Edmontonians Mar07

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pompous & unfair FUNNY

Working the war zones

By Muggsy Forbes

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t isn’t often that I come across a local

hero who is a foreign correspondent. We hear about the military folks who are on tour in many of the hot spots in the world. But how many journalists do we know that go there? Well, Margaret Evans has been reporting on international events for about 15 years. Her father was a long time journalist and Journal columnist, the late Art Evans. Her mother—who turns 81 this month—is Una MacLean Evans, a well

...you don’t run into the street Afghan war. As she said, “It was just a different burro and you have to be willing to go out to those areas.”

Margaret was developing a work history of being in high risk areas in the world. “I think as a journalist, you want to go to towns… you want to go where the story is. The sad thing is that’s often where there is conflict, and I think that either you do that kind of reporting or you don’t.” She was also posted in Iraq, and Lebanon on the Gaza Strip, and hopes to go to Iran in the future.

“It was a dark war a couple of years ago and I did a documentary on ethnic cleansing. We were one of the first crews in and I think that we made a difference.” She went on to say that it was hard to understand the living conditions of the people.

Men were being killed. Women had to look after their families by foraging for food and were at risk of being raped.

You would think that Margaret would be cynical about these events. She explained, “You

Edmontonian Margaret Evans, a freelance Middle East correspondent for CBC National Radio News, is pictured here with colleagues in Baghdad.

“When I was in Iraq...I was in a convoy that was hit in a friendly fire incident. It cut our convoy in two, and 70 Kurdish soldiers died.” known Liberal, former alderman and citizenship court judge. Margaret was well trained as a journalist, with an MA under her belt. Must run in the gene pool of the family.

Margaret has been stationed in most of the war zones in the world. Originally she was a reporter with the Globe and Mail and went on to contract work with the CBC. After the contract was finished, she began freelancing.

Her first official posting as a freelance journalist was in 1999 in London England, followed by an assignment to NATO headquarters in Brussels. Paris also was part of her working territory. Margaret quipped, “You have to like mussels and chocolate and beer. So, I was okay!”

September 11th had a huge impact on journalists. They were called on to cover more conflict and it hasn’t stopped since. Margaret was posted in Africa to quite a few places: Rwanda, Angola, Zimbabwe, South Africa, Botswana, Sudan, Algeria, Morocco, and Tunisia. She was in the Middle East and in Pakistan during the first

Then there is the personal side of being a journalist in conflict areas in war zones. Food didn’t seem to be a problem, as long as she you brought your own such as chicken, hot water and granola bars.

When I asked her about politics, she said, “I just really don’t want to talk about politics.”

Dr. Ollie recently joined the Edmonton Glenora Rotary Club. It’s nice to have someone follow in my footsteps: I was a member of the West End Rotary Club for some 30 years.

The first Edmonton Glenora event we attended was the Have a Heart fund raiser at the Fairmont Hotel Macdonald, still one the classiest places in town. The live auction featured higher value items, including a dinner for 14 in NAIT’s culinary school. It was sponsored by NAIT President Sam Shaw, and Gary Mar, former minister of health and wellness, who will be the “celebrity” chef. The auctioneer was smart enough to keep two bidders competing with each other until one gave up at $7,000. So Gary and Jim put their heads together and offered up another dinner for 14.

That’s how the pair raised $14,000 of the more than $50,000 for the evening.

Kevin Love was the successful bidder for the first dinner. He said that he sold his oil field business not that long ago and thought charity should benefit from his success. A very nice guy who showed he does “Have a Heart.”

Another fund raiser that I managed to get

have to have a healthy dose of cynicism, something I learned from my father. You do see extraordinary acts of compassion and generosity between man, so there is always a counter balance to the horrors.”

When Margaret was in the field, she explained some of her reactions to being in a war zone. Accommodation wasn’t a problem. She stayed in hotels or in private homes away from the day-to-day fighting. Most of the time she stayed with colleagues, often in a rented house. Time and again, there was shelling close to where she was living.

“Eventually you come to a point where you’ve heard enough of it. You don’t run into the street or anything like that. I mean, it jolts you.” Talking about Gaza, Margaret said that they use a lot of sonic. “It’s a psychological border attack. It’s like having a missile crash through the room next to you. It’s that loud because it’s made by jets flying faster than the speed of sound. It obviously increases your ability to understand the impact of the people who are facing it.”

to was the Valentine’s Day lunch held at the downtown Sorrentino’s restaurant complete with Night Owl’s evening clothing. I mean the real late evening clothing, things to sleep in. The Tina Mac models were tall, gorgeous and moved quickly, damn. The way to attract a male audience is have the charity event for prostate cancer, since it’s a guy thing. I myself have had six operations and a month in hospital with it. The event sold out with 150 in attendance. In the crowd were Rob Christie of Magic 99 and his wife Dianne, and naturally Gloria Brannigan and hubby Ian of Night Owl’s Lingerie.

Word just in that Hillel Boroditsky lost his long battle with cancer on February 27th. Hillel was the former executive director of United Way Edmonton, residing in Montreal in recent years. A memorial will be held here in the near future. Condolences to wife Laura, sons Barry, David and Michael and their families. √ Call Muggsy Forbes at 780.482.4545 or e-mail mforbes@edmontonians.com

Thanks for the Memories

This photo of Mark Messier—rare with hair—and his sister Mary Kay has graced the walls of Edmontonians’ office for 18 years.

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CELEBRATING

18

Poll

YEARS

STATION With Linda Banister

FOUNDER DICK MacLEAN

Vol. XVIII

MARCH 2007

F

rom the advent of television, commercials have played a prominent role in programming. Viewer’s opinion of commercials typically ranged from informative to entertaining to downright annoying. This months Poll Station asks people their thoughts about television commercials.

No. 3

SHARON MacLEAN Publisher and Advertising Director Telephone: 780.482.7000 Fax: 780.488.9317 e-mail: info@edmontonians.com edmontonians.com

INSIDE FUNNY, POMPOUS AND UNFAIR Foreign correspondent/Forbes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .2 POLL STATION TV commercials/Banister . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .3 MY E-SPACE Sassy sales tips/Rayner . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .4

HOW DO YOU FEEL ABOUT THE NUMBER OF COMMERCIALS ON TELEVISION?

ARE YOU CONCERNED ABOUT INAPPROPRIATE CONTENT?

LEADERSHIP The book on stories/Hill . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .5

Percentage

THE TRANSFORMERS Cover story/Brost . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .7 Brave but lost/Hanlen . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .8 Mother-daughter stuff/Brost . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .8 Fire collides with fire/Williamsen . . . . . . . . . . . . . .10 Take a deep breath/Bradshaw . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .10

59% Percentage

FEATURE Stories that breathe/Lauber . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .6 Renegade woman/Lauber . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .6

47% 23%

53%

20%

11%

INTERNATIONAL BUSINESS Chinese agriculture/Lockhart . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .11 EDMONTONIAN IN EXILE Valley views/Edmondson . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .11 BIZINTEL Media Minute/Hogle . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .12 Civic Buzz/Norwood . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .12 BizIT/Michetti . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .13 MAKING MONEY Changing oil patch/Hiebert . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .13 LIVELY LIFESTYLES MenuMagic/Berry . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .14 Absolute Bodo/Bodo . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .15 BARB DETERS Editor

editor@edmontonians.com COLUMNISTS Linda Banister John Berry Linda Bodo Tom Bradshaw Les Brost Janet Edmondson Muggsy Forbes Steffany Hanlen Ron Hiebert Bruce Hogle Cheryl Lockhart Greg Michetti David Norwood Erin Rayner Nizar J. Somji Colin Williamsen FEATURE WRITERS Barb Deters Don Hill Kristin Hodgson Rick Lauber Peter Drake McHugh Michael O’Toole Marg. Pullishy PHOTOGRAPHERS Terry Bourque Fred Katz

Of men said they simply switch the channel during commercials

Of women said they simply switch the channel during commercials

Said they do other things during commercials

Said they mute the television during commercials

The survey found 61 percent of respondents were dissatisfied with the number of commercials on television, while 12 percent were satisfied.

Dissatisfied respondents were then asked what strategies they use to minimize their irritation. Over half said they switch the channel: Males were more likely (59 percent) to employ this strategy than women (47 percent). Almost one quarter (23 percent) said they do “other things” until the commercials are over (women 27 percent versus men 19 percent). A popular strategy, among 20 percents of respondents, was to turn off the sound until the commercials were over.

Said they had concerns with the sexual content in commercials

Said they had concerns with the language in commercials

Respondents were then asked if they had any concerns about the inappropriate content of commercials. Just over half of female respondents (55 percent) and 36 percent of men expressed concern. Of those with concerns, 53 percent had problems with the sexual content of commercials, and 11 percent identified inappropriate language.

Finally, respondents were asked if they thought some commercials should include a warning so viewers could choose to turn them off. Sixty-eight percent of women thought warnings were a good idea, compared to 41 percent of men. √

WHAT IS YOUR FAVOURITE COMMERCIAL?

The Poll Station surveyed 100 City of Edmonton residents on the topic and, while the results of the research are not statistically reliable, they do provide a qualitative indication of what Edmontonians are thinking.

All respondents were asked if they had a favourite commercial. Of the one third of respondents that had a favourite, the top three choices were from Telus (13 percent), alcohol producers (10 percent), and car companies.

Interestingly, almost half of the most favourite commercials prominently featured animals (frogs, beavers, rabbits, hamsters, monkeys, deer and cats).

Linda Banister is a certified management consultant and the owner of Banister Research and Consulting Inc., a full service provider of market research and program evaluation services.

Want a question included in the Edmontonians Poll? Contact Linda at 780.451.4444 or e-mail at lbanister@edmontonians.com.

Visit www.banister.ab.ca.

GRAPHIC PRODUCTION Rage Studios Inc. INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY Michetti Information Solutions Inc.

THIS MONTH’S COVER

Jen Carolei co-owner of Sublime Swim & Sunwear Photo by Terry Bourque Published by 399620 Alberta Ltd. on the first day of each month at 333, 10240 - 124 Street, Edmonton, Alberta, Canada T5N 3W6. ©All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reprinted or reproduced in any form without written permission from the publisher.

Manuscripts: must be accompanied by a stamped, selfaddressed envelope. Edmontonians is not responsible for unsolicited manuscripts.

All stories Copyright ©Edmontonians Publications Mail Agreement No. 40023292 Return undeliverable Canadian addresses to: Circulation Department 333, 10240 - 124 Street Edmonton, AB T5N 3W6 Email: info@edmontonians.com

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Kim Duke

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my space

By Erin Rayner

For Young Entreprenuers

Top Three: Savvy & Sassy Sales Tips Many entrepreneurs confuse marketing and sales. A friend of mine once explained that marketing is sowing the seeds while sales is harvesting the crop. This month I asked fellow entrepreneur Kim Duke, The Sales Diva, to provide her Top Three Sassy Sales Tips.

