North Shore Network by North Shore News

N O R T H

SHO R E

people you should know in our community

NORTH

S HORE

2010

contents W

elcome to the first issue of North Shore Network. At the North Shore News, part of our responsibility as the voice of North and West Vancouver is to help our readers make their lives better.

A recent survey by the Vancouver Foundation revealed that people on the North Shore were the happiest and most optimistic residents of the Lower Mainland. For those of us who have lived here for a while, it’s no real surprise. While our ideal location between the convenience of city living and the recreational paradise of our mountains, parks and beaches is a big plus, what really makes the North Shore the best place to live are the people who call it home. On paper, with over 180,000 residents, North and West Vancouver look like very urbanized suburban communities. Yet if you are actively involved in the organizations, associations and committees that add immeasurably to our quality of life, you’ll find that it’s a very small town indeed. A core group of keenly devoted men and

women are the driving force behind the scenes to keep the social, cultural and economic wheels of our community turning. They’re the Influencers – a small pool of multiply connected networkers who know each other, work together and can get you in touch with almost anyone if you need to get something done. They are leaders in our community and thrive on contact and helping their neighbours – and we should all get to know them. With Small Business Week running from October 17-23, it’s an even better time to connect with North Shore entrepreneurs and business innovators. North Shore Network is designed to help you get to know some of the people, right in our own backyard, who can make a difference in your world. So – the next time you see them – say Hello!!

Director, Sales and Marketing

PS: don’t forget to connect with us on our Facebook page!

3 Garth Mossop & Paul Jasich ...................... CGM Electronics ............................................................ 4 James Carter ............................................................... Carter GM ........................................................................... 5 Brad Johnson .............................................................. End of the Roll ................................................................. 6 Henry, Richard & Chuck Gerber ............ Gerber Home Furnishings ...................................... 7 Michael Cameron ................................................... Grouse Mountain ........................................................... 8 Holly Back ....................................................................... Holly’s Salons & Schools ......................................... 9 Hollyburn House Team ...................................... Hollyburn House (Revera Inc.) ........................ 10 Dr. Tahmineh Nikookar ..................................... Lions Gate Health Centre ................................... 11 Judy Savage ................................................................. Lions Gate Hospital Foundation .................... 12 Gary Mathiesen ........................................................ Lonsdale Quay Market .......................................... 13 Dr. Ferdinand Stasiak ........................................ The Vein & Laser Clinic ......................................... 14 Dr. William Liebenberg ..................................... Westview Dental ........................................................ 15 North Van Chamber 2010 Business Excellence Awards Top Three Finalists ..................... 16 Dr. Shehla Ebrahim ............................................... Afterglow Medical Aesthetics

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people you should know in our community 2

people you should know in our community Get To Know Me Favourite technological gadget: I just acquired an iPad and I love it! I use it for diploma work as well as using it for fun.

Hobbies/Passions: My passion is to entertain friends and family at home, to try different cuisines from all over the world and to entertain people I love and care about.

Books: If Ebrahim ﬁnds time to read, it’s a book on her beloved dermatology. Or failing that, Three Cups of Tea by Greg Mortenson, the co-founder of the non-proﬁt charity the Central Asia Institute.

If you didn’t work in this industry, what would you do? I would be climbing mountains and doing humanitarian support. Provided I had lots of money to support myself and my family.

Dr. Shehla Ebrahim AFTERGLOW MEDICAL AESTHETICS

P H Y S I C I A N M E D I C A L

D I R E C T E D

A E S T H E T I C S

Caitlin Dowling • newsroom@nsnews.com

orth Shore resident Dr. Shehla Ebrahim is extremely busy, and she wouldn’t have it any other way. Multi-tasking is what she does best, and you’d better believe it.

Ebrahim immigrated from Pakistan in 1989, and headed straight to the North Shore where she has lived ever since. “I love the community that I live in, I would never dream of living anywhere else,” she says. While she has been a family physician on the North Shore since 1992, her passion for marrying wellness and beauty has taken her in a new direction. In 2005 she decided to take a “leap of faith” and open the esthetic medi-spa Afterglow Skincare. “And I’ve never regretted it,” Ebrahim adds. Afterglow offers a variety of esthetic treatments for facial acne scarring, rosacea, and other skin conditions, as well as cosmetic procedures such as Juvaderm injections. Ebrahim loves the challenge of spending time on her new business as well as fostering her established family medical practice. While she happily juggles both practices, there’s always room for more. Later on this year Ebrahim will be adding another string to her bow with a diploma in practical dermatology from the University of Cardiff in Wales. “My bread and butter at Afterglow is still Botox and ﬁllers, and lots of laser-based procedures, but my most rewarding time is when I actually see and treat skin diseases.” Ebrahim looks forward to broadening her knowledge of dermatological ailments so she can further help the local community. Her vision is to expand her business to include

a wide array of treatments specifically for women, including peri-menopause and hormone therapy. Ebrahim loves to blend science with art and creativity. Every time she applies a cosmetic treatment to a patient at Afterglow, she adds her own approach to the application, which gives her a sense of fulfillment like no other. Despite the ups and downs of the recent economy, I can hear her smile over the phone as she tells me “business is fabulous!” In return for her success as a health entrepreneur, Ebrahim takes on humanitarian causes, and regularly donates percentages of her revenue to charities. Her ethos is simple: “have humility in leadership.” She aims to treat every work and personal relationship as a gift, and advises her four members of staff to do the same. Among the causes she supports is the Central Asia Institute, a non-profit founded by author Greg Mortenson, which funds education for people in Pakistan and Afghanistan, a cause that is very close to her heart. Back home on the North Shore, Ebrahim is a proud member of the West Vancouver Women’s Network, SWAN (Successful Women Always Network), the North Shore Chamber of Commerce and the Vancouver Board of Trade. Ebrahim turned 50 last week, but that’s the last thing that will slow her down. In April she climbed 19,000 ft of Mount Everest for charity, the latest in a series of charity climbs, and she loves to go long-distance road biking in her spare time, with her favourite Bollywood music playing in her headphones. “It reminds me of home!” she laughs. Is there anything this woman can’t do?

words of wisdom Treat all relationships as gifts and have humility in leadership.

reach me at telephone 604 980 3993 email info@afterglowskincare.ca internet www.afterglowskincare.ca

people you should know in our community Get To Know Me We asked Garth Mossop: What the best advance in home electronics you’ve seen? If there’s anything that has been a beneﬁt, it’s programmable control systems. One of the complaints you get from customers these days is they have all this new equipment and satellite and cable and a DVD player and so on but they can’t get it to work together.

