Taking Stock: North Coast Business Scene -- April 2016

Four months into a new year the "Grand Opening" signs still seem a little scarce around the city, as it appears that any would be business operators are continuing to explore when they believe it might be the best time to launch a new business initiative in the community.

Over the last thirty days, much of the action in the commercial sector could be found among the organizations that are dedicated towards promoting business growth, with both the Thrive North Business program, Community Futures and the Chamber of Commerce making for most of the news items over the month.

April was also the month where some change came to Chamber of Commerce as that organization introduced its new President and charted its course for the year ahead, some background the notes of the last thirty one days can be found below:

April

The North Coast will be well represented at the Thrive North Business Challenge Finals with six Prince Rupert residents on their way to Terrace in May for the final stage of the competition and the opportunity to claim some 10,000 dollars to support their business concepts.

Prince Rupert based CityWest delivered some financial support towards a Northwest fundraising initiative in April, as the communication company made a 5,000 dollar donation to the REM Lee Hospital foundation.

The City of Prince Rupert moved forward with their Small Business Advisory Council plans, with Councillor Blair Mirau's initiative finally getting some traction with the approval of the Terms of Reference to launch the consultative process between the city and the business community.

Northern Savings introduced a new CEO in April, announcing the hiring of Geoff Grodecki who will take over the reins of the North coast financial institution in May.

A number of North Coast business received some provincial exposure in May, as the Community Futures publication Growing the North took note of the local commercial scene.

In an announcement that probably didn't surprise anyone on the North Coast who had passed by their storefront office at the Highliner Inn, Hawkair made things official in April with a statement noting that they would not be returning to the Prince Rupert market for the summer of 2016.

The month came to an end with a change of command at the Prince Rupert and District Chamber of Commerce, as realtor Keith Lambourne took over the Presidents duties from the local chamber from now past president Rosa Miller.

You will be able to find the archive for Taking Stock as a part of our larger page dedicated to the commercial sector of the North Coast found here.

We imagine we probably have missed a few here or there, so if you know of a business having opened, or seen the Going out of business sign appear somewhere in the area, drop us a line at our email account of northcoastreviewpr@yahoo.ca

Or send us a short message through our twitter feed of @CharlesHays