar Wildesaid it best: “I have the simplesttastes. I am always satisfied withthe best.”

Within modern-day wedding circles, that’sthe bridal mantra. Smart men learn in ahurry—It’s her day, she only gets to celebrateit once, and it better not fall short of theperfect plan she’s devised in her mind sinceshe was old enough to dream.

The Royal Glenora Club’s Faouzi Ibrahimknows that mindset well.

“We understand (the bride’s) philosophy,” theveteran food and beverage manager tells me. “Sinceshe was a girl, she’s been watching the Cinderellamovie with the man on the white horse. She onlygets married once.”

I first met Faouzi when my fiancée, Capital FM’s

Kari Skelton, and I attended our first“Alpha” marriage preparation course at theRoyal Glenora. Friday nights there mimica high school hallway when classes getout: Hundreds of people on site for manydifferent events, mingling and morphinginto an obstacle course for the dozens ofservers bustling between rooms.

As our Alpha group sat and discussedthe components of a strong marriage, Icouldn’t help but find a metaphor as Iwatched entrée after entrée leave the busykitchen. Everything Kari and I learned inthe months leading up to our March 22nd

wedding suggested a successful long-termrelationship will be built on priorities, passion andcommunication. Without the same approach tohospitality, venues like the Royal Glenora would besunk. I can only imagine the impact of a majorgaffe with reputation and return business at stake.

“Most importantly, we know our clients willevaluate us on [whether] they got what we promisedthem,” says Faouzi.

Though weddings account for just 15 percent oftotal food and beverage business at the RoyalGlenora, promises made to brides matter most.

“We want every bride to feel like an absolutewinner,” Faouzi tells me.

That winning feeling takes extra effort, sayscatering manager Christina Parks.

“There’s a lot more hand holding with weddings.As compared to Rotary clubs or corporate clients,brides and grooms are way, way, way more highmaintenance.”

I didn’t need our afore-mentioned marriage prepclass to know the phrase “refined tastes” worksbetter than “high maintenance” in a weddingcontext, but I keep my thoughts to myself. Havingjust emerged from close to a year’s worth ofwedding planning myself, I understand exactlywhat Christina is getting at.

She tells me it’s not unusual to take five,sometimes 10 phone calls a day from anxiousbrides. Many couples swing by the club multipletimes as other weddings are being set up, to takenotes on what works and what doesn’t. Thedowntown Edmonton club can mirror a Moroccancarpet bazaar as couples barter for the lowestpossible price at every turn.

“Brides and grooms want the best for thecheapest,” smiles Faouzi. “I’ve seen it a milliontimes.”

There it is again—a simple, uncompromisingpursuit of the perfect experience. Sounds like thetype of life Kari and I are shooting for... call it ourversion of doing the Wilde thing. √

Next month: The Costa RicanWedding Album

Ryan Jespersen hosts BreakfastTelevision weekday mornings from6-10 am on Citytv. E-mail Ryan [email protected]



LYNDA STEELE– Global EdmontonHometown: Proud tosay, I was born inEdmonton at the RoyalAlexandra Hospital…but grew up in Hinton,inhaling the daily smellof money.Years here: about 30altogetherHobbies/distractions:Eating out, working out,reading, traveling,shopping, soaking upthe splendor ofCanmore, cheering forthe Oilers.Best part of being a media celebrity: People feel likethey know you, so they often skip the small talk, and leapto really important and deep personal conversations in thecheckout line. It’s a privilege to be thought of as a “friend”to strangers.Worst part of your job: Constant scrutiny. If I had aloonie for every bit of unsolicited hair and makeupadvice…Advice for up-and-coming female broadcasters: Bepro-active. Do your own homework, and seek out advicefrom media people you admire. Make yourself standout… do the extra things that make you get noticed. Don’tbe afraid to make a mistake. And, there’s no such thing asa stupid question—don’t be afraid to ask.Favourite restaurant: I have many—too many tomention—like Piccolinos, Pazzo Pazzo, Il Forno, CaféDeVille, Allegro West, Sofra, Sabor Divino… and the listgoes on. Edmonton has a million great restaurants.Other women you look up to: Lorraine Mansbridge,Jan Reimer, Dr. Ruth Collins-Nakai, Marjorie Bencz,Iris Evans, Linda Duncan, all the women’s shelterdirectors, Lori-Anne Munzer… again the list could goon and on. There are a lot of impressive women inEdmonton who I admire.

