Zippitydodog Feeds - Youth Column

NDCU helps young athelete

Thu, 12 Apr 2012 00:00:00 -0700

With support from the Nelson and District Credit Union, I raced this past March at the 2012 Haywood Ski National Championship in Mont St Anne, Quebec. The National Championship is always one of the best-attended races in North America, and this year was no exception. With the World Cup Finals in Falun, Sweden finishing just before Nationals began, the Senior World Cup National Team was able to fly back in time to make it to the races. In addition, the Quebec organizing committee was able to recruit several of the top Norwegian juniors and some of the French National Team to partake in the competition.

Despite temperatures above 20� C and rapidly disappearing snow, the organizing team pulled off every race with style. The first competition, the Team Sprint (a two person relay) took place on the Plains of Abraham in downtown Quebec City. Along with my teammate, Geoffrey Richards, I was able to finish 7th in the Open Men�s category as the top Junior Men�s team and third fastest U23. In the individual races I finished 4th in the 1300m Skate Sprint and 15th in the 30km Classic.

Overall, the trip was super fun and the opportunity to race in downtown Quebec, and alongside World Champions Devon Kershaw, Alex Harvey and Sindre Bjornstad Skar, was incredible. Thanks very much to the NDCU for helping me attend.

Stay tuned with the Black Jack ski team at www.blackjackskiteam.wordpress.com

Julien Locke
Black Jack Ski Team

Encounters with Canada

Mon, 18 Apr 2011 00:00:00 -0700

I recently returned home from a week in Canada�s capital city, where I participated in Encounters with Canada. It is a program that runs all year, bringing 125 youth from across the country to Ottawa every week. The week that I participated in was International Affairs, with activities such as visiting Parliament�s Question Period, The Museum of Civilization, Department of Foreign Affairs and International Trade, and the headquarters of the Aga Khan Development Network.

As interesting and informative as these visits were, it was the people that I shared these experiences with that made it such an amazing, memorable and rewarding week. The opportunity to meet people and learn about the provinces that they came from was truely a unique opportunity. The lasting friendships that were made from this experience made it one of the best weeks of my life.

I would like to thank the Nelson & District Credit Union for their support, allowing me to participate in such an amazing program.

Hannah Petkau, grade 12. Nelson, B.C.

Making a Difference in Rwanda

Mon, 19 Jul 2010 00:00:00 -0700

I can�t begin to express my gratitude to Nelson & District Credit Union and especially to Steve Cutt, from Rossland, for supporting me in my travels to Rwanda, Africa.

The trip has made such a profound impact on my life and its benefits are priceless. When I first decided that this volunteering experience was to be a part of my summer, I was looking for adventure, inspiration, and change. When we stepped off the plane our feet touched soil of a once devastated country. It was a country we had all been warned about, one we were told to never set foot on because of its history. This taboo land was a desire we all had in common, a desire to stray away from the norm. These emotions and desires created a fascination between the locals and us volunteers.

In May of 2010, twenty-seven students from the B.C. area traveled to Rwanda, Africa. There for five weeks, we worked alongside the locals to begin a project focused on sustainability and integration. The center we were laying the foundations for is to be a place for the women of the village to weave baskets out of the water hysenth plant growing along the marshes. These women weave baskets, bags, shoes, hats, and much more. In building this center, together we will be providing the village with an economic foothold in the right direction.

I must say that as our work proceeded we realized we were trying to integrate ourselves into a culture that devoted so much hard work into each daily task. Mother�s would be working alongside us with their babies held onto their backs, shoveling more dirt than our youthful bodies could ever imagine. The small children were all so eager to help in any way possible. On my first day one boy told me �All you do, is try your hardest�.

In our stay in Rwanda we were able to visit many memorials, churches, homes, and wildlife. During one of our adventures we visited the location of a new girl�s school. In the process of being built the school stood half finished and as soon as we arrived rain began to fall. It rained hard, but it did not last long. Slowly but surely a rainbow formed in the sky, and after that a second rainbow. It was the most beautiful landscape I have honestly ever seen.