Do you have any hobbies? I still enjoy my own ﬁtness. I love soccer; I think it’s a great sport. I still like to ski when I can. And I like to travel.

If you hadn’t gone into electronics, what would you have done? That’s a tough one. I often joke about it because there’s bunch of us guys that went to school together. A couple of my buddies retired when they were 55. But no, I have no regrets. I’ve enjoyed the challenge of making this work.

Garth Mossop & Paul Jasich CGM ELECTRONICS

C.G.M. Electronics

Benjamin Alldritt • balldritt@nsnews.com

arth Mossop has seen nothing but changes in the 40-some years he’s worked at CGM Electronics. “In the ’50s and ’60s, we did mostly radio,” Mossop recalls. “They needed constant service. Anyone that did have a TV had a black-and-white one and again, constant service.” Mossop apprenticed at the Marine Drive store right after graduating from North Vancouver High School. There wasn’t much in the way of home electronics available then, but the business prospered selling and servicing tubeoperated communications gear for taxis and emergency services and installing car radios, which is how Mossop got his start. “In those days if you bought a car, most of them didn’t come with a radio. That was my ﬁrst training.” When the original owner, an ex-RAF ofﬁcer named Bernie Jackson, started thinking about retirement in 1969, Mossop and two of his colleagues became partners and bought the business. One of the trio left to start another business, and when Mossop’s remaining associate decided to head for the golf course, they took a page from Jackson’s book and invited two longtime employees to buy in. “We thought maybe we should do what Bernie did, so that’s exactly what we did. Back to three partners and the business is running well,” Mossop says. Paul Jasich and Reiner Tecklenburg have been his partners at CGM since 2002. But while the products and faces have changed, one thing remains constant at CGM: service. “This what I told Reiner and Paul: Guys, you do nothing differently than what we’ve done for years. You open the

door, and you look after people properly. If you look after them, they’ll come back. That’s all it is. There’s no tough formula. We’re still a well known retail store and we have a client base that has bought three, four generations of products from us. They keep needing new products. You open the door and people come in.” People don’t often show up with a broken radio anymore, but they do come looking for high-end televisions and audio systems. CGM caters not just to customers looking for an off-the-shelf device, but also those seeking a full custom entertainment suite. “They don’t want speakers that sit on the floor. They want them in the ceiling. That’s all got to be planned and properly wired with proper products to drive and control those speakers. If Bernie was alive today he’d think that was marvelous.” One of the keys to keeping people coming back through the door is keeping up with — and ahead of — the demands of discerning buyers. There’s a note of pride in Mossop’s voice as the 63-year-old recalls pouncing on the first flatscreen televisions that came on the market. “We were right on that, right out of the gate,” he says. “I remember the first flat panels I bought and the guys said ‘Garth! They’re $14,000!’ And I said ‘Guys, believe me, this is going to work.’ Knowing your clients and what they like and presenting it to them: it works.” Mossop has impressed on all his workers that “anyone can sell a television,” and what really makes CGM distinct from its larger competitors is its people, from the sales staff to the installation crew. “It’s all about having good staff,” Mossop says. “If you have good people, your product will be successful.”

words of wisdom It takes 30 years to build a good reputation and 5 minutes to ruin it

reach us at telephone 604 987 3121 email paul@cgmelectronics.com internet www.cgmelectronics.com

people you should know in our community Get To Know Me What is your favourite gadget? My Blackberry. And I couldn’t live without my PVR; mostly sports, football and hockey.

What are your hobbies? I sing second tenor in a men’s choir called Chor Leoni. I’ve done that for 15 years or so. Sports wise, I play golf. I used to play rugby for a long time but my body has caught up to me now. I still exercise a lot; skiing, wakeboarding and waterskiing.

If you didn’t go into your current industry, what would you have done? My whole track through university was leading to being a teacher. I probably would have ended up being a music teacher, but I always knew I was going to be in the car business. That’s why I took something very different in university.

James Carter CARTER GM

Northshore

Benjamin Alldritt • balldritt@nsnews.com

he Carter family owns more than half a dozen car dealerships and service companies throughout the Lower Mainland, but James Carter, president and general manager of Carter GM Northshore, has some deep roots in the North Shore community. Well before the Carter brand arrived in North Vancouver in 1998, James Carter and his wife were already longtime Deep Cove residents and have sent all three of their children to local secondary schools. When he’s not running a 70-employee dealership and service centre, Carter is also the chair of the North Shore branch of St. John Ambulance. It’s no secret that the car industry, and General Motors in particular, have been through some turbulent times lately. But Carter is confident that the badges on his lot have come through “stronger than ever” and has put his money where his mouth is with an aggressive expansion of the Auto Mall location. “Certainly you can feel there’s some momentum starting to build up,” he says. “The general economy and the general feeling of people seems to be moving in the right direction. The products that are now flowing to us are exceptional and we’re really putting a push on it starting this year. We want to move forward and show that all the GM brands are going through a renaissance. When we first started we were exclusively Chevrolet and now we’ve taken over the franchise after Regency GM decided to close down. We took over the Cadillac, Buick and GMC brands from

them and so we needed to do a fairly large expansion and renovation to accommodate that. We’re looking to expand our Cadillac business especially on the North Shore because I think it ﬁts in very well with the North Shore lifestyle and demographic,” he says. While no stranger to the North Shore lifestyle, Carter has an interesting perspective on the local business environment having spent a decade at the family’s Chrysler dealership in Burnaby. “We have a very strong Chamber of Commerce here and I have very good relationships with the North Vancouver mayors and some of the councillors. It’s certainly easier than some other places we have dealerships. Really, being on the North Shore is very similar, in my view, to living in a small town. People who live here, and especially people who live and work here, don’t like to leave. If people can get what they need and what they want on the North Shore, then the chance of them going elsewhere to do business is pretty slim. If we do our job right they’ll have no reason to go anywhere else.” But whatever side of Burrard Inlet you ﬁnd yourself on, says Carter, business is always ultimately about people. “What I always say, and my father told me this years ago, is that you have to treat everyone individually. Cars get sold and customers get dealt with one at a time. If you ever think it’s not important to deal with them one at a time, then it’s time to move on and do something else.”

words of wisdom Response time should be measured in minutes, not hours.

reach me at telephone 604 987 5231 email james.carter@carterauto.com internet www.cartergmnorthshore.com

people you should know in our community Get To Know Me Do you support and charities? Sunshine Dreams for Kids is the charity we support. We’ve sent kids to Disneyland and bought wheelchairs and so on. We help fuﬁll dreams of kids that are disadvantaged. It is very rewarding knowing when working together as a team, our support can really make a difference to these kids.