SHANNON TYLER –Magic 99 MorningsHometown: I grew up inFort SaskatchewanYears here: 17 years. Hobbies/distractions: Ising with the funk bandThe Retrofitz and oftenfront smaller jazzensembles. Plus myhusband, JesseLipscombe, and I own apersonal trainingcompany calledP.H.A.T. Training(www.getphatnow.com)...and most importantlyI’m mother to a one-yearold boy named Chile... and I must say, he is the finestwee man around. Best part of being a media celebrity: Having talentedfriends who insist on taking good care of me. JudyNormandeau at The Urban Body Clinic and Alex Russoof Russo Innovative Hair. That is without a doubt the bestpart—thank goodness for them.Worst part of your job: The worst part of my job ishearing the alarm go off before 4am... and missing thosehappy morning hours with my son and husband. Advice for up-and-coming female broadcasters:Cultivate thicker skin, and resiliency. Do as much as youcan and learn as much as they’ll teach you. It’s afascinating business... but most importantly, it’s a funbusiness. Favourite restaurant: Oooh, I have a couple: that newplace on the Boardwalk downtown called Sabor Divino.It’s divine. Also a place called Lan’s Asian Grill nearNAIT... it has the best Pad Thai and salad rolls in town. Other woman you look up to: I really look up to mymother-in-law actually. Her name is Monica Lipscombeand she is a Doula (birth coach). She runs a companycalled Doula Connections (www.doulaconnections.com).She is a fearless, generous and kind soul. In fact, all the

woman in that family are remarkable. My grandmother-in-law, Marianne Miles is 80 years old and is still apracticing psychologist. I am honoured to be a part of afamily of such strong women.

MELISSA WRIGHT– K-97Hometown: Born andraised in Edmonton…lived down east, downsouth and downtown, butam a prairie girl at heart.Hobbies/distractions:Love to see live music,read great books andwalk my fat PugNubbin. I just learnedhow to cook(?) as I amrecently engaged andrealize that guys reallydo dig that.Best part of your job?I honestly love the music we play, and honestly love totorture the listeners who call in. I guess guys dig lippy,sarcastic women… Advice for up-and-coming female broadcasters: Thiswould be good advice really for many branches of life:Get it in writing.Favourite restaurant: A tough one...so many good onesto pick. Will it get me a free meal? But, really, nothingbeats my Grandma’s kitchen...Other women you look up to: In all honesty… all of thewomen included in this article. It’s no joke that it is stilltougher (for us) than our male counterparts in thisindustry. To have such a rich talented bunch of females inEdmonton is another of example of why we are stillconsidered the City of Champions. I am in incrediblecompany indeed. √

Marty Forbes is the recently retired VP and generalmanager of The Bear, EZRock and The TEAM 1260Sports Radio. Contact [email protected]

The Businessof Love

LL

With Ryan Jespersen

Continued from page 3

Royal Glenora Club

Alpha Course



ust look at KimKerr’s LinkedInprofile—a socialmedia networkingsite for businessprofessionals—to see

her accomplishments, payingattention to the dates. Itappears she’s been able to bein many places all at thesame time. And while Ididn’t notice any connectionsto Captain Kirk, Scotty or theStarship Enterprise, a closerlook at her CV does revealreferences to transporters,avatars and virtual realitybusiness.

For Kerr, as co-founderand director of marketing andsales for VR TechnologiesInc., being omnipresent iscloser to the truth than youthink.

VRtech’s goal is tocommercialize advancedvisualization and networkingtechnology. It was created in2008 by Kerr and PerryKinkaide, president ofKinkaide Enterprises Inc., asa spin-off of TRLabs,Canada’s largest informationand communicationstechnology R&D consortium.

To explain:Teleconferencing allows us to interact with others who areelsewhere. Tele-presence allows us to create anenvironment where your brain tells you that you are reallysomewhere else and part of it… like the sudden sense ofvertigo while watching an Imax movie or going “Back tothe Future” in the DeLorean at Universal Studios.

