SUMMER 2017 | EDITION 54
HILL
STREET N
E
W
S
I N T H I S EDI T ION CANADA 150:
Recapping a nationwide celebration 150 years in the making.
WALKING THE WALK
Bidding a sad farewell to Janis Walker, one of Harvard’s true legends.
Getting to Know Urban Forest Products
The inside scoop on The Hill Companies packaging powerhouse.
Thousands of people gather in front of 201 Portage at Winnipeg’s iconic Portage and Main intersection to form the “largest living maple leaf” to celebrate the country’s 150th anniversary. Downtown Winnipeg Biz, which organised the event, said at least 3,600 people were involved in the stunt that took place on Canada Day. A few people, wearing white, formed ‘150’ under the maple leaf’s stem. (Photo courtesy of Downtow Winnipeg Biz)
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FIRST
IMPRESSIONS
“OH CANADA”
EDITOR’S MESSAGE
ROSANNE HILL BLAISDELL
There are many unique and wonderful aspects about working in the real estate industry. It’s a business we grew up with and one that shapes our corporate culture. On April 20th, Harvard Developments Inc. hosted and was the Platinum sponsor of the 2017 Saskatchewan Real Estate Forum. There were brokers, developers, investors, builders, planners and other professionals in attendance – illustrating a keen interest in our real estate market. It was clear that day that are all part of a greater community trying to grow our industry and learn from each other. This much anticipated Forum was held in Regina and brought together over 500 real estate professionals (30% of whom travelled from outside the province) to discuss the diversity of the Saskatchewan economy, major trends in the Saskatoon and Regina real estate markets, and how they are performing from a leasing, development and investment perspective. The forum also provided an excellent opportunity to showcase our province and the growing advantages of investing into the Saskatchewan market. The morning panel brought perspectives from Resource based industries head quartered in Saskatchewan. Murad AlKatib from AGT, Craig Lothian from Lex Energy, Andy Keleman from Agrium and Michael Hoffort from Farm Credit Canada spoke about the challenges and opportunities in their industries and how Saskatchewan is well poised for future growth. There were numerous other engaging and thought-provoking panelists and presentations from Harvard’s own Paul Hill, Tina Svedahl and Aaron McDougall were highlights.
As Chair of the event, I was honoured to moderate the closing panel of Senior Real Estate Executives, including my father Paul Hill, who are doing business in Saskatchewan. George Przybylowski (the event organizer) raised a good point, that this was the first time a father-daughter duo had presented at the Forum! It was fun bantering back and forth in public, but I can assure you that Dad and I don’t plan to take our show on the road any time soon. Overall, the panelists’ views on what the future holds for real estate in Saskatchewan was insightful and cautiously optimistic. Events like this are invaluable when it comes to the power of networking, knowledge sharing and partnerships. The day inspired great confidence for not only our market, but our entire industry in the years ahead. ROSANNE HILL BLAISDELL Managing Director, Harvard Buildings Vice President Leasing, Harvard Developments
MESSAGE FROM MO MO BUNDON
Dear colleagues, It’s Go-Time! As you know, The Hill Companies as an organization has always prided itself on being innovative. Especially in an organization such as ours —having 13 different business units operating in many vastly different landscapes— the opportunities for innovation are always abound. One perfect example of our innovational spirit is occurring right now as you read this. An innovation that is ushering the real estate branch of our company from one era into another. An innovation that is completely revamping the way we will do business. An innovation called: Project H20. When we launched this project a mere nine months ago, we had high hopes and even higher expectations… now let me tell you, those hopes and expectations have not fallen short. It is astounding to see just how far we’ve come since we officially launched this project in September. Sharepoint has been running full steam ahead for a few months now, our new email system Microsoft Outlook has successfully been switched over, and as of March 20th the new MRI software has been fully integrated into our day-to-day operations. To celebrate all those achievements and to give employees a chance to hear more about what is to come in the future, we had a fantastic celebration on the morning of March 20th. Employees all gathered in their offices to celebrate with one another, to commemorate a very important moment in our company history, and to
acknowledge all the hard work and dedication that has gone in to getting us to this point. As with any project of this magnitude, there has no doubt been some pain points along the way. However, thanks to our hard-working and incredibly skilled project team those setbacks have been few and far between. I want to extend my sincerest thank you not only to every member of the Project H20 team, but also to every single employee who has stuck with us through this transition into a new and improved Harvard. The extra hours you have put in, your continued dedication to the project, and the unwavering positive attitude you have displayed throughout this process has not gone unnoticed. I’ve always said that we have the best people here at The Hill Companies, and it’s times like these that really reinforce that idea and prove how truly amazing our employees are. Now, the road ahead might still bring some bumps and bruises, but I promise that if we all stay adaptable and go with the flow, the final product will be worth it. Enjoy the 53rd edition of The Hill Street News!
MO BUNDON Senior VP and COO Harvard Developments Inc.