1. Sell to a market that already wants you. You’re going to spin your wheels and waste tons of energy, effort and money if you chase customers. And guess what? When you chase something, it runs away. Focus your efforts on attracting a market that already has a need for your product or service. What do your customers or potential customers want? Ask them and you won’t have to guess.

2. Zip thy lip. I know, I know—you’ve been told you can talk your way into or out of anything. However, in selling, it backfires. Your potential customer only wants to know how you can help them. They don’t care how many awards you have, how long you have been in business…blah, blah, blah. Spend the first 20 minutes listening to the needs of the customer and you’ll discover your sales will start to increase.

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s we head into spring, more and more people are looking into the pros and cons of investing in Alberta’s burgeoning real estate market. With the popularity of shows like TLC’s Flip This House and Sell This House, some people see buying, renovating and re-selling a house as a creative, sure-fire way to make some money— possibly more than one makes in a year – in a few months. However, let me tell you from experience, investing in real estate takes research, time, money, patience, time, team work and did I mention time?

Generally investing in real estate is also not a short term strategy… getting your best ROI can take years.

An Edmonton company is helping to take the time commitment out of real estate investing, making it more accessible to the average Edmontonian and/or entrepreneur with a minimum investment of $10,000.

Avant Garde Properties buys, rents, manages and renovates properties on behalf of its investors.

Originally from Mexico, husband and wife team Maribel Pelcastre and Rolando Pedrozo left lucrative jobs in the IT sector in 2000 to move to Montreal.

Now both 34 years old, they have been Canadian citizens since 2005. Thanks to their qualifications and experience, it was easy to secure IT jobs once in Canada. But the pair always had dreams of becoming entrepreneurs. After researching many different opportunities, last year they took the plunge into real estate by selling their Montreal home and moving to Edmonton Committed to follow their entrepreneurial passions, they have purchased one property every month, quickly increasing the value of the company’s and their investors’ portfolio to $2 million. The single-family and condo properties are in various areas throughout the city.

For Avant Garde, the challenge is to find and secure adequate investors who wish to cash in on the current real estate market. Maribel says, “Our core purpose is to be the best at helping others who don’t know about real estate—or don’t have the time—to take advantage

3. Focus on the hot spot. One of the biggest mistakes made in selling (and boy—there are tons) is when you spend all of your time looking for new customers.

Wrong strategy. Instead, 80 percent of your efforts should be focused on growing your existing client base and helping them. The other 20 percent is for attracting new clients. It costs six to 10 times more to attract a new customer rather than growing a client that already loves you. So there.

Kim provides savvy, sassy sales training for women small biz owners and entrepreneurs. She works with clients internationally, showing them The Sales Diva secrets to success. Sign up for her saucy and smart free e-zine and receive her free bonus report The 5 Biggest Sales Mistakes Women Make at www.salesdivas.com of and make money in booming markets. We want to provide our investors with superior returns that are safe, secure and reliable.”

With less than a one percent vacancy rate in Edmonton and a projected 15 percent increase in residential real estate values in 2007, Avant Garde has quite an advantage for potential investors—the trick is to get that message out to them.

Maribel and Rolando have an information-loaded website and send out frequent e-newsletters to the database of about 400 contacts, not all of whom are able or interested in investing $10,000 into their company.

When I asked, if she were the investor, who she would need to hear from to consider investing with Avant Garde, without pause, Mirabel replied, “Other investors.” Immediately, I knew they needed to get the investors that have been successful with Avant Garde talking.

However, their website doesn’t display any testimonials. People like doing business where business is good. Testimonials give your “raving fans” a voice to speak with prospective clients or, in this case, investors. Regardless of how educated, polished or ideal you or your product or service may be, testimonials enhance word-of-mouth marketing—in my mind, the most effective, powerful form of marketing.

The bonus is that, by going back to satisfied clients/investors to ask for testimonials, you have a reason to touch base… to remind them that they did well with you and your company, and that the same opportunity exists. √ Erin Rayner is president of ED Marketing and Communications Inc. You can submit marketing materials for review; suggest young entrepreneurs to be profiled; nominate a Top Three; or ask a business developement question.

Contact erayner@edmontonians.com

Dear Erin: I’m thinking of starting a new business and I have spoken with accountants, lawyers and private family investors. I also have some money saved of my own to put into the business, but I’m leery of borrowing more capital from the bank. I want to do it on my own.

How important is it for a business today to have a good working relationship with a bank? How can it limit or help a business to grow?

Impending Capital Crisis Dear ICC: First of all, a good relationship with a bank is critically important. I spoke with strategic planning consultant and former business banker with BDC. Lynne Fisher of Fisher Langford Jones & Associates gave me her take on how a business banking relationship can make or break your entrepreneurial success.

The first concern of many new business owners is cash flow. Your banker can help by providing short term loans or lines of credit (LOC) to use on a month-to-month basis for operating expenses (rent, utilities, payroll etc.) while you’re waiting for your customers to pay. A simple example: Customers often pay once a month, while payroll needs to be paid every two weeks. Cash is the fuel that powers a business—the more a business grows, typically the more cash it needs. If your bank doesn’t know your growth plans and your business, then it can’t support that growth by providing an appropriate level of a line of credit. If the bank is in the loop, it will know you need an increase because you’re growing, not because you’re mismanaging. Fisher says “When I was a banker, I witnessed a highly profitable company ($400,000 in annual profits) go under. They had to wait months and months for the oil companies to pay, and were always suspicious of the banker, so never talked to him. When they could no longer make payroll even though they were doing a huge amount of business, the banker just called all of the loans and the company went under. In the bank’s defense, they didn’t have any financial information or communication for a long time… in the absence of information and in consideration of the owner’s suspicious candor, they thought their loans were at risk.”

Get longer term loans for equipment, real estate and other fixed assets. According to Fisher, if you try to grow just using your own money, it could be a long time before you can buy the equipment/computers to do the business.

By having a good relationship with the banker, you can match the needs of your business with the right kind of loan, with repayment terms that fit your growth plans and don’t put undue strain on your company.

Good bankers can offer all kinds of services which make the life of a business owner easier. Many banks offer payroll services so you don’t have to do your own, can set up employee RRSPs to help retain people, and make your company less vulnerable to changing currency rates— important if you’re an exporter, or if you import all or part of your product.

Finally, an experienced banker has seen a lot of business successes and problems. If you have a good banker who doesn’t think you should be buying or investing in something, you probably shouldn’t. If it’s too much risk for the bank, it’s probably too much risk for your company.

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The book on stories

By Don Hill

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euroscientists have discovered that cultural narratives—the stories we tell each other— are more than just stories to the human brain. They help us make sense out of complexity, the blizzard of data that assaults our senses from every which way. Think of it as the software that runs human hardware. That’s just how we’re built.

In a world that’s increasingly defined by uncertainty, instability and risk, stories not only inform, but also form our present-day culture. Human beings live inside stories. And human organizations are an outcome of storytelling—for better and for worse.

Stories are also alive, and “require human beings to remain animate,” said Robert Bringhurst, the noted literary historian and prize-winning poet who lives on Vancouver Island.

“They are the dominant species on our planet,” Bringhurst mused, reflecting on how important stories have endured over time. “We are not in charge here. Our job is to look after stories… to nourish them,” because stories help us navigate the planet. And if they go missing, he warned, “it means there is no world to speak of.”

The stories that guide you, your Robert Bringhurst community or business are like ongoing dramas.

There are the tales of epic proportion, like the one’s you read about everyday.

Other days Noah Richler might feel as if you are living inside a ‘soap opera’.

Either way, “stories do battle,” said Noah Richler, the author of This is My Country, What’s Yours?: A literary atlas of Canada. “They literally fight for attention.”

The soap-opera storytelling model, as a case in point, invites just about everyone into its narrative frame. If you can’t see yourself in the scenario, there is usually a character or two you are sure to recognize. Once you buy into the overall premise of the plot, you’re hooked. This is an example of what I call a horizontal story. Personal dramas all happening at the same time, united in a larger theme or common goal.

And why we need them horizontal story; it creates the conditions for people to engage in the big picture.

“Thoughtful organizations have restructured their management hierarchy,” to a network-based leadership model according to Andre Mamprin, a founding partner of The Next consultants in Calgary. There’s power in a well-told story because “networks are catalyzed and motivated by meaning.

“When you tell stories and put them into the network,” Mamprin said, speaking from his experience as the former director of Leadership Development at the Banff Centre, “it really mobilizes and gathers people together.”

Andre Mamprin Stories are critical because “they are a guiding force to shape the direction of the network.”

There’s an unspoken caution: Stories don’t always have to be correct or even true to be useful.

“There’s a sort of naivety about this whole

THE VISION THING U.S. President John F. Kennedy offered an open invitation during the early 1960s to participate in the grand adventure of a journey to the moon. It could have been an order from the top to mobilize, a vertical story steeped in the authority of the presidential office, what’s known as the ‘command & control’ model of management. Instead, the president asked every citizen in the land, and arguably the world, John F. Kennedy to contribute their skills, their ambitions and their hearts to reach for the stars. Write yourself into the script, he might well have said. A million stories later, the moon was in our collective grasp. That’s the power of a well-told

storytelling thing,” Piers Ibbotson said, underscoring his point with a dramatic sweep of his hand; the gesture is evocative of his role in The Directing Creativity Programme, which he developed for The Royal Shakespeare Company in Britain.

“The story, for instance, it’s a dog-eat-dog world. It isn’t true. Dogs cooperate in packs.” And what of “the free market is the only arbiter,” Ibbotson continued, or “the story of the revolution and its inevitability—all not true,” he said. “Yet these are very powerful stories that dominate our thinking about things.”

TRUTH TO TELL We are at a curious time in human history. There are tremendous resources to tell stories. The actual means—the phones, computers, radio, the gadgets to

put people in touch with each other—are ubiquitous.

However, it is increasingly rare to actually hear from leaders directly. There are legions of ‘communications’ spokespersons, a parade of intermediaries who speak on behalf of someone or something. It’s rare to hear the word directly from the top.

“Leaders nowadays are managed,” Mamprin acknowledged, explaining that it is a function of maintaining shareholder value and “telling the right story, at the right time, to the right people who will buy it.” But he wonders “what has that got to do with corporate social responsibility and other big words [business] bandies about these days like authentic leadership?”

“We live in a world of interpersonal mush,” said Karen Dawson, an executive coach and leadership development consultant at the Banff Centre. “We’re so busy making up stories about what other people are thinking and feeling, we don’t have the courage to go face-to-face and check it out.”

While it’s natural to look out for the boss, today’s leaders are over-protected by their communications departments. “I think people are starving for the truth,” Dawson said. “People want the truth, even if it’s bad news.”

