Kootenay Insights :: Tanya Laing Gahr

A focus on Kootenay Communities…

  • MP Jim Abbott, Prime Minister Stephen Harper and Cranbrook Mayor Scott Manjak at airport

    Smoother landings are on the way

    Prime Minister Stephen Harper was in Cranbrook on August 10th to pay tribute to the longstanding Conservative MP of Kootenay-Columbia, Jim Abbott.

  • The artists and members of the Ktunaxa stand in front of the new reconciliation sculpture.

    Forging a relationship

    Every piece of art starts with an idea. For blacksmith and artist Paul Reimer and visual artist Mike Hepher, it started with the question, “What can we do to address the divisions between First Nations people and ourselves?”

  • Dr. Nick Rubidge making announcement at College of the Rockies

    Getting the first degree

    COTR has received approval from the Degree Quality Assessment Board of British Columbia and the Ministry of Advanced Education and Labour Market Development to confer its first degree—a Bachelor of Business Administration (BBA) in Sustainable Business Practices.

  • Two business men having a disagreement

    I think we should talk

    The process of becoming a negotiator, from David Savage’s point of view, is that you must develop the skills from the inside out.

  • Photo of Bill Usher in the Art Gallery of Golden

    Keeping history current

    Bill Usher is part of an organization in Golden that understands that a community's heritage is intrinsically tied to its culture—which is why the group is working closely with the Town of Golden to rebirth a much loved hub, the Golden Civic Centre.

  • Sean Campbell serving dessert

    Lockers, leadership and community

    Silver Pocha can’t help but have mixed feelings about a community project that she helped organize a year ago. It involves building lockers for the Salvation Army that could be used by homeless people.

  • Mountain scene

    I am the mountain

    Although Dave Savage focuses more on the inside-out approach, he does suggest using the mountain pose when in a conflict situation or a difficult negotiation.

  • Photo of girl with her hand up

    Just say no

    Savage's approach to negotiation and conflict resolution is an inside-out approach.

  • Book cover

    Negotiation

    Learning how to get positive results

  • Photo of Garry Merkel

    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.

  • Downtown Trail

    Community collaboration

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

  • Wally Eddy and students

    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.

  • MBSS students, along with mentors from WorkSafeBC and the City of Cranbrook public works department

    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.

  • Hal Kalman (L) and Susan Medville, facilitators from Commonwealth Historic Resource Management Limited

    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.

  • Bev Middlebrook

    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.

Tanya

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.