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THE C ON SC I OU S C O R N E R M O T H E R N AT U R E : W H O I S S H E ? BY JANUARY HILL
A famous German Aviator, Dieter F. Uchtdorf once wrote “The desire to create, is one of the deepest yearnings of the Human Soul.” So here lies a bit of my story from a creation point of view. Along with my deep curiosity of the mysterious spirit of Mother Nature. It is my wonder, if she had an opinion, would she agree with this deep yearning, and perhaps might she even think as we humans do when it comes to CREATION. With Winter in most cities now gone to sleep for another year and the sweet flirt of Spring bringing steadfast tiny buds to the trees, I wonder if Mother Nature is already dancing in joy, creating her magic for the promise of a new season. On the contrary, to her dancing, unfortunately there has been oodles of rain and flooding already happening in parts of Quebec and British Columbia. Here’s to crossing our fingers and our toes that there is no plan for SNOW in her creative ideas until next winter. A few of my favourite signs that Spring offers are: the first sight of the Red-breasted Robin, noticing them gathering twigs to build their nests, and the return of the Meadowlark that has a song so unique to any of the bird species. I have a warm memory that takes me back to the age of 9 years old in Ottawa, Ontario with my Aunt and Uncle. Each Spring, we would bet on Baskin and Robins ice cream to whomever caught sight of the first Red Robin. Like clockwork…as soon as we spotted one we were jumping in the car and my Uncle would always tell the tale of “Alas and now it is time to shave my Winter’s beard.” So, back to Mother Nature and her identity. My curiosity lies in the idea of what she looks like…are there artists who have ever attempted a portrait of her? If we could encounter her walking in a forest or knocking on her office door, what would we say to her? These are questions, one may NOT think of, but might in a moment of reflection, awe and witness to one of her phenomenal creations. For instance, the sight of an incredible rainbow with all its vibrant strips of colour after a huge rain storm. For without her, the magic of our seasons and weather would simply be the same and life from a “sight” perspective would be quite boring, in my opinion.
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In my own experience, Mother Nature validates her amazing presence with the appearance of every new tree, new flower, new life of an animal, even the wind that howls fiercely. And lastly, even when she creates the cold snow that covers everything on Earth like a huge white blanket, putting all things in nature temporarily to sleep. This is what my sweet mother used to say to me, in kindergarten, bundling me up in my snowsuit during a Saskatchewan winter storm. I would cry through my scarf and ask “Momma why is it so cold and snowing so hard? I don’t like Mother Nature today!” During my recent Easter travels, just for fun, I consulted with my 8 and 9 year old niece and nephew. Here’s what they came up with. My nephew paused a bit than said “Aunty Jan, I think of the Walt Disney movie Moana when I think of Mother Nature and I feel gratitude for all she does in Nature” Then, cutting her brother off at the end of his response, my niece busts in and says “One thing I do know for sure is, my mommy doesn’t like it when Mother Nature dumps snow!” In historic terms, I can only imagine the once upon time Ancient Native people and the Wise Old Elders having ONLY the utmost respect and worship for the great spirit of Mother Nature no matter what she created. For without her existence, man or woman could not have thrived on the planet. In several ways they strongly relied on ALL her creations good and not so good, for their primary source of survival (i.e. food, shelter and water). I find myself in deep gratitude for in today’s society we have thousands of amenities, almost to the point of being spoiled and technological advancement continues to sky rocket through the roof. Hopefully for the most part we are never too busy to PAUSE in the craze to humbly admire and appreciate Mother Nature from the standpoint of BEAUTY and CREATION in nature rather than for a means of survival. Until next time, “TAKE CARE OF OUR EARTH… GOOD MOTHER’S ARE HARD TO FIND”
PAT R I O T I C PA N C A K E S These patriotic pancakes, with a red maple leaf in the centre, are perfect for Canada Day. Fresh red berries, whipped cream and maple syrup are all great toppings, but you can switch it up with whatever fruit and syrups you like.
PREP TIME
10 min TO TA L T I M E
35 min
INGREDIENTS 1 egg 1 cup milk 1 Tbsp butter, melted 1 ¼ cups all-purpose flour 2 tsp baking powder 1 pinch salt 22 mL red food colouring
SERVES
12
¼ cup vegetable oil Maple syrup, to garnish 2 cups fresh raspberries, to garnish ½ cup whipping cream, whipped, to garnish
DIRECTIONS
1. In large spouted bowl, whisk together egg, milk and butter; whisk in flour, baking powder and salt until smooth. Let stand 20 minutes. 2. Measure 1/3 cup of the batter into shallow bowl; thin with enough water turn into a creamy consistency. Tint red with food colouring. 3. Over medium-low heat, heat a nonstick skillet with1tbsp of oil per pancake. Brush 2-inch (5 cm) maple leaf-shaped cookie cutter with some of the oil. Place in skillet. Pour in enough red batter to fill; cook 1 minute until set on bottom. Holding cutter with tongs, or hands, lift cutter away from maple leaf shape. Using a squeeze bottle or spoon, top each leaf with enough white batter to cover. Cook until bubbles form on tops, about 3 minutes. Turn pancakes; cook until bottoms are golden, about 1 minute.Working in batches and brushing pan with remaining oil as necessary, repeat with remaining batters, cleaning off cookie cutter when necessary. 4. Serve pancakes with maple syrup, raspberries and a dollop of whipped cream.