Yet there is the temptation to provide simple solutions. To tell ’em what they want to hear, not what they need to know.

There is a reason for that—the demand for certainty in an increasingly uncertain and ambiguous world.

Karen Armstrong, in her best-selling book The Battle for God, outlined why nations turn to fundamentalism at a time of too-rapid change. People will follow a leader no matter what is said, she explained, even jump off cliffs (which actually occurred in Japan during the dying days of the Second World War) as Karen Armstrong a response to rapid change imposed from outside the culture.

One thing is for certain, a simplistic message—Ready. Fire! Aim.—while affective in a closed culture where the news is constrained, for instance, tends not to be as effective when people have easy access to other information. Leaders caught with weapons of mass distraction risk their credibility in the long term. So what story should you tell when the news is bad?

“Leaders always want to find the right words,” Dawson nodded, before reiterating advice her teacher Maya Angelou gave when posed with a similar question: “People will forget what you Maya Angelou said,” the acclaimed writer once declared, and they “will forget what you did, but people will never forget how you made them feel.” √ Don Hill is a ‘thought leader’ at the Leadership Lab and Leadership Development at the Banff Centre. He is also an award-winning writer and broadcaster with a large footprint on the Internet. Listen to his radio series Inspiring Leadership, a 20-part documentary on contemporary leadership and the challenge of leading in the 21st Century every Saturday morning at 8 AM on the CKUA Radio Network.

For more details visit: www.ckua.com and www.appropriate-entertainment.com

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Paul Mennier and Craig Roskin

someone looks in a day, but to change habits of a lifetime takes a lot longer. The Transformers is more of a docu-soap where we are going through their own real life soap opera. The Transformers are people doing exactly that… transforming people on the edge of a massive change in their lives… taking them through the dark nights of their souls in order to come back up.”

The Transformers, all in all, is compelling television.

Ordinary people—virtually, the folks next door—are featured as they learn some important life and business lessons. In the process, viewers are introduced to situations they can easily relate to and, perhaps, recognize and correct their own shortcomings themselves. As a bonus, they can get more detailed information from the coaches in their monthly Edmontonians’ columns. Everybody wins.

Ironic, isn’t it? Citytv has chosen to air The Transformers even as the station is undergoing a transformation of its own.

The new kid on the block is growing up. √

Renegade Woman

Stories that breathe Transforming traditional television news

By Rick Lauber

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hen it comes to local television stations, Edmonton’s Citytv has long been the new kid on the block—always challenged by CFRN, CBC and Global.

Challenge has led to change for the upstart station—a concept that comes in a variety of forms.

Change is nothing new to the fledgling station: First it was A Channel, owned by Craig Media from September 1997 to December 2004… at which time it became Citytv, owned by CHUM which sold to Bell Globemedia 18 months later. Well, sort of…

As reported on-line at wikipedia.com, “In July 2006, CHUM announced it was to be taken over by Bell Globemedia (later renamed CTVglobemedia), owner of the CTV network, pending regulatory approval. The takeover was completed on October 30. Regulatory decisions regarding the takeover are not expected until mid-2007 at the earliest; in the interim CHUM has been placed in a blind trust under lawyer John McKellar.”

Locally, there would not be a merger; Citytv and CTV stations would remain distinctively different. Other CHUM operations in Edmonton—ACCESS, Canadian Learning Television, BookTelevision and CourtTV Canada—remain side-by-each with Citytv in the historic Hudson’s Bay building downtown, now being redeveloped as Enterprise Square by the U of A. On the heels of the take-over, extensive staffing cuts occurred. Station General Manager Craig Roskin refers to those days as “Black July, when we had the misfortune of having to say goodbye to 48 staff members, which was a difficult thing to do.” All were from the news department… all victims of poor ratings.

This decision was simply a matter of numbers— professional and not personal.

“We were not garnering the audience that we would have liked to receive,” explains Paul Mennier, station content manager, adding that the cuts included news announcers, editors and camera operators. Edmonton was not the only market affected: Every CHUM-owned television station located in Canada felt this same pinch.

In total, approximately 300 jobs were suddenly lost.

Through the darkness of “Black July” came light. The down-sizing provided station management a chance to revaluate their news delivery package and compare it to other local broadcasts. Very little difference was found.

“There wasn’t a great deal of diversity in the supper package,” notes Mennier. “If you looked at 6 p.m., the stations signed on at the same time and had the identical stories… Sometimes it was eerie that they ran the same clips, the same pictures at the same time and, so really, if you were looking for diversity, your choices were if you wanted to get the news from a blonde or a brunette.”

Boldly, Citytv management opted to buck tradition… to consciously speak, instead, to the community at another level. They would certainly not ignore the

major stories of the day, but would “let the other guys do what they were doing well, and serve the community with those kinds of stories: the ambulance-chasing, the crime, the minor scandal,” states Mennier.

“We’ll break off and do some of the other stories that we’ve always talked about doing … We’ll set the agenda and the agenda largely will be set by what’s happening in Edmonton, and the people that we meet and the interesting things that are happening here.”

Such people, “…don’t get the news coverage they deserve.”

Another key difference in the news package is the news magazine format, strongly evident both in Breakfast TV—affectionately promoted as BT—and at 6:30 p.m. with Your City. This differs greatly from a traditional newscast on many levels, explains Mennier, “The derivative is from the print world magazine, which is unlike a newspaper: It can take longer form to cover a specific story… You can direct a little more time… it’s a little more colourful, a little more picture-driven, a little more. Speaking in TV terms now, we let these stories breathe a little bit more…”

Just how does a news story breathe more? It is given the time and opportunity to more fully develop instead of just presenting the quick facts. Unbuckle your belt after gorging down a box of chocolates and you’ve got the idea.

Within the station’s new-found magazine and community focus, the opportunity arose for a collaborative effort: Take the idea of The Transformers— Edmontonians’ innovative feature launched in January—and enhance it. Televise the life and business coaches Tom Bradshaw, Les Brost, Steffany Hanlen and Colin Williamsen as they tutor and counsel entrepreneurs on how to identify and overcome obstacles.

Mother and daughter business team, Lynn and Jen Carolei, were recruited to be the first “live transformees.” They own and operate Sublime Swim and Sunwear (located in St. Albert) and have outgrown their current commercial retail space. Problems are painfully evident in the cramped, small store.

Displaying merchandize to its best advantage and giving patrons prompt change-room access have both been a big challenge. Lynn and Jen have plenty of desire and recently secured financing for the move to larger space in April.

And so, the mini-reality series was born. The Transformers was introduced to the station’s viewing audience on Breakfast Television in mid-February, with subsequent progress reports airing twice each Thursday morning through to late April.

Viewers should not expect just another over-the-top reality show. Marina Michaelides, show directorproducer, explains, “You can have those simple makeover shows where it’s easy to transform the way

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er staccato-style speech is punctured by a deep intake of thoughtful breath. You must think fast in the company of this television producer from the U.K. who barely stands over five feet in her boots. She is a pistol. Marina Michaelides is a multi-talented, award-winning producer, director and author. She has 20 years experience creating and running television productions, including numerous shows for the BBC in the UK, and various specialty channels in Canada.

Among her most familiar productions to locals are The Family Restaurant which chronicles the trials and tribulations of the Yianni Pisalios clan and its three Greek eateries in Edmonton on FoodTV; and Very Bad Men, true crime stories investigating serial con men, for Global.

Preparing for a Transformers’ shoot Marina with her CityTV camera crew, Scott Neufeld and Adrian Pearce Station manager Craig Roskin agrees snagging Michaelides for Citytv was a real coup. Utilizing her talent to the best advantage falls to Paul Mennier, the station’s content manager.

“In addition to producing Edmontonians Transformers on BT, Marina is responsible for weekly Your City features like Celebrity Chefs and Million Dollar Homes… developing other serials for CityNews, including an exciting food related feature. It stars a high profile, hunky Edmontonian and premieres this spring,” explains Mennier.

“As part of the CityNews team, Marina also contributes to the process of daily editorial development and supervision. So far, no plans to do any additional or ‘full-show shows’… producing five hours of original, live, local television every weekday is pushing our current resources to the limit… However, who knows what the future holds.”

As evidenced in her latest book, Michaelides respects renegade women who shoot for the moon plus “shoot cougars and their husbands in the process!” Renegade Women of Canada— The Wild, Outrageous, Daring and Bold is her third book. Published by Edmonton’s Folklore Publishing last year, the book profiles a number of Canadian women who have pushed the envelope and continually do so. It is an educational, enlightening and entertaining read about women who have helped to reshape our belief systems and brought about numerous long-impacting societal changes. Her other books are The Alberta Book of Trivia and The Alberta Book of History. She wrote them to familiarize herself with the province she had chosen to call “home.”

While Michaelides struggles to call herself a renegade woman, she truly admires such women who are “willing to push the barriers… who basically aren’t scared… who aren’t run by fear.” √ EDMONTONIANS MARCH 2007

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Jen Jen Carolei Carolei with with sales sales staff staff Erin Erin Pritchard Pritchard and and Alisa Dorn, and mom Alisa Dorn, and mom Lynn Lynn

Dancing with a grizzly …and other dangerous steps to success

By Les Brost

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anaging a start-up business in an overheated economy is like dancing with a grizzly bear. You’re afraid to keep dancing but you’re even more fearful of what Ol’ Grizz will do if you reject him. It’s scary and thrilling and draining all at the same time.

The risk/reward quotient ramps up if it’s a family business, and it increases by 100 percent if the business is owned and managed by a parent/offspring team. Yet this approach to business can pay off in huge personal and financial rewards if the owners put in the up-front work to achieve the clarity required to manage their business and personal relationships.

Lynn Carolei and her daughter Jen, owners of Sublime Swim and Sunwear in St. Albert, are dancing with the grizzly. They are thrilled and tired, buoyantly optimistic and scared spitless—sometimes all in the same day. That’s normal for folks in their position.

Lynn, an experienced businesswoman, and her 25-year-old daughter have had the store about four years. Each has her own responsibilities relative to the store and they’ve hired staff to run day-to-day customer sales.

“Put on your grown-up clothes,” Jen tells her mother who sometimes panics over tough business decisions. They get along well, given the normal ribbing and teasing within families.

Recently divorced, Lynn has two other children, an adult son and a teenage daughter living at home.

As a former banker, Lynn manages the books and the financing; she attends networking events at such places as E-women Network, Mastermind Clubs and Powerhouse Boards. Jen generally spends her days dealing with suppliers, shipping and receiving. Both enjoy swimsuit shopping excursions to Florida.

Having successfully established Sublime in a niche market, the ladies faced a new challenge: space. Customers have been known to wait an hour for a change room in their 800square foot store. That’s not enough room to attractively display their merchandise—roughly 10,000 items, according to Lynn.