Do you play any sports? Hockey. Hockey, hockey, hockey. Usually on the wing, but I can play anywhere. I’m on an adult recreational team. I love watching the Giants play and I think the Canucks are going to go all the way this season!!

Did you consider any other careers? My background was in the constuction field. I have built homes and done a lot of design work. It gives me great satisfaction to create something for someone’s enjoyment. And of course this kind of work experience is beneficial in helping customers decide what flooring is best for which application. It is great knowledge to have when I go on site to do estimates and get into some great discussions!

Brad Johnson END OF THE ROLL Benjamin Alldritt • balldritt@nsnews.com

rad Johnson’s only regret in opening an End of the Roll store in the North Shore is that he hadn’t done it sooner. Johnson had owned End of the Roll franchises before, and knew he had a good reason to be picky. He needed a large enough building to play to End of the Roll’s strength — size. Finding the right building and location took several years. “It might have taken some time but the North Shore is a fantastic market” he says. “We have a very strong clientele.” “What separates us from everyone else is the fact that End of the Roll is the biggest Canadian Flooring Retailer. We stand alone, compared to anyone. Our strongest point is our size and our buying power.” Johnson says. “Because of our size, we buy the most from the suppliers, so we can negotiate a better price than what an independent store would do. In retail sales it’s all about how much you can buy at once. In doing so we are able to provide our customers with the best value at End of the Roll.” Keeping all that volume in the building means Johnson’s store can move on customer’s requests right away without having to wait for an order to arrive from a distant warehouse. “We can install quickly. People can come in, pick their product and we’ll have it installed usually within a week. If you had to do a special order, it could take up to two weeks.” What some homeowners might not know is that, despite the name, End of the Roll offers more than just carpets. “We are one of the few in the Vancouver area that has inventory on the ﬂoor. We have full rolls of carpet, vinyl, laminate, ﬂooring accessories, and area rugs — a lot of people don’t know that we’re big into area rugs, and hardwood as well. The only thing we don’t do is ceramic tile.”

While turning over that big inventory, Johnson and his staff of six keep their ears to the ﬂoor when it comes to interior design trends. “Colour shades and style are ever changing depending on the trends. The product we’re selling today wasn’t a big seller a year or two ago. It comes and goes and you have to keep up with the times, we get a lot of feedback from our customers. They guide us as to where style is going. When trends pick up in a certain direction, we’ll take our inventory in that direction.” Catering primarily to homeowners rather than builders, Johnson knows he has to keep their browsing and buying experience a pleasant one. “The system we follow is to make it simple and easy for our customers, we have samples ready for them to peruse and to take home as well to help them decide before they buy. Here at End of the Roll we make customer service our competitive edge.”

words of wisdom If you own the problem, you own the customer. If you lose the problem, you lose the customer. It’s just that simple. reach me at telephone 604 985 4200 email northvancouver@endoftheroll.com internet www.endoftheroll.com

people you should know in our community Get To Know Me We asked Henry Gerber: What’s your favourite gadget? I’ve got an iPod Touch. To me, that’s one of the neatest inventions ever. To get all your music on one little dinky thing like that is just unbelievable.

What’s your favourite genre of music? I have a really wide appreciation for music, right from classics to rock ’n’ roll. I played violin as a kid and we had a piano at home, guitar, ﬂute, that sort of thing. I’m not great at any of them but I enjoy doing it. Not particularly country but just about anything else.

If you didn’t work in this industry, what would you do? I was always interested in labour relations. Being a negotiator of some type at that end of a business, that would interest me a lot. It’s a little different but I get along with both sides of the fence, owners and workers.

Henry, Richard & Chuck Gerber

Gerber’s

GERBER HOME FURNISHINGS & LAZYBOY COMFORT STUDIO Benjamin Alldritt • balldritt@nsnews.com

ots of companies like to style themselves as a family business, but if you stroll into Gerber Home Furnishings you’ll soon find out that everyone working there has the same last name. “We’ve always tried to have a really personal touch with our customers,” says Henry Gerber, who works alongside his brother Chuck and Chuck’s son Richard. “We don’t hire staff, so all the transactions are done with the owners. There’s just the three of us running the business; we do everything. We do the buying and the selling, the setting up of the furniture, the whole bit. That is a key important part of our relationship with customers. They’re always talking to someone who is really knowledgeable and who can make decisions. That’s been a great benefit.” The Gerber brothers came to Canada from the Netherlands as teenagers. Drawn towards the retail industry, Henry worked at the Bay for 15 years before going into business with Chuck in 1978. Chuck’s son Richard would later join the firm as a partner. Gerber Home Furnishings has served the North Shore from the same location on 14th Street through times thick and thin. “We’ve seen a lot come and go since then,” Gerber says, “Last year was a tough year but this year we’re seeing an improvement. I wouldn’t say a dramatic one, but definitely a steady improvement. We’ve been through a few of these over the past 32 years but it’s a healthy business; even in a tough year like last one, we still made money. We made sure that we controlled our costs and got concessions from people where we could. We managed to stay in good shape.” Gerber credits the business’ stability to the three partners keeping a clear picture of what the store is — and what it isn’t. “Most people want to grow and expand and hire lots of staff and be big but we’ve been happy to keep it fairly

Y ComfortStudio

contained. We have enough time to do other things as well. We don’t want to work seven days a week. We’ve closed Sundays and holidays the whole time we’ve been in business. That’s the way we operate.” On many of those Sundays and holidays you’ll ﬁnd Henry Gerber either at his home in Parkgate or down at North Vancouver’s Burrard Yacht Club, where he moors his newly acquired 50-foot Monk McQueen powerboat. Boating is also very much a family affair for the Gerbers: Henry passed his previous vessel along to his adult son Martin. “We’ve boated for many, many years. It’s such a neat thing to do when you live on this coast.” As a resident and a businessman for more than three decades, Gerber has developed a strong appreciation for the community spirit on the North Shore. “It’s a good ﬁt. It’s a friendly environment. And the nice thing is that many people really believe in supporting North Shore businesses. That’s really good and we do that too; we try to buy things on the North Shore as much as possible. People who live here seem to feel that way. And a lot of people don’t want to cross the bridge if they don’t have to, they like to stay up here and support their community.”

words of wisdom The concept expressed in that old Japanese saying that “any day spent ﬁshing is added to your life”, applies to doing the things we truly love to do.

reach me at telephone 604 985 9351 email henry@gerber.ca internet www.gerber.ca

people you should know in our community Get To Know Me What’s your favourite gadget? I can’t live without my iPhone! I’m almost too obsessed.