s t r a e H g n i w Glo
H W I T
W E
S E E
E T H E
This year’s Canada Day celebrations were a bit more exciting than other years…or at least the fireworks were! With this being the 150th Canada Day, the whole country geared up to show off their national pride and display their appreciation for this great nation. Our organization was no exception…we decided to step our own celebrations up another level, and had our iconic Regina Hill Towers I & II wrapped in a 10,000 square foot Canada 150 mural! Then we figured that two murals weren’t enough, so we had our 201 Portage Tower in Winnipeg wrapped with another mural! With our President, CEO and Chairman Paul J. Hill, as well as his wife, Carol Hill, being selected as Official Canada 150 Ambassadors, this decision seemed like a no brainer. The Hill Companies are honoured and excited to be able to celebrate this momentous year in Canadian history alongside the many communities we are a part of. The murals will not only serve as a symbol of our organizations Canadian pride, but as a beacon for the Regina and Winnipeg communities to identify with as the year’s celebrations take shape. Under the theme of “With glowing hearts we see thee rise”, Harvard Developments Inc. alongside its downtown building partners held an official public launch event on June 1st for our Hill Towers I & II. With over 8
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e s i R 500 man hours of installation done by Regina based advertising company, Sleek Signs Ltd., the murals really were a sight to behold. A wide array of dignitaries, government officials, Harvard employees and community members gathered together on City Square Plaza to join in the celebration as the Canada 150 tributes were unveiled. The program started off with a beautiful rendition of our National Anthem sung by Local Saskatchewan artist, Tegan Littlecheif, then transitioned into a number of moving speeches delivered by special guests and dignitaries such as: The Mayor of Regina Michael Fougere, Lieutenant Governor Vaughn Solomon Schofield, and MLA for Regina Pasqua Muhammad
Fiaz. Finally, the program was finished off with some beautiful closing remarks from our very own Rosanne Hill-Blaisdell, Vice President of Leasing with Harvard Developments Inc., and Paul J. Hill, President CEO & Chairman of The Hill Companies. Within those closing remarks, one part in particular seemed to resonate with the people attending the event. It was during Paul Hill’s remarks, when he was speaking to the history of Canada and the progression of how our nation came to be. In particular, there was a reference made to the pre-confederate name for our country, “The Dominion of Canada”, which was used officially for roughly 100 years. The term “Dominion” was inspired from Psalm 72 in the Bible, which refers to “dominion from sea to sea and from the river to the ends of the earth”. Paul spoke to how that phrase embodied the vision of building a powerful, united, wealthy and free country that spanned the entirety of a continent… a vision that he thinks, 150 years later, Canada has achieved.
Since the Regina launch event was such a resounding success, another event was planned for June 28th at our 201 Portage property. The event took place in the courtyard at the base of the tower, at one of Canada’s most iconic intersections (Portage and Main). Lady luck was on our side…as we just managed to avoid the rain showers that came in a half hour after the event. Featuring a spectacular opening performance of O’ Canada, done by Sarah Baxter, the event went on to include remarks from special guest Mayor Brian Bowman, MLA Janice Morley-Lecomte, and Paul J. Hill. Now, although the two launch events happened in different provinces, in vastly different communities, the response from those who attended was refreshingly similar. From the very start it was evident that every individual in the crowd was there for the same reason….to showcase their national pride and join in the celebration of the great country we all live in. The unwavering pride showcased from both communities was the perfect example of how no matter where you go in Canada, you will always find a diverse range of people that are proud to be Canadians.
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GETTING TO KNOW
URBAN FOREST PRODUCTS
WESTERN SURETY
AN IN DEPTH Q & A SESSION WITH RAY HUESER & ROB RICHARDS OF URBAN FOREST PRODUCTS
Give us a brief overview of what UFP does. We’re a manufacturing company based out of Brook, Indiana, that specializes in molded fiber packaging solutions, specifically: Egg packaging, fruit packaging, and 4-cup drink holders. We do all of this in a “green” way… we like to promote that we are an environmentally friendly company. We take that environmental responsibility on in a number of ways, and it all starts with the life cycle of our products. We start with recycled paper that gets manufactured into our products, bundled, and shipped out. Then, as an example, say you go to McDonalds and get carryout drinks with a 4-cup drink holder, eventually you throw that drink holder in the curb-side recycle bin, which gets picked up and sorted, and then sent back to us in a bale for re-use. Our products come full-circle. We also have some green practices throughout the manufacturing process itself. We strategically built our plant next to a landfill, which we draw methane gas from to use to fuel our dryers within the facility. On top of that, we have a closed water system at our plant, which minimizes our water use by capturing steam and all water for re-use. Which product do you make the most of? Out of our entire product line, we definitely make more egg filler flats than anything else. This might be a good opportunity to explain what exactly our egg filler flats are, because they aren’t your typical grocery store egg cartons…what we do here are larger flats that fit 30 eggs, which all nest
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into a protective bottom layer. They’re primarily used for restaurants, and larger grocery stores like Costco, essentially anyone who buys eggs in bulk. Overall, about 70% of our production is the egg filler flats, 25% is the 4-cup drink holders, and the remaining 5% is fruit trays. How many employees are at your location? We have a total of 80 at our location here in Indiana. How long has Urban Forest Products been around? The original company, Urban Forest Recyclers, was established in 1994. When the company expanded into the United States, Urban Forest Products was founded in 2009. Construction on the facility started in 2008, and as mentioned earlier was purposefully built next to the landfill for the methane gas. Our first product was produced in late 2009. How big is your market share? It’s probably about 30%, it constantly changes but generally it is always around that. Who are your main competitors? There are a lot of other companies that do molded pulp like us, however, I don’t think they are household names anyone would recognize.
What sets UFP apart from other production companies? I think our competitive advantage comes from our unwavering customer focus. The customer is always looking for quality, and quality is defined in this industry through price, product consistency, and on-time delivery. Everything we do is done with the customer in mind, and I think people like that. Who are UFP’s major customers? Our 4-cup drink carriers end up in McDonalds, they’re the only company they go to for us. We actually send them off to a sourcing company, and they’re the ones that deliver it to McDonald’s for us. The egg filler flats go straight to the egg producers, none of which are exactly small by any means, but once again not exactly recognizable names for everyone. How many units do you manufacture each year? In a year we do over 230 million pieces. Just as an example, in May this year we did 6 million 4-cup drink holders, and a total of 23 million pieces… May was a big month for us! It really all depends on sales in the end. How would you say the industry has changed since the company started? For us here at UFP in Brook, Indiana there haven’t been any major changes since we started out. Essentially, we operate in a smaller niche industry where everyone knows their competitors and has a pretty good idea of what their production levels are, so we all know how we fit in. That being said, we are always changing and evolving as a company to ensure we are at the forefront of our industry. Any notable achievements or milestones in the organization lately? Well, something that we are really proud of here is that we are SQF (safe quality foods) certified. What this is, is a program that is recognized by the Global Food Safety Initiative (GFSI) and links primary production certification to food manufacturing, distribution and agent/broker management certification. The main driver behind getting that certification was the 4-cup drink holders, since one requirement to produce those was achieving that certification. It isn’t a requirement for the egg filler flats (yet), but we like to promote that as a quality our product has behind it that many others don’t. Just like any certification, it’s a lengthy process to get through it and be compliant...but once you’re there you
are a lot better off because of it. How big is your plant? We are all under one roof, in one building. The total space is roughly 112,000 square feet. Of that space, the machine production line uses about 33,000, the warehouse is around 40,000, our recycled paper warehouse makes up another 4,000, then we have office space for about 12,000, and finally all the common areas and walkways combine to about 21,000. Having everything operate within one building really helps us to be efficient and streamline our processes. Does your plant operate 24 hours a day? We operate 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, 364 days a year. We take Christmas off. Not because we want to or anything, just because we need to… that’s a joke!
