The Kootenay Rockies Tourism Industry Conference and 33rd annual general meeting will be on Thursday, October 28, 2010 at the Prestige Lakeside Resort & Convention Centre in Nelson, BC. There is no charge to attend the conference and packages will soon be available for accommodation and/or meal components. The annual general meeting will begin at 9 a.m., followed by the Tourism Industry Conference. This year there will be a host of interesting speakers with lots of opportunity for interactive discussion about the industry.

Plan to attend, mark the date! The day will be fun, informative and a great opportunity to connect with other regional tourism partners.

We hope to see you on October 28th, in Nelson!

The City of Cranbrook, in partnership with the governments of Canada and British Columbia and Columbia Basin Trust, gathered today to celebrate the official groundbreaking of a new 36-unit development in Cranbrook for low-income seniors and people with disabilities.

"The federal government continues its unwavering focus on the Canadian economy, especially in smaller communities," said Kootenay Columbia MP Jim Abbott. "The bonus is the extremely high value that this project brings to deserving East Kootenay residents."

“There are no downsides to making investments like this because it fulfills key priorities of our government, such as stimulating the economy, creating jobs and building housing for those who need it,” said Kootenay East MLA Bill Bennett.

The factory-built modular homes will be transported to Cranbrook and placed on prepared foundations on site. These units will be grouped into six sixplex, townhome-style clusters, with four clusters located on the ball field area and two located along the lower campground access.

This project is made possible through funding contributions from the City of Cranbrook, the Province of British Columbia, the Government of Canada and Columbia Basin Trust. The development is designed to stimulate the local economy and increase affordable rental housing units for seniors and persons with disabilities in smaller communities across the province.

“I want to thank MP Abbott, MLA Bennett and the Columbia Basin Trust for their contributions to this important project for the City of Cranbrook,” said Mayor Scott Manjak. “Providing safe, affordable housing for the seniors in this community is important to Council and our residents. I am excited to see this great project move forward.”

“One of our goals is to assist communities in dealing with affordable housing issues, and in particular to support new housing initiatives,” said Garry Merkel, CBT board chair. “This is a unique opportunity for CBT to be involved, not only in the creation of 36 units here in Cranbrook, but in the creation of a significant number of housing units Basin-wide, and increasing seniors' housing throughout the region is something that we are really pleased to be part of.”

Columbia Basin Trust has committed $425,000 to the overall capital costs of seven sites in the Columbia Basin region, for a total of 114 units under the Seniors’ Rental Housing (SRH) initiative. Projects will be built in Cranbrook, Kimberley, Creston, Baynes Lake, Golden, Revelstoke and Valemount.

The SRH initiative is a result of a $365-million joint investment under an amendment to the Canada-British Columbia Affordable Housing Initiative Agreement, which includes funding through Canada’s Economic Action Plan and by the Government of British Columbia.

This initiative, initially announced by the two levels of government on April 8, 2009, will provide $123.5 million, including $104 million for seniors and $19.5 million for persons with disabilities, to develop approximately 1,300 new affordable rental housing units, which will help to stimulate local economies in smaller communities across B.C. Under the terms of the agreement, the provincial and federal governments will provide matching contributions of $61.79 million.

The Board of Governors of College of the Rockies is pleased to announce the election of a new board chair and vice-chair during its regular meeting held on September 9, 2010.

Elected to the position of chair is Alex Jensen of Cranbrook. Mr. Jensen was appointed to the college board by the Province in September 2008. He is retired from Arrow Installations Limited where he was the founder and owner. Alex has served as President of the Line Contractors of BC and as chairperson of the Regional Transportation Advisory Committee for the East and West Kootenays. He worked for BC Hydro prior to managing Arrow Installations. Alex has been involved in the community as a coach and director of the Cranbrook/Kimberley Special Olympics and has billeted numerous exchange students and Kootenay Ice players.

Elected to the position of vice-chair is Cranbrook resident Orest Federko. Mr. Federko was also appointed to the College Board by the Province in September 2008. He is recently retired from the position of regional manager, diagnostic imaging, Interior Health. Previously he was site manager in the department of radiology and an instructor in the School of Radiology with the Regina Health District. Orest holds a diploma as a medical radiation technologist from the School of Radiology, Regina General Hospital, and a diploma in health care administration from the University of Saskatchewan.

“Both Alex and Orest are familiar with the workings of College of the Rockies and the challenges and opportunities that lay ahead,” said COTR President and CEO Nick Rubidge. “They possess the skills, abilities, knowledge and passion that will be necessary to move the board and the college forward. I look forward to working with them both in their new leadership capacities.”

“I also would like to thank outgoing Board Chair Marko Maryniak, appointed member from Fernie, for his service to the college and the board,” said Dr. Rubidge.

The Kootenay Rockies Regional Economic Alliance (KRREA) has announced the release of a report that will focus on the economic development of the entire East Kootenay region. KRREA chair, Keith Powell, said the recommendations contained within the extensive report are based on an in-depth study of all sectors of business and industry in the region. While the goals are long-term, there are immediate benefits in fostering partnerships between businesses and industry.

“Economic development is always a challenge—one that is essential and important to us, particularly at this time,” said Powell. “The concept behind this report is to co-ordinate and stimulate economic development, which helps the region grow and creates jobs.”

One of the first action steps in this regard is the Reverse Trade Show, an event that Powell said will give small businesses a chance to meet directly with large employers in the region to find out how to build business relationships or promote spinoff enterprises.

"The key to the economic success of the region is fostering connections at every level of business," said Powell.

In attendance was Kootenay MP Jim Abbott, who lent his support for the initiative. Abbott said federal funding has been key in creating a foundation for the economic development strategy being rolled out in the report.

The report is available online at www.KRREA.com.

KRREA was formed in 2005 as part of a provincial initiative that encouraged regional stakeholders within B.C. to form partnerships that could help benefit that region’s economic growth.

Two presentations by College of the Rockies employees about their fascinating experiences in Ecuador and Tanzania will be held on Wednesday, September 22 and 29, 2010. Sponsored by COTR’s International Education and Development Department, these free presentations are open to the public and will take place in the Lecture Theatre (Room 250) at the Cranbrook main campus.

Faculty member Nathalie Lesage spent two weeks in Ecuador’s largest city, Guayaquil, working with COTR’s partner institution the University of Espiritu Santo. Lesage was responsible for developing and delivering workshops and promoting a new jointly-developed program in sustainable community entrepreneurism.

Two other faculty members, Instructor Greg McCallum and Regional Transitions Coordinator Brian Conrad, spent two weeks in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania, working with the National College of Tourism on a project entitled SAFARI: Sustainable Activities For A Rising Industry. McCallum and Conrad assisted with labour market analysis and implementing competency-based education techniques into the curriculum.

E-learning specialist/curriculum developer, Gina Bennett, and senior instructional officer, Doug McLachlan, spent two weeks in Dodoma, Tanzania, working with the Mineral Resources Institute on a variety of activities including teaching methodologies and industry advisory committees. This partnership project aims to enhance industry linkages to better prepare graduates for work in Tanzania’s growing mineral sector.

The report on the tourism-based projects in Tanzania and Ecuador will take place on September 22 from 3:30 to 5 p.m. and the mining-based partnership project in Tanzania on September 29 from 3:30 to 4:15 p.m., both in the Lecture Theatre.

These partnership projects in Tanzania and Ecuador are led by College of the Rockies with funding from the Canadian International Development Agency and are managed by the Association of Canadian Community Colleges.