On the Nightstand: I’m about to start the book Good to Great by Jim Collins. Essentially it’s why some companies become great.

On the stereo: I actually like all kinds of music, from rock to country. I’m open to everything; it depends on the mood. I like U2 and Coldplay.

If you didn’t work in this industry, what would you do? If it wasn’t this industry… I’d probably pick the hotel/restaurant industry. I love working with people. It’s what makes me tick.

Perfect day off: I love my downtime too! I like lying on the beach and relaxing with a book. If I had to be anywhere but here, I’d be on Roberts Creek on the sunshine coast. It’s a special place.

Michael Cameron GROUSE MOUNTAIN Caitlin Dowling • newsroom@nsnews.com

rouse Mountain is a beloved icon to everyone on the North Shore, the Lower Mainland, and to the thousands of tourists who visit each year. General manager Michael Cameron has the unique opportunity to appreciate this firsthand. “Everybody seems to have a story about Grouse Mountain, whether they worked here or they were a customer, whether they broke their leg here or they got married here. I hear stories every day, every week about people’s experiences.” Cameron, a lifelong B.C. resident, has always loved the mountain. In fact the first summer job he ever held, at 14 years old, was on Grouse. While his current job is a far cry from the work he did that summer, it seems clear that he has gravitated towards the mountain ever since. Even when he’s taking a day off, he loves to do the Grouse Grind or take his wife and three young sons skiing on the mountain’s slopes. Cameron has worked as general manager for the mountain since 2003. His first career choice was with another Vancouver institution, the Molson Brewery. After 17 years there Cameron was asked to relocate to Toronto, an impossibility for the committed West Coaster. They parted ways, and Cameron found work at the 2010 Vancouver Bid Corporation. “And the day that we won the bid, I think it was a Saturday. . . on the Monday I started at Grouse Mountain.” From food and beverages, hospitality, mountain operations, maintenance, zip-lining to snow school and a refuge for endangered wildlife to name just a few of the departments, Cameron’s job is to ensure that “everything ticks and works in a cohesive manner.” While Grouse is already a B.C. symbol, the 2010 Winter Olympics were the chance to really put the mountain in the

spotlight, and Cameron and his team worked hard to make that happen. Even after the Games had passed, no one has walked around the North Shore on a clear day without noticing the new wind turbine, which is only the most visible aspect of Grouse’s quest to be as environmentally and socially responsible as possible. “Seeing the Eye of the Wind come together on the peak of the mountain was a moment I’ll never forget,” Cameron recalls. “For me, it’s so much more than a wind turbine. It’s a symbol for everything we do here, from using local and organic goods in our restaurants to caring for two orphaned grizzly bears, to the use of biodiesel in our vehicles. Our sustainability program, which we call Blue Grouse, really touches the lives of everyone who visits us. It’s certainly touched mine. As a father of three children, the culture of sustainability I live and breath at the mountain every day puts me more in touch with my kids and helps me understand the importance of leaving a better place for them.” As well as being No. 1 youth employer on the North Shore, the mountain gives back in many other ways. This year, the main charitable event is the Grind for Kids, an initiative to sponsor people doing the Grouse Grind. Proceeds go to the B.C. Children’s Hospital. All part of the job for Cameron, who clearly loves to support his community. “If we can help raise money, that’s where we see our role.”

words of wisdom Always start well to ﬁnish well. It’s my mantra, just ask my team. Basically, it means come to every situation prepared, do your homework and you can’t lose.

reach me at telephone 604 984 0661 email gm@grousemountain.com internet www.grousemountain.com

people you should know in our community Get To Know Me What gadgets couldn’t you do without? Deﬁnitely the Blackberry. I use it all the time because it’s got my school board stuff on it and my regular email as well.

What are your hobbies? I entertain a lot. Is that a hobby? I love to cook. And I just bought a house in Palm Desert with a pool and a swim-up bar. It’s fabulous.

Have you considered a different career path? I have been doing this since I was 18 years old. I absolutely love my career. I love the industry. Would I change anything about my life? No. It’s fun; it makes people feel good; it’s a fabulous industry.

Holly Back HOLLY’S SALONS & SCHOOLS Benjamin Alldritt • balldritt@nsnews.com

s a businesswoman, teacher, local politician and tireless volunteer, Holly Back has made a career out of blurring the lines between education and employment, customers and community. “Our community is our life,” says Back, owner of Holly’s Salons & Schools. “If we didn’t support our community I wouldn’t feel very good about myself. I’ve had three children go through our school system so I obviously support the schools. We have a client who asked us to support A Breast in a Boat and I know a few people with breast cancer. Almost everything people are fundraising for touches your life in some way, so it’s hard to say no.” After leaving a teaching position at Carson Graham secondary in 1998, the lifelong North Vancouver resident decided to fuse her experiences in hairdressing and education. It’s a novel business model — a hairdressing school and salon under one roof. “I was starting the school but I really wanted to have the salon so I could offer students full-time employment as well. I can basically guarantee 100 per cent job placement. So I called back some of my old students from Carson and we got the salon and the school going at the same time. It’s been fantastic. We have also supplied maybe 90 per cent of the salons on the North Shore with staff. I feel it brought salons together rather than competing with each other. I always say there are enough people who need haircuts for everybody. I think it’s made us work together rather than against each other.” In order to keep those people walking in the door, Back makes a big effort to get outside, both to promote her business and give back to the community.

