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EDMONTONIANS SUMMER 2015
12851 - 56 Street, Edmonton, AB T5A 0C9
Tel: 780.454.3444 Fax: 780.454.3222
www.edmontonians.com Published by: Cedar Publishing Corporation President Moe Najmeddine moe@edmontonians.com Editor Barb Deters bdeters@edmontonians.com Sales Manager info@edmontonians.com Columnists Jey Arul • Ben Block • Linda Bodo Cheryl Croucher • Marty Forbes • Lynn Fraser Diana J. Herrington • Nejolla Korris • Daniel McKay Shawn Moore • Barbara Ashley Phillips Erin Rayner • Mark Wardell FEATURE WRITERS Barb Deters PHOTOGRAPHERS Bruce Clarke • Cheryl Croucher Quincey Deters • Tracy Kolenchuk GRAPHIC PRODUCTION Rage Studios Inc. All rights reserved by Cedar Publishing Corporation. Reproduction or transmission of all or any part of this publication by any means whatsoever is strictly forbidden without prior written permission from the publisher. Although great care is taken to avoid errors in the preparation of advertising material and editorial content, any errors or omissions on the part of Cedar Publishing Corporation are limited and dealt with solely by printing a retraction statement and or correction in the following issue. Edmontonians Newsmagazine is a product of Cedar Publishing Corporation.
in this issue...
Volume XXVI Number 1 Summer 2015
ABOUT TOWN VoxPop
Marty Forbes extolls the success of zag creative.................................................................................... 4
Sizzling In The City
Erin Rayner supports military families in need of Valour Place............................................................... 8
BUSINESS
Ask the Mortgage Expert
Daniel McKay answers questions.......................................................................................................... 15
Google Guru
Shawn Moore returns to share his insight............................................................................................ 18
Mergers & Acquisitions
Jey Arul urges aspiring business owners to consider options.............................................................. 17
You & The Law
Ben Block knows what not to do........................................................................................................... 14
FEATURE
WOMEN IN BUSINESS
Let’s hear it for the girls!....................................................................................................................... 11
LIVELY LIFESTYLES Absolute Bodo
Linda Bodo upcycles the humble penny ............................................................................................... 10
Life Balance
Lynn Fraser advocates showing appreciation ....................................................................................... 16
Real Food For Life
Diana J. Herrington lauds the benefits of cherries ............................................................................... 20
Walking the Talk
Barbara Ashley Phillips cites the value of deeper connections ............................................................. 21 Canadian Publication Mail Agreement # 40041145 If undeliverable, please return to:
Cedar Publishing Corporation 12851 - 56 Street Edmonton, AB T5A 0C9
www.cedarpublishing.com EDMONTONIANS SUMMER 2015
OPINIONS Civil Wars
Nejolla Korris identifies risks of social media postings........................................................................... 6
Commentary
MP Laurie Hahn decides against fourth term.......................................................................................... 7
VISIONARIES
Cheryl Croucher focuses on innovators................................................................................................ 22 3
Marty Forbes
With Marty Forbes
O
nce a year, I salute some great “Women
and a want to do something great. Working for others is a good experience and one I wouldn¹t trade as I learned a lot, good and bad. I in Business” in YEG—many of whom I’ve proudly believe however that I am an entrepreneur at heart. Having worked in worked with on some excellent projects over the past agencies all my life, I wanted a chance to do something for myself and several years. something different. I wanted to contribute to the economy and impact Truly, it takes a great deal of courage, foresight, the community, not only through generating jobs and a new option for knowledge, intuition, a bit of luck, and good old fashioned hard marketing and advertising for potential clients, but also work to be an entrepreneur in this day and age, mostly through volunteerism and giving back. This was key.” because you are up against some giant corporations that Alyson credits great partners like Trina Danis, Ronda likely can dominate your business category. Nedelec and Jamie Kelln for taking the leap of faith, too. However, on the plus side, the business world is It’s always a large risk stepping out on your own, turning more and more ‘boutique’ in style, and owners unless you do your homework and you plan properly. now want to deal directly with people in their own “It wasn¹t actually a big decision for me to go out on community rather than referencing important work off to my own. I truly knew that if I wanted it badly enough, cities far away from ours. worked hard and smart enough, that it would work. It’s always nice to talk to the person who has hands-on I know some people think it’s a big risk to go out on your business concerns and who will work directly with your own, and it is, but I never felt the heat. I guess I you in your own backyard. am lucky in that respect but I don¹t plan on anything I One great success story in Edmonton is zag creative. take on ever failing. It’s the old ‘if you want it, make I have a long and wonderful association with President Alyson Hodson it happen’ mantra. I know this doesn¹t always end O CE Alyson Hodson who is the driving force, along with some & t en zag presid up being the case, but remaining positive and not other dynamic females, of this locally based (their words) expecting the worst is important.” “strategy marketing firm that develops solid marketing The toughest part of opening any new business is the first year. It’s strategies backed by graphic design, reactivity, digital presence and all brand new. There’s literally no base to build on. You don’t know client communications across Canada and the United States.” what your competitors are going to do but if you have excellent local Stepping out on her own a few years back to form zag creative was connections, a community focus and fortitude, you’ll be fine. a wise decision for Alyson who says, “It all started with a concept
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EDMONTONIANS SUMMER 2015
From left to right: Ronda Nedelec – VP New Business, Hannah Miller – Jr. Art Director, Marilee Matheson – Account Manager, Kara Paul – Account Manager, Lenie Lucci – Strategist, Alyson Hodson – President and CEO, Trina Danis – VP Creative Services, Katrina Hertz – Strategist, Michelle Kirkwood – Interactive Marketing Strategist, Elliott Kuss – Designer. Missing from photo: Jamie Kelln – Strategist and COO Alyson adds. “The first year was great, winning an RFP for the Jerry Forbes Centre and gaining our first client. It was a worthy cause and we appreciated the opportunity to show what we could do. I later took on a role as the marketing committee chair to continue to give back in a volunteer role as I really believe in what the organization does. After that, we took on more work for some local businesses and started to build awareness in the marketplace.” zag creative hit the nail on the head with a good combination of traditional marketing with a strong knowledge of rapidly growing digital marketing through social media, and it helped get them off to a strong start. “That is why I love Edmonton. Word-ofmouth from friends in the marketplace that knew us, vouched for us and sent us work and, after a bit of time, we had the portfolio where we were able to show what we knew we could do as we were now doing it for ourselves.” Growth has been rapid, to say the least, and now the agency boasts 11 people—10 women and one guy. How’s’ that for Women in Business? zag’s reputation has also grown quickly in the market meaning that business is ‘booming’. “More and more clients have come on board of all sizes and industries, and
EDMONTONIANS SUMMER 2015
many have stayed which is always a big compliment. Relationships and doing really great and impactful results based work for our clients is what we pride ourselves on. Being collaborative and client centric is key. Also having happy, growing and engaged people on the team, because without your team, you have nothing.” As well as maintaining a strong business base in Edmonton, zag creative now is handling accounts in Calgary, Northern Alberta and across Canada. In the past year, it has entered the U.S market. Last fall, having outgrown its space, the team moved to the very rapidly developing Jasper and 104th Street corridor. “We decided last year to buy space in the Icon Tower II on 104th Street. I am a big advocate of the downtown (Alyson serves on the DTVF as well as vice-chair of the DBA), and we wanted to own something rather than leasing our space. After five years when this perfect location came up, we had to jump on it. It came together very quickly, so we had to move within literally two weeks, but it was a great team effort where everyone pitched in and we have settled in quite nicely. 104th Street is an area that I believe will continue to thrive in the coming decades. And, having a great space for the team that is centrally located, close to public transit, is totally awesome.”