WALKING THE
WALK JA N I S
WA L K E R
E M P L OY E E
S P OT L I G H T
This edition of the Employee Spotlight takes a look into the life of a very special employee here at The Hill Companies; Janis Walker. After 21 years with Harvard, Janis will be retiring on July 1st. Just as we will be celebrating and reminiscing on Canada’s 150th, we must too take the time to celebrate and reminisce on Janis’ career with Harvard.
stayed for 11 years before moving into an administrative role at Victoria Square Mall. Janis then moved to Brookfield LePage and then onto TGS (all of which were in the property management industry). When asked why she chose to pursue a career in property management, Janis admits “I never really picked the industry to be honest, I just sort of fell into it”.
Born in Nokomis, Janis grew up in the small towns of Saskatchewan. Living on a farm and attending a country school until grade 7 was an experience that Janis describes as “interesting, because living on a farm I actually got to take a horse and cart to school every day, it was really fun and I loved it”. Thinking back, she can even remember the Christmas morning on which she got that horse that would take her to school every day…”waking up I remember looking under the tree and not seeing a present for me, so I was a bit sad. Then my mom told me I better look out the window, and when I looked, there was my Dad walking a horse out of the barn for me…I was just delirious. I always loved to ride and go out on trail rides on weekends, you never really could ride that pony though, he was a bit crazy”.
Janis’ long and successful career with Harvard Property Management started when she came over in the TGS merger roughly 21 years ago. Now, after over two decades with Harvard, Janis still finds it hard to believe she has been with us for so long, saying that “it seems like yesterday that I was walking in the door for my first day”.
After grade 7, Janis moved to the small town of Semans, where she would attend the rest of her elementary and high school years before moving to Regina to start her career. After exploring different job opportunities throughout the city, Janis decided she wanted to pursue secretarial administration. She enrolled in the Secretarial School at Balfour Collegiate and upon graduation, she transitioned into a role with Pioneer Life, where she 12
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When talking about her career with Harvard, Janis says she has “always loved working here for this company, and a lot of that has come from the people I get to work with. I get a lot of enjoyment out of working with the Building Operators, and I really like working with Chris Johnson —he’s one of the best.” Through every moment of her career, Janis has continually made a lasting positive impact on every single person who has had the privilege of working alongside her. When asked about his time spent working with Janis, Chris brought up a story from all the way back on his very first day when he started here at Harvard, saying that “Janis was one of the first people I met when I started at HPMI. She came into my office, sat
down and said “Hi, I’m Janis. I hear you are my new boss”. I said “yes” hesitantly, taken aback by her directness, “but I suspect that might be backwards”…and I was right. I may report to Steve Enns, but I quickly learned who I really answered to.” This straightforward, direct (and usually humorous) approach is something that has served Janis very well over her career at Harvard. As Steve Enns puts it, “her frank approach to life and relationships helped to build genuine trust and respect on our team, and provided on many occasions for good humour as well. Janis has been a stalwart of Harvard’s property management team for more than 20 years, always possessing a highly relatable disposition that endears everyone she connects with, whether young or old, tenant or colleague.” Now, a lot can be said about the positive impact Janis has had at Harvard. However, over the years that impact hasn’t just been limited to the confines of the office. For many years now Janis has been hosting English as a Second Language (ESL) students at her home. The students have come from such places as Vietnam, China, Japan and Korea and stayed with Janis anywhere from three weeks up to eight months! While these students are staying with her, Janis takes it upon herself to make sure they experience every bit of the Canadian culture that they would ever want. Whether it’s taking students out ice fishing in -40 weather, accompanying them on horseback rides, or simply offering up her backyard to watch the Aurora Borealis (Northern Lights) dance across the sky, Janis describes the experience as something that “might be my calling”. Over the past few years, she has found herself a bit too busy to take on any students, however upon retirement she hopes to once again start hosting students from all over the world and create many more memorable experiences for them along the way. On top of hosting some more ESL students, upon retirement Janis says she is “really just looking forward to leaving the busy life behind, and being able to finally slow down and take the time needed to tackle some projects in and around the house!” More specifically, she has plans to try and build a vertical garden in her backyard!
“
I think I can speak for everyone when I say that Harvard just won’t be the same without Janis. As Chris Johnson puts it, “Janis’ departure will be felt deeply by all of us who worked with her through the years. She brought a unique attitude into the office every day and leaves behind a legacy most can only aspire to…we are also keeping a place for her in the office for when she decides she is way too young to retire.” Congratulations, Janis, on an amazing 21 years with The Hill Companies! Happy Retirement!
I’ve always loved working here for this company, and a lot of that has come from the people I get to work with. I get a lot of enjoyment out of working with the Building Operators, and I really like working with Chris Johnson — he’s one of the best.”
Happy retirement Janis, we’ll sure miss you!