Today our project in Gashora, Rwanda has its foundations and the beginnings of cement walls. Each brick from the wall was made individually by us volunteers and the locals. With the potential from this project and the potential across all of the country, this trip brought to life my hope for a better Africa.

Rotary Citizenship Program

Fri, 04 Jun 2010 00:00:00 -0700

Dear Nelson & District Credit Union

Thank you so very much for aiding in sending me, Michaela Daniel, on the Rotary Citizenship Program.

On May 1 through to the 5 I had the privilege of going to Ottawa on this program. This trip was an eye opening experience for me. I had never been East before, and our nations capital was the perfect place to begin. In Ottawa I met with students from across our country, there was at least one person from each province and territory. Being able to meet these teenagers and see the differences and similarities we had and what changed from place to place was valuable in learning about our nation of Canada. We had a very busy schedule during our time in Ottawa, racing from the parliament buildings to national archives, from listening to diplomats to watching a citizenship ceremony. All of these experiences has left a profound mark in my mind as a Canadian citizen. I came home with my mind filled with information and ideas about and for our country.

The Rotary Citizenship Program has been invaluable in building my repertoire of information and experiences that I will to use in my studies next year and life in general. Once again thank you so much for making this experience possible for me.

Keep the Beat - Nelson

Wed, 23 Sep 2009 00:00:00 -0700

On July 29th many youth volunteers organized a fundraiser for WarChild
Canada and the outcome was better than expected. Many supporters in the
community came down to the park for a full day of music and fun! There was face
painting all day for children and a silent auction with many donated items. The
Music started at noon and didn't stop until 10 p.m. There were dancers and
hula-hoopers enjoying themselves all day long in the sun. Many
local, and non-local artists, donated their time to this wonderful cause.

WarChild is a non-profit organization that aims to help children in war
affected areas of the world. They have many different projects including but not
limited to; empowering women, supporting children and providing access to education
in areas such as; Afghanistan, the Congo and Sri Lanka.

This is the fourth year that the project has taken place and each year more
and more funds are raised. This year, solely from donations at the event we raised
almost $11,000 and in total over $13,500. The organization process started during
the winter and the number of volunteers continued to grow as the event neared.

The amazing outcome could not have been possible without the gracious
donations and positive attitudes of supporters like Nelson & District Credit Union. The outcome of this project continues to grow each year and we hope that the community will continue supporting this cause!

Students on Ice

Thu, 25 Jun 2009 00:00:00 -0700

"Antarctica is the command centre of our world's ecosystems, yet the slightest mention of the word renders your mind to a place seemingly farther and more foreign to humankind than the moon. There is nothing as intimate as the natural world you are let into upon setting foot in Antarctica. It is the one place on earth where people are truly guests in anothers home. The true meaning of sustainability and the visible impacts of climate change became clear, and the amount of learning I experienced in 12 days was insurmountable. I stepped off the ship with wobbly sea legs filled to the brim with hope, optimism, and a whole deeper level of calmness and sureness that I never before thought possible. My deepest thanks go to the Nelson and District Credit Union and the people of the Nelson community for their full support in this endeavor."

Zoe Caron, Member & CIP recipient

Youth Centres' Foster Change

Fri, 26 Dec 2008 00:00:00 -0700

Through my involvement at the Nelson and District Youth Centre (NDYC), I have witnessed rural youth centers� incredible capacity to foster change in young people�s lives. Youth centres facilitate empowerment and transformation in many ways: they adapt and respond to new issues and challenges youth face, meet youth where they�re at and with a non-judgmental, supportive attitude, and foster linkages between youth and the community.

Staff people at the NDYC understand the issues youth go through within a contemporary context. In order to provide information and support that meets the needs youth have, staff programmers at the youth center keep up-to-date on challenges and questions youth go through in relation to body image, substance use, and relationships. The NDYC is also able to address key concerns facing youth through its board of directors, which receives community input and informs community members about current issues youth deal with. As individuals who are passionate about building strong communities, staff programmers at the NDYC strive to foster a space where youth have their strengths recognized and affirmed. They make the Centre a welcoming and inclusive environment for all youth by accepting youth as they are and taking youth seriously. Through listening and modeling skilled communication, youth centre programmers facilitate a transformation by which youth become leaders in their community.