Holly’s Salons & Schools “If I don’t go out into the community, who is going to know I’ve got a business?” she asks. “My business depends on the public.” Just how many different causes and teams and fundraisers has the school and salon supported? “Hundreds.” Back says without hesitation. “We just did Cops for Cancer. We sponsor all the schools. We probably get asked once or twice a week for sponsorship. Our only policy is that anyone who is a client of ours, we will support their fundraising event. But seriously, there’s hundreds.” In between launching her own charity events, picking up a Best Employer award from the North Vancouver Chamber of Commerce and 11 consecutive North Shore News Readers’ Choice awards, Back also found time in 2008 to be elected to the board of the North Vancouver school district. “I think we need an emphasis on careers that we don’t have yet. I’m not saying that (being a school trustee) is volunteer work because there is pay, but I think it’s a great way to give back at a higher level. You put in a lot of time.” Yet another of Back’s side projects is to try and break the stigma of men working in hairdressing, an effort that has led top American hair stylist Philip Wilson to send his son Ross north to learn at the 14th and Lonsdale school. “I’d like to break that stereotype and go back to what they were in the ’60s,when they were a bunch of hot guys with British accents,” laughs Back.

words of wisdom It takes a person with a mission to succeed.

reach me at telephone 604 604 9141 email hollyb@hollyshair.com internet www.hollyshair.com

people you should know in our community Get To Know Us How many people live at Hollyburn House? Hollyburn House is currently home to 108 people. Sixty-six independent / supportive living Suites, 35 Intermediate Licenced Care Rooms and one respite (short stay) room.

Do you have any new technologies? Hollyburn House has a very popular and well used DAKIM Brain Fitness Touch Screen computer system available for all residents in the media room.

What is something we don’t know about Hollyburn House? We recently had scenes for the movie Diary of a Wimpy Kid-PART 2 ﬁlmed at Hollyburn House and some residents were asked to be extras.

What is your biggest accomplishment? Winner of the Consumers Choice Award for the seventh year in a row in the category of Retirement Living in the Lower Mainland.

Hollyburn House REVERA INC. Benjamin Alldritt • balldritt@nsnews.com

eing a business that more than a hundred people literally call home, it’s not surprising the employees at Hollyburn House spend a lot of time thinking about their community. “The staff here are pretty amazing,” says James Stewart, Lifestyle Consultant for the seniors’ residence. “We go the extra mile. We’re in between Dundarave and Ambleside but Hollyburn House is like its own small neighbourhood. We have a small footprint of land but we have great camaraderie among the residents and the staff.” Hollyburn House first opened its doors in West Vancouver in 1987 and has had a few different owners over the past 24 years, including a stint under the umbrella of Pacific Princess Cruise Lines. “We were compared to a cruise ship on land, which still applies,” Stewart says. Now as part of Canadian-owned firm Revera, and boasting some recent renovations, Hollyburn is still creating a comfortable and welcoming environment for resident requiring varying levels of care while also building relationships. “Our values are respect, integrity, compassion and excellence. I think every day we can see that in residents going on trips and helping each other out. We’ve had staff members going to visit residents when they’re in the hospital on their own time to visit and say ‘Hey, we miss you.’ That doesn’t have to happen and I think in a lot of places it doesn’t,” Stewart says. “But here it matters. The food here is all from scratch and all prepared in our own kitchen. It really is like a little family.” Stewart himself moved from Quebec to take the job at Hollyburn and was immediately struck by the atmosphere of the Waterfront Community.

“When I first came from Montreal I came right off the plane to West Vancouver and that was my first taste of Vancouver. It’s a beautiful place to come and work and 12 months of the year you can keep active biking and jogging and it’s just very appealing. It’s a good fit for us. It’s a perfect bedroom community — it’s small, it’s not growing by leaps and bounds and it’s well run.” Several Hollyburn residents have been or still are involved with that running. “We have residents here who have been involved closely with the community — politicians, councillors, people involved with the seniors centre. They still have an active say in the community: going out to meetings and decision-making groups. We still have a lot of voices here in Hollyburn House that echo in the community.” While several new seniors’ residences are planned around the North Shore, Stewart says Hollyburn House is content to stay in their Marine Drive locale, conveniently tucked in near the Seawalk, shopping, the local Royal Canadian Legion branch and, perhaps most importantly, the district’s seniors centre. Stewart estimates that 90 per cent of Hollyburn residents have long-term North Shore roots. “People come by who say they remember watching it being built. They’ve never been in the building before but now they’re starting to think about it. We’ve been a quiet neighbour for 24 years. You couldn’t have thought of a better location in West Vancouver.”

words of wisdom At Hollyburn House we enhance lives with choices in community living, warm hospitality and compassionate care. reach us at telephone 604 922 7616 email hollyburn@reveraliving.com internet www.reveraliving.com Search Revera Living to ﬁnd us on:

people you should know in our community Get To Know Me On the nightstand At the moment I’m reading Eat, Pray, Love! It’s a journey. You know, everyone has their own story but I always love these kind of things. It’s based on fact, and the feeling of another woman searching in her life.

If you didn’t work in this ﬁeld, what would you do? I would be a chemical engineer or an ocularist, as I’ve worked in both ﬁelds, with love and passion and the feeling is still so much alive in me.

On the stereo I love music. Either classical or everyday music. For example, I like My Heart Will Go On by Celine Dion. I don’t have a favourite artist or singer. My choices are based on the song and the way they are singing.

Dr. Tahmineh Nikookar LIONS GATE HEALTH CENTRE Caitlin Dowling • newsroom@nsnews.com

r. Tahmineh Nikookar is currently reading the book, Eat, Pray, Love by Elizabeth Gilbert. This seems rather appropriate, given that her own journey towards health and career fulfillment has taken her around the world into new cultures and practices. “Some people come out of curiosity and most of them become believers,” she says of her traditional Chinese medicine practice, the Lions Gate Health Centre. Dr. Nikookar is the CEO and sole practitioner at the centre in North Vancouver, specializing in Chinese therapies such as acupuncture and herbal medicine. She ought to know: after a purely scientific career background, she became a believer herself. Events in her personal life led her to the discovery and effectiveness of acupuncture, and for Nikookar, this discovery was the turning point to another new career path. She started her professional career as a chemical engineer, in Tehran, Iran, which was her dream as a young child. When she travelled to London, England for further studies, Nikookar became an ocularist, creating and fitting prosthetic eyes. She found the contrast from her work with massive machinery as an engineer to working with tiny machinery in the ocular field a very exciting challenge. After immigrating to Canada, and visiting a friend on Vancouver’s North Shore, Nikookar fell in love with it. “I didn’t want to leave!” She and her family have lived here since March, 1982, and since then Nikookar has become a doctor of Traditional Chinese Medicine. Despite Chinese medicine seeming so different to the other two career focuses in her life, Nikookar feels they’re all related. “Little branches of the path,” she explains, “but overall it was the same path for me.”