Mother and daughter grappled with the idea of either bringing in equity partners or raising enough organic cash flow to ease the transition and make the move happen. Jenn recently attended a boot camp on how to put together venture ideas. Having negotiated the necessary financing, Sublime is relocating in April to a space that is almost three times bigger.

Enter Edmontonians Transformers—not to secure financing but to assist Lynn and Jen in developing winning attitudes and presentation skills. √

Coach the ladies of Sublime • Steffany Hanlen asks the questions that will lead to vision, values and goals • Les Brost recommends developing a contract to avoid conflict • Colin Williamsen lays out a plan to keep their lives in balance • Tom Bradshaw suggests deep breathing Photos by Terry Bourque

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10 or more years. It means answering se significant than “How many bikinis do w go to that buying show in Miami?” I am get to the heart of the vision very quick A vision is created when the parties ar represents. It’s also about asking yourse feel. Some of the questions I ask are: H outside of it? What do you picture your thinking or saying when the name of yo A vision is about creating beyond the realistic. When you have a vision for yo for a business. Because Jen and Lynn ar and powerful personal visions. So after even begin to write their visions, I sugg “Why we are doing this?”… and “Why w ‘What do we want to achieve personally It may sound easy, but honest answers intimacy, because both women may hav business not run by relatives, are norma

TRANSFORMERS

Brave... but lost

By Steffany Hanlen

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“

re you a business owner... or did you buy yourself a job?”

This is the first question that popped into my head when I met Lynn and Jen Carolei.

Neither statement is necessarily right or wrong: such questions simply challenge thought processes. Partnerships are often difficult. Throw a mother/daughter dynamic into a business mix and you could have a recipe for disaster. That is, unless they share a common vision, and have the discipline to move past ingrained patterns of behaviour commonly associated with family matters.

Without a vision for their lives and business, they will move from one conflict to another.

The nature of great partnerships is that one person challenges the other to bring their best Steffany Hanlen self to the game each day. In an ideal world, partners support each other’s personal and professional growth so that when it is applied in business, results become bigger and better than what would be if done alone.

Lynn and Jen are brave women and, unfortunately, also quite lost. Sublime Swim & Sunwear started out giving these two powerful, yet very different, women a purpose, a goal and a reason to get up in the morning. Now, what seemed to be ‘a good idea at the time’ is a hot little business in St. Albert that has grown beyond their current personal and professional capabilities. So instead of building and following a well laid out business plan, they have been ‘reading and reacting’ as we say in sport from a place of survival. In business, this is often referred to as ‘management by fire.’

Without a clear, written vision for Sublime—and an understanding of their own common values and tangible goals—the business still may experience more growth.

However, they will become increasingly re-active. The ongoing growth and balance they seek is best attained by being proactive.

VISION Having a vision for Sublime Swim & Sunwear is crucial. It is imperative that Lynn and Jen have a clear picture of where they see the business in one, five,

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VALUES

Lynn Carolei

Personal values determine the who you the outline or the framework to make an banking to marketing, a decision either doesn’t—it’s either in line with your per Well, not so much. As family member

Separating mother-daughter s

By Les Brost

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ynn and Jen Carolei have chosen to dance with the grizzly. They are following the intricate dance steps that go with owning and operating a business as a mother and daughter. Both sense intuitively that they have a chance to build the kind of relationships—business and personal—that will give them the satisfaction and success they seek. This puts them at a pivotal point in the business development cycle. Unlike many families that are “dancing with the grizzly,” Lynn and Jen are prepared to take difficult steps today to position themselves for success tomorrow.

So what steps can Lynn and Jenn take to safeguard their business and personal relationships? Can they find strategies to manage the inevitable conflict?

They have already taken a huge first step by recognizing that they have problems. It takes courage to acknowledge there are difficulties, and even more courage to reach out for help.

Lynn and Jen have also recognized that transforming these problems into strengths is a journey that requires a guide. It takes hard, sometime painful work, to rethink old assumptions, unlearn old habits and replace them with new realities and actions. I will be the “guide” who will work with them to keep

them on track.

Parent-adult child partnerships can carry a lot of old baggage. There is a lifetime of “stuff”—the large and small hurts that come with family living—that can impact the business relationship. A skilled conflict management specialist, experienced in famil business, guides the process and provides a safe and secure environment.

The biggest challenge facing Lynn and Jen is to establish and maintain new and clear boundaries for their business and personal relationships. Things can get messy when the mom and daughter stuff spills over into the business side of their relationship … or when business issues impact their personal relationship Their chances for a satisfying, long-term personal and business relationships increase dramatically when they learn to separate the two.

How do they accomplish this separation?

The process begins with a guided conversation between Lynn and Jen about the current reality of their personal and busine relationship. They will honestly and respectfully address these key questions: What’s happening with regards to your relationship at work and home? What’s not What’s working? What’s not?

I will also be working with Jen and Lynn t enhance their communication skills and to

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but that’s often not the case. Ultimately, we create chaos and stress when we impose our own values onto the other person… we each become defensive and reactive when we are not supported by the other individual. Clear as mud, right?

Jen and Lynn have to explore what their personal, current and truthful order of values are. It is essential that they learn, appreciate and support their similarities and their differences. Only by sharing these values openly with each other is it possible to learn to communicate in each other’s values which is respectful and takes a high level of understanding. It also creates the quickest way to agreement.

A values exercise is an important step in self awareness. From this, Lynn and Jen can acknowledge the values they share—and more importantly don’t share.

(View Values exercises at www.steffanyhanlen.com) The power of any business comes from clarity in a common vision created by a clear understanding of personal and business values. Sublime Swim & Sunwear can grow strategically based on the true values of each partner, and how the business can support those values.

l compelling questions—questions more ant to sell next month?” or “Should we ing about questions that are designed to le to see clearly what the business how you want your life to be, look and oes your business support your life nts, suppliers, community and bankers usiness comes up? and beyond what you believe to be fe, it becomes the link to creating one close, they will need two very different wering these questions and before they hey first ask themselves and each other e doing this together?” Next question” professionally from this partnership?” l push the limits of mother/daughter delve deeply into things that, in a ut of bounds. n what you do. Business values give you cision regarding the business. From orts the values of the business or it al values or it’s not. Simple. e assume that we share common values,

GOALS

Jen Carolei

uff from business relationship

Here is where it gets tricky. Goal setting, in the traditional form, is about identifying measurable and/or tangible steps toward achieving a result. After they have an understanding of a bigger picture, I will ask Jen and Lynn to work these steps ‘backward’ from their Common Vision, and base their goals on their personal values, not the other way around. Once established, we can move into creating a vision for their lives and business based on their current business and personal values. Their goals become a simple to-do list—not a checklist of pass and fail.

By creating a common vision based on their shared true values rather than working from a base of perceived and assumed conversations between a mother and a daughter fighting for survival, Lynn and Jen automatically create a much more powerful business.

FROM VALUES TO VISION

Les Brost ensure that each really gets what the other is saying. At this stage, it’s not about what’s right or wrong, it’s simply about understanding and respecting each partner’s perceptions, perspectives and values.

The next step is for them to come to agreement on how they want the relationship to work. They will explore important questions: What would a successful business relationship look like? How would it feel for each of you? How would a successful

personal relationship look and feel? This discussion will set outcomes for their personal and business relationships. I will guide the discussion and capture those desired outcomes.

Once Jen and Lynn have agreed on their current reality and desired outcomes, they can begin brainstorming alternative strategies to achieve their outcomes. I will be capturing the alternatives for this dynamic duo as they begin to chart a pathway to the future.

When the brainstorming is completed, Jen and Lynn will discuss the positives and negatives of each alternative. They will agree on specific strategies for achieving the desired results for their business and personal relationships. These strategies will have timelines and check points. Both will then contract in writing to work toward achieving those future outcomes and “sign off” on the agreement.

What will be the result of their work?

They will have a plan for managing their professional and personal relationships, complete with strategies, timelines and accountabilities. Best of all, they will own this agreement—a product of their own hard work. √

Sublime Swim & Sunwear can be a business that supports each partner and enlivens their lives outside of it. It can become a vehicle that supports two women in achieving their individual dreams instead of just a job. As they each come into alignment with their true selves, inside and out, the scope of the business will very naturally become an extension of them, and the lives they want to create.

Life is short. The mother-daughter relationship is forever and needs to be honoured as the business relationship grows.

Not understanding the basic values and goals of the other person and not creating a path as to how this growth can and will support them at work and at home comes at a very high price.

My intention is to help them slow down… to help them look inside themselves and stop the panic… and to belay, as Lynn says, “the fear of eating cat food in retirement.” Lynn and Jen will soon see they are in an amazing stage of growth, both as a team—and more importantly—as mother and daughter.

This is going be a great story to share with the grandkids one day. √ Steffany Hanlen is a personal performance coach who conducts “The Champion Seminars.” Contact shanlen@edmontonians.com

Les Brost is head of Southern Star Communications.

Contact: lbrost@edmontonians.com

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Take a deep breath

By Tom Bradshaw

W CityTV Crew films Lynn and Jen working with Colin.

When fire collides with fire

By Colin Williamsen

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uccess in today’s tornado-like business world is dependent upon one main factor: the establishment and maintenance of long term relationships. Relationships are challenging at the best of times but, for Jen and Lynn Carolei of Sublime Swim and Sunwear, they are especially so. This motherdaughter team is running a business that is barely able to keep up with the consumer demands for their products.

Understanding their unique mind-body types will assist each of them to effectively engage and connect with one another on a personal and professional level.

Interestingly, Jen and Lynn have the identical primary influence— Fire. As the saying goes: Like mother, like daughter. The only significant difference, other than their stages of life, is that their secondary mind-body-type influences—we all have them—are polar opposites.

Jen’s secondary influence is Wind and Lynn’s is Earth. Wind types are doers, Fire types are natural leaders, and Earth types are lovers of the world. So the daughter is a FireWind type… a leader and a doer.

Mom is a Fire-Earth type… a leader and a lover. The impact of Colin helps Lynn their secondary influences is clearly “stretch it out” evident when Jen rolls her eyes in response to something her mother says.

FIRE TYPE CHARACTERISTICS Jen, who turns 26 this month, admits she is “a self-help junkie.” She is challenged on a daily basis with keeping her “poop in a group,” quite literally.

Lynn, who turns 51 this month, is experiencing a major transition in her life. Having recently entered menopause has created a whole new set of challenges. For the first time in her life, she made a conscious choice to focus on health and well-being. As Lynn shifts her attention to selfcare, understanding her Fire-Earth mind-body type will assist her to move gracefully through the many transitions in all areas of her life while also raising Jen’s teenage sister.