As if she wasn’t busy enough, Alyson is also on the Edmonton Chamber of Commerce Board and will chair the Downtown Business Association next year. I asked her for some final comments that might be of some assistance to other women (or for that matter men) who may be thinking of opening their own businesses. “Make sure you are ready for hard work, and some great highs. Don¹t doubt your ability to succeed, as only you can hold yourself back. Leave the door open for any opportunity, and be agile and always ready to adapt to things that come your way. Market changes, staffing changes, workforce shortages, you name it, it will come at you and if you can adapt in the face of challenge and adversity, you will be just fine.” I certainly share in the joy of zag creative’s growth. It’s so nice to see that hard work and dedication pay off… and this is only the start for this excellent group of innovative people. If your business needs some marketing expertise, I’d highly suggest you contact them. Check them out at www.zagcreative.ca, or follow them on Twitter @zagcreative √ Marty Forbes is president of Radiowise Inc. Contact: marty@edmontonians.com – and on Twitter: mjforbes
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CIVILWARS
Reputation Risk and Social Media: with Nejolla Korris
S
Where personal and professional worlds collide
ocial media has become the murky water
where personal and professional reputations are shared, liked, posted and sometimes annihilated. The ability to share anything on the spot has become the bane of many an organization and the people who work for them. Recently, a young veterinarian Kristen Lindsey was fired for posting and boasting about a picture of herself with a cat that she had killed with a bow and arrow. While police couldn’t charge Lindsey until they determined if the picture was real or not, her employer didn’t hesitate to take action. The Washington Animal Clinic issued a statement on its website. “We are absolutely appalled, shocked, upset, and disgusted by the conduct,” a spokesperson for the clinic wrote in a statement. “We condemn it in the strongest possible manner.” Closer to home, newly-elected Calgary-Bow MLA Deborah Drever was ousted from the NDP caucus and relegated to sit on the far backbenches as an Independent. Premier Rachel Notley made the call following a series of social media gaffs—posted by or of Drever more than a year ago, focused on marijuana, sexual violence, homophobia and disrespect for the Canadian flag—that were deemed contrary to NDP values and offensive to many. Does a social media gaff have to have this type of shock factor in order to be noticed? The answer is no. If your corporation/organization only measures social media violations based on how far reaching they
Deborah Drever Calgary-Bow MLA
are, then stand by because the shock wave will come. A couple of years ago, we conducted an exercise where one corporation wanted to measure the online footprint of some of its senior executives. Every one of the individuals bought into the exercise and was sure that their online footprints were essentially clean... but, there’s always that one. We had a look at some online dating sites and stumbled upon one where people are looking for affairs. We put in a series of search criteria: location, age range (because everybody lies about it), height, hair colour, eye colour, etc. Lo and behold, a picture loads and it is the professional portrait of one of the executives—the same one used on the corporate website. As you can imagine, this opened up a huge can of worms. The executive claimed his private life was private. The corporation claimed, “not when you use the picture we own of you”. It is so easy to see how these worlds can collide. I’m not at liberty to say what happened to this executive but, rest assured, the point was made. Anyone—anywhere—can make the connection between an individual and where they work. When I read posts on social media—especially those that threaten or break ethical boundaries—I always look at who is making them. And each and every day, I am shocked at those who do not have a filter or a thought that what they might be posting is inappropriate for their positions. But it makes for interesting reading, research and, eventually, fodder for my classes. When teaching in house sessions on social media risk, I am always amused at the participants madly deleting posts and pictures throughout the duration of the class. Here are some tips to keep your personal and professional reputations intact: 1) Distance your personal and professional social media profiles. If you have a professional reputation to protect then maybe don’t mention where you work on your personal social media profiles. 2) Think before you post. If you think that your opinion or actions can come back and bite you professionally, don’t post them. (How many times have I seen someone make an inappropriate post and then claim the account was hacked? Nope, I don’t buy it.) 3) Disclaimers on social media mean nothing. Those posts of “views are my own and don’t reflect the view of my employer” mean absolutely nothing. This will not prevent people from associating you with your employer; in fact, it usually draws people to look into who your employer is. 4) Understand your social media policy and code of conduct. Remember that you only have one reputation. As long as HR and ethics departments think that what personnel post on their social media profiles are personal, then they do nothing to mitigate the risks involved for the corporation. There is no such thing as personal or private as long as a person uses social media. Worlds collide and merge as one—either like a good marriage or a bad one. √ Nejolla Korris is an international expert in area of interviewing skills and linguistic lie detection. She is a keen observer and fan of the human condition. Dubbed the “Human Lie Detector” by some clients, she is a popular speaker on lie detection, fraud prevention and investigation, workplace fraud, and organizational justice. Nejolla recently launched a new speaker’s series on the differing communication styles between men and women. Contact: nkorr@interveritas.com
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EDMONTONIANS SUMMER 2015
Commentary
“The hood ornament” bids farewell BY LAURIE HAWN
I
t has truly been an honour
to represent the people of Edmonton
Centre for the past 9 1/2 years. I am going to miss a lot of things about being a Member of Parliament, but the people will be the thing I miss most. I have had the opportunity in my life to live in a lot of different places around the world, and Edmonton is the place where Judy and I have lived the longest continually. As an MP, you get the opportunity to go to a lot of different community and cultural events, as well as fundraisers and celebrations. The thing that has struck me most vividly about Edmonton is the amazing volunteer spirit of this city. From charity walks and runs to barbecues and numerous other community events, Edmontonians truly care about their fellow citizens and volunteer a lot of their time and effort to make our city the amazing place that it is. Without them, the community life in Edmonton would not be as fulfilling and many charities would be harder up for funds. I do have to admit that flying fighters in the Royal Canadian Air Force for over 30 years is probably the best job I will ever have. But, being the MP for Edmonton Centre has been a very close second. For a boy from Winnipeg, my life has certainly been fun and filled with experiences, places and people I could not have imagined when I joined the Air Force in 1964 at the age of 17. Many people ask me why I am leaving politics now and there are a variety of reasons. Between my wife Judy and me, we will have worked for over 100 years of our lives, so I think we can safely say that a century is a nice big round number. We are certainly ready
EDMONTONIANS SUMMER 2015
to not work full-time. We agreed when we committed to politics back in 2003 during my first nomination race, that we would do this for eight to 10 years. By October 2015, it will be nine years and nine months in office. I also don’t believe that politics should be someone’s full-time and only career. Changeover in the House of Commons is a good thing; we need fresh new voices coming to ensure that we don’t end up with the sameold, same-old in Parliament.
Edmonton, Oula, Jen and Linda (and Averil until she retired) are the force behind all of the excellent service my constituents receive. I have often likened politicians to cars; I’m the hood ornament and all of my paid staff and campaign volunteers have been the engine that helped me keep moving. I also couldn’t have done it successfully without the love and support of my family, including my daughter Jennifer, her husband Jeff and their son Tyler; and my son Robb, his wife Kiran and their daughter Raiya Lily. The wind beneath my wings through it all, though, has been my wife Judy. We’ve been married for 47 years this year and marrying her was the best decision I ever made. With her constant support, I have been able to put myself wholly into the job of Member of Parliament for Edmonton Centre and my constituents have her to thank as much as they do me. It has truly been a great privilege to be part of a small group of Canadians throughout our history that has been able to call themselves, “Member of Parliament.” I am profoundly grateful to my constituents for having elected me three times and given me the privilege of serving them. From the bottom of my heart, thank you. √
I will carry many fond memories away with me from my time as a Member of Parliament, including five Christmases in a row with the troops in Afghanistan, plus two other visits in that interesting and troubled country. However, I could not have done any of this without a great team behind me. My staff in Ottawa, Jordan and Rachel, and my staff in
The Honourable Laurie Hawn represented Edmonton Centre as the Conservative Party of Canada Member of Parliament since 2006. Re-elected in 2008 and 2011, he has decided not to seek another term. He is a retired Lieutenant Colonel of the Royal Canadian Air Force, later the Canadian Forces Air Command.