During my practicum at the Nelson and District Youth Centre, I was lucky to play a role in introducing youth to new attitudes about intimate relationships. With support from youth center staff such as Christine Schmidt and Anisa Farhengi, I developed a curriculum that I facilitated in high school classes, Cicada Place youth services and housing, the Katimavik youth volunteer program, and the Nelson and District Youth Centre. Out of all of these youth groups, the NDYC group was the most rewarding and eye-opening, since it was the only group composed entirely of young men. Throughout our discussion of stereotypes, respectful communication, and boundaries, I was blown away by the extent to which young men are thinking and concerned about the ways they relate to people they have a romantic interest in. The group of young male skateboarders shared so much knowledge and insight with a great deal of honesty and frankness. I think society underestimates young men�s interest in engaging in conversations about respectful relationships, so it was wonderful to have the opportunity to make the conversation happen.

Historic Encounter Canada, November 2008

Mon, 01 Dec 2008 00:00:00 -0700

Hi, my name is Meghan Draper and I have just experienced a trip to Ottawa to learn about arts and culture through other youth from all over Canada. This trip would have not been possible with out the Nelson & District Credit Unions sponsorship.

While I was in Ottawa, I had the opportunity to go and visit art and culture museums, Rideau Hall, the Parliament buildings, a musical, and be a part of a Peace ceremony, Canadian citizenship ceremony, and a tour of Ottawa. These were all unforgettable, eye opening experience. I am grateful to have had the opportunity to participate in this wonderful life changing experience, which would have not been possible with out the support of the Nelson & District Credit Union.

Again thank you.

Sincerely,

Meghan Draper

Here is a picture of myself in Ottawa, the sculpture behind me is a spider.

Shad Valley at the McMaster Campus

Wed, 22 Aug 2007 00:00:00 -0700

I would like to thank the Nelson and District Credit Union for financially supporting me for my month long journey, Shad Valley, a truly unforgettable experience. Shad Valley is a four week summer program that focuses on sciences, technology and entrepreneurship. Students spend a month living on the host university campus that provides a stimulating summer adventure for students from all over Canada and the world. For more than 25 years, Shad Valley has challenged more than 10,000 people from around the world; there is no other summer program that can even be compared to Shad. Students gain unbreakable connections, knowledge and a competitive advantage for their future.

Out of the possible 12 campuses, I attended the McMaster Campus located in Hamilton, Ontario. Founded in 1887, the campus was enchanting with rustic scenery and historically beautiful buildings. Taking place throughout the university were lectures by world renowned professors. The lecturers covered topics from stems cells to containments in the environment, engineering to genetics, memory motivation to the Gigantopithecus; some lectures even incorporated the arts. I had the opportunity to learn from awe inspiring speakers, Sunjay Nath, Doug Boreham, Nick Bontis, and Joel Hilchey. In addition, I had workshops involving student finances, the human body and how to play the stock markets. Not all learning was spent in a classroom, I attended an Anatomy Lab, Cancer Centre, and Nuclear Reactor.

The Shad leaders kept us active all month long with a plethora (word of the day) of recreation and events. In means of recreation, we had access to the gym and pool every morning, football, soccer, Yoga, Pilates, Tai Chi, Muay Tai kickboxing and climbing the Alpine Tower. For my first time in Ontario, I was able to go on many excursions around and outside of Hamilton. I traveled to Toronto where I explored the Science Centre, and had to opportunity to see a performance by the Second City comedy group. Near the end of the month, we went to the Shaw Festival and Niagara Falls. In addition, I went to a Hamilton Tiger Cats game completely painted and wearing black and yellow with pots, pans, and spirit. We were also surprised with a three day camping trip to Lake Huron, and a �Staff Vs. Shad� Ultimate Frisbee game, which we won after 5 years of the staff being undefeated.
Each year, every Shad Campus is given the same theme which they must follow to create a product or idea that pertains to the theme. This year, our theme was �Zero Waste�. Divided into five teams, we were challenged to create a working prototype, a business plan, and a powerpoint presentation for an esteem panel of judges. 10 days working on a busy plan wasn�t easy, especially since it was new to most of us. However, we all pulled our strengths together and using teamwork we were able to create a project we were proud of. Though we did not win, all the McMaster Shads will be united as one team to work on the winning project in preparation for the RBC cup in October.