What’s lacking in tele-presence is having the fullexperience of being separated from your existingbackground in real-time, and being inserted into a 3-Denvironment with all your senses (except for touch andsmell) believing you are there.

This is what VRtech is all about—tele-immersion, the“transporter” equivalent of networking. By combiningaugmented reality—real real world and computer-generateddata—with tele-presence, VRtech has created a technologythat allows users to be immersed or “teleported” into anyvirtual environment.

“It’s like blending video conference and virtual reality,”explains Kerr. Or, as Kinkaide, who is also president of theAlberta Council of Technologies and a director of severalprivate/public companies, calls it, “Real faces in virtualplaces.”

Kerr says, “I can put 20 people in my living room or onthe beach. We can turn our heads and look at each other in

full 3D, not just a flat image… or have the camera on thebeach and make it look like I’m in the office or on themoon.”

She intimates the real opportunities to commercializeadvanced visualization and networking technology can beas diverse as our imaginations in areas like performingremote surgery, repairing underground cable, saving travelcosts, and reducing our carbon footprint.

Kerr is excited about the prospects of their technology—traditionally the domain of big business—being affordablefor medium-sized enterprise and eventually smallbusinesses. But even more so, “Our goal at VRtech is to putour fair city at the top of the global map when it comes tothis technology.”

She’s got a soft spot for Edmonton and wants to giveback… to help get the city to the next level when it comesto science and technology… to help create globalawareness of other organizations and individuals. She’s alsoinvolved as the volunteer marketer for ABCTech.

That’s also why she’s teamed up with publisher SharonMacLean and will be in charge of business development forEdmontonians, now in its 20th year of publication.MacLean sees Kerr as a visionary. “Kim is applying herexperience as a tech entrepreneur and skills as a

communications marketer forEdmontonians signatureeditions—especiallyVisionaries in Science,Technology and Medicine,Women in Business,Transformers, Doors Open—Spaces, Places andArchitecture of Edmonton,Sizzling Twenty under 30,Social Calendar and othersreflecting the personality ofbusiness of GreaterEdmonton.

“We became involved withKim because social mediastrategies and applicationsrepresent the future ofpublishing. Media in Canadaare changing before our eyesand Edmontonians plans toemerge from thattransformation strong andvital. We intend to be adynamic media player basedin Alberta’s capital city.”

Among Kerr’s initiativesare creating communities incyber space for themagazine’s signatureinitiatives. Her world revolvesaround establishing brandpresence on-line anddeveloping relationshipsaround the world throughmethods that include

Facebook, LinkedIn, blogs, and Twitter for now and thencreating cross links with fans and followers. “It’sastonishing how quickly these communities have attractedconversations,” says Maclean. “It’s possible to reach manymore readers online than we ever could in print.”

PERHAPS, IT WAS KARMAKerr was born and raised in Edmonton. As a pre-teen, she’dwatch her Dad, an engineer, working at a drafting table.Fascinated, she thought she was destined to follow in hisfootsteps, and pursue a career in public service.

So how did this woman take herself on a differenttrajectory and end up in the realm of virtual worlds?

“Initially, technology was not even in the cards,” saysKerr. “It was a matter of necessity. Being a single mother ofthree, I couldn’t make ends meet with the job I had.” Afterleaving her government position, she took a series of jobs,each time for more money, because “I had three mouths tofeed.”

Perhaps it was karma… or the planets were aligned… orthe sci-fi movies she loved to watch with her dad. Little didshe know that necessity would lead to a passion and a neworbit.

Continued on page 22

The real Kim Kerr

Phot

o by

Ter

ry B

ourq

ueJJBy Greg Gazin Prospering in a virtual world

f you can’t find Margaret-AnnArmour in her office at theUniversity of Alberta, you mightvery well find her in a school

classroom surrounded by kids.Take March 13th as an example. That’s when shespent the day at Windsor Park School showinggrade three and grade five students how to make

nylon. “One of the great joys of my life has been going

out to schools and having fun with chemistry.That means I can take all sorts of colourful

demonstrations that I can get the childreninvolved in as well. They get quite excited

when, out of a beaker, you can pull athread of nylon.”