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with Erin Rayner
Hope away from Home:
I
A Walk for Valour
t was a Sunday morning in
June four years ago that I showed up with a 32 rung extension ladder at the Brig. James Curry Jefferson Armoury. Nick Lees, long time Journal columnist and charity fan, had written about needing a ladder on which to display sponsor logos while he and his Doughboys team took part in the first ever Walk for Valour supporting the not-yet-built Valour Place. When I arrived at the Armoury, I was greeted by the smells and sounds of pancake breakfast for 800, efficiently run by the Loyal Edmonton Regiment. After getting the logo placards all in place along the rungs of the ladder, I had a few moments to chat with the driving force behind the push to fund and build Valour Place, Honorary Colonel Dennis Erker of the Loyal Edmonton Regiment. I learned that the mound of dirt on the land at 111th Street and 111th Avenue was to be a home for military, RCMP and first responders and
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Since opening its doors in 2012, Valour Place their families as they received medical treatment has been at or near capacity; its 12 barrier free in the world class health facilities Edmonton has rooms serve families from all over Canada. to offer. At the time, I imagined aging veterans Valour Place offers Hope Away from Home for of the World Wars receiving support and families like the Forests. treatment but that is not always the case. Angela and David Forest Unless one is directly ily and their young children had involved in the military, or a The Forest fam been stationed outside Brandon, loved one is, generally I find Manitoba at CFB Shilo. In July our concept of a ‘veteran’ is 2014, the family was enjoying not fully formed. Veterans a short break in Edmonton to are not only those who visit friends and family before served in World Wars I and II, moving to the Maritimes. “On but are also those who served July 14th, 2014, we were at a at any time in the military, splash park and our daughter as well as active members of Bryanna got a headache. Very the reserves and our national rapidly something went wrong peace keeping missions. My and we rushed to emergency. own mental image of who Five hours later Bryanna could be served by Valour had brain surgery.” Angela, Place has changed considerably military mom of three, faced as my experience with the a parent’s worst nightmare facility has grown.
EDMONTONIANS SUMMER 2015
Every year in mid-June, thousands join the Walk for Valour… Erin has been involved since 2011.
Honorary Colonel Dennis Erker of the Loyal Edmonton Regiment took Rick Hansen on a tour of the unique facility.
two weeks before the family was to be posted to Halifax. The nightmare started as 10-year-old Bryanna suffered a spontaneous brain hemorrhage and underwent brain surgery at the Stollery Children’s Hospital. “We weren’t from Edmonton. We had no idea what to do. This completely turned our lives into chaos,” recalls Angela. While she stayed in Edmonton with her recovering daughter, husband David packed up their Shilo home and moved to Halifax with their other two children. Across the country from her siblings and father, Bryanna spent two months recuperating and undergoing intense rehabilitation at the nearby Glenrose Hospital all while Angela called Valour Place her temporary home. “We were supposed to be on vacation. I never did see my Shilo home again. I honestly don’t know what we would have done without Valour Place. It was a huge relief when they said ‘just come and stay, it’s okay’. It’s extremely humbling.” The first of its kind in Canada, Valour Place was also set up with an endowment fund early in its development in order not to be a burden through the years on the communities it serves. The annual Walk for Valour, in mid-June, starts
with a pancake breakfast at the Brig. James Curry Jefferson Armoury on 109th Street at 116th Avenue. After the 3km and 10km walks, it wraps up with a BBQ lunch provided by the Sawmill Group. This is a major fundraiser for Valour Place. If you were unable to join us on the walk, please consider donating $100 on the Pathway to Valour in order to have your own commemorative stone placed on the grounds. Visit valourplace.ca to donate and support our military families.
THE TRUE AWARDS 2015
Sitting in a downtown boardroom, 28 stories up overlooking the changing landscape of 104th Avenue, the True Awards submissions committee of nine people from diverse industries, communities and backgrounds, reviewed inspiring submissions from across Alberta of individuals, non-profit groups, sections of government and the corporate community to narrow down the 2015 class of True Award winners. The Lieutenant Governor’s Circle on Mental Health and Addictions is a charitable organization dedicated to reducing stigma related to mental health and addictions. Soon to
True Grit winner Kaj Korvela with Lieutenant Governor Col (Ret’d) the Honourable Donald S. Ethell in 2014. be past Lieutenant Governor Col (Ret’d) the Honourable Donald S. Ethell is patron of the LG Circle, formed in 2010. The True Awards are just one of its many programs that offer the opportunity to shine a light on the many inspirational individuals and activities taking place in the realm of mental wellness. 2014 True Grit winner was Kaj Korvela, Executive Director of the Organization of Bipolar Affective Disorders in Calgary. He is a respected leader in the mental health community for his contributions in peer support and mental health education and awareness. “Receiving the True Grit award was an amazing experience that reflected on my journey of wellness and furthers my commitment to help those with mental health issues” says Kaj of the experience. Winners in the True Service, True Imagination, True Compassion, True Leadership, and True Grit categories will be announced in a ceremony at the Delta Downtown on September 18, 2015. To purchase tickets or for more information, contact execdir@lgcirclealberta.ca √
Erin Rayner is president of ED Marketing and Communications Inc. Contact erayner@edmontonians.com
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Penny for your thoughts
ABSOLUTE
BODO with Linda Bodo
R.I.P.
PENNY (1858 – 2013) Canadian Heads and/or Tails
T
his super-centenarian
passed away peacefully on February 4, 2013 when the Royal Canadian Mint ceased distributing the coppercoloured coin. Cause of death was attributed to a declining value when production costs outweighed monetary worth. Canada’s smallest currency denomination was laid to rest after a magnificent 155-year life. Penny came into the world in Great Britain at the Royal Mint in 1858. Eager to make its mark in life, the round-faced disc with a 95.5 percent copper pedigree immigrated to Canadian soil in 1908. The Ottawa Royal Mint immediately welcomed Penny, where it became the darling
of small change. Not bad for an adolescent from the other side of the pond. Penny proudly wore its maple leaf for over a century before its composition changed to zinc with a copper plating and then once again to primarily steel. Penny is pre-deceased by the Australian, New Zealand and Irish pennies. It is survived by the American and British penny, its royal and ancient ancestor, which dates back to the 7th Century. Penny will be sadly missed by 99¢ stores and fellow members of the Canadian coinage system. In lieu of flowers, please donate your pennies to the following creative concepts that will make heads (and tails) turn.
Cash-car
In an era of social consciousness, sustainable living has become the latest designer trend. The concept has caught on with eco-logical artisans, or upcyclers, who create iconic pieces from waste stream materials. These objects articulate a poignant message of today’s consumerism while inspiring creative methods to reduce our carbon footprint. Blur the line between art and craft with recyclebased designs through The Art of Upcycling with Linda Bodo. www.absolutebodo.com
THE APPRENTICE... FOR THE LOVE OF MONEY
OK, so that minor accident after the first snowfall has left your vehicle in need of some TLC. Forget expensive auto-body repairs or paint jobs. Clad your car in cash and never worry about dings and dents again
Seriously, a shower lined in money? No worries – you’re worth it. And don’t forget to blast The Apprentice theme song, For the Love of Money, while you’re lathering up.