Another branch is her creative side. When she isn’t treating patients, Nikookar enjoys creating art pieces, some of which have been exhibited in galleries. Since setting up her practice, Nikookar has been credited for introducing the non-surgical facelift to B.C., using tiny acupuncture needles and lymphatic massage to encourage similar results to the surgical option, but nowhere near a scalpel. One of the things she loves is the holistic approach she can take with her patients. “The beauty is, it doesn’t just (work) on facial beauty but also on the balancing and the beauty of the whole body.” The effects of some botanicals, such as aloe vera, vegetable glycerin, beeswax, witch hazel, frankincense and grapeseed oil have been known about for centuries. Nikookar has woven her extensive knowledge and expertise into her skin care line, Floramin Natural Health Products, based here in B.C. Floramin products contain natural botanicals, herbs and oils to protect the skin from the ravages of a tough climate, and the drying effects of aging. One of the products she is most proud of is the Floramin night cream. Full of natural extracts for the skin such as grapeseed oil and shea butter, it has been proven to be a ﬁrming nighttime elixir for the face. Another branch in Nikookar’s path to health and vitality for everyone. For more information about Dr. Nikookar and her exclusive range of skin and hair care, visit www.ﬂoramin.com — now available at North West Pharmacy, 1877 Marine Drive, North Vancouver.

words of wisdom I sent my Soul through the Invisible, Some Letter of that After-life to spell: And by and by my Soul return’d to me, And answer’d “I Myself am Heav’n and Hell” By Omar Khayyam Persian astronomer, mathematician and poet Translated by: Edward FitzGerald

reach me at telephone 604 904 7447 internet www.drnikookar.com or www.ﬂoramin.com

people you should know in our community Get To Know Me Do you have any hobbies? I love cyling and yoga and hiking. And I’m into what you might call “needlesports.” That’s knitting, crocheting, that sort of thing. I love handcrafts. Good work life balance!

What gadgets do you enjoy? My Blackberry. I use it all the time, to the annoyance of my husband.

What websites do you go to frequently? I’m often on our website — www.lghfoundation.com. I’m on the cabinet of the Association of Healthcare Philanthropy, so I’m on their website (www.ahp.org) quite often.

Have you ever considered other careers? When I started my career, I was the constituency assistant for Flora Macdonald. At the time she was a cabinet minister. That was my ﬁrst job and I also worked for a few chamber of commerce and the Board of Trade. I certainly never set out in life thinking I would be a fundraiser, but it is deﬁnitely my niche.

Judy Savage PRESIDENT OF LIONS GATE HOSPITAL FOUNDATION Benjamin Alldritt • balldritt@nsnews.com

just absolutely love my job,” says Judy Savage, emphatically. “To be able to work for such a great institution as Lions Gate and to affect so many people. Every day I come to work I see the difference the Foundation is making.” Savage has been president of the Lions Gate Hospital Foundation since 2001 and in that time the organization has raised a whopping $50 million for the hospital. The money has helped build a new emergency department, new surgical suites, an expanded chemotherapy clinic and a new hospice, as well as a host of other upgrades and purchases. Soon the hospital will embark on an ambitious plan to upgrade the entire campus. But where the money comes from, says Savage, is almost as satisfying as where it goes. “All of the money we raise, by and large, is from the North Shore,” she says. “And it is mostly individuals that support us. We don’t have a big corporate base on the North Shore. Certainly businesses are involved and they sponsor our events but we’re not a downtown hospital that has a huge base of corporate support. It really is the individuals on the North Shore. The highly visible ones are the big cheques you see in the paper but I’ve got to tell you, the $50 and $25 donations are just as important. If we didn’t have those, we wouldn’t be successful in our campaigns. Before taking the reins at the Foundation, Savage worked as a capital fundraising consultant for a variety of large non-proﬁt groups. When the Lions Gate position became open, the Pemberton Heights resident and mother of two Handsworth students was invited to apply. “I loved my job in the consulting world: lots of travel and a great variety of clients. But when this came up I really thought this would be a way to combine my fundraising

talents with an opportunity to leave a legacy in my community,” she says. “I think the reason the Foundation has been so successful is that people really appreciate the care that they get when they come to the hospital and they give back out of gratitude. People recognize that if they get sick on the North Shore, Lions Gate is where they’re going to come and they want it to be the best that it can be.” Savage strives to make the foundation the best it can be as well, keeping fundraising costs at a lean and mean eight per cent. With one of the smallest staffs of any hospital foundation in B.C. — seven people coordinating more than 100 volunteers — Savage has seen revenues triple over the past six years. “I run this ofﬁce like a business and I look at all our donors as shareholders or investors. What we need to demonstrate to them is that they’re going to have a return on their investment. We’re not just going to have a beautiful facility; what are the outcomes? Shorter wait times, improved quality of care. We recognize people, telling them what we’ve done with their money, having them come in and see what we’ve done. They see that we are very effective.”

words of wisdom Focus on doing what you love and what you are passionate about. Power to perform comes from focusing on what excites you. reach me at telephone 604 984 5785 email judy.savage@vch.ca internet www.lghfoundation.com

people you should know in our community Get To Know Me Are you involved with any charities? I’m part of the Quay Riders who participated in the Ride to Conquer Cancer — we biked down to Seattle to raise money for cancer research. That was a great experience.

How do you spend your free time? I’m on the North Shore mountains every weekend on my bike or at Whistler skiing. I’ve skied my whole life. My kids are good skiers too.

Do you have a favourite gadget? Well, I picked up a real nice Porsche Turbo in California. It’s been my lifelong dream to own one. So I thought maybe it’s time. But I try to ride my bike to work most days.