-Janis Walker
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HARVARD PROPERTY MANAGEMENT NATALIE WHELPTON
It’s the unofficial beginning of summer -- the season for taking it easy, taking vacations, and taking advantage of long, sunny days. It is a time for simple pleasures and for the working world to slow down and relax. Everyone in HPMI is looking forward to enjoying a bit of down time this summer to enjoy the many festivities the season has to offer, including celebrating Canada’s 150th birthday!
After a very successful inaugural season last year, Club 21 is back. The members only rooftop patio club located at Mosaic Tower at Hill Centre III is now open with exclusive access for our valued Harvard tenants. This year’s kick-off took place on June 1 with live entertainment in addition to appetizers and beverages from 20Ten City Eatery. Club nights will take place every Thursday evening through the end of August.
A substantial portion of the work required for the conversion to MRI is behind us, although the fine tuning of various processes are currently ongoing. Jennifer Calnek and her team were able to complete the 2016 audit on time despite being faced with the additional challenges of the conversion. A special thank you to everyone for your hard work and perseverance! With one annual undertaking completed, our Administration teams are preparing for their favourite time of year… otherwise known as budget season.
In Winnipeg, our tenants enjoyed the much anticipated “Canada 150” Customer Appreciation pancake breakfast. A number of Canada 150 videos were screened in the courtyard of 201 Portage to entertain guests as they lined up at resident food trucks “Fired Up” and “The Poutine King”. Guests were also presented with themed takeaway gifts that were a big hit. Congratulations to our Winnipeg team on hosting a great event!
To kick off spring, our downtown Regina tenants were treated to our annual breakfast throughout the last week of March. Over a three day period, approximately 3,000 people enjoyed Regina’s famous Green Spot cinnamon buns and coffee, fruit, yogurt and juices in addition to muffins from Good Earth. Thank you to the PR and Promo Team and Harvard volunteers for their work on this successful event! Our Regina Supplier Appreciation event took place in mid-May in the lobby of Hill Centre Tower II. Guests were treated to refreshments from Famoso Neopolitan Pizzeria.
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Since our last update, HPMI has welcomed a number of new faces: Tim Jennings joined our Regina team in the position of Operations Manager for our downtown office portfolio. Prior to joining Harvard, Tim had acquired many years of experience in facilities management in Canada and the United States bringing a wealth of knowledge in the many facets of building operations. Brandon Abar was welcomed by our Edmonton office in the role of Building Operator of our 3rd party properties. The Regina downtown operations team welcomed Carter Strocen as the new Building Operator for Agriculture Place/FCC Tower. Our Winnipeg team was pleased to welcome Dawn Gribble as the Senior Property Administrator at 201 Portage. The Technical Services Team welcomed Gary Burgess in the role of Systems Maintenance Analyst. Gary will be working very closely with Ryan Knutson visiting properties in Manitoba, Saskatchewan and Alberta.
Madison Graff began a summer work term in the Harvard Service Call Centre during her break from classes at the U of R. She will get to spend some quality work time with her mom, Michelle Dawson. Mohammed Kanbour has joined our Edmonton team as Senior Building Operator for our retail portfolio at Currents of Windermere and Windermere Crossing. Kristen Heidt joined the Regina Downtown Property Administration team in the role of Property Management Administrator. Most recently, Helen King has joined the Regina downtown administrative team in the role of Administrative Assistant. Helen will be transitioning into Janis Walker’s duties over the month of June.
As we say farewell to one co-worker, we are happy to hear about the return of another. Angie Gibson of our Calgary office has returned from her year-long maternity leave. Welcome back Angie! Finally, we are pleased to acknowledge property management employees who have reached a milestone in their length of service with Harvard. Angela Lockhart, Dawn Schlosser, Kevin Robinson and Hugo Jimenez have all achieved 5 years of service. Congratulations, your dedication and loyalty is greatly appreciated! Have a safe and wonderful summer!
Speaking of Janis Walker, she has now retired as of the end of June after a 30 year career in property management. Of those years, 20 have been with HPMI. Janis is looking forward to spending time in her garden and is excited to resume her international student hosting work later this year. Both she and her sense of humour will be missed by all of us in the HPMI Regina office.
SHRINK YOUR INK
FERLIN RANDS & STEPHEN SAFINUK
Save on your printer ink by selectively printing in Windows programs such as Microsoft Word, Excel, Internet Explorer (and other browser), WordPad, Outlook, etc. To do this highlight portions of text you want to print and click the Print icon or option in the File menu. In the printer dialog window (like the one shown below) under Page Range choose the option Selection.
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CORPORATE SERVICES LAURETTA BELIVEAU
Audits are done for another year! Congratulations everyone on a smooth process, and for completing it during our conversion to MRI. Accountants are now busy working on the various Hill Companies tax returns for submission by the June 30th deadline. There are some new faces on the 21st floor with the hiring of accountants Rumi Nakata & Tina Zhu who are replacing Anna Hui & Ting Meng. Corporate Accounting’s Sanam Zimmer & Si Tu from Investments swapped positions in April. Sanam can now be found on the 20th floor. A warm welcome to Rumi, Tina & Si, we are excited to have you join our team! Ting Meng’s last day with Corporate Accounting & Harvard Developments will be June 30th. Ting is a big part of the Corporate Accounting team and will be greatly missed. We wish her all the very best for her future in China. James Nixon has taken over Cassandra Endicott’s dayto-day responsibilities until her return from maternity leave. Cassandra & Cody’s new bundle of joy is scheduled to arrive late August, and we look forward to the new addition to our Corporate Accounting family with the arrival of baby Endicott! James Nixon and Si Tu will be off for approximately 1 month during August/September as they study and prepare to write their Common Final Exam (CFE). We wish them luck as they head into their studies.