Pretty Penny
Pennies have been used in the garden for years to repel slugs. Instead of just scattering them on your beds, display them with panache by re-facing a gazing ball or skinning an outdoor chair. Use clear exterior silicone adhesive for a weather-proof objet d’art. These lucky penny masterpieces are pretty and practical.
Cent-re piece
Give a tired vase a copper face-lift. Spray the original container black to bring out the luminosity of the coins. Apply pennies with hot glue and melt away any leftover glue strings with a blow dryer on high setting.
Ac-cent
Bore holes in convex pennies to create buttons and wear our national symbol with flair. Use a doming block to shape coins, available on line and at hobby supply shops. 10
Cents and Sensibility
Some floor plan! Epoxy coins to a leveled floor, fill gaps with non-sanded grout and seal with polyurethane. Create custom designs by integrating shiny and tarnished pieces. If hunched over a floor for hours at a time isn’t your thing, adhere the coins to mesh sheets before installing. √ EDMONTONIANS SUMMER 2015
WOmeninBusiness
Let’s hear it for the girls!
By Barb Deters
“…where my heart meets my soul” Dianna Bowes Fabulous@50 and its founder Dianna Bowes were named the winners of two international Stevie Awards for Women in Business at the 2014 awards ceremony held in New York in January. “We were thrilled to be recognized by this prestigious organization. We were up against 1,200 entries from 22 countries, and yet somehow our small, Edmonton-based company received not one, but two, 2014 awards. It is times like this that keep me moving forward and knowing we are on the right track,” says Dianna. The Stevie Awards are the world’s top honours for female entrepreneurs, executives and employees, and the organizations they run—public and private, for-profit and nonprofit, large and small. Winners were selected by the more than 160 executives worldwide who participated in the judging process. Dianna accepted the Gold Stevie for Best Event for her annual Fabulous@50 Experience and Martini Party. Targeted specifically at Baby
EDMONTONIANS SUMMER 2015
Boomer women, it was first held in Edmonton in 2009. The combination of trade show, motivational presentations and entertainment attracts more than 1,000 women annually. Last fall, Dianna launched similar shows in Grande Prairie and Red Deer, and has since franchised Calgary and Victoria operations. She also collected a Bronze Stevie in the Women Helping Women category. The Fabulous@50 network includes motivational speakers or workshops for women to help them identify and pursue personal or professional goals,. It also raises money, donations and volunteers for a number of charities—Suit Yourself, the YWCA, The Soup Sisters and more. No stranger to much-deserved recognition, Dianna won the 2014 Leader of Tomorrow Award from Business in Edmonton, 2011 YWCA Woman of Distinction Award in the Turning Point category, and the 2011 Top Fundraiser Award from Suit Yourself. In 2008, Dianna came up with the idea of Fabulous@50 as “a way for mid-life women
to get connected with other women to explore the changes in their lives and bodies, and the opportunities open to them now that children are grown or careers well established.” Since then, her business has grown to encompass a membership of close to 500 women and 4000 online followers. Last year, Fabulous @50 organized four tradeshows and over 40 meetups, produced two Be fabulous! Magazines and 18 newsletters, won three awards, and expanded into new communities. “This is worth celebrating! But what really counts are the relationships that have been built and strengthened… If I didn’t have friends and family to share this with, it would not mean nearly as much,” admits Dianna. “I get asked, how do I create the energy at the Fabulous@50 Experience? It is the people, the connection, everyone feels part of it. We are a team... all of us, the speakers, volunteers, the exhibitors, sponsors, the venue and suppliers and, of course, our guests. “When I started, I did not have all the answers. All I had was an idea and a vision of creating something to inspire, educate and empower women. I have gone off the path several times, been discouraged and bruised hundreds of times, but I always come back to where my heart meets my soul. It is simple. It is about people. “Seasoned women, as I like to call us, have so much to give, and now is the time to explore it. My message has always been, ‘If not now, when?’ This is the time to step out of your comfort zone or caged existence and move into your zone of genius… All you have to do is take action.” For information, visit www.fabulousat50. com. Mark your calendars for the Fabulous @50 Experience on Saturday, November 7th at the River Cree. √
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STEFFANY HANLEN
“I could have been dead.” JAENELLE CARDINAL Jaenelle Cardinal’s dream is to open her own construction business and mentor young aboriginal women. “I’d like to give them a feel for the industry, to see if it’s for them.” The 33-year-old mother of two girls, ages five and 12, graduated in May from NAIT’s JR Shaw School of Business with a diploma in business administration – management, and was slated to complete her Carpenter journeyman’s certificate in June. As a result, she crossed the Jubilee Auditorium stage at convocation twice— with both the schools of business and trades. In so doing, Jaenelle took the next steps in fulfilling her dream. Initially, she had aspirations for a career in nursing, but ended up with a temporary job on a construction site in 2007, fell in love with the trade “and never left.” She entered NAIT in 2010 as a Carpenter apprentice, and had just completed her third year when she was struck by a motor vehicle and hospitalized for a week. “It could have been a lot worse,” she says. “I could have been dead.” Wanting to combine her carpenter’s experience with a formal business
education, Jaenelle enrolled in the JR Shaw School of Business while she recovered. Once physically up to the task, she returned for another eight weeks to finish her Carpenter ticket. Eventually, she wants to complete the Bachelor of Business Administration program, and go into business for herself. At NAIT, Jaenelle has mentored aboriginal students and promoted the trades to women through her involvement with Women in Technology and Trades. As the longest-serving student ambassador in the polytechnic’s Prospective Aboriginal Youth program (run through the NAIT Encana Aboriginal Student Centre on Main Campus), she is often called upon to speak to aboriginal high school students about the benefits of a NAIT education. Jaenelle also won seven academic scholarships. √
At the 33rd Annual YWCA Women of Distinction Awards, Steffany HAlthough she admits she has never had a “real” job in her life, Steffany’s creative and inspiring story proves you can achieve and have anything you set your mind to. After graduating in physical education and coaching at the University of Alberta in 1986, she spent two decades as a power skating coach/head instructor with the renowned Okanogan Hockey Schools, Edmonton Oilers and St. Louis Blues. She was the first female skating coach authorized in the NHL dressing rooms. Over the years, she has worked with tens of thousands of professional and amateur athletes— including hockey players on every team in the NHL and numerous teams in the minor leagues, and
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EDMONTONIANS SUMMER 2015
“You don’t have to imagine, because the power is already with you...” Photo by Terry Bourque
“...my ultimate goal: to make Graves Disease as well known as the word ‘Cancer’.” RAYANNE FORBES Rayanne Forbes also was feted at the 33rd Annual YWCA Women of Distinction Awards in May. She won in the Turning Point category which honours someone who has overcome adverse circumstances. In June 2010, she was diagnosed with Graves Disease, an auto-immune disorder that randomly attacks organs. She got “very sick, very fast” and, since then, has had numerous surgeries. She knows all too well the tremendous toll the little known illness can take—physically, emotionally and financially (drugs to combat the disease cost thousands of dollars a year). Rayanne decided to raise awareness and funds by creating the Graves Disease Foundation of Edmonton. While she continues to work as an ambassador for YESS—Youth Empowerment and Support Services—she recently chose to give up her weekly column in the Edmonton Examiner to devout more time to operating the Foundation. According to her blog, “…we are now a fully up-and-running non-profit with a relentlessly dedicated team of board members and supporters. “We continue to offer endless guidance and hope to the newly diagnosed, successfully matched two clients with permanent family
Photo by Bruce Clarke
figure skaters—and trained more than 100 coaches. At the 2006 Winter Olympics in Torino, Italy, Steffany became the first ever Performance Coach accredited by the COC, coaching ice dance champions MarieFrance Dubreuil and Patrice Lauzon. It was also during that time that Steffany began to prove her methodology for training world class athletes was the perfect framework and foundation for taking nonathlete individuals, business owners and corporate teams to the top of their podiums. In 2007 and 2008, she publicly applied her knowledge and techniques to assisting small business owners as one of four mentors participating in Edmontonians’ Transformers project. Regardless of the circumstances, in each and every case, Steffany’s mission has been the same – to help clients expand and grow, overcome challenges, and achieve even greater success. “You don’t have to imagine, because the power is already within you…” For Steffany, it’s all about training from the inside out—identifying core values, setting new goals and breaking down barriers to success. √
doctors, hosted two in-person support meetings and introduced more than 15 local patients to each other for online support. “We also attended a conference of 200 medical students to teach them about this disease and fundraised several thousands of dollars, which will be used to help patients cover medical expenses starting in 2016. “The High Level Bridge will even be lit up pink in honour of our charity on July 28th to help celebrate our one-year anniversary.” Check out www.rayannesthoughts.blogspot. ca for more information on events, ways to get involved, and how to donate. The 2012 FIERCE Awards featured 38 amazing women who selected Rayanne for the first-ever Nominee’s Choice Award because she exemplifies the qualities that define people who make a difference: “Being fierce is about celebrating women, inspiring and being inspired; it’s about being strong, trusting, positive, humble and confident.” In 2013, Rayanne was chosen as one of Edmontonians Sizzling Twenty under 30, in part, because of the wide spectrum of her volunteer activities and her dedication to diverse causes despite the challenges she was facing on a daily basis. Her profile concluded with the following: “‘I never set out to be the ‘Graves Disease Girl’… but it is a mantle Rayanne accepts with pride and determination.” √
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Call (780) 449-2008
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13
YOU&THELAW
3 Tales from the Trenches:
What not To Do
I
t’s often helpful to learn from
the mistakes of others when you can. So, I thought I would share some reallife pitfalls I have seen occur among my entrepreneur clients in recent months. Of course all identifying details have been removed, but I thought I would share a few examples of where things can go wrong and how to avoid them.