Gary Mathiesen LONSDALE QUAY MARKET Benjamin Alldritt • balldritt@nsnews.com

obody comes to or goes from the North Shore without noticing Lonsdale Quay Market. While thousands of visitors arrive at the Quay each day from the bus, the SeaBus or on foot, even people driving over one of the bridges can see the famous rotating Q high above the public market. “We’re a destination, we’re a gathering spot, we’re a focal point of the community,” says Gary Mathiesen, president since 2000. “I don’t think people come here just to buy a pair of jeans or pick up some fish and chips. They come and hang out for a couple of hours and enjoy the environment.” An accountant by training, Mathiesen was working for an investment company that bought a small share in the Market in 1986. Seeing the promise in the area, Mathiesen’s firm gradually grew their share and finally owned the famous spot outright by 1994. “I grew up on the North Shore, it was adjacent to the SeaBus, it was on the water, it was under excellent management and we saw a future in the Lower Lonsdale area,” Mathiesen recalls. Nearly a quarter of a century later, Mathiesen, a Sentinel Secondary graduate, has watched that promise become a reality. “As we see more and more development happening down there — more restaurants, more hotels, more retail and lots more condos — the traffic is changing, the demographics are changing and it’s bringing more life into the area. We feel good and our merchants are doing well. I can’t say enough about how the City is handling Lower Lonsdale and the development down there.” Of course Lonsdale Quay Market has played its part in that development by hewing closely to its distinct identity. Making that work means Mathiesen is far more than a landlord.

“We try to deal with mostly small businesses, which is unique. We try to avoid national tenants; we do have a couple but that’s not our mandate. We try to get local owner operators. I find if it’s your own business and you’re going to invest your own hard-earned money in there, you’re going to make it more successful and give it more personal service. When you walk into a shopping centre or mall, they all have similar stores staffed by employees. We promote owner/operator vendors that provide a high level of service. It is with this same passion that we manage the Market as a whole. We have our summer festival, winter fest and lots of special events. Any event we put on is in cooperation with a local charity — Lions Gate Hospital, Family Services of the North Shore and so on.” The future has never looked brighter for Lower Lonsdale. Mathiesen is confident the City of North Vancouver will find a top-tier attraction for the remaining waterfront lots, and it’s likely that one or more of the community’s cultural institutions will relocate near the Quay in the coming years. “In our area, we’re getting all kinds of upbeat vibes,” Mathiesen says. “We’re really bullish; it’s all very positive right now.”

words of wisdom If you’re not living on the edge, you’re taking up too much space.

and Treat everyone with respect as what goes around comes around.

reach me at telephone 604 685 2391 email gmathiesen@quayproperty.net internet www.lonsdalequay.com

people you should know in our community Get To Know Me What are your favourite pieces of technology? Pretty much everything Apple. I’ve got an iPad and an iPhone and all my computers in my ofﬁce and at home are Apple.

How do you spend your free time? I used to do taekwondo when I was younger. I got a black belt alongside my son. I went to a couple of tournaments and won a gold medal at the Eastern Ontario taekwondo championships. Nowadays, I go to the gym and walk my dog Tequila, she’s an Australian labradoodle. She’s the cutest thing I’ve ever seen in my life.

Have you ever considered any other careers? One time I thought about being an architect. I thought I’d be good at that. I just like to design things and work problems out.

Dr. Ferdinand Stasiak THE VEIN & LASER CLINIC Benjamin Alldritt • balldritt@nsnews.com

hen Dr. Ferdinand Stasiak arrived in the Lower Mainland, he was the only person in the province, possibly Western Canada, who knew how to perform the latest treatments for varicose veins. “Nobody else was doing ultrasound-guided treatments when I arrived,” he recalls. “I was probably the first in the province to do ultrasound-guided sclerotherapy or ambulatory phlebectomy. I was the first person in Canada to perform the endo-venous laser treatment or EVLT back in 2002.” With the market cornered for the time being, Stasiak had a lot of options when it came to decide where to open The Vein & Laser Clinic. “When I moved here in ’92 I was debating where to set up shop and every time I crossed the bridge my blood pressure seemed to go down — with all those trees and nature and it’s relatively close to downtown Vancouver. That’s what attracted me to the North Shore — the beauty, the mountains, the ocean.” Stasiak was uniquely qualified to be aware of what his blood pressure was doing. As well as being a doctor himself, his brother, sister-in-law, nephew and two cousins are also doctors. Since coming to North Vancouver, Stasiak’s daughter has become a nurse at Lions Gate Hospital, his other daughter is studying to be a nurse and his son is a doctor doing residency training. Both of them will probably try to come back to the North Shore. “It’s getting worse,” he laughs. If you happen to not come from a family chock-full of nurses and physicians, sclerotherapy involves injecting a chemical that narrows the affected blood vessels. Using ultrasound to guide the procedure allows the doctor to

accurately treat veins that may not be visible to the naked eye. Phlebectomy involves removing varicose veins altogether using extremely small incisions. Ambulatory phebectomy allows the doctor to use only a local anesthetic, speeding recovery and improving cosmetic results. Stasiak also offers laser hair removal and tattoo removal as well as treatments for acne, age spots, warts and other skin disﬁgurements. The Vein & Laser Clinic is also the place to go for Botox, microdermabrasion and other cosmetic treatments. Stasiak worked at the Ottawa Civic Hospital before attending a conference in Montreal where many of these pioneering techniques were discussed. He followed the experts back to Paris, France and later to Rome, to learn the therapies himself. The globetrotting hasn’t stopped with many conferences all over the world. For Stasiak, keeping up to date with the latest advances is both business and pleasure. “I always liked a challenge. There was a niche that was opened and there wasn’t anybody doing what I learned to do so it just took off from there. A lot of the treatments here were out of date. There’s always something new coming up I’m off to a conference in Florida next month. It’s a key part, keeping up with the latest developments,” he says. It’s that commitment and experience that keeps patients coming through the door at his 16th and Lonsdale location. “We try to convey to the prospective patients that we have the most experience in BC with a lot of the minimally invasive techniques in varicose vein treatment”. The right training and experience counts if you want to achieve the best results,” he says.

words of wisdom “I am easily satisﬁed with the very best” -Winston Churchill

reach me at telephone 604 985 3330 email reception@theveinandlaserclinic.com internet www.theveinandlaserclinic.com

people you should know in our community Get To Know Me We asked Dr. Liebenberg: Favourite technological gadget? None. My favourite “gadgets” are my bicycles; North Shore riding is the best in the world and the trails are literally in our back yard. What a luxury – who needs technological gadgets?

