Kootenay Insights :: Tanya Laing Gahr

A focus on Kootenay Communities…

A leader’s leader

Garry Merkel is the quintessential leader. I contacted Garry to ask for a few thoughts on leadership and how to develop this skill set.
Community collaboration

If there is strength in numbers, the Lower Columbia region is determined to be as robust as possible.
Follow the leader

Wally Eddy is one of a handful of certified motorcycle instructors in Western Canada. In the evenings, he donates his time coaching new, intermediate and advanced motorcyclists.
Project Heavy Duty carries weight with students

How do you get 19 Grade 12 students to show up at 7 a.m. for a school program on a non-instructional day? Tempt them with heavy equipment such as backhoe loaders, dozers, graders and excavators.
Witness to a renaissance

Cranbrook is, in many regards, a no-nonsense, practical, hard-working city. But it is also a city with a very active cultural life.
Sparking hope in Kimberley’s youth

The Life Entrepreneurial and Employment Skills (LEES) Youth Learning Centre and Spark Drop-In Centre, just off the platzl in Kimberley, have been in operation for over 15 years.

Senior writer Tanya Laing Gahr has been writing for Kootenay Business magazine since 2006, and through the hundreds of stories she has written for the magazine and website, she has gained a deeper understanding of the unique and diverse nature of businesses in the region.

More than that, however, she has gained a sense of how the individual communities drive the businesses, helping chart the direction they go. Each district, town and city has a particular outlook and personality, and each take on challenges that continue to define who they are in the region and in the world.

Join Tanya as she explores the initiatives, movements, projects and developments that help shape Kootenay communities, the businesses in the region and the people who live here.

Email Tanya if you have a business story idea.