DON’T BOTHER GETTING IT IN WRITING
At the start of every new business relationship, be it landlord-tenant, supplierpurchaser or between partners, the parties usually have the best of intentions. Rarely do people set out with a future conflict in mind but, all too often, that’s how things end up. I have written about the importance of shareholders’ agreements to set the ground rules for a new business before (you can find that on my blog at blocklaw.ca). However, I have recently seen a few other examples where a lack of clarity has caused problems. For example, a high-end boutique retailer believed it had an exclusive right to sell a certain line of merchandise right up until that same merchandise showed up in a discount retailer down the road. My first question: “Do you have an exclusivity agreement?” No. Or, an argument arises over the division of expenses on a house flip project. Again, “Did you have a co-ownership agreement, joint venture agreement or anything at all?” No. Should they be surprised this happened?
N
ew West Restaurant
Probably not. Assumptions are dangerous things in business. The best advice is not to make them, and get everything in writing. Whether a formal agreement is required, or simply a confirming e-mail will do, your lawyer can advise you. But don’t go without.
JUST ASSUME THE DOCUMENTS ARE CORRECT
Building on the last point, even if you do “get it in writing”, don’t assume the agreement you were given reflects your discussions. I recently saw a store owner come up against a landlord over a leasing issue. The terms of their initial negotiations had been inconsistently recorded in their exchange of draft Offer to Lease documents. Somewhere along the line, a key term was dropped from the Offer document, and never made it into the lease. The tenant didn’t notice until the landlord came to collect. Now, it’s a fight over the binding nature of the discussions, the signed Offer document and final lease, with arguments to be made for both sides. This conflict, even if resolved, is hard on a business relationship. Take the time to review your documents and seek legal advice as to their contents. The desire to “get going” can lead to hasty signatures. Take the time to be thorough.
FORGET THE LONG-TERM VISION
I have seen partnerships (between coshareholders, true partners, co-venturers or
with Ben Block
otherwise) find themselves at odds when the parties’ goals simply don’t align. Sure, the short-term vision was compatible, but what about the execution? Or the exit plan? Or what will define success? Is the business intended to be a “lifestyle business” that earns a good income for the owners on reasonable terms, but not much more? Or is it hoped to be the next Google, hunting down venture capital and the next big move along the way? What sacrifices are expected to be made? Will the owners draw salary right away, or is everyone eating microwave noodles until a buy-out offer rolls in and the founders “cash out”? These conversations are better had early and ideally distilled in writing. Of course, no one can see the future—and life happens—but, at the very least, everyone should be pulling toward the same finish line from the start. Don’t get me wrong. I love business. That’s why I recently founded my own firm focusing on entrepreneurs and small businesses, but there are plenty of ways to go wrong. The uniting message here is that with communication, care and good advice, these common pitfalls can be minimized, if not avoided. Take it from someone with a front row seat for what happens when the best of intentions fail. √ Ben Block recently started his own firm, Block Law, focusing on business, Internet and real estate law. Ben was named an Edmontonians Sizzling 20 under Thirty in 2007. Call 780.628.0638 or e-mail ben@blocklaw.ca
e Do WE iNg Rin Er Cate
15025 - 111 Avenue Edmonton • 780.483.8984
We take pride in the fact that most of the foods on our menu are homemade. From our gravies, turkeys, roast beef, burger patties, french fries, pork cutlets, liver and onions to our spaghetti sauce... Even our desserts are made in house!
Check us out on Facebook!
ENjoy a tastE oF homE!
hours:
Mon - Sat 6:00 am - 9:30 pm Sun 7:00 am - 9:30 pm Holidays 7:00 am - 8:30 pm
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We Don’t Close - We Open
Michael J. Kroll Chief Sales Officer
Direct: 780.604.8447 michael@thesaleseffect.ca | www.thesaleseffect.ca 14
EDMONTONIANS SUMMER 2015
THEMORTAGEEXPERT
Broker or Banker? with Daniel McKay Q: When should I obtain a pre-approval? A: If you plan on buying in the near future, you should obtain a pre-approval in order to secure an interest rate guarantee from the lender. The interest rate can usually be held for 60 to 90 days, and sometimes even longer. The pre-approval is based on the information you provide to us in your application and, once the purchase offer has been accepted, is subject to verification of conditions such as employment and down payment. Q: How can a mortgage broker get a better rate than my own bank? A: The mortgage lenders that we use do not have local branches in each city or town; they have no large overhead and are in the business of lending money for mortgages only. This, combined with their large volumes, allows them to discount the rates far better than your own bank can. Q: Other than rates, why should I use a Mortgage Broker?
EDMONTONIANS SUMMER 2015
A: In addition to rates, because mortgagebased financing is the broker’s primary business, he or she has developed expertise in what type of mortgage financing each lender prefers to pursue. This kind of knowledge not only results in the most favourable rates for each project, but often determines whether a project should be funded at all. Q: Is it still possible to get a mortgage at best rates with less than 5 % down? A: Yes. The Federal Government has announced that it intends to eliminate this program, but it has not happened yet. So, in the meantime, we can still broker mortgages for clients with excellent credit, stable jobs and good income with 0% down. Q: The home I wish to buy does not have a finished basement (or requires other renovations), and I don’t have the cash to pay for them myself, what are my options?