Favourite music? Although I appreciate all types of music, I never tire of classical music. Music from the baroque period is my favorite, although my Beethoven collection would be my “stranded on an island” choice.

What are you reading? At the moment I’m into South American writers. The Feast of the Goat, by Mario Vargas Llosa is on my nightstand right now. The reading can be somewhat challenging, nevertheless, I marvel at the creations of their literary palette; the characters enrich, haunt, reside and affect one for months after the novel has been read.

If you weren’t a dentist, what would you do? I’d be a combination of a carpenter and an artist. I appreciate that the penalty of imprecise effort is often an extraordinary creation. It does not say much for my artistic skills but I once ﬂipped a painting to ﬁnd that it revealed a landscape from my past. Fortunately I had not signed my name on it yet.

Dr. William Liebenberg WESTVIEW DENTAL CLINIC Caitlin Dowling • newsroom@nsnews.com

orth Shore dentist Dr. William Liebenberg focuses on adult dental care. Nevertheless, he has made it his career mission to make dental visits for children as comfortable as possible. And it’s clearly working. “Children actually cry when they have to leave here!” he says. Liebenberg owns and runs the Westview Dental Clinic in North Vancouver. They offer esthetic and clinical dental services and are always welcoming new patients as well as keeping their loyal client base in excellent dental health. “A lot of our patients have been coming here since birth and now they’re teenagers preparing for university. It’s wonderful.” As we know, a visit to the dentist isn’t everyone’s favourite experience, and for some, the event can be panicinducing. For Liebenberg, taking the time to minimize anxiety for every patient and making the dental experience as relaxing as possible is the reason he’s here. He and his five-person team are constantly refining and tweaking their approach to patient care. “We literally treat everyone like we want to be treated, it’s that simple.” Liebenberg says. “Every time we have a staff meeting, we discuss what we as individuals value in a five-star customer care facility” To Liebenberg, serving the community is a privilege, not a quick buck. Alongside his practice, he has taught clinical dentistry around the world, and has published over 130 articles on the subject. “We’re here for the patients. It’s more than dental care. It’s actually health care. Although, it is the source of our income, the focus is on providing care in a diligent, competent and respectful manner.” Liebenberg is convinced that the first dental visits of a child’s life are critical to their

life-long relationship with dental care and he and his team go out of their way to make children feel so happy that they’ll never fear the dentist. One of the rooms in his practice is painted to look like a jungle, and there’s a TV embedded in the ceiling to keep his youngest clients entertained. “If I didn’t treat children, I wouldn’t have the energy to deliver consistent high-quality dentistry to the adults… it just brings so much joy to us.” Liebenberg immigrated to the North Shore from South Africa with his family in the early nineties, towards the end of the apartheid era. “I wanted my children to grow up in a more equitable society. . . I miss my friends, the people, and I miss the wildlife, but I’m very happy with my decision to move here with my children.” He was drawn to the North Shore on account of the staggering scenery he found and his love for the outdoors. “There are not many places in the world where you can take a 10-minute walk or a 20-minute boat ride, and be in the wilderness but still 30 minutes from the core of downtown.” When he’s not working, Liebenberg enjoys a break from the precision and accuracy needed in his job by painting abstracts and landscapes, cycling the North Shore and whitewater kayaking, a sport he discovered in his native South Africa. A father of ﬁve daughters, so far none of them have wanted to join him in the ﬁeld of dentistry. Liebenberg has high hopes for his youngest, however, who at two years of age could still be convinced.

words of wisdom “...30 years of providing dental care has revealed that patients invariably forget both deliberations and the treatment provided but they always remember how you made them feel.” - Dr. W.H. Liebenberg

reach me at telephone 604 985 3999 email williamliebenberg@shaw.ca

North Vancouver Chamber of Commerce 13th Annual

Business Excellence Awards 2010 TOP THREE FINALISTS as announced on September 22nd

Thursday, November 4, 2010 5:30pm Reception • 7pm Dinner & Award Ceremony

SOLD OUT

Pinnacle Hotel at the Pier 138 Victory Ship Way, North Vancouver, BC

The North Vancouver Chamber is pleased to return this gala event to North Vancouver. In honour of our local maritime heritage, the theme for the evening will be Maritime - Charting a Course towards Excellence. Join us for an evening at sea to recognize excellence in entrepreneurship, community contribution, customer service, innovation, sustainability, youth and business leadership. Book early as this event regularly sells out. We do encourage business or formal attire for this prestigious event.

2010 BUSINESS EXCELLENCE AWARDS FINALISTS Innovation sponsored by Capilano University School of Business

Best Business sponsored by RBC Royal Bank

Gabrielle Loren & Candace Nancke Loren, Nancke & Company

Dr. Arjang Nowtash

Laura Clarke

Harlan Kelly

Chris Dagenais

Donna Hutchinson

Sinclair Dental Company Ltd.

Team Clarke Real Estate

Dayton & Knight

Grouse Mountain

On the Edge Fitness Educators

Business Person of the Year sponsored by Ratcliff & Company

Service Excellence sponsored by Capilano Suspension Bridge

Sandy Gerber

Paige Larson

Joyce Taylor-Bauer

Dr. Liz Richards

Next Marketing & Design Agency

NS Sports Medicine Clinics & Deep Cove Physiotheraphy

Taylor Made Media

All About Cats Veterinary Clinic

Community Contribution Sponsored by Port Metro Vancouver and Western Stevedoring

Chris O’Donohue

Louis Gervais

Louis Gervais Fine Great Canadian Landscaping Company Foods & Catering

Young Entrepreneur sponsored by Lonsdale Quay Market Corporation

Jim Belsheim

Kate Keogh

Terry Byrnes

Emily Cross

Barbara Schellenberg

Amber George

Neptune Bulk Terminals

North Vancouver Outdoor School

The Harvest Project

ESC Escape Adventures

Ethical Kitchen Health Foods

Verve Hair Lounge

THANK YOU TO OUR EVENT & AWARD SPONSORS

FOR TICKETS VISIT www.nvchamber.ca or call 604.987.4488

Sea Cadet - Davies

Jackson Davies Master of Ceremonies Internationally Acclaimed Actor & Writer

p. 604.987.4488 • f. 604.987.8272 • events@nvchamber.ca • www.nvchamber.ca • 102-124 West 1st Street, North Vancouver, BC, V7M 3N3