Even I learned a thing or twolistening to this amazing professor

explain the chemical reaction thatproduces polymerization.

“We talk about the fact thatnylon is made from two small

molecules. And these twosmall molecules are in

some way like people.They’ve got two arms.

That means they can

all join up together in a long line. And, of course, Ialways have the children join up. Nylon in chemicalterms is called a polymer. And that just means that it is‘many molecules’. We have such fun. I tell the childrenwhen they are all joined up with their hands that nowthey are ‘poly-people’. They remember that and sothey’ve got the idea of the many molecules and thislong chain which is why you get a thread of nylon.”

Aside from her love of chemistry and of teaching,Dr. Armour understands completely that if we want toencourage more young people to go into the sciences,then we have to get them excited about it first andforemost. It’s vital to help students see the applicationsof science, the relevance to their lives, rather thanboring them first with theory.

It’s a principle that underlies Margaret-Ann Armour’ssecond passion in life: encouraging young women tobecome scientists.

Aside from her academic career where she becamean expert in the chemistry of hazardous waste disposal,Dr. Armour is probably best known for her work overthe last 25 years with WISEST—Women inScholarship, Engineering, Science and Technology. Itwas actually the brainchild of Dr. Gordon Caplan, aformer VP Research at the University of Alberta. Heenlisted Dr. Armour, then a professor of chemistry, asone of the founding members of this group. He tasked

By Cheryl Croucher

II

ho needs oil from Saudi Arabia or Fort McMurray when you cangrow triticale in the back forty?

Triticale is a cereal grain hybridized from wheat and rye half acentury ago. It never took off as a substitute for wheat flour. But

in the 21st Century, the Alberta Research Council is betting triticale will make adandy substitute for petroleum.

The Council has just received $15 million dollars from the federal AgriculturalBioproducts Innovation Program to show us how.

Richard Gibson is the business development manager for Industrial Bioproductsat ARC, and marketing manager with the Canadian Triticale BiorefineryInitiative. He says the main interest in triticale is its potential for chemical andmaterial applications. “If you had crude oil coming out of the ground and you put itinto a refinery, you’ve got crude oil turned into a whole range of products. And ifwe think about triticale as the crude oil for a biorefinery and put triticale in one endof the refinery, we’d get a whole range of products coming out the other side—anything from materials to chemicals and energy as well.

Gibson points out that triticale is a crop well suited for growing in marginalareas, and it is a good addition to a suite of industrial crops for biorefining,including hemp. √ ~ Cheryl Croucher

www.arc.ab.ca

ulp made fromwheat straw iscommonly used incountries like

China and Turkey wheretrees are in short supply.With the growing push forenvironmentally sustainableproducts, pulp and papermanufacturers in NorthAmerica are also interestedin wheat straw.

Over the last decade,Wade Chute and hiscolleagues at the AlbertaResearch Council havebeen looking at how wheatstraw pulp could meet ourmarket demands forbrightness and strength. Heis the team leader for pulpand paper in the ForestProducts Business Unit at theARCl.

As Chute explains, “InChina they will cook wheatstraw to a higher yield, sothey will remove less of thelignan. As a result they willbleach to a lower brightness.The lower brightness and the higher yield basically saves them money, but it is morethan enough to achieve the paper objectives that they have there. In North America, weseem to have this fascination with ultra high bright, ultra white, ultra pure printing andwriting papers and that necessitates that you cook to a much, much lower yield. It alsoimplies that you use a lot more bleach. So the straw pulp that’s produced in China rightnow, they just cook it and bleach it a little bit differently.”

Chute says ARC’s pilot plant is now processing a wheat straw pulp that could meetthe high standards of North American pulp and paper makers. What’s needed, however,is access to a full size pulping line to demonstrate that wheat straw pulp can beproduced in commercial quantities. √ ~Cheryl Croucher

www.arc.ab.ca

PP

WW

BRIEFS



Fun & flexibilityfor women in science

PerfectingPULPWheat

Straw

TRITICALE... a new source ofbioproducts

Wade Chute

Margaret-AnnArmour

Richard Gibson

them with figuring out what the barriers were toyoung women going into science and engineering,and then more importantly, taking action .