Primary characteristics are a medium cadence metabolism, medium build, and a sharp, orderly and decisive mind as well as a forceful manner.

When Lynn and Jen are balanced, they will be warm, intelligent and good leaders, displaying a love for life while enjoying strong digestion, which Eastern philosophy considers the key to healthy tissues and a strong immune system.

However, if they are out of balance, clear the path. When the flame starts to rage, the mental and behavioral characteristics are anger, aggressiveness… being compulsive, excessively critical or harsh, hostile, intimidating, irritable, judgmental and a workaholic.

Common physical signs of too much fire are acne, indigestion, skin inflammations and ulcers.

SEASONAL INFLUENCES AND BALANCE Each one of the different mind-body types also has a direct 10

Photos by Terry Bourque correlation to a particular season: Earth is spring, Wind is fall and winter, and Fire is summer.

For Jen and Lynn, their primary season is summer. The main precaution is to avoid over-heating… whether it is by spending too much time in the sun without maintaining adequate levels of hydration, or participating in movement or physical activity that is too intense. Both can create too much fire internally.

This is the time for both of them to decrease the level of intensity in all their activities to a moderate pace in order to achieve and maintain balance.

During the fall and winter season— pertaining to Jen’s secondary influence of Wind—the key for her will be to put more focus and attention on flexibility. The influence of cold, windy and dry weather puts additional stress on her internal organs and causes her muscles and connective tissue to contract and shorten, increasing the amount of tightness in her entire body. The most effective strategies will be to stretch for longer periods of time during her movement or workout programs, and participate in various forms of yoga: Bikram or Hot Yoga is done in a heated room; Vinyasa is a steady flowing form; Ashtanga or Power Yoga is an intense athletic based type.

During the spring season— pertaining to Lynn’s secondary influence of Earth—the key for her will be to increase the intensity as much as her level of vital energy will allow. This is the time when the very heavy wet and cool qualities of Earth can cause her to become lazy. Having the assistance of a workout partner or working with a coach will be of particular benefit in keeping her on track.

The main strategy for Jen and Lynn in achieving and maintaining balance will be to decrease the raging fire— the pace at which they are currently living—so the flame is burning at a moderate-to-steady rate consistently. This can easily be achieved with the right amount of movement and a nutrition program for their primary and secondary mindbody type influences, with the appropriate seasonal adjustments.

Jen and Lynn will be performing their exercise program which has a mix of cardiovascular and resistance/weight training components, twice per week. The focus will be on stretching and strengthening for healthy posture. Jen will be doing yoga four times a week with a mix of either Bikram at a yoga studio or Yoga for Flexibility with Rodney Yee on DVD at home. Lynn also will be doing yoga three times per week with Level 1-Yoga Conditioning for Weight Loss with Suzanne Deason on DVD. Understanding each other’s genetic uniqueness will provide them with the ability to approach all aspects of their lives with more mindfulness and a higher level of awareness. It will assist them in achieving their goals while maintaining balance on the journey. √ Colin Williamsen is the president of The Wellness Coaches Inc. Contact: cwilliamsen@edmontonians.com

e’ve all heard that one. Heck, even our moms have extoled the virtues of deep breathing.

Here is the catch: 80 percent of the population does not know how to take a simple deep breath. Like so many others, if Jen and Lynn can master the process, they will receive the full benefits that come from deep breathing.

So where do we go wrong? To start with, breathing is something that most of us do not think about until we have a breathing problem like colds, allergies, asthma, even fears or stress. Then there are the misconceptions—the lungs are muscles… breathing through the mouth is better for deep breathing.

Let’s look at how you breathe. Stand in front of a mirror with one hand on your stomach. Take a deep breath and see what happens. Are those shoulders moving up? If they are, you are an upper chest breather. You probably find people asking you to repeat yourself because they didn’t hear you. Deep breathing for relaxation purposes does not work and, as the day goes on, you probably find stress growing.

Trying to speak in this stressed existence causes you to shallow breathe, feeling like you are drowning in front of your audience.

Try that deep breath again, but focus your attention on keeping those shoulders down and moving the hand on your stomach out. It might not look flattering in today’s world of ripped abs and flat stomachs but that expanded space is where your power comes from. By building this power base in Lynn and Jen, we can correct some of the vocal issues that are holding them back.

Jen has a young almost “little girl” voice that does not serve her well. A potential client could easily assume she is speaking with a high school intern and not the owner. Adding to this youthful “hit” is the tone or pitch of her voice, which is just slightly high.

Add the stress of runaway business success and her voice can slip into stridency. Those with strident voices are often perceived as overly aggressive. Jen is very knowledgeable and experienced in her field but the voice is sending a contradictory message.

Focusing Jen’s breathing along with some resonance work will move her voice on to its natural pitch. From there, we can build a powerfully centred voice that people will find easy to focus on and trust, Tom Bradshaw increasing her credibility. This will result in a shift in the customers thinking from “She’s too young to have this much knowledge” to “How did someone so young get so much knowledge?“ Lynn has a wonderfully mature voice that should serve her well in business as well as life. However, her voice is not being supported by that deep breath.

This allows her voice to travel into her nasal passages, increasing nasality. Nasality will often be heard by others as a whiny quality. Once again, the customer’s mind becomes confused by those mixed messages. While Lynn is talking about the quality of the product, her voice is not supporting the claim. A customer wonders, “Am I getting the truth or is this a scripted, sales pitch?”

Focusing her breathing, along with the same resonance exercises as Jen, will draw Lynn’s voice out of the nasal resonators. This will reduce the negative qualities, increasing her credibility and allowing the full potential of her voice to be achieved. √ Tom Bradshaw is the head of the Academy of Voice & Speech.

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Chinese agriculture: Threat or opportunity?

By Cheryl Lockhart

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don’t think that anyone could disagree

with John Chappele that, “Whatever China is today will probably not be what China will be tomorrow but, whatever it becomes, its impact on the world is here to stay.” He shared his insights about Chinese agriculture production and the implications for Canadian producers and consumers with close to 1300 attendees at the Mayfield Inn for FarmTech 2007.

Chappele, a resident of China with his own farm, had one basic message for the Chinese rack audience: China cannot produce quality fertilizer enough food to feed its citizens and this situation will be exacerbated as more people move from the countryside into cities.

Currently, 49 percent of the labour force is involved in agriculture but, over the next 10 to 15 years, 200 million people—equal to the combined populations of Germany, France and the United Kingdom—will relocate. As this segment of the population grows, it will consume more and demand more variety of food. Food consumption is predicted to grow eight percent per year for the foreseeable future. For a country with less farm land per capita than any other nation except India, self-sufficiency in many products is not feasible; China has 20 percent of the world’s population but only seven percent of arable land.

The atmosphere at FarmTech was lighter this year compared to recent years, with elevated grain prices giving producers some hope that they are not in a dying industry.

Chappele’s prediction that agriculture commodity prices will soon surge in response to rising Chinese demand, as metal and oil prices have done, was another encouraging sign for an industry that has been struggling with low commodity prices and drought in recent years.

Chappele elaborated further on some of the problems preventing China’s agriculture industry from more effectively responding to increased demand. Chief among those challenges is fragmentation of farm units with the average farm size being less than half a hectare. Economies of scale are simply not possible and Chinese farmers are very resistant to amalgamating their land. For these farmers, it is also difficult to purchase quality inputs like fertilizer

Edmontonian IN EXILE

By Janet Edmondson in Calgary jedmondson@edmontonians.com

and seed. Chappele estimated that 40 percent of pesticides sold in the market are fake, and even the genuine product is often misused with the common perception being that “if it doesn’t work, use more,” resulting in chemical resistance and residues in the soil. Years of mismanagement have also taken their toll on the land with most soils having very low organic matter. This is particularly the case in south China where three crops are grown in a year.

And, as with agriculture in every region of the world, getting the right Chinese workers amount of rain at the right time is spray pesticides always on the minds of farmers, with extreme flooding in the south and an arid climate in the north.

Simply purchasing better technology, seed and fertilizer, and investing in storage and distribution infrastructure will not resolve these challenges and the 500 million Chinese left in rural areas will continue with subsistence farming while the diets of relatively more affluent citizens in the cities will continue to evolve driving demand for western style food. China may be able to meet domestic demand for fruits and vegetables, but “we are going to see a dramatic impact on commodities such as soya, vegetable oils, wheat, barley and corn.” In fact, the Chinese government is so worried about meeting the dietary needs of its citizens that it has banned the use of corn in bio fuel production because it is seen as too important as a food source for human and animal consumption.

work after immigrating to Canada from Columbia in 1992.

At the time, Canadian governments were paying little attention to unsustainable urban growth patterns, and it was difficult to find work in her chosen field. Instead, she built on her previous experience with cities in Latin America and created a niche for herself as an urban sector consultant on international projects.

“Cities have almost become states within a state, with unique needs that national governments are not able to effectively address. Cities in Canada have an advantage over their counterparts in developing countries, with more advanced infrastructure, but in some ways they are further behind in their development as they have no control.” I learned that cities in many developing countries have more autonomy and ability to raise revenues than Canadian cities which are hampered by existing federal and provincial controls. In fact, cities are becoming so independent, IFIs are now starting to lend them money directly for their urban projects, rather than via national governments.

Muñoz currently works with cities in Honduras, Mexico, Spain, Costa Rica, Colombia and Mongolia, and has finally broken into the Canadian market with the federal Sustainable Cities Initiative. She specializes in technology and knowledge transfer projects in key areas such as energy, the environment, urban land use planning and public transportation systems, as well as governance structures, local economic development and public-private partnerships.

Muñoz encouraged all those in attendance who were interested in working internationally to seriously look at what IFIs have to offer. Even individual consultants are in demand for feasibility studies, project evaluations and as subject matter experts.

PATH TO SUCCESS THROUGH INTERNATIONAL FINANCIAL INSTITUTIONS

The devastating Asian tsunami of two years ago

Regular readers know I am the president of the Alberta chapter of the Organization of Women in International Trade. One of our goals is to create an environment for the open exchange of information for women (men are welcome, too) on issues of interest to the international trade community in the province. Earlier this year, Shane Jaffer and Marta Muñoz spoke to us about business opportunities with international financial institutions, or IFIs as they are commonly called.

Over a wonderful Indian meal at Khazana restaurant, attendees were exposed to the untapped opportunities open to Alberta companies at IFIs such as the World Bank, the Caribbean Development Bank and the Asian Development Bank. Jaffer explained that a large part of his job consists of educating business people about IFIs and what is required to win contracts with them. He also frequently leads missions to IFI headquarters.