A: It is possible to borrow up to an additional 10% of the purchase price of the home within the mortgage itself to finance renovations or home improvements, as long as the work will be done by a qualified independent contractor or company that can provide a quote at time of application. Q: I’m self-employed (a business owner) and I did not qualify for a mortgage through my bank, can you help me? A: Yes, we can. We have access to lenders who specialize in mortgage financing for business owners and self-employed individuals. They take your actual income into consideration rather than net after tax income when reviewing your application. √
Daniel McKay is a mortgage broker with Global Empire Corporation. If you have a question for the expert, e-mail broker@globalempirecorp.com
15
LIFEBALANCE
with Lynn Fraser
A little appreciation goes a long way
A
life-long friend who is
a dedicated, talented and experienced school teacher. Cassandra (name changed) has taught for over two decades at the same school. She shows up prepared every day to go the extra mile for her students. She prepares diligently each new term, has rarely missed a day and books personal appointments after school hours. Her specialized training in art and language, as well as her ability to quickly learn and teach new core subject curriculum, makes her hard to replace. You would think that she would be greatly appreciated by her supervisor. Yet, the current principal surprised her staff with changes mid-term to move students and teachers around, causing additional workload and stress for all—with little apparent benefit to more than a few. Compliments are few and far between. Trust and morale are at a low ebb.
My friend is not feeling valued or appreciated for her dedication to her profession and students, and she is seriously considering moving schools next school year. What a loss for those learners, parents and school division. Yet, it is an avoidable one with a relatively simple solution.
THE POWER OF GRATITUDE
Showing appreciation—tapping into the power of gratitude—is an overlooked yet critical piece to your success in business and life. I see this breakdown so often with my coaching clients—managers of familyowned businesses, attorneys, accountants— in all lines of work. I’ve listened individually to an owner and her manager complain about how the other has not appreciated her respective efforts for years. Yet when the owner needed a reference letter for a business award nomination, she was so grateful when the manager went
out of her way, while on holidays, to tell the committee how much she admired and respected her boss. It’s an all-too-common story. “Next to physical survival, the greatest need of a human being is… to be affirmed, to be validated, to be appreciated.”~ Stephen R Covey, The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People
USE THE SAR FORMULA
According to the Oxford Canadian Dictionary, “recognition” encompasses acknowledgement of a service, achievement, ability, etc..; appreciation, acclaim. To provide specific recognition, you need to describe what the staff person did that you appreciated and would like to see repeated. Be specific to an event and what action the person took to get the positive results you are recognizing her for. Use her name. Be timely with your appreciation.
780.940.1288 www.momentsindigital.com 16
EDMONTONIANS SUMMER 2015
Situation: Describe the stressor or challenge the employee faced Action: Identify what the person did to address the challenge Results: Describe what happened as a result of the action taken and how this relates to the success of the person, others and the organization. I’ve seen this strategy work well with high achievers who tell me, “Maybe others need praise for doing their job well but I don’t.” I’ve watched the transformation of a talented young manager who comes to work happier with the positive feedback and support from her coach and owners. Giving specific recognition even allows you to praise an underachieving employee for a small thing he does well. A general “great job” would be glossing things over. Instead, you could say, “Thanks for carrying the glass shelf to the customer’s car without her asking. I sincerely appreciate you demonstrating our company value of exceptional service.” Sometimes, those words of appreciation can motivate additional improvement.
HIGH-VALUE, LOW-COST STRATEGIES Although formal service awards are common in companies, I find the simple, low-cost and informal ways of showing appreciation work best.
EDMONTONIANS SUMMER 2015
A personal thank you note is rare and really gets noticed these days, especially if it arrives by snail mail. One of the best ways I know is to spend quality time with an employee. It may be as simple as sitting down with a cup of coffee, asking questions and listening to their thoughts, ideas and concerns. Here are a few other ideas: • Keep in mind that recognition needs to be equal to the size of the accomplishment. An e-mail or Post-it Note that says “Thanks so much for catching that error on the XYZ customer order” is fine for smaller efforts. • If someone goes beyond expectations and stays overtime to get the job done, a bigger form of appreciation is warranted. That’s when spending quality time really demonstrates how much you care. • Take him out for lunch or a walk… or give him a gift of a movie gift certificate, favourite candy, pen, candle or a selection of favourite music on a CD or USB stick. One thing you know for sure is what comes around goes around. In Alberta’s boom or bust economy, it’s tempting to pop off a brief thanks in an e-mail and get on to the next task. Instead, choose one employee this week to show your
appreciation in one of these high-value, lowcost ways. It’s never too late to begin, and you may be surprised at how your life, your bottom line and your relationships improve. Here are valuable resources: Book: Thanks! Great Job! Improve Retention, Boost Morale and Increase Engagement with High-Value, Low-Cost Staff Recognition by Nelson Scott. Online: Check out www. GREATstaffrecognition.com for recognition resources and forms. Read the Blog post, “Pay attention to me!” √ Lynn Fraser with Balance Your World Training & Coaching is an enlightening speaker and a wholehearted coach. She coaches and mentors individuals who want to be better leaders as well as live balanced lives. Her consulting focuses on working with business managers and their teams to create a system for sustainable results. Visit her website at www.lynnfraser.ca.
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17
MERGERS&ACQUISITIONS
Owning A business
with Jey Arul
The most secure lifestyle you can have
D
o you think about your
future? Are you on the top level of your career and worried about where you go to next? Need a new challenge? What if you get stuck or left behind? What if you are made redundant? There are a lot of people who are not really clear about why they want to own a business. Obviously, they know that there are great benefits to owning and growing a business, but they may be deterred by the perceived risk involved. The reasons for wanting to own a business are often varied: financial gain, personal achievement, independence, using your skills and, believe it or not, in this climate, job security. There are advantages to buying a business as opposed to starting one from scratch. Primarily, someone has already done all the hard work. They have put together the components of the business, e.g. customers brand, employees, contracts, suppliers equipment, etc. When buying a business, there are some
things to consider. The key is to determine what you want to achieve. Is it financial gain with long or short term growth? …Gaining independence to capitalize on your skills? …Or, is it purely lifestyle? What you want to achieve will influence which business will meet your requirements. Once you have dedided, you can begin looking for a business that will meet your criteria. Browsing websites like www.vralta.com is a great place to start. This allows you to see a variety of businesses in various locations and in a variety of industries. Business Brokers are more than willing to work with qualified buyers to help find businesses that meet set criteria. Make yourself a qualified buyer. Know what you are broadly looking for and have a good idea about how you are going to finance the purchase of your new business. Don’t be put off by businesses with decreasing revenues or profits especially if you are looking for short term gain. Keep an eye out for businesses that are not meeting their potential. They may have had a decline in sales
for various reasons. Perhaps it’s the owner’s declining health, aging or waning interest. These businesses are a great opportunity to stamp your mark while reaping the financial benefits. The foundations are there and so is the room for innovation and creativity as you bring your skills, experience and expertise to the table. You can focus on building and expanding the business. Nearly all buyers are looking for a “good business” with good cash flow for the owner. You can buy one of these but it may take you a while to find it and you will have to pay top $$$ to compete with other buyers. Why not back yourself? Buy an established business that needs a little turn around and reap the significant rewards. √ Jey Arul is president of VR Business Sales in Edmonton, AB. He started the mergers and acquisitions company in 2007 after leaving his position as a senior commercial banker for a Canadian Bank. Jey holds a BA in Psychology and an Executive MBA. Visit www.vralta.com
Doherty’s
Fabrication & repair Proudly Serving the edmonton AreA Specializing in Custom Welding/Fabrication Portable Plant Maintenance, Oilfield, Mech. Installation
E-mail: dohertysfab@hotmail.com
18
780-915-1983
8025 davies rd., edmonton, AB
EDMONTONIANS SUMMER 2015
GOOGLEGURU
Evolve… or die!
with Shawn Moore
D
ear Google Guru:
I keep hearing about Digital Darwinism. How can I adapt my on-line marketing strategy so that my company will succeed in the age of everchanging technology?