A quarter of a century later, Dr. Armour has severalawards recognizing her achievements in thisendeavour, including the Order of Canada.

When asked what stands out about WISEST, shereplies, “More and more, I’m beginning to discoverwhat influence the programs that we’ve put in placehave. And, if anyone had asked me when we startedsome of them, I would have been surprised.”

She points to the WISEST Summer ResearchProgram for girls in Grade 11. They spend six weeksworking on serious research projects.

When Dr. Armour and her colleagues wanted todetermine what effect this six week program mighthave, they designed an experiment of their own. Ofthe group of students who applied for the program in1994, out of the top 150 applicants, 50 were assignedto the full six week program, 50 had one day oncampus, and 50 had nothing. Then the WISESTcommittee followed the progress of the careers of thethree cohorts.

“We discovered, after following them as long as wecould for 10 years, that the commitment of thewomen who had spent the six weeks at the Universityof Alberta was considerably stronger to the sciencesand engineering than it was in the other groups. Oneof the things we had to recognize was that all theyoung women who apply for the WISEST SummerResearch Program do so because they are interestedin science in the first place. But particularly thenumbers who went on and did a PhD or a post doc…what really came through was this commitment.”

Dr. Armour is excited about the new national rolethat WISEST is taking on. The group has been amember of the Canadian Coalition of Women inScience, Engineering, Trades and Technology for 20years. Now, with some financial help from theAlberta government, Edmonton will become the

headquarters for a new national centre dedicated toimproving the access of women to these non-traditional fields.

“That means we have a national group that can pulltogether data which can help support the groups atthe local level which can add value to what they aredoing. It will really be a virtual centre. So, when aworkshop needs to be done, we’ll be looking for agroup in the area of the workshop that might beprepared to take it on… It will be a small, ongoingstaff and eventually small, satellite offices across thecountry.”

CAREERS IN SCIENCEHow do numbers of women stack up against men inthe sciences and engineering faculties?

Dr. Armour is quick to cite the statistics. In her roleas Associate Dean, Diversity in the Faculty ofScience, she is concentrating on increasing thenumber of women in the faculty. “Across the Facultyof Science at the moment,” she says, “we havesomething between 15 and 16 percent women, whichis quite low.”

That gives Dr. Armour lots of room forimprovement at the higher levels.

“When we first started our Women in Scienceprogram 25 years ago, there was probably about 25percent enrolment in the first year of science. Nowthere’s 52 percent. So there’s a huge change in thatarea. And even in the graduate students, in themasters program it’s about 45 percent, PhD is about38 percent. At post-doc, they drop off to 17 to 18percent. And then faculty is down to 15 percent. So ateach transition in the educational system, there arefewer women choosing to go on to the next step.”

What that means, according to Dr. Armour, is thatthe pool of women who have the requirements for afaculty position is very small indeed.

What accounts for that drop-off if just as manywomen as men are completing their Bachelor of

Science degrees? Well, you don’t have to be a rocketscientist to figure that one out. It’s all about biologyand a little common sense.

“Women recognize that at some stage they maywant to get married and have families. Asundergraduates, they often hear from their teachingassistants in the lab what it is like being a graduatestudent. It’s a busy life and it’s fairly committed. Andthey see their faculty teachers and the lifestyle theyhave, and I think women are saying maybe that’s notwhat they want.”

The big task for Dr. Armour is figuring out whatthe university can do to turn that situation around, sothe potential of talented young women scientists isn’tlost to other professions.

As it is, the competition among universities toattract the limited number of post-doctoral women isfierce.

While speaking to a different issue, a comment byDr. Armour could easily apply to this issue as well.“It’s been shown over and over again, when theworkplace is friendly to women, it’s friendly toeverybody.”

Perhaps it’s time for a bit more flexibility in the laband the classroom environment. How’s that forimproving hiring perks to boost the numbers offemale professors and researchers in the Faculty ofScience? √

www.wisest.ualberta.ca

To hear Cheryl’s conversation withDr. Margaret-Ann Armour, visitwww.innovationanthology.com

Cheryl Croucher hosts InnovationAnthology which is broadcast on CKUA Radio at7:58 am and 4:58 pm Tuesdays and Thursday. Ordownload the podcasts atwww.innovationanthologyy.com

he current global economic meltdown could easily crushinventors looking for investment capital.