WOW! can you believe it, the total combined years of Harvard’s Corporate Accounting staff work experience totals 150 years…The age of Canada! We really are one smart group, if I don’t say so myself! Our brilliant leader, Terry Downie, even came up with the stupendous idea for the Hill Tower Banners to celebrate Canada’s 150th birthday. It was a very proud moment when they were completed. Gary Thiel participated in the 43rd Tamarack Ottawa Race, on May 28th. He completed the Full Marathon (42km) with a time of 3.05 hours. Well done Gary! Gary’s results (Category M50-54) -----------------------------------------------------------------Overall place 227/5284 Gender Place 208/3368 Category Place 10/459 Our monthly staff lunches continued with February at Fat Badger, March at Crave, April at Victoria Tavern, May at Fireside Bistro. We recommend all these locations for a great lunch. June’s location soon to be determined. Have a great summer everyone!
HARVARD WESTERN INSURANCE HARVARD WESTERN INSURANCE BECOMES AN “EPIC” ORGANIZATION
BY J ESS I C A Y E L L A N D
On December 5, 2016, Harvard Western Insurance went live with Epic, a new brokerage management system designed to allow us to maintain all of our lines of business within a single application. The move to Epic was prompted by a need to upgrade our technology to remain competitive and keep up with our growth, and Epic will provide us with a single view of our customers and business, allow us to standardize our business operations, increase efficiency, respond to growth and expansion, and help build stronger client relationships. Our conversion process began in Spring 2016, and for the rest of the year, our six person implementation team worked closely with our vendor, Applied Systems, to prepare for the conversion process. Data preparation and configuration was the focus for the first few months, followed by a lot of training in preparation for using the new software- over 700 combined hours of training! The conversion process itself took a week, and “Go Live” day was celebrated with office lunches and a welcome package for each user. As a whole, Harvard Western Insurance is excited to see where Epic will take us into the future; with increased client service options and the capability for client facing technology, we will be able to access our clients in the way they prefer. Our improved internal processes and customer service will truly allow us to call ourselves an “Epic” organization!
SPRING SAFETY TIPS: • • • • • •
Spring brings thaw and with that shifting ground. This can lead to gas line ruptures and carbon monoxide leaks. Ensure your home is outfitted with working smoke and carbon monoxide detectors. When cleaning gutters or eaves, ensure ladders are always placed on level ground and located at least 10 feet from power lines. Always service lawnmowers and power tools each spring before first use. Ensure safety guards are not damaged and in place at all times. Prior to mowing your lawn for the first time, walk entire area and remove any sticks, stones, toys or large debris that could shoot out from below the mower and cause bodily injury. Consider using non-toxic household cleaners. Vinegar and water is an effective window cleaner, toothpaste works well for polishing silver and lemon juice is a natural bleach. Never mix cleaning products. Combining certain chemicals can produce toxic and harmful gases. FROM EVERYONE AT HARVARD WESTERN INSURANCE, HAVE A SUPERB (AND SAFE) SPRING!
We’re all family.
5%
Harvard Western Insurance is pleased to offer a 5% discount to all Hill Companies employees for home and auto insurance. For further details or to request a quote, please contact one of the Harvard Western offices below, or visit harvardwestern.com 3615 Quance Street 306.757.1633
4420 Albert Street 306.584.2466
407 Broad Street 306.543.4200
Normanview 306.777.0654
Kronau 306.781.2263
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HARVARD INVESTMENTS CHRIS CACHERIS
Harvard Investments began construction of Phase One of Cadence at Gateway, its 465-acre, premiere Arizona master-planned community, this May. Homes will be available in 2018 from award-winning builders including Lennar Homes, Pulte Homes, Gehan Homes and CalAtlantic. Phase One is anticipated to include 600 homes, abundant parks and connecting trail systems, a main street business parkway and The Square; resident amenities that include a community center, fitness center, resort-style pools, basketball, tennis and bocce courts, café, event lawn areas, garden and more. Moving forward, Cadence at Gateway’s master plan includes a centrally-located school site adjacent to expansive sports fields and additional homes, parks, trails and customized community play areas. Designed by notable land planner Wendell Pickett of Greey/Pickett and esteemed architect Bing Hu of H&S International, the community will foster neighborhood connectivity with short residential blocks (average 10 homes on either side), separated sidewalks with abundant greenery, roundabouts and distinct parks and landmarks for each neighborhood. Additionally, homes built at Cadence will emphasize indoor/outdoor living, usability, durability, modern conveniences, and distinctive floor plans tailored for various life stages and circumstances. Cadence at Gateway is situated in the heart of the Phoenix East Valley’s growing Gateway corridor in the state’s third largest city – Mesa. The new community provides residents’ access to convenient transportation, high tech employers, a multitude of education options and the thriving Phoenix Mesa Gateway Airport.
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HILL STREET
Crossword Name:
Hill Street News Edition 54 Complet e t he crossword below 1
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Created with TheTeac hers Co rner.net Cro s s wo rd Puz z le Generato r
Across 5. UFP's certification through the Global Food Safety Initiative 6. Last name of 620 CKRM legend who was named 'On Air Personality of the Year' at this year's SCMA awards. 7. Name of rooftop patio club located on the roof of Mosaic Tower 9. Small town that played host to GX94 and it's Mini Miracle fundraiser 10. This famous makeup artist will be relocating to Shoppes on Hamilton later this summer 11. Canadian city that organized the largest ever living maple leaf 14 . The only holiday that UFP plant doesn't operate 15. This Harvard marathoner placed 227th in the 43rd Tamarack Ottawa Race
Down 1. Popular Canadian rock band that put on a show as part of X92.9's 'POP UPS' concert series. 2. Last name of new building operator for Agriculture Place and FCC Tower 3. Edmonton's 95.7 CRUZ FM celebrated the 8th annual ____________ this past spring. 4 . Harvard Investments began construction of Phase One of this community, a 465-acre, masterplanned property in Mesa, Ariona 8. This Harvard station was voted Red Deer's best radio station 12. Janis Walker's hometown 13. U.S State home to Urban Forest Products
Be the first to successfully complete the crossword and submit to mgeiger@harvard.ca to win a Harvard Prize Pack!