For companies that are interested in IFI opportunities, Jaffer can provide an overview of the bid process, which differs among IFIs. He stressed that, while IFIs provide financing and regulations governing procurement, the borrowing country selects the contractor. For this reason, Canadian firms need to conduct most of their marketing and business prospecting overseas, limiting the pursuit of business opportunities financed by the IFIs only to those with patience and a substantial business development budget. Despite huge initial investments in time and money, Jaffer said, the companies he works with find it attractive to expand globablly through IFIs because payment is guaranteed—not always the case with other international business development options.

Edmontonian Muñoz of The Americas Group agreed.

As an urban development expert who has worked with IFIs for almost 20 years, she has found it much more beneficial to identify and pursue IFI-funded projects, rather than work directly with foreign government administrations (though she does that as well). Muñoz became more involved in IFI

TSUNAMI VICTIMS NOT FORGOTTEN long receded from news headlines, but its effects continue to be felt by its survivors. An ongoing civil war aggravated the hardship in Sri Lanka where many women have been left widowed by these two tragedies, with no means to support themselves. Without husbands to care for them, widows are being forced to abandon their children, enter into prostitution or even solicit their children into prostitution in order to survive.

Local business owner Cindy Clarke saw her chance to help when she learned of the Work for Widows project, dedicated to helping widowed women and their families to attain self-sufficiency through self-employment. Throughout Sri Lanka women work from home to produce beautiful jewelry and fashion accessories. The difficulty, as with many similar projects I have come across in my foreign travels, has been to get the product in front of consumers.

Obviously within Sri Lanka there is a limited market, primarily a tourist market, so the Work for Widows team was looking for distribution channels in western markets.

Clarke is the owner of Out of the Fire Studio which has been selling stoneware pottery in the city since 1995. With her own storefront for her pottery business, she made the decision late last year to allocate some space for Work for Widows jewelry, as well as sell on-line through her existing website where she receives orders from all over the world for her unique pottery designs.

Since then, Clarke moved her studio, gallery and showroom to a new location on Jasper Avenue, hoping to sell even more. “Sri Lanka is full of widows that live with discrimination… and this part of the world is full of women with money and a desire to help so I hope with this new location I can help bring them together.”

I hope so too. √ Cheryl Lockhart owns International Strategies Ltd., specializing in export-related planning and marketing.

E-mail: clockhart@edmontonians.com

B

north… the Elbow River has housing on both banks. ack in the 1960s, Sid Barron drew the editorial I miss the Edmonton North Saskatchewan River cartoons for the now defunct Calgary morning valley—the largest stretch of urban parkland in North paper, The Albertan. He almost always had a America. Look at it now—still covered with a layer of tortoiseshell cat leaning on one elbow holding a sign with a sardonic message, and a biplane flying across the snow—it looks clean and fresh. Perfect for snowshoeing or cross-country skiing. Give it a few more weeks, and horizon, trailing a banner proclaiming, “Aren’t the watch it gradually explode into mountains pretty today?” green. Walk or bike along over 150 And they are—every day. But kilometres of trails it has to offer. they are off on the distant horizon Picnic in one of the 22 parks along and, really, they don’t change much the river’s edge. Canoe, kayak or, from season to season—a little if you must, speedboat in the river. snow on top in the winter, a bit less Admire the panorama from the top in the summer. of Gallagher Hill during FolkFest.

I want spectacular scenery on my And then—and this is my favourite doorstep… but Calgary is, I think, time – wallow in the multilacking in that. Despite having two coloured glory that is late rivers winding through the city, I Edmonton Folk Fest September in the River Valley. don’t think the city’s early planners That is some spectacular made the best use of that parkland potential. Calgary’s downtown crowds the south shore of the playground Edmonton has. Sprawling, beautiful and everchanging. Get out and enjoy it. √ Bow… Memorial Drive parallels a meagre walkway on the

EDMONTONIANS MARCH 2007

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11

INTEL Biz

M edia Minute with Bruce Hogle

Congrats to good friend and

former Edmonton Sun Editor-in-Chief Paul Stanway on his appointment as director of communications for Premier Ed Stelmach. A highly respected journalist, he’ll be assisted by ex Calgary Herald columnist Tom Olsen as director of media relations.

Their skin is thick enough to withstand any barbs from former colleagues in the Legislative Press Gallery.

As a matter of fact, I think gallery members and other columnists will have more to say about ex Premier Klein joining the Borden Ladner Gervais law firm in Calgary as their senior business advisor. I note the firm’s announcement says that “BLG provides bilingual legal and intellectual property services in virtually every area of law.” Is that

C

ivic Buzz with David Norwood

The recent designation by the provincial government of the Old Strathcona district as a “provincial historic area” is a welcome recognition of the district as one of historical importance in Alberta. Although largely symbolic, it does add Old Strathcona to the provincial and federal registries of historically significant places, which in turn are used by tourists and others to plan visits.

Equally important is the fact that the designation recognizes something other than the publicity-prone club and bar aspect of Old Strathcona, much of which is unwarranted and unfair. These businesses are an integral and vital part of the district; the historical aspects of the area are equally important and significant. The fact that an eclectic mixture of local and national retail outlets, pubs, restaurants and clubs all coexist in what amounts to a round-the-clock environment, speaks volumes about the character of Old Strathcona. Many of us remember the period before the 1980s, when the area was in danger of becoming the exact opposite of what it is today. The Princess Theatre (then called the Klondike) showed soft-core pornography films, many shops were shuttered, and the neighbourhood was slowly dying.

Dedicated business owners and residents, led by the Old Strathcona Foundation, banded together in the late 1970s to renew and revitalize Whyte Avenue while preserving most of the architecture and settings which gave the district much of its charm. That effort, along with the serendipitous and almost simultaneous arrival and exponential growth of the Edmonton International Fringe Theatre Festival—which in many ways defined Old 12

applicable to “senior business advisors” too?

That aside, Edmontonians and Albertans are fortunate there’s no radio station in this city or province that conducts life-threatening contests the likes of KDND in Sacramento.

Three of its morning disc jockeys, and seven other employees, were fired— and rightly so—after a woman died from drinking nearly eight litres of water in a very short time-frame during an ill-fated contest.

That’s not to say we don’t have zany contests amongst Edmonton’s private radio stations, plus TV, especially during ratings. But despite fierce competitiveness, and ongoing attempts at one-upmanship, no contest ever endangers lives. Further, all media are very responsive in time of need.

Media fund raisers for the Stollery Children’s Hospital and Salvation Army are excellent examples of what I mean – as well as Strathcona and in turn has been defined by its setting there—and the literally thousands of people who visit Old Strathcona year-in and year-out, have made it distinct and entirely worthy of its historical designation status. While no funding is attached to the designation, the focus it brings will undoubtedly help this special district to maintain its character and ambience.

Edmonton Airports is really taking off. After recording an impressive 15.5 percent increase in passenger traffic in 2006 to 5.2 million passengers, and a more than 14 percent increase in cargo volume, International looks to grow in an almost equally strong manner in 2007. The growth—far ahead of world standards, which recorded a growth of 3.6 percent in worldwide passenger volume in 2006— reflects Edmonton’s strong economy and population growth. It also signals a growing recognition of the city’s importance as a regional hub.

While Edmonton is still significantly behind Calgary as a regional hub (Air Canada does, after all, identify Calgary officially as one of its four domestic hubs, along with Montréal, Toronto and Vancouver), the International’s passenger growth is the largest in percentage terms of any major Canadian airport. Much can be attributed to an increase in traffic from such markets as Yellowknife, Grande Prairie, Fort McMurray and Saskatoon. As I mentioned in a recent column, Air Canada has finally recognized this, coordinating the timing of arrivals from these four markets to connect with its flights to London, England and some domestic destinations.

As well, the airline has announced seasonal non-stop daily service to Halifax this summer.

Air Canada and Air Canada Vacations have also stepped up their service to Edmonton. In addition to seasonal flights to Cancun and Punta Cana, Air Canada has added weekly flights to Montego Bay, Jamaica through April, and goes daily with its London-Heathrow flights starting April

drives to collect blankets, mitts and hats for the homeless. Or special appeals when Food Bank supplies are low. Even rural Alberta is not forgotten, as witnessed by the financial campaign for that Whitecourt park and statues honouring the Fallen Four Mounties.

Media outlets also have their own special charities. One of the best known, CHED’s Santa’s Anonymous —started in 1954 by the late Gerry Forbes—has provided hundreds of thousands of gifts to needy children over the past 52 years. Following in his footsteps, son Marty, VP/GM for the Standard stations here (The Bear/EZ Rock/CFRN 1260) initiated The Bear Children’s Fund charity 14 years ago, distributing $1.4 million to the Boys and Girls Clubs, as well as individuals in need. The CTV Good Neighbour Fund charity has been operating the same length of time, assisting numerous families in the city and Northern Alberta.

On the print side, Graham Hicks of The Sun does incredible work during

1. Not official as of the date this column was written but pretty solid information suggests that Air Canada Jazz will be adding a second Edmonton-Los Angeles non-stop in June, departing in the early evening, using its popular CRJ-705 aircraft, as well as a second daily non-stop to Yellowknife.

WestJet has also reacted to the phenomenal growth at Edmonton International. Its daily non-stop service to Las Vegas will continue through the summer (Phoenix and Palm Springs flights, as well as other possible sun destinations, will undoubtedly return as seasonal nonstops starting again in the fall); its seasonal non-stop service to Halifax returns this spring and new daily non-stop service to Montréal begins this spring as well.

Frequency on other WestJet routes— including to Comox, Abbotsford, Winnipeg and Toronto—is also being increased.

Rumours abound about other new routes, airlines and services, but we’ll have to wait and see what actually materializes. Priority destinations identified by airport officials include either Houston or Dallas in Texas, New York and Frankfurt. Pressure inside the terminal is also quite intense. Traci Bednard, Edmonton Airports’ director of corporate communications, acknowledges that the unexpected growth has highlighted the need for more services in the terminal, both pre- and post-security, not to mention the trans-border holding area. She says that airport staff is working to remedy the situation as quickly as possible, but acknowledges that the process will take some time.

It’s hard to believe that it’s been more than a decade since consolidation of scheduled service at the International took place. And one can’t help but wonder what would have happened had that decision not been taken. But that’s another story, no longer relevant. Right now, the sky is definitely the limit at Edmonton International.

As sales figures indicate, the Edmonton condominium market has become hotter and hotter. With the average price of a condo increasing 74 percent to well in excess of $200,000 during 2006, it’s no wonder starts of

the festive seasons with two campaigns: Last Christmas, the Adopta-Teen program provided 3,000 teens with $50-Walmart gift certificates.

His Sun Christmas Charity Auction raised $65,000 each for the Christmas Bureau, United Way, Stollery Hospital and Catholic Social Services. The Journal’s Nick Lees is also prominent working on behalf of various charities. I’d be remiss in not mentioning the great support provided

by Sharon MacLean’s Edmontonians to not-for-profit organizations throughout the course of the year, and annually dedicating the December issue to the region’s most comprehensive calendar of charity events.