But according to Juan Enriquez, out of crisis comesopportunity. And Alberta companies focused on life sciences can

profit from the emerging knowledge economy.He is one of the world’s foremost authorities on the business of life

sciences, a founding director of the Harvard Business School’s LifeSciences Project, and author of As the Future Catches You.

While in Edmonton recently for the Ingenuity in Our Communitysymposium, Enriquez offered his perspective. “The economic meltdown isin the financial and credit institutions, in the old economy. If you look atthe top 10 performing stocks of last year, the ones that are doing very well,five or six of them are life science companies because people still get sick.People still need to be treated. People, if they have an additional dollar,probably want to spend it on a quality of life. So these are companies thathave continued doing well, and that I expect will continue doing welldespite the economic meltdown.

Enriquez says Alberta can build a life sciences industry based on itsstrong capacity in research, resources and entrepreneurship. √

~ Cheryl Croucher

Learn more about Juan Enriquez at www.biotechonomy.com

TT



April 1BioAlberta Breakfast MeetingSpeaker Dr. Billen, VP & General Managerof Amgen Canada.7:30 to 9amRoyal Glenora ClubRSVP 780-425-3802

April 1-3Alberta Women Entrepreneurs Conference: Innovative Approaches to SuccessSpeakers Debbie Travis, Eveline Charles, Ben Barry and Dr. Valerie YoungMarriott River Cree Resortwww.awebusiness.com

April 1-19Telus World of ScienceLego Building CompetitionPrize: 5-day trip for 4 to Legoland, CaliforniaFull details atwww.telusworldofscience.com/edmonton

April 16Cybera LuncheonSpeaker Duncan Stewartof Deloitte Canada ResearchVisiting the Future and Reporting BackRoom 333, UofA Computing Science Centre11:45 to 1pmRSVPwww.hypermail.cybera.ca/registration/index.php

April 17 – 19Witec Connections 2009Connecting Wireless to Business SolutionsFairmont Banff Springs Hotelwww.witecconnections.ca

April 23 Business Link: Small Business SeminarPromotional Strategies: Create Buzzfor Your BusinessPresenter: Greg Gazin,Parallel 2000/The Gadget Guy6:00 pm- 9:00 pm100, 10237- 104 Street, Edmonton 1-800-272-9675 (toll-free)6:00 pm- 9:00 pm (via Videoconference)250-639 5 Ave. SW, Calgary 403-221-7800www.canadabusiness.ca/alberta/events

On the HORIZONAPRIL

Alberta’sBioeconomy

Potential

Juan Enriquez



witter and other forms of socialmedia continue to penetrate thepsyche of Edmontonians. Oneindication is the kind thank you I

received from Jason Darrah,communications business advisor for City ofEdmonton within the deputy city manager’soffice. He’s responsible for managing the@CityofEdmonton Twitter account(mentioned here last month). and as I foundout there’s change in the wind.

I asked Darrah what the City hoped toachieve through its early use of social media:Twitter, Youtube and Facebook. He gaveseveral answers around the common theme of“listening to Edmontonians” and indicatedthat there is strong support to “connect better,be more open and responsive toEdmontonians.” With increased nimbleness,Darrah feels that the City will be in a betterposition to “engage citizens.”

I must admit this was music to my social media ears but,before I get all misty, let’s back it up and talk about how the@CityofEdmonton Twitter account came to be. Of course,it’s not as simple as registering—ideally, it includes debate,planning and discussion. Darrah briefly explained that thisentire social media effort is a collaborative multi-department exercise… to be sure, this hasn’t happenedovernight. “The number one place we started was with asound strategy… The project team began its work based onthe assumption that using social media wasn’t an optionbut, rather, an inevitability.”

There I go getting all misty again. Darrah credits thesuccess of the City’s efforts to date to support from theDeputy City Manager Joyce Tustian. (Having the supportof leadership is a critical first step; you’d be amazed at howmany don’t get past that point.)

