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Thompson/Okanagan PAGE 12
VERNON Keith Dahlen Construction continues to build
National Hospitality Group offers big ideas to Kamloops core BY JOHN MACDONALD
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A M L O O P S – N a t i o nal Hospitality Group is launching an innovative one-stop-shop legal center. 500 Victoria Street will soon be home to Centerpoint, a meeting facility focused specifically on serving lawyers working in mediation and arbitration. The all-inclusive concept will include meeting spaces and legal specific amenities, the development aims to fill a void in the community determined by a feasibility study. The business model exists in large business centres like Vancouver a nd Ottawa, but not
typically in smaller regions like the Thompson-Okanagan region. “We’re excited about the venture, because it hasn’t been done before in a market like Kamloops,” says Chris Rowe, Director of Finance for NHG. “In the research we conducted, the need for a technologically advanced facility specifically designed for arbitrators, mediators, and the legal community was evident.” The project is expected to add significantly to the Kamloops business core. “The feedback has been incredibly positive from the surrounding area, the business community and our partners,” says Rowe.
“We’re rea l ly excited about bringing this project to market.” Construction on the 4,200 square foot development has already started. The building will feature fully furnished meeting, hearing, discovery and breakout rooms, which can be used in conjunction with each other to offer clients a customized experience, depending on the nature of use. The project’s amenities will be complemented by Hotel 540, located on the adjacent property, and also owned by NHG. In addition, Centrepoint will offer private serviced offices for short SEE NATIONAL HOSPITALITY | PAGE 18
Chris Rowe, Director of Finance for the National Hospitality Group
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ELOW NA - Ma ny private busi nesses i n the Okanagan have found no better or more trusted advisor than Crowe MacKay LLP Chartered Accountants. Don Turri, managing director of the Kelowna office, explained that the firm made a decision decades ago to focus on serving private businesses, building strong relationships with its clients to help them succeed and thrive through all the stages of their businesses’ growth. Crowe MacKay is a Western Canadian company with eight offices in British Columbia, Alberta, Saskatchewan and the North.
“This allows us to have the depth and the professional service to deal with client matters from the routine to the complex,” Turri said. “But we can still focus on what’s importa nt i n each com mu n ity that we operate in.” T here are 42 partners in the firm with each office operating and making decisions locally. In Kelowna, Crowe MacKay has been operating since 1969 and has grown to a staff of 55 – 60 people, the number fluctuating depending on the season and the number of co-op students currently working and training at the firm. Explaining the company’s longevity and success, Turri said, “You have to pay attention to the needs of your community
– a nd you have to sta nd for something. We decided quite a nu mb er of ye a rs a go t h at we wanted to focus on private businesses and their owners. T h at’s a s u b se t of wh at a l l accounting firms do, but we wanted that to be our primary focus.” What follows from that, he said, is exceptional tax support. The firm has 10 full time tax professionals including four tax partners who are recognized as spea kers a nd i nstr uctors across the country. “That tax strength leaves us uniquely positioned in the BC Interior to provide creative and innovative tax planning to successful businesses and their owners,” Turri said. “That’s a major strength that followed our decision to be really strong
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in private businesses and their owners.” Crowe MacKay works with a wide variety of businesses from start-ups to family owned firms and large privately owned corporations that do work globally. T he firm provides two main functions for its clients: compliance and planning. As an accounting firm, Crowe MacKay does every thing such a firm would be expected to do such as preparing taxes and financial statements. “But it’s really the planning piece that people come to our firm for,” Turri said. “We often get people coming to see us who are already getting their tax return done but no one is giving SEE ACCOUNTING FIRM | PAGE 19