In other words, Bunkee, while we may not always agree with various media outlets, they are truly cognizant of their responsibilities in times of need.

Next Month: Should our National Anthem be abandoned at all Oilers and Eskimos games?

One prominent media person says “Yes”. I’ll tell you who… and give you my thoughts. √

Bruce Hogle is the former news director at CFRN TV and recently retired head of the Alberta Press Council.

Contact bhogle@edmontonians.com multi-family units has virtually exploded.

Much of the higher-end growth continues to take place in the downtown core, with dozens of projects either under construction, announced or in final planning stages.

One of the most dramatic indicators of the soaring popularity of these projects is the recent announcement by Langham Properties that Tower II of the Icon, on 104th Street north of Jasper, would be increased to 35 stories from 30. The 30storey Tower I is well under construction, and sales of Tower II have been excellent.

Further west, construction has commenced on True North Properties’ new Uptown condominium on 117th Street. Featuring four units per floor, this 15-storey project sold out most of its suites before ground was broken. In my view, it is a significant improvement architecturally over some of True North’s earlier projects.

Far less dramatic architecturally but still a vast improvement over the existing structure is River Valley Condominiums, on 97th Avenue and 105th Street. Easily one of the ugliest square towers erected in Edmonton in the 1960s, the old Valley Towers would have been an easy candidate for demolition.

Instead, the new owners of the property, sensing a need for compact, affordable units close to downtown and the government centre, are re-cladding the entire building, using new exterior textures and colour, as well as completely gutting the building.

The renovated structure, marketed by Paranych Project Marketing, sold virtually all of its units in about four hours.

These projects are only the tip of the iceberg. Just watch to see what else is coming. √ David Norwood is a freelance writer/editor.

Contact dnorwood@edmontonians.com EDMONTONIANS MARCH 2007

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iz IT 101 B with Greg Michetti

A quick look at the calendar and, suddenly, you realize you’ve done absolutely zip in terms of your personal income tax and April’s filing deadline.

You reluctantly threw in a token amount at the RRSP deadline last month and your entire, admittedly feeble, tax plan is in a tizzy since you took the payout… and you left your job last year, then incorporated a company and split income with your wife.

Oh yeah, you cashed in a couple of GICs and an RSP for business cash flow… and, the other day, your son told you he feels he should get all the tax credit for tuition fees at the university. Sheesh, exactly what do you do with that rental property income you get every month from those condos you and your sister bought last year?

There are only two things you know for sure at this point. First, you are going to owe money to the government and, second, you have no idea how to handle it all.

Don’t feel bad. The majority of Canadians are the same as only 15 percent know exactly how much they can contribute to their RRSP, according to Decima Research. Other findings include: The greater the salary and the higher the education, the more likely Canadians are to have a financial plan and follow it.

Only three percent of Canadians say their retirement plan is dependent upon winning the lottery. That number nearly doubles for those with less than high school education.

Married people are more than twice as likely (45 percent single, 70 percent married) to have an RRSP. Those who make less than 40k are three times more

money MAKING

By Ron Hiebert

nervous than those making 100k+ (33 percent vs 11 percent).

In terms of seeking financial advice on RRSP purchase decisions, most turn to financial planners. Interestingly, nearly a third of Atlantic Canadians rely on friends

a flock o’ tax applications here, starting with QuickTax Standard, the computerinstalled package that allows for five returns. If you have a really simple return, consider QuickTaxWeb, the online tax software service.

For tax preparers, QuickTax Pro 50 and QuickTax Pro 100 allow owners of that software to file up 50 or 100 returns, respectively.

If you use Quicken at a personal level, using QuickTax is a no-brainer. Likewise, if you’re a small business owner using QuickBooks, then QuickTax Business becomes a reasonable alternative to examine the tax consequences of your incorporated or unincorporated business. It also automatically determines eligible tax deductions and completes all necessary calculations.

There is tremendous overlap between your business and personal financial situation. In June 2004, Statistics Canada found that 98 per ent of businesses in Canada are small to mid-sized, with fewer than 100 employees.

“After 14 years, we know what small businesses need to succeed,” said Yves Millette, president and CEO of Intuit Canada. “It helps business owners save thousands of dollars on professional tax preparation fees.”

Millette carries a “Don’t-do-it-if-you-

Intuit’s Staff: “Where’s the peanut butter?” and family, double the national average.

Sixty-five percent of Quebecers feel that they will probably not have to work by age of 65 in order to have enough money for their desired lifestyle; in Alberta, that number rises to 74 percent.

OK; enough numbers. After all, filing your taxes electronically—either by yourself or with the assistance of an accountant or tax preparation firm has long been the preferred way to do this mainly because it is easy and refunds come back faster.

Now stay with me here because there are

can’t-measure-it” philosophy. Intuit Canada’s headquarters, located on southeast Edmonton’s Roper Road, represent the Canadian version of Intuit, the successful Mountain View, Californiabased makers of financial, tax and bookkeeping software.

Intuit Canada is one of the 50 best employers and the top-ranked technology company in Canada, according to Hewitt Associates.

The Edmonton office sports three on-site nap rooms, an absence of a dress code, a 24x7 fitness facility, Bose Quiet Comfort 2 Noise Cancelling headphones for coders; subsidized cafeteria with free suckers and free coffee. Everybody gets a minimum three weeks vacation and, best of all; there is a terrific “open door” mentality where complaints, issues and problems among staff are dealt with.“In one of my ‘Ask Yves’ e-mails, [where employees can ask the boss any question] I was asked why the peanut butter was taken out of the cafeteria,” smiles Millette.

Anyway, you get the picture… the same way that any successful software firm gets the picture: Its only true assets are the intellectual properties and well being of its employees. This type of environment is critical in terms of generating solid software application and software executives—from Steve Ballmer to Larry Ellison—know if you want sensational, bug free codes, you have to keep the coders wanting to come to work. √ Gregory B. Michetti of the Alberta-based systems integration firm Michetti Information Solutions, Inc. can be reached via www.michetti.com

The oil patch is changing. Are you?

B

etween 2001 and 2006, the oil patch provided some of the easiest gains in the stock market.

It didn’t matter what you invested in. As long as you had capital employed in the sector you made money, and lots of it. That changed a year ago.

The former hottest part of the Canadian market went sideways in the first quarter of 2006. This is a reflection of the significant roadblocks to growth that have appeared both domestically and internationally.

The world has changed. If you are going to continue to invest profitably in the energy sector, your strategy has to take all of these new risks into account.

TAXING THE GOLDEN GOOSE Way back when oil was $10 U.S. per barrel, governments were tripping over themselves to create the tax breaks necessary to attract investment. Now that energy prices have gone through the roof, the oil patch is swimming in cash and has been transformed into “Public Enemy #1”. Politicians are taking a populist stance, hoping to win at the ballot box by accusing the oil companies of taking advantage of the consumer.

Both Alberta and the Feds are casting a jaundiced eye on the tax incentives that the “patch” currently receives. The province is looking at axing the Alberta Royalty Tax Credit and four other royalty programs.

This could theoretically increase our revenues by $300 million per year. The Feds are reviewing the ACCA or accelerated cost allowance, which permits oilsands projects to write off all of their capital costs against income before they have to pay any income tax.

Any changes to the tax structure that will put more money into government coffers are bad for the oil patch because it means less in theirs.

CONSERVATION WILL HURT In his most recent State of the Union address, President Bush announced some very ambitious conservation targets for the United States. He wants to see gasoline consumption drop by 20 percent over the next 10 years and aggressive promotion of the development of alternative fuels and energy sources, like ethanol and wind. America is not alone in this. Other countries, especially in Europe, have even more stringent targets.

If the world were able to lower hydrocarbon consumption by 10 percent through conservation or alternative energy measures, that would reduce the daily demand for oil by a whopping 8.5 million barrels. Supply/demand imbalances of this magnitude have, in the past, sent the price of oil into a death spiral. When this kind of condition occurred in 1988 and 1998, crude prices dropped to $10 per barrel.

LABOUR SHORTAGES Before many of the new mega projects in Alberta get built, companies will have to figure out where they will get the manpower to make it happen. Trying to get employees today is tough—and expected to worsen. By 2015, the consensus that is bandied about by the experts is that our province will face a shortage of 100,000 skilled labourers. According to the Conference Board of Canada, that number could reach 350,000 by 2025.

ENVIRONMENTAL LEGISLATION The next election in Canada will be fought with environmental issues at the front and centre.

Greenhouse gas emissions are the Achilles’ heel of mega-project development. There are solutions to the problem, but they are pricey. Using nuclear power to create steam; building super-efficient upgrading technology; initiating combustion to produce enough heat to turn the tar into lighter grades of oil while it is still in the rock formation—these are just a few of the ideas available to create a much more environmentally friendly oil patch. The problem is that these expensive technologies dramatically affect the companies’ bottom lines if they are initiated.

COST PRESSURE I conducted my own straw poll a couple of weeks ago.

I called a half-dozen construction contractors to ask them how much they estimated building costs had increased during the past five years. They all said between 80 and 90 percent. When I asked them what their best guess was for cost escalation in the upcoming year, the answers all ranged between 10 and 15 percent. With cost pressures continuing to rise at double-digit rates, capital projects and exploration are being scaled back to reflect the lower returns on investment that higher prices inevitably produce.

WHAT DOES HE KNOW THAT WE DON’T? Even though there are a lot more headwinds facing the oil and gas industry than there were in the past, this doesn’t mean that you want to take all of your money out of the sector. President Bush announced that the U.S. is going to increase the country’s Strategic Petroleum Reserve from 700 million barrels to 1.5 billion barrels. Even a casual review of the Middle East helps you understand why. Iran. Iraq.

Palestine. Al Qaeda. Any one of them could be the catalyst that sets off a series of events that would send oil prices skyrocketing.

WHAT TO OWN? WHAT NOT TO OWN? There is a long list of energy equities that you don’t want to own right now: most energy income trusts; companies with short reserve lives; firms with a lot of debt on their balance sheets… shares that are expensive relative to their peers on a cash flow basis… mega-projects where costs are spiraling out of control.

What you do want to own are the strong exploration and production companies. These are the guys with a big inventory of potential acreage on which they can drill… clean balance sheets so they can afford to expand… reserves of a decade or more so they aren’t scrambling during periods of low prices. Even if a company meets all the criteria, you don’t want to over-pay for it. Try to limit your purchases to companies trading for less than six times cash flow.

The oil patch has changed. Not just any old stock you buy going forward will make you money. In the current environment, future share price increases will only be awarded to those companies that can grow their production at a reasonable cost.

Now is the time to focus on buying only the best. √ Ron Hiebert, a director at ScotiaMcLeod, teaches investment classes at Grant MacEwan College.