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DEVELOPMENT & LEASING UPDATE GAIL AURITI, NICOLE TEMPLETON, DAN WOYCHUK, CAM COSTLEY
REGINA
There are some exciting new stores set to open this summer at Shoppes on Hamilton! Queen V Fashion House, a women’s boutique featuring progressive international brands and designers, will open this July. The store will be located directly south of Swank Shoe Lounge and is 1,708 square feet in size. The store has taken on a 5 year lease in this location. Two Fifty Two Boutique, another high-end women’s clothing store, will be located beside Queen V Fashion House and is set to open in September. The store has signed on for 10 years, leasing 1,945 square feet of space. Sara Lindsay The Make-Up Store, will be relocating to Shoppes on Hamilton beside Two Fifty Two Boutique. The store will provide the services of make-up, skin care, hair styling and cutting, nail services, lash lifts, brow tinting and waxing and lash extension, along with the retailing of make-up, hair, skin, body and nail products along with make-up tools, brushes, bags, accessories and jewelry. Additionally, located within the premises will be Smith & Best, which will provide an eclectic mix of skincare and gifts with a focus on men’s essentials. The entire store will be 2,250 square feet, and the lease is for 10 years with it set to open in August. We are very thrilled to announce these new additions to Shoppes on Hamilton! Regina Repair and Electronics, a new venture, will be opening July 1 in 1868 Rose Street in 680 square feet. The tenant has signed on for 2 years. Shell has renewed at Normanview Crossing for another 5 years
CURRENTS OF WINDERMERE Edmonton, Alberta
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Located in SE Regina on Chuka Boulevard, this 21 acre development has begun site work earlier in the Fall of 2016. This food store anchored shopping centre will also have a drug store, several restaurants, professional services and quality retail offerings. Phase one will be open in the fall of 2017. Construction of the Co-op Gas Bar, Save-On Foods and the Dairy Queen is getting underway. We expect to also be starting construction soon on 4 other buildings. Tenants to be announced in the next couple of weeks.
Negotiations are underway with a number of retailers and restaurants to be located in the area surrounding the Landmark theatre. Site planning for that area is being finalized. For more info visit shopataurora.ca
Horizons has gained considerable momentum on the leasing as a result of a leasing deal with a major food store anchor. Plenty of housing activity at Westerra continues to generate retailer interest in Horizons.
The new community of Westerra has reached some major milestones since we last updated you. All utilities (water, sewer, storm-water, gas & power), as well as streets and sidewalks for Phase One are now substantially completed. Trees and playground equipment have been installed and the community park will be ready to enjoy this summer (June opening). We are also extremely proud that Westerra will be the home to Regina’s first purpose-built, regulation size cricket pitch! Construction has already begun on the pitch and is scheduled for completion this fall. The Westerra builder group opened their show homes on November 12th and have since experienced consistent sales. Westerra’s Official Grand Opening was held on April 8th and was a huge success with a great turnout from the community. The first residents have already moved in, with seven families calling Westerra their home. We currently have over 75 homes completed or under construction. Broadstreet Properties has built two 70 unit rental apartment buildings with first tenants moving in July 2017.
The Outlet Collection had a very successful opening and traffic at Seasons is very strong. Construction is expected to start on two more multi-tenant buildings in the coming weeks. Retailer announcements to follow. IHOP and Good Earth Coffee House are in possession of their premises and are fixturing for late Summer openings.
In addition to the 44,000 s.f. Winners/HomeSense that will open later this year, Grasslands will be home to an 8,000 s.f. Structube Store next to DSW opening in the fall 2017. Structube is a Quebec based furniture store carrying an affordable selection of modern and contemporary home furnishings. Although Sturctube has over 50 stores across Canada, this will be their first store in Saskatchewan.
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HARVARD BROADCASTING
MESSAGE FROM CAM CAM COWIE
Everybody has opinions and we wanted to hear them … so we asked.
Between April 3 – 17, 1357 listeners in Saskatchewan and 2,148 listeners in Alberta between the ages of 18-55 completed an online survey. The survey was designed and administered by Harvard Broadcasting to determine the link between advertising on Radio and Top-of-mind awareness levels with the station’s listeners. The study was also designed to determine the role of the online buying process, and any synergies between radio advertising and online searches. This study focuses on the perceptions of the radio listeners in an effort to help our advertisers better understand how to change, or build upon those perceptions. Here are some of the highlights of what the listeners in Alberta and Saskatchewan had to say.
GX94 & FOX FM - YORKTON,SK
KAYLA JELINSKI
One of GX94’s biggest events of the summer is the GX94 Backyard Concert. This year we were more than happy to welcome back three time Juno nominee and multiple CCMA award winner Aaron Pritchett to perform! We headed to a farm just 45 minutes south of Yorkton where Aaron put on a private concert & GX94 put on a BBQ for our winner and more than 20 of their family & friends! The GX94 Crew with Aaron Pritchett and our Winners Wendy and Mark Rogers.