You are probably not surprised to learn that you’re not alone in your concern. Digital Darwinism is a growing fear, and not just among small- and mid-sized companies. It’s also a problem that Fortune 500 companies are facing. This topic was heavily discussed at the Digital Strategy Innovation Summit I recently attended in New York with my management team. The key to combating Digital Darwinism lies in a corporation’s ability to adapt to changing technology. But, it’s not enough to simply adapt; we must evolve. So, how do companies evolve in a constantly changing economic climate? The first step is to study and leverage big data. Big data encompasses every thread of information that we collect about our clients and prospects. This information comes from client lists, social media followers and newsletter subscribers. Knowing who our customers are and how they interact to our brand on-line is paramount to success. The key is assembling this type of data to create meaningful information for high-level executives and marketing directors to analyze. Through analysis, we can build stronger digital marketing strategies. When facing Digital Darwinism, I must also emphasize the importance of hiring the right
Edmonton officE 12603 - 123 Street NW Edmonton, AB Phone: 780.455.8929
people and agencies. Take time and care when assembling your team. With the right people, a reasonable budget and enough room to run, you will see adaptation lead to innovation. In a continually changing and developing economic market, you also need to take the time to install analytics, so that you can measure your results against your goals. When it comes down to it, businesses in every industry must be willing to adapt within the changing economic climate. In order to remain relevant, companies need to try new things, tweak old strategies, get feedback, and continually evaluate their results. Some ideas will work, while others will get dropped, but when it comes down to it, trying new things and analyzing the results is the only way to figure out what works. Those who do not adapt will perish, while those who innovate will flourish. It’s that simple. Evolve or die.
D
ear Google Guru: Every time
Google comes out with updates, I hear about how the changes are negatively affecting SEO strategy. Is there a future for SEO or is it slowly being phased out? Search Engine Optimization—SEO—isn’t dead but it, too, is changing. With more and more people speaking to their devices (for example, Siri), we’ll start to rely on long-tail speaking search. We won’t be using one or two keywords; we’ll be posing longer descriptive questions to
find what it is we’re looking for. To give you an example, if you search today on Google for an SEO company in Vancouver, you’ll see the results that get populated will be much different whether you performed the search on an iPhone using Siri compared to using Google on a computer. The language you use will be different depending on the device. This means keywords that were once one or two words long will turn into longer more conversational key-phrases, and this is going to affect all on-line businesses. They will need to spend more time considering their key phrases and move that strategy forward in their on-line marketing to maintain their search results. Those businesses that don’t take the time to consider long-tail key phrases in their keyword strategy will lose their positioning, and they won’t be coming up in relevant searches. We all know that means they won’t generate the leads if they’re not in the gate. Google’s algorithm is already well prepared and developed for this type of search. It has known this is where predictive search was going and already configuredits algorithm for this. The challenge is that most people aren’t speaking to their PCs yet. It’s now the question of how to integrate the technologies of laptops and PCs to allow users a similar experience to the one they have on their mobile devices right now. √ Shawn Moore is the president and CEO of Think Profits.com. If you have a question for the Google Guru, e-mail: shawn@thinkprofits.com
calgary officE 2323-22 Street NE Calgary, AB Phone: 403.250.5844
Superior Trenching Ltd. Your Underground Utilities Solution
Edmonton, Alberta
780-488-7750 EDMONTONIANS SUMMER 2015
19
REALFOODFORLIFE
Cherries!
C
Oh so beautiful & beneficial
Diana Herrington
herries are delicious,
cherries as one of the memory boosting foods because they are rich in antioxidants. 5. Reduce risk of stroke: Tart cherries provide cardiovascular benefits. The pigments giving tart cherries their red colour may activate PPAR which regulates genes involved in fat and glucose metabolism and, thus, reduce risk factors for high cholesterol, blood CHOCOLATE CHERRY VEGAN ICE CREAM pressure and diabetes. Can you think of a better combination than 6. Slow the aging of skin: Cherries have chocolate and cherries? The answer may be the highest antioxidant level of any 12851 Street,and cherry ice cream. fruit. Antioxidants help the body fight - 56chocolate This is very simple and so yummy with some the free radicals that make us look old. Edmonton, AB T5A 0C9 10 HEALTH BENEFITS OF CHERRIES of my favourite ingredients. And not filled with Drinking one glass of tart cherry juice (780) 701-3715 unhealthy sugar! daily slows down the Tel: aging process, Cherries can: according to Michigan State University. 1. Offer protection from diabetes: Sweet Fax: (780) 454-3222 Ingredients: O F Bcherries U S I Nhave E S aSlowI N T H Eindex C A P I T A L7. Lower R E G the I Orisk N of gout attacks: A glycemic 1 banana, chopped and frozen study at Boston University found that of 22, lower than apricots, grapes, 1/2 cup frozen cherries eating cherries lowers risk of gout peaches, blueberries or plums making 1 tablespoon almond butter attacks by 35 percent. them a great fruit snack compared 1/2 tablespoon rice syrup or maple syrup 8. Reduce muscle pain: One and a half with many other fruits, especially for 1 tablespoon cocoa or carob powder cups of tart cherries or one cup of diabetics. 1 teaspoon vanilla tart cherry juice can reduce muscle 2. Help you sleep better: Tossing and Date: inflammation and soreness. turning at night? Cherry juice to the Directions: 9. Are in: good for the heart: Cherries are rescue! Cherries are a good source To Appear Blend all ingredients in a blender to a smooth very high in potassium which helps of melatonin. Drink cherry juice 30 consistency. regulate heart rate and blood pressure minutes after waking and 30 minutes Eat and enjoy now or freeze until firm. √ and reduces the risk of hypertension. before your evening meal. In one study, The phytosterols in cherries help reduce participants boosted their melatonin Diana J Herrington is the founder of bad cholesterol levels. intake by following this routine. RealFoodforLife.com and author of the GREEN 10. Help with osteoarthritis relief: In a Cherries have also been found to help means LEAN e-book. She turned a debilitating study of 20 women, aged 40 to 70, with with jet lag. health crisis (Fibromyalgia) into a passion for inflammatory osteoarthritis, the pain 3. Decrease belly fat: Researchers found that helping others with healthy eating and cooking, and discomfort of swollen joints were eating tart cherries can reduce belly fat. and developed simple powerful principles which reduced when tart cherry juice was 4. Help ward off Alzheimer’s: The she shares in her e-books. consumed twice a day for three weeks. Alzheimer’s Association includes beautiful, and in season now! Eat this super-fruit before its short growing season comes to an end. When you eat cherries, you enjoy much more than just their amazing taste. They’re packed with antioxidants and offer many health benefits, including help with insomnia, joint pain and belly fat. Cherries could be just what the doctor ordered. Numerous studies suggest why we should start eating this powerfood today!
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Badlands: Mile Zero Dance
Tracy O’Camera Photography www.tracyocamera.com 20
EDMONTONIANS SUMMER 2015
3 Easy
WALKINGTHETALK
Steps to REAL Connection By Barbara Ashley Phillips
H
ow many times have you
had an impulse to reach out to someone, to make a deeper connection with someone, and let it slide right by? We all have a flow of wisdom and loving kindness moving inside. From time to time, that stream offers us little opportunities to enrich others as well as ourselves. It might be connecting appreciatively with someone else waiting for the bus. It might be noticing a co-worker you are drawn to and letting them know they are appreciated. It might be doing a kinder, more considerate replay of an abrasive interaction with someone, and owning up to your part of the friction. It’s actually physically and emotionally draining to have contact with people when there is no connection. Your patterns meet someone else’s patterns, but you never meet. Sooner or later, you feel cut off. You feel friendless. You feel like you don’t belong. There are numerous chances to step into the flow of our actual interconnectedness that we mostly miss because we’re so preoccupied with our stuff or getting stuff done. So how do you change this? How could you access the richness of connectivity in your day-to-day life? After all, what you’re missing is what makes your life juicy. When you follow up on those little impulses to connect with another, whether or not they respond, then your motivation isn’t results-oriented and is coming from deep within you. You may sense a little bit of the flow that washes over your body. Something real has happened and your physiology knows it.