The author of Wealth Building can be heard weekdays at 7:34 am, on CFCW radio (790 AM). Contact him at 780.497.3215 or rhiebert@edmontonians.com

EDMONTONIANS MARCH 2007

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13

LIVELY lifestyles

March to the garden MENU

Magic with Chef John Berry

I

t may seem a tad early to be thinking about planting this year’s garden, but for those of us who like to grow our herbs and vegetables from seeds, now is the time to get at it.

Regardless of where we live—in houses, condos or apartments—we should start planning what we intend to put in our garden plot or balcony planters. I’ve seen some incredible half-wine barrels and flower planters teaming with Tom Thumb tomatoes and herbs. Just because you don’t have a plot of land, doesn’t mean you can’t have a balcony or patio garden.

I usually start my lettuce, tomatoes and herbs indoors now so, by the time planting season hits, I’m ready to rock and roll.

Herbs are usually defined as plants grown for their culinary uses, although some make excellent ground cover. The leaves, flowers and seeds are used for cooking. Good examples are parsley, basil and thyme. Spices on the other hand usually come from the hard parts of the plant such as the roots and bark.

Bear in mind that some plants and herbs are not safe to eat. The best protection for you and your family and friends is to buy a reliable herb book or magazine so you can make informed selections. The definitive book for me is Lois Hole’s Herbs & Edible Flowers—Gardening for the Kitchen. The book is incredible, just like our late Queen of Green and most gracious Lieutenant Governor was. It was a thrill to talk to her at Hole’s Greenhouses in St Albert. She always had time for everyone and loved to share her vast knowledge of what she enjoyed most—indeed what she lived for— gardening.

She has detailed in her book 100 herbs and plants you can use in your kitchen. But, as she points out, “Many plants can be eaten, but only some can be enjoyed.”

flower can be used to beautify salads; and rose hips are high in Vitamin C. The neat thing about planning and starting your garden is you can source out different varieties of herbs and vegetables simply by opening a book like Lois’ or visiting the Hole family in St Albert.

Lois’ son Jim is a walking encyclopedia and, like his mom, he’s more than willing to talk to you about gardening, and can direct you to experts in each department to help you with your needs. And you can pick-up a variety Lois’ books on gardening. I use mine as my gardening bibles.

When was the last time you garnished your salad with snapdragons or set one on the side of a plate as an edible garnish? Be careful though because some of them can be on the bitter side.

Lemon Verbena has grown in popularity over the past few years because it can be used to make fragrant lemon tea, and as a garnish for Sparkling Wine or Champagne. I love to dice it up and sprinkle it in my Caesars. Or how about an apple pie with Lemon Verbena.

Rose petals make a beautiful garnish on dessert plates, and can be diced and used to make a rose butter. The whole

ROSE BUTTER From Lois Hole’s Herbs & Edible Flowers Gardening for the Kitchen 1 /2 lb. unsalted butter 1 Tbs. icing or granulated sugar 2 Tbs. rose petals(diced) 1 to 2 drops of rosewater, almond extract or vanilla extract • In a medium bowl, soften the butter with a spatula or wooden spoon.

• Wash in salt water, thoroughly rinse, then dry each petal.

• Dice finely.

• Add all ingredients into butter.

• Mix well. Use right away or store in the freezer wrapped and sealed for up to three weeks.

Serve flower petal butters with sweet biscuits, muffins, waffles and pancakes, grilled fish, and cooked carrots and turnips.

For more information, contact Hole’s at: 101 Bellrose Drive, St Albert Phone 419-6800 or e-mail info@holesonline.com √ Contact Chef John Berry at jberry@edmontonians.com

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The body can get overloaded with toxins because it cannot keep up with the filtration process. The more toxins in the body, the more lymphatic fluid increases to protect cells.

You force out toxins. Once the toxins are gone, the lymphatic fluid decreases and you lose inches. It is not water loss—rather, an exchange of minerals for toxins.

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www.suddenlyslimmerdayspa.com 14

EDMONTONIANS MARCH 2007

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That sinking feeling 1000 pounds and a crane with Linda Bodo

I

t started four years ago with a kitchen sink—more precisely, a farmhouse sink.

These well worn vessels have commandeered country kitchens and governed a gambit of gardens throughout rural Europe for centuries. Sculpted from stone, these gargantuan basins can easily accommodate a week’s worth of dishes and an army of pots and pans.

My existing kitchen had a typical double-basin, stainless steel sink: functional, easy to maintain and extremely boring. I love the idea of genre-mixing, so I decided to retain the existing cabinets and countertops and add an element of Old World charm with a traditional apron-front sink. Amid pencil sketches, magazine clipping and photos I went about the business of researching and sourcing

materials. I measured and re-measured, created a full sized template; then fine tuned the measurements again. I played with colour for hours, mixing and matching hues… finally deciding on just the absolute perfect tone. Kitchen photos were cut-and-pasted with various sinks to clearly visualize the finished effect. Hmm, I think I’ve thought of everything.

I located a dealer in Arizona who fabricated custom farmhouse sinks in Mexican quarries, and selected a nougat-coloured limestone that resembled burnished petrified wood with sepia and bone veining. Carved from a single slab of stone, the sink required six weeks to complete—plenty of time to plan a holiday down south in our motor coach to pick up the sink, and save money in the process by buying direct. The sink retailed for approximately $3000, my cost would be $1200. Hmm – a holiday and a bargain in one fell swoop... how clever of me.

Weekly phone calls and e-mails ensured that the vessel would be ready by the end of February. On March 1st, we left the lashing cold and snow of the city for the sundrenched mountains and canyons of Arizona. Arriving three days later, I headed directly to the outlet.

“Hi, I’m Linda Bodo, here to pick up my farmhouse sink.” I yelled enthusiastically, tossing all my paperwork on the receptionist’s desk.

After a few moments, my sales contact appeared, looking apologetic.

Apparently, my sink had not arrived yet… but, she assured, it would definitely be in by the end of the week. Hmm, we just might have to spend an entire week in the sun while waiting.

The following week I received the call. The sink was finally in. I eagerly drove to the warehouse. In a quiet corner amid granite slabs and marble columns sat my pride and joy on a rudimentary wood palette. At 32” wide, 24” deep, and 9” high, it looked more like a small tub than a sink. The walls were two inches thick with hand polished surfaces that rendered a silky patina. I was in love.

“Great, I’ll back the truck up and the guys can load it in.” Staff looked at me disapprovingly. “No dice, Linda, the sink weighs 1000 pounds, you need a small crane to lift it.”

1000 pounds? Even the motor coach’s mighty Independent Suspension System and Drive Axle Sway Bars would be stressed with that concentration of weight in a single pull out bay.

Hmm, that was one aspect I never considered—I should have inquired about weight.

Snivelling, I left my baby behind and had the unit shipped with extra insurance. During the four weeks that followed, I anguished over the formidable task of installation. A month later, the sink arrived and was temporarily stored in the garage. I signed the paperwork and doublechecked the weight. 350 pounds.

Hmm, I should have questioned the 1000 pound declaration. Apparently, BEFORE that was the weight of the stone before carving. We could have easily brought it back with us, sans shipping and insurance charges.

The initial meeting with my contractor determined that the supporting floor would have to be beefed up with extra supports to brace the load of a 350 pound sink full of water. Wall mounted plumbing needed to be sourced with a wide radius long enough to reach the centre of the sink. My measurements were a bit off. With a farmhouse style sink, the apron usually stands proud of the cabinet face. We now had to add a six inch bridge on the back of the sink—I had intended the sink to abut the backsplash. Now the taps had to be extended from

the backsplash six inches as well. The hole that had been cored in the centre of the sink was not large enough to accommodate a garbarator. A local concrete corer would not guarantee the process of enlarging the hole without mishap. I sweated bullets for three days until I got word the opening was enlarged successfully. And… the porous limestone surface would require constant sealing with wear and tear. Hmm, I should have gotten more information regarding installation and upkeep from the supplier.

In the end, with extra insurance, shipping and duty, the sink came in at $3000. So much for saving money buying direct. But, all in all, the sink is a

AFTER striking focal point in the kitchen. The result has inspired me to replace the countertops with granite.

Maybe remove the 1970’s sunshine ceiling... tear out the wall between the kitchen and family room… install a gas cook top… create a raised bar for seating...

And, that sinking feeling continues. √ Visit www.edmontonians.com for Absolute Tips on various stones suitable for sinks.

Contact Linda Bodo at lbodo@edmontonians.com or visit absolutebodo.com.

EDMONTONIANS MARCH 2007

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Proof__ _________PROOFED BY:_______________________________________________CHANGES MADE:__________________________DATE:_________________

15

ACQUISITIONS, DIVESTITURES & CORPORATE FINANCE

with Stephen W. Kent, CA (780) 448-9099

Business valuation in 2007 The most popular method of valuing a business is a multiple of EBITDA (earnings before interest depreciation amortization), but in a booming economy such as the one we are experiencing in Alberta, the EBITDA needs to be further defined.

Sellers are looking at TTM (trailing twelve months) which tends to be the company’s highest results. Buyers on the other hand are looking for a number that is more sustainable such as the weighted average of the last three years. The methodology you select to determine EBITDA affects the multiplier. The more conservative the EBITDA calculation the higher the multiplier. If TTM is $10 million, a buyer might use a three multiple for a value of $30 million. If the average sustainable EBITDA is $6 million a buyer might consider a higher multiple of five, for a value of $30 million. If buyer and seller arrive at the same number, closing the deal is a lot more likely.

The other factor that is complicating business valuations in 2007 is the rapid increase in the value of real estate. Rents have not kept pace with soaring real estate values but we expect that will happen. Real estate is so highly valued that quite often the business is not generating enough profit to justify buying the property. Purchasers have to decide whether to buy the real estate at a high value to cap any further increases or rent and risk soaring rental rates over the next few years. The answer varies from buyer to buyer depending on their financial ability to purchase the real estate and their risk tolerance. Most vendors are open to both selling and leasing their premises.

Finally who are the best buyers?

Historically synergistic industry players had the ability to outbid financial players such as private equity groups because of their inherent advantage of being in the industry. That trend is shifting as an ever increasing number of financial players are chasing fewer quality opportunities. We are witnessing more situations where the only buyers left are financial buyers that are all prepared to pay significantly more than industry purchasers. Financial players see a lot of opportunities and pass on 99% of them. When they find a quality one they are prepared to pay a premium as they feel there is less of a risk.

Is your company a quality opportunity?

If you would like to learn more about valuation and your opportunity in the market, please e-mail stephen.w.kent@ca.pwc.com or call 780.441.6793 to arrange a meeting.

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EDMONTONIANS MARCH 2007

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Proof__ _________PROOFED BY:_______________________________________________CHANGES MADE:__________________________DATE:_________________