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100.7 CRUZ FM & KRAZE 101.3 - RED DEER, AB
KATIE EMMETT
Harvard Broadcasting Red Deer has some new hardware to display, as KRAZE 101-3 was voted Red Deer’s BEST Radio Station and took home the GOLD in the Red Deer Express 2017 BEST of Red Deer Awards!! Epic Evenings & KRAZE Weekend host, Shae Bolding, also took home the Bronze for BEST DJ in Red Deer! This Spring saw the return of MARBLE MONEY on KRAZE 101-3, and what a return it was! This year, we had a total of SEVEN winners, for a combined total of $11,709.00 awarded – with one winner taking home $5050.00!! 100.7 CRUZ FM teamed up with the Cool Beans Coffee Company to bring the CRUZ COFFEE CREW! Every 2 weeks, for the past few months, our announcers delivered smiles to the hard-working folks of Central Alberta, one cup of coffee at a time! Not only did we get to make someone’s day by delivering FREE Coffee and delicious baked goods, but we also got a chance to get out and meet some of the best and most loyal listeners in Red Deer!
For multiple years FOX FM has been helping its listeners renovate their homes with FOX FM’s Patch Up Your Pad! This year Nathan Gordon from Yorkton beat out all our other entries through online voting and won himself $2,000.00 in supplies and products to patch up his pad! With the money Nathan was finally able to update his very outdated bathroom! On March 2nd GX94 headed out to the small town of Sturgis to once again be a part of the 37th Annual Sturgis Kinsmen and Kinettes Mini-Miracle. For 37 years their talent show has been broadcast live on GX94 and this year it was hosted by GX94’s Nick Kaczmar and Evan Montgomery. At Telemiracle 41 the Sturgis division presented a cheque for $30,737.38! Over the past 37 years the Sturgis Mini Miracle has rasied over $858,002.00 for Telemiracle. GX94 and FOX FM held the 11th Annual Airwaves for Health Radiothon on April 24th & 25th at the Yorkton Regional Health Centre. Both Stations were on location for two days and raised $72, 847.90 for Babies at Risk in the Yorkton surrounding area. ED I TI ON 5 4 - THE HI LL S TRE E T NE W S |
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104.9 THE WOLF, MY92.1, 620 CKRM
REGINA, SK | TOM STASESON
The 28th Annual SCMA Awards were handed out in Saskatoon this Spring and 620 CKRM’s COLIN LOVEQUIST received On-Air Personality of the Year. Congratulations Colin! The Canadian Music and Broadcast Awards were handed out during Canadian Music Week in April, and 104.9 The Wolf was honoured to be named “2017 Station of the Year - Medium Market”. Thank you to our entire team, and to our loyal listeners, for helping us achieve this national recognition! For the 5th straight year Regina’s Rock Station 104.9 The Wolf presented Queen City Rocks 2017 and congratulates this year’s winner! Johnny 2 Fingers & The Deformities from Regina.
95.7 CRUZ FM & HOT 107 - EDMONTON, AB
MELANIE RAESSLER
This spring, CRUZ celebrated our 8th CRUZ Hall Party! This time, Honeymoon Suite took over the Italian Cultural Centre for an amazing party with great music and great friends. Plus, with the Oilers in a playoff run, we were excited to show the game for all the diehard fans that just couldn’t decide which party to be a part of! HOT 107’s Ryder in the Morning was moving into a new house, so he took that as an opportunity to clean out his closet. That’s when he noticed that he had A LOT of clothes that were not even worn. We gave the chance for listeners to win them…..but do some good too! We asked listeners to spring clean their closets and “Ed Sharin’ Your Clothes”! For every donation to the Youth Emergency Shelter, listeners got a ballot to win tickets to the sold out Ed Sheeran concert this summer (and their pick of what they wanted out of Ryder’s “new” clothes).
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X92.9 - CALGARY, AB
GINETTE OUIMET
As part of X92.9’s 10th year celebration, we are holding some fun experiences for the X Community, including Pop Ups (Secret shows from some big Alternative bands). Imagine seeing a free secret show from your favourite band play in a small venue. You never know when they’ll happen or where. Follow us on Twitter to find out when the next one will happen! Two of these experiences have already been held this year • Arkells on February 4th at the King Eddy in National Music Centre • And Rural Alberta Advantage on March 1 at the National Music Centre
On April 20th, at The Canadian Music Awards in Toronto Ontario, X92.9’s Music Director Chris Lynch took home the award for Music Director of the Year – Major Market; making this his 5th time! And X92.9’s Program Director Christian Hall took home the award for Program Director of the Year – Major Market. Starting July 4th, X92.9 will have an entire new on air line up. Some new voices & some moving into new time slots. (Monday to Friday) • X-Mornings with Beckler and Seanna from 6am10am • Middays with Angela Valiant from 10am-2pm
Click here to watch videos!!
• X-Afternoons with Marc Michaels and Katlynn Millions from 2pm-7pm
During The Tim Horton’s Roll Up the Rim promotion, Tyler & Lynch from X Mornings collected over 1000 winning food tabs. They were then donated to two local charities; Inn from the Cold and the Mustard Seed.
• Evenings with Graham Mosimann from 7pmMidnight
Click here to watch the Thank You Video
• Weekends/Overnights with Andy Berridge from Midnight to 6am weekdays & 11am-5pm Saturdays & Sundays • Matt Berry takes over as the full time Music Director.
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FACES IN NEW PLACES
&
GROUNDBREAKING NEWS
IQBAL SUALEHIN Insurance Advisor - HWI Albert
BRIANNA HODGES Insurance Advisor - HWI Quance
CHERYL EHRESMAN Insurance Advisor - HWI Broad
TIM JENNINGS Operations Manager - HPMI Regina
LINDSAY WISKAR Receptionist - HDI Regina
JIM MOORE Property Manager - HPMI Winnipeg
RAPHAEL CEREZO Construction Project Manager HDI Regina
RANDI KINNEE Payroll and Benefits Administrator HDI Regina
“Start with a foundation of solid values and stay true to the things you believe in” - Walter Hamilton Alexander Hill
Let’s keep in touch For story ideas and information, please contact: Matt Geiger Marketing and Communications Admin mgeiger@harvard.ca 306.777.0661
visit our website for more information hillcompanies.com