STEP 1 – REACH OUT
It can’t happen if you confine your life to the patterns and habits you’ve developed to roll along through your life on auto-pilot. And it takes physical energy to change your patterned response, to activate yourself into something new. Your brain has built patterns and habits from choices you’ve made over the years, giving you years or perhaps a lifetime on auto-pilot, blowing off the amazing life that is waiting for you. You can start small. The next time you have a positive impulse toward someone you’ve had an issue with, step up and clean the slate. Shelve the unkind words and thoughts you’ve imagined them directing at you unless you have a degree in mind-reading. Acknowledge your part without any interest in what their contribution was. Often, this invites a similar response, but it’s important that you not expect or demand this. This simple exercise can turn enemies into real friends. And it can transform your relationship with family. In fact, this simple act of clearing a judgment or aversion toward someone enhances our relationships with everyone. When we judge someone, that closedheartedness leaks into all our relationships, diminishing them.
STEP 2 – DO IT NOW
The impulse from the wiser and deeper part of you is often short-lived. We quickly cover it over with thoughts and feelings particularly if it challenges our comfort. Coach and TV personality Mel Robbins has a talk on TEDx San Francisco called How to Stop Screwing Yourself Over. Robbins insists that realistically,
you’ll never feel like taking that step to bring real and rich change into your life. So to help you find the energy to do it anyway, she comes up with what she calls the five second rule. Her advice is simple: If you don’t act on an idea or inspiration within 5 seconds, your brain will pull its emergency brake and you’ll kill the impulse.
STEP 3 – DOUSE YOUR EXPECTATIONS
Expectations ruin flow. They turn the gift of your attention into a transaction. “I give if you give me,” is the message. It’s like there’s a hook: It’s a conditional giving not a real giving. Everyone feels it physiologically. When we don’t follow though on our wise impulses, we become numb and dull, barely able to notice the little doors opening inside us. This produces feelings of being isolated and unloved even though, in such situations, we are generally doing the isolating by our attitude toward the situation and toward others. These are not tangible, but you can feel them physically. We’ve all done it. And we don’t need to. The little energy ball that is you can radiate grace as well as indifference and even hostility. You enhance your ability to radiate grace when you follow up on those little warm, kind impulses that you’re constantly feeling. As you do, you’ll receive more of these tips from deep inside you. Your life can start to reflect the positive and reveal to others the beautiful changes that bespeak a life of connectedness. √ Barbara Ashley Phillips provides coaching and career / relationship perspective-shifting services in a residential setting. Contact: barbara@co-creating.ca, 780.465.1721
Pattern Concrete Services Ltd.
Box 65540 Hollick Kenyon Edmonton, AB
780.619.0882
patternconcrete@yahoo.ca www.patternconcrete.ca EDMONTONIANS SUMMER 2015
21
the TEC Edmonton for new technology to remove celebration was Dr. carbon from hydrocarbon streams Tyrell, part of a team of and another to separate nitrogen virologists at the Li Ka from methane. The professor also Shing Institute at the established a spinoff company. University of Alberta “We put together a company who have created a called Extraordinary spinoff company called Absorbents to bundle together Prophysis. a number of different materials The problem with that we have intellectual current antiviral drugs is property on, and to try to find that they only target one a manufacturer. Some of the specific virus. Prophysis things we make absorb noble Dr. Lorne Tyrell will commercialize new gases. Noble gases are things antiviral drugs that attack a like radon, zenon and crypton. broader spectrum of viruses. Most people think of them as Dr. Tyrell explains how inert. They’re not. We can pick up this antiviral effect works. “Dr. Luis Shang, trace levels and, often, these within our Institute and part of Prophysis, are the worst components of has brought in technology that looks at how what is generated in nuclear you might be able to inhibit a number of power or medical isotope generation. We actually have viruses by preventing them getting into cells. He has developed this technology along kilogram-size cartridges with some Russian colleagues. It works by on a couple of reactors in preventing the virus from binding to the cell. Europe right now, and it Most viruses, when they bind to the cell, may turn into a significant the membrane of the virus must fuse with business.” the membrane of the cell. Dr. Shang has Dr. Kuznicki believes developed a technology that gets incorporated the commercial potential into the envelope of the virus and prevents it for these various from fusing with the host cell membrane and, absorbent technologies, therefore, it cannot enter the cell.” especially for nuclear ki ic zn Ku Dr. Tyrell says Prophysis is preparing two decontamination, will run e ev St Dr. compounds for clinical trials, and is also in the billions of dollars. working on a better way to treat cold sores. √ Also recognized at
TEC
EDMONTON
celebrates
U of A
PATENTS
& INVENTORS
T
EC Edmonton has honoured several researchers at the University of Alberta for new patents on their inventions and technology. Among the many excellent scientists recognized for their achievements were Dr. Steve Kuznicki and Dr. Lorne Tyrell. Dr. Kuznicki is a professor in the Department of Chemical and Materials Engineering. He is a world renowned expert on chemical sieves and a serial inventor. His lab received a patent
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EDMONTONIANS SUMMER 2015
With Cheryl Croucher
clear path towards a transformed health system, and as our President and CEO, whom we knew as an inspiring, empathetic and wise leader.” Among his many honours, Dr. Frank was named a Member of the Order of Canada in 2014 for his contributions to advancing orthopaedic health care services in Alberta, and for his scientific contributions to bone and joint repair research. He had a long history of research supported by the Canadian Institutes of Health Research, Alberta Heritage Foundation of Medical Research and AIHS. He was a founder of TENET ith the passing of Dr. Medical Engineering, a Calgary based Cy Frank in March 2015, company which manufactures and distributes Alberta lost a true leader T H E P E R S O N A L I T inY medicine O F Band U Smedical I N E S S Isurgical N T Hpositioning E C A Pdevices I T A L toRover E G35I O N countries. He was the McCaig Professor research. An outstanding orthopaedic of Joint Injury and Arthritis Research, surgeon, researcher and professor at the Executive Director of the Alberta Bone and University of Calgary, Dr. Frank was Joint Health Institute, and Vice President appointed President and CEO of Alberta of Research Strategy for Alberta Health Innovates – Health Solutions in April Services. 2013. Attention: Born in 1949, Dr.Date: Frank was only 65 at the Robert A. Seidel, QC, Chair of the time of his sudden, unexpected Fax: To Appeardeath. in: AIHS Board of Directors, offered Pamela Valentine, PhD, has been this eulogy about his colleague’s appointed the interim CEO at AIHS. √ Date Purchased: life. “Cy was a true leader in every sense of the word in that his mission was to serve others. Cheryl Croucher hosts Innovation Anthology He did this in so many ways: which is broadcast on CKUA Radio at 7:58 as a surgeon who healed, a am and 4:40 pm Tuesdays and Thursdays with renowned researcher who made rebroadcasts on the weekends. Download discoveries and moved them the podcasts at www.innovationanthology. The late Dr. Cy Frank into therapies and tools to com and follow Cheryl on Twitter @ A leader in Medical Research improve people’s lives, as a CherylCroucher. Listen as well to CKUA brilliant visionary who saw a Radio for Aboriginal Pathways.
Sudden Death Claims
AIHS CEO
Dr. Cy Frank W
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ADVERTISING PRO
EDMONTONIANS SUMMER 2015
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EDMONTONIANS SUMMER 2015