The most amazing part of Shad was the people I meet from coast to coast of Canada. Shad Valley selected 50 amazing Shads that I managed to connect with in the first 24 hours. Everyone had individual backgrounds; different cultures, music, food, and sports tastes, which only enlightened my experience even more. Also, I truly believe I had the best staff from all over Canada. The staff helped me understand my strengths and abilities which allowed me to discover career paths I can excel and gave insight into other areas I�ve never considered. With the help of my new friends, I discovered more about myself and where I was going to take my life.

Shad far exceeded my expectations. The program was absolutely incredible and I didn�t want to leave my new home and family. It is indescribable the feeling you have when you leave because someone could only understand the amazing journey if they�ve attended the program. This experience opened me to my potential in the world and changed my outlook on life. I not only gained academic knowledge from Shad Valley, but also new leadership strategies for my path to success.

Thanks again to The Nelson and District Credit Union for helping attend Shad Valley. I only hope others from the Kootenays will take advantage of this incredible opportunity. I would like to also thank the Rossland Rotary Club, the Trail Kwanis Club, Kootenay Association of Science and Technology, and Rossland Nutrition Committee.

National Community Economic Development Conference

Mon, 11 Jun 2007 00:00:00 -0700

With the help of financial support from the Nelson and District Credit Union I had the opportunity to attend this year�s National Community Economic Development Conference which was held in St. Johns, Newfoundland. This was an amazing experience which included five full days of networking, workshops, and other great learning experiences. Outside the formal conference activities I also got a chance to explore the St. Johns area and take in some of the vibrant east coast culture, including enjoying some incredible live music and Irish dance, visiting Cape Spear (the most easterly point in Canada), and seeing some of the early ice flows.

This there was the greatest representation of youth that the conference has ever seen and our presence was definitely noted. There were several workshops targeted at youth and youth engagement, as well as an entire half day Youth Forum followed by an evening of youth produced films. I met dozens of other youth from across the country who are interested in Community Economic Development and was continually inspired by the creative and successful projects they are involved in back in their own communities.

One of the common themes that kept coming up in my discussions with other youth at the conference was that many of our peers and family members back home didn�t always have a clear idea of what Community Economic Development (CED) is and why we are so passionate about it. CED differs in many ways from more traditional economic development (such as trying to attract large industry to town without much thought to how sustainable the jobs are going to be, or what impact the industry will have on the local environment). In more traditional approaches to economic development profits ($) are the principal goal. In the case of CED the fostering a strong economic future for the community is one of the main goals, but it is closely combined with consideration for social, environmental and cultural well-being of the community as well. CED can encompass a wide range of activities and projects aimed at creating socially just and economically and environmentally sustainable communities.

The conference I attended is co-hosted every year by the Canadian CED Network which defines CED as:

-CED can be defined as action by people locally to create economic opportunities and enhance social conditions in their communities on a sustainable and inclusive basis, particularly with those who are most disadvantaged.

-CED is a community-based and community-directed process that explicitly combines social and economic development and fosters the economic, social, ecological and cultural well being of communities.

-CED has emerged as an alternative to conventional approaches to economic development. It is founded on the belief that problems facing communities � unemployment, poverty, job loss, environmental degradation and loss of community control � need to be addressed in a holistic and participatory way.

You can check out CCEDNet�s website at http://www.ccednet-rcdec.ca/.

There are more and more youth becoming involved in CED as it is an great way to ensure you have a say in the future of your community (and country). The Canadian CED Network also has a committee called Emerging Leaders aimed directly at increasing youth involvement in CED and ensuring the youth voice is heard in this quickly growing field. More information about Emerging Leaders can be found at http://www.ccednet-rcdec.ca/en/pages/emergingleaders.asp, where you will also find some profiles of some of the amazing work already being done by youth in CED across Canada.

