Welcome to Your Kamloops!

Podcast - Investment and Business Opportunities on the Kamloops North Shore

I was really pleased to have this opportunity to record with a gentleman for whom I have a great respect and fondness. Peter Mutrie has expertly led the work of the North Shore Business Improvement Association (NSBIA) for many years. I regard him as one of our top community leaders in Kamloops.

We spoke about the many activities of the NSBIA:

 

00:53 - what is the North Shore BIA
02:22  - mens clothing store wanted
02:37 -  other types of businesses wanting to
                attract - entertainment, restaurants, artistic businesses
03:13 - international flavour
03:50 - North Shore BIA events - banner festival, outdoor art gallery, art walk, makeovers
06:48 - North Shore ambience, artistic centre
07:40 - business makeovers, Crime Prevention through Environmental Design (CEPTED)
11:35 - other aspects of the North Shore Business Opportunity
13:20  - catering to global investment
14:35  - most diverse neighbourhood in Kamloops
15:46 -  Kamloopsians taking charge of their own destiny, entrepreneurialism, tournament capital program
17:41  - the business case for tackling social issues, the root causes
21:06 - NSBIA social enterprise projects, relationship building
24:43 - the Power of Partnerships
26:17 - business is an exciting world, not working in silos
27:15 - NSBIA web site and email
  

Podcast - A Conversation with Thompson Rivers University President, Dr Kathleen Scherf

photo taken from Faces of TRU feature on university web site

I was honoured that Kathleen Scherf, TRU's new President, took the time to have this conversation with me about our amazing university. We talk about Kathleen's background, the nature of a TRU education, and also about her experiences managing a large, diverse, rapidly changing institution.

Here is a roadmap for the audio:

   01:08 - how did you get interested in teaching and academia 
   02:46 - How did you become a Frankenstein scholar 
   07:55 - How did you get  into university administration
   10:05 - Tribute to Roger Barnsley
   11:14 - Changing the Culture of TRU
   11:58 - How did you find about TRU President Opening and fall
              in love with TRU
   13:34 - breaking the mold of a University President a bit
   14:28 - the mom car, the parking ticket on the first day  
   16:43 - has been kind of unusual been a challenge, being who
              you are and trying to being a role model
   19:05 - what makes a TRU education special - your vision?
   21:23 - small classes and large classes
   23:13 - value of President teaching first year students
   25:54 - how do liberal arts students become financially
              independent?
  27:45 - a  comprehensive university preparing students well
  28:34 - Law School update
  33:54 - House of Learning update, other capital projects - Old
             Main repairs
  36:17 -  Managing a large, diverse, rapidly changing institution:
              collegial governance, transparent leadership,
              team concept

   

Watch ( or in this case, listen to) Kevin Skrepnek Closely...

Was pleased to be able to interview Kevin Skrepnek in this week's podcast. Kevin is a young Kamloops leader to watch. At the age of 19, he want to work at MP's Betty Hinton constituency office, he ran for City Council at 21, and he now serves on the City's Social Planning Council.  I've been really impressed with him since I've got to know him over that past year or so. We don't agree on everything, but I respect Kevin a lot.  He is on a pretty fast learning curve, and I imagine he will be very successful as a community representative now and in the future. Here is a roadmap of our audio interview, and below the roadmap, the audio of our interview.

00:42  - moved to Kamloops 2.5 years ago, born&raised in Meford Ont
02:19 - getting hired by Betty Hinton, the pAssport crunch opportunity
04:15 - Kevin's pre Kamloops history of community involvement
04:42 - what it was like working for an MP
06:03 - the Michael Crawford domain name incident
10:18 -  running for city council, municipal politics so much more practical, great experience
16:25 - the Ins and outs of a successful council campaign
17:47 -  young people voting, getting involved. How do we get more of that?
21:04 -  Barack Obama
22:48 -  Kevin one of newest members on city social planning council, business community / social advocates integration
28:10    -  takeways from a younger person who is involved in his community.

An Interview with Thompson Rivers VP Advancement, Christopher Seguin

TRU VP Christopher Seguin takes care of all external relations. Fundraising occupies most of his time, but his duties also include public, alumni, and government relations. We talked about a lot of interesting issues:

0:40 - What a VP Advancement does
1:00 - Current fundraising environment
1:45 - The mechanics of a 1.5 million dollar donation
3:45 - Chris' background
5:04 - Changes as TRU: New President Kathleen Scherf
5:30 - Changes: "alignment" complete review of TRU operations
5:37 - Big focus on student experience
6:01 - Enrollment up?
6:43 - Perfect time to train people
6:56 - TRU World and international student update
9:40 - New House of Learning
11:20 - Digital library resources
12:52 - Sustainability? Towards at 22nd century TRU
14:49 - New law school
16:33 - value of TRU degree
18:31 - TRU well positioned
20:47 - trades and academics, all about giving options and choices

A Short Conversation with Kamloops Councillor Denis Walsh...

This short podcast needs a little bit of context, if you decide to have a listen. Denis Walsh is a great friend of mine. I served on Kamloops City Council from late 2005 to late 2008. Denis was elected in late 2008. I ran again and fell two places out of being re-elected.

I hope to be able to interview other members of council in the near future.

Issues discussed:
- Clean Air Day 2009
- Steep Learning Curve
- Trip to Federation of Canadian Municipalities convention in Whistler BC

Podcast - Jason Wassing on Child Philanthropy and Kamloops Tech

My good Jason Wassing talks about his daughter's philanthropy and about the Kamloops technology industry scene in 2009.

A chat with Jacquie Brand, Manager of the Kamloops Arts Council...

Download the Audio File on to your computer.

If you download the file directly, it is easier to fast forward to the different topics. Otherwise, hit play, then pause on the player above, wait a few minutes and the whole file should be ready.

00:46  - What is the Arts Council, who do you represent and support, how are you different than other local arts organizations?
03:20  - How do people contact you?
04:24  - Free use of exhibition space for members
05:59  - Helping people sell arts. Art in the Park July 1st
07:42  - How did you personally get involved? The relationship between arts administrators and artists
08:54  - How the Arts Council is run and funded. How many members?
11:02  - Why is the Arts important in Kamloops?
14:02  - BC Arts and Culture Week April 19th-26th. Art Walk between Aoril 23rd and May 18th
14:56  - kick off to Art Walk: Body Beautiful Live Tattoo show. All Welcome, 7pm to 9pm, April 23rd, 319 Victoria Street
16:31  - lantern making workshops in partnership with Kamloops Central BIA, Aprl 23 - 25
18:05  - Free Childrens Festival at Riverside Park, Sept 12th, 11am to 4pm

Preventing Youth Gang Violence in Kamloops: Interview with Tara Ettinger

Another really interesting conversation. This time, with Tara Ettinger, coordinator of the Kamloops Community Action and Assessment Network (CAAN), which strives to improve the situation around youth gangs in Kamloops and region. I am so convinced that the work of this committee is so right and so critical, that I did a bit of editorializing myself in the interview.

Tara talked a lot about "non obvious" approaches and about about her personal experience with misperceptions about youth.

Tara is organizing a series of forums on preventing youth in gangs - March 31, April 7th, and April 14th. For more information, here is Tara's email.

Interview topics

00:38 - what is the CAAN
01:25 - CAAN predates current concerns in BC about gang violence
01:53 - CAAN activities
03:03 - info on th upcoming forums
05:45 - community strengths and gaps
06:37 - dealing with root cause, instead of symptoms
07:50 - getting non traditional parties involved
10:02 - case studies: transit exchange and skateboard park
13:50 - perceptions and misperceptions
16:45 - contact Tara for more info on forums