The communications team at the City started thediscussion with the same question almost every other largeorganization and certainly those in the public sector do

when considering entry into the social web: “What aboutprivacy, security and risk?” Beyond that Darrah said,“Everyone came to the realization that it’s not aboutcontrolling every citizen.” Thank goodness and good luckto those who think they can actually do that—they’re livingin a Technicolor dream world. “What we’re starting to seeis a shift in thinking”—absolutely critical for social mediaefforts to be successful and not an easy thing to accomplishin a public sector environment.

For example, many have witnessed in recent weeks,Speaker Ken Kowalski’s efforts at trying to rein in socialmedia activity within caucuses. And, many within the localsocial media scene believe that Troy Wason’s departurefrom PC caucus communications was a direct result of thecontrolling, anti-social media comments made by theSpeaker in a government focused newsletter. More of theSpeaker’s tongue-lashings regarding control over MLA’sonline activities during Question Period are well-documented in Hansard.

Back to the good work happening at theCity, operating in near real-time for a largeorganization not used to doing so hasimplications. So I asked Darrah how this wasimpacting internal processes in hisdepartment and others. His response, “It’simpacting our internal informational bestpractices.” In other words, city departmentsare changing how they communicate. “The ITdepartment has been very forward lookingand there is fresh discussion around theprocess gap and practice changes, along witha cultural shift.”

Ladies and gentlemen, these guys are onthe right track. I’m often asked why, if it’s soeasy to start up a profile on Facebook, Twitter,and LinkedIn, am I such a steadfast proponentof strategy development. Simple, fororganizations that have something to lose,they typically have cultures that are not builtfor wide-open transparency happening in a

real-time environment with people who have opinions. Insome cases, miscalculated efforts end up being a barrage onthe heart of the corporate soul, challenging establishedprocesses, assumptions, internal belief systems andcorporate capacities in unexpected ways. Not everyone isdesigned to “connect better, be more open andresponsive”—nor do they have the appetite to be so.

Folks—like Darrah, who is clearly an evangelist for thisteam—who work for Robert Moyles, director of strategiccommunications, are tackling challenging philosophicissues and succeeding. The fact that it’s happening onMayor Mandel’s watch shows savvy and guts. Politicalleaders in surrounding communities should roll-up theirsleeves and immediately start planning. Remember: It’sinevitable. √

Walter Schwabe is the Chief Evolution Officer of fusedlogicinc., a social media strategy firm and Alberta companysince 2000. You can learn more at www.fusedlogic.com

TT

101with Walter SchwabemediamediaSocial

A friend suggested a job with SpeedyCellular (a Cantel dealer, now Rogers).That gave her the bug for technology andmade her realize that she could make moremoney in sales than a salaried position.

“Our sales manager literally locked us ina room for eight hours a day and made uscold-call. I developed tough skin. I learnedhow to take rejection… and now I’m notafraid to pick up the phone and callanyone.”

These new life skills and confidence andher passion for technology would prove tobe invaluable. Moving from cell phones toIT Sales, she excelled in hardware andsoftware solutions including Novellnetworks and eventually service support.

“The sky’s the limit in sales and I lovedtechnology.” Kerr fondly remembers the$14,000 commission cheque she receivedfor one month’s work—big money in the1980s.

Technology also caught on in the Kerrhousehold. “This is not your typical singlemother latch-key story. In 1989, I sold mycondo, so my kids could be closer to TDBaker School.” Located in South-EastEdmonton, it was considered the high-techjunior high school in Canada.

Two of her three attended. Kerr jokesabout not being a “Soccer Mom,” but rathera “Gamer Mom.” Although she confessesTiger Woods Golf was the extent of herpersonal gaming. While many parentsabhorred the thought of kids wasting theirtime playing games, Kerr encouraged it.

“Bryan, my eldest son, was 12 yearsold… Dave was nine when Doom/Wolfenstein 3D released in ’92, and theboys started playing it at the office while Iworked overtime on proposals.” At first, itwas more to occupy their time, keep themoff the streets and out of trouble… but itwent beyond that, teaching them strategy,

agility and an appreciation for technology.“By the time Dave got serious aboutgaming in his early teens, he was one of theworld’s top players.”

All her children have embracedtechnology: Brandy, her 30-year olddaughter, is in human resources and has apenchant for desktop publishing; David, 25,is the hardware guy, building computers;and Bryan, 29, is the programmer, justgetting his portfolio, KerrDataSystems.com,up and running.

LIFE HAPPENS: REAL & SURREALKerr eventually moved into high-techconsulting, sales and marketing. However,during those gaming years, all was not funand play. In 1994, Kerr was seriouslyinjured in a car accident. “I’m lucky to behere… happy to be alive.”

It was a slow recovery from a life-altering event. She eventually got back ontrack and tried a couple of things, butadmits there were times where deals wentsour and a few projects just didn’t turn outas expected.

However, Kerr could not curtail herbelief that technology could break thedistance barrier for business. So she startedher own company and focused on virtualcommunications. While toying with anumber of marketing ideas and how theInternet could play a significant role, shestumbled upon avatars—computerrepresentations of the user.

“Out-of-the-blue I cold-called their VP inthe U.S., who suggested I contact thecompany itself in Asia.” The Taiwanesecompany, Reallusion was receptive. Notknowing exactly where to take this, anassociate invested $5,000 in a trial run. Kerrherself would be the guinea pig—anaccidental avatar. Not just any avatar, thefirst photo-real, full-body avatar.

“The guys made me in Taiwan,” sheexclaimed. “It seemed funny. They keptsending the body and face back and forth—they made me.” She was presented in abrown suede suit and a necklace fromTiffany’s on-line store.

“It was me, about as real as you can get. Icould even see the bump on my nose.”

While e-business was becoming moreacceptable, a personal element was stillmissing. “I felt people wanted to see whothey were dealing with and photo-realtechnology could help get us there.”

But it was a November 2006 magazinearticle about IBM’s $100-millioninvestment in virtual worlds that seemed tobe Kerr’s tipping point. CEO SamPalmisano was scheduling anannouncement… a town hall-style meetingboth in Beijing—physical—and SecondLife—virtual—simultaneously.

SL, created in 2003 by Linden Lab, is anInternet based 3D Virtual World designedas an alternate reality. Participants caninteract through avatars. It even had its owncurrency, with real dollar exchange rates.

“It drew me in. IBM invested… If it wasgood enough for them, we could makesome money at it, too.” Moving full-steamahead, Kerr registered, created avatars andstarted building customer relationships todo business in SL.

“We created a virtual shopping mall,CanadaInSL. Telus had kiosks where theydemonstrated cell phones. You could textmessage your avatar and real cell phones,too.”

Kerr set up an avatar company to market30-second voice-over photo-real avatars,both in the real and virtual world. But, therewas small hitch: the cost.

“We had a better product, but productioncosts were way too big; $7500 was a toughsell when you could buy SL avatars for $5.”

It was just too soon—Kerr’s product wasway ahead of its time.

SL still proved to be fruitful. That’swhere she met and put together a virtualteam of people around the world who arestill together today… including Eric Hall,from San Francisco, part of the original SLplatform creation.

Kerr’s SL exposure resulted in creatingtraining programs, which took her to thereal California to deliver educationalseminars and learning programs aroundvirtual worlds.

Returning to Edmonton, Kerr wasdetermined to create her own virtualplatforms as a business/communicationstool—a Global Virtual World TrainingCentre here in Edmonton, based on a paperdeveloped with Professor Dan O’Shea fromFlorida.

After numerous discussions, meetings,research with a number of organizations,investors and individuals—and withKinkaide’s assistance to create a businesscase—it was evident that there was asynergy between Kerr’s vision and TRLabsand what they could both bring to the table.

“As VRtech emerged, it began to shiftaway from simply building virtual realityspaces to actually teleporting people intothose spaces,” says Kinkaide. Think moreof Al (Dean Stockwell)… Quantum Leaprather than the Princess Leia’s hologramfrom Star Wars.

The rest, shall we say, is history—hmm,the future. √

Greg Gazin, “The Gadget Guy”, is a serialentrepreneur, freelance technologycolumnist, small business speaker, an avidPodcaster and producer ofToastcaster.com. Greg can be reached at780.424.1881, gadgetgreg.com [email protected]

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