I am currently working for an organization in Nelson called the Centre for Innovation and Entrepreneurial Leadership. CIEL is a Canadian Centre of Excellence in community, entrepreneurial and economic leadership. CIEL provides tools, training and innovative solutions, allowing communities and organizations to realize their potential. The tools and services CIEL has developed include: The Business Vitality Initiative, The Community Vitality Initiative, The Communities Matrix and the Leading Communities BC program. For more information on CIEL and its tools and services please visit the website at www.theciel.com. I was fortunate to get this position through a work creation program called CreateAction, which is a program of the Canadian CED Network (CCEDNet) that is aimed at helping youth get into the CED field. These are 6 month paid internships, for more information contact Marie-Germaine Chartrand at mchartrand@ccednet-rcdec.ca.

So, Thank You again to the Credit Union for assisting me in getting to this conference. It was a truly inspiring experience and I have been eagerly spreading the word about the great opportunities for youth in CED. Hopefully this will motivate more young people to learn more about CED and get involved.

NDCU Supports Trip to Dominican Republic

Mon, 18 Dec 2006 00:00:00 -0700

This past summer my mom and I went to the Dominican Republic with Absolute Ministries. Absolute Ministries is a team of young adults who go around Canada to high schools with the message: �Life is valuable, you have purpose and you can make a difference in the world around you.� Every summer Absolute makes an opportunity for these kids to become a �real-life hero� on what they call �Hero Holidays�. You can check out www.heroholiday.com and go to FAQ�s for more information if you want.

When we were in the Dominican we helped build 3 houses for homeless families. We got to meet the people who lived there and talk with them as much as possible. It was hard to talk to the people because they spoke Spanish and we spoke English. There was one little girl who was about 6 years old at one of the houses and she would always pick fruit off the trees and get different kinds of food and bring it to us. This little girl lived in a house that was about the size of my room and she was giving us things. The people there were so giving and selfless.

We went to different villages and set up medical clinics. Most of the time a few of my friends and I would take all of the children and take care of them while their parents were getting looked after. In one of the places we went to, the kids brought us to their swimming hole. It was the most beautiful place I�ve ever seen! It was one of those places that if it was in a city it would be a public place that people would pay money to go there. I thought it was extra beautiful because it was just a place where the children could go. In these villages we also went to houses and gave out gift bags (school supplies, toothbrushes etc.) to hundreds of families. Lastly we visited a dump site just outside of Puerto Plata, were people where living and scavenging for food. The people who were living on the dump site were Haitian refugees who walked 3 days just to live in this dump.

Another project we had was going to an orphanage. We woke up at 6AM and drove 2 hours to the other side of Santiago. All of the children who were there were mentally and physically handicapped. Most of them had been abandoned by their parents, mostly because their parents couldn�t afford to keep both of them alive. They get about 4 visitors a year. A lot of the kids were in cribs and had basically no muscle. Some of them couldn�t even lift their heads up, let alone stand. One boy who was laying in a crib looked about 1 or 2 years old. He couldn�t walk or talk or anything. All he did was move his head back and forth and hold onto your fingers. It turned out that he was 5 years old. Another little boy could walk around and he seemed like a normal little kid. But the more time you spent with him you realized that he was really clingy and if he didn�t get his way he was violent. He bit and slapped you if you didn�t go somewhere with him. I think he was just used to getting his way. I was walking down the driveway with him and underneath these trees there were 2 men sitting there. He wanted to go over to them and so we did. One of the men didn�t speak any English but the other one knew a few words. He basically told me that this was his son and asked if I wanted to bring him back to Canada. I politely declined but it showed me that the parents of these children just want the best for them. They didn�t put them in the orphanage because they didn�t want them; they put them in the orphanage because they love them.

While we were there some of the leaders heard about a small Haitian village that only got water once a week and it wasn�t even clean water. So they talked to a few people and next thing we knew it we were driving an hour to get to this little 100 person village. We dug the trench that they were going to put the water pipe in. It was 2 feet deep and about a kilometer long. This was the hardest work we did. We were outside in the blazing Dominican sun doing hard labor and doing our best to talk to the people. There was one little boy who would just sit and watch us dig with a smile on his face. All of the other children were playing with us or helping in some way. So one of the girls on our team who knew how to speak Spanish went and asked the little boy why he was just sitting there. The boy answered, �I