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Vol. 13, No. 3, Wednesday December 13, 2017 www.LamontLeader.com
MICHELLE PINON PHOTO
Fort Saskatchewan-Vegreville MLA Jessica Littlewood personally delivered a $61,900 cheque to Bruderheim Mayor Karl Hauch on December 8 at the Bruderheim Infinity Centre. The funding was for renovations to the facility to accommodate the development of a business incubator. Several regional partners were involved in the grant application, and were on hand for the presentation Friday afternoon. Pictured from left to right are: Town of Bruderheim Economic Developer Officer Doug Sullivan, Strathcona County councillor Paul Smith, MLA Littlewood, Mayor Hauch, Community Futures Board Chair Jacquie Fenske, Bruderheim Deputy Mayor Pat Lee, and Alberta HUB Executive Director Bob Bezpalko.
MLA delivers funding for business incubator Michelle Pinon Editor
The business incubator in the Town of Bruderheim is officially open for business. The paint was barely dry, but officials decided to celebrate last Friday afternoon. One of those key officials was Fort Saskatchewan-Vegreville MLA Jessica Littlewood who presented a $61,900 cheque to Mayor Karl Hauch, for funding through the Community and Regional Economic Support, (CARES), program. Also on hand for the
presentation were partners Alberta HUB in coordination with the Rural Alberta Business Centre, Community Futures, Strathcona County, and the Town of Bruderheim. The Infinity Centre has been renovated to include a reception area, three offices and a conference room for prospective new businesses. It was the first time Bruderheim Mayor Karl Hauch had been in the facility since it was renovated, and said he was excited to see the changes. He also said he knows of a couple of
companies who want to come on board and rent space in the business incubator. Doug Sullivan, Economic Development Officer, said the business incubator is modelled on the European model “We Work” and he is hoping to create a backlog of interested businesses in the weeks and months to come. Jacquie Fenske, board chair of Community Futures Elk Island Region, said she was happy to lend support to the initiative. “Community Futures is all about rural develop-
ment and growing economic opportunities in the region,” stated Fenske. She went on to say that a business incubator gives new businesses a chance to get on their feet. “It’s very exciting.” Fenske also commended the Town of Bruderheim for taking on the initiative. Alberta HUB Executive Director Bob Bezpalko, said a business incubator is “much more than renting office space,” that it offers a variety of resources and supports to new businesses. He said a busi-
ness incubator can open doors locally and regionally to help give small business owners a place to connect and a path to follow. “We help walk them through the process,” pointed out Bezpalko, helping them develop business and marketing plans and opportunities to connect with other resources inside and outside of the community. Kathryn Hotte, Small Business Director for the Rural Alberta Business Centre, said a business incubator is a way for businesses to offset rental expenses and offer
support to them. Through her work with the business incubator in Cold Lake there have been five graduates of the program since it began in 2015, and two current resident businesses as a result of the initiative. “We’ve had some really great successes here…The program really works.” Hotte said businesses who have had the support of a business incubator have a survival rate of 87 per cent after five years because of the encouragement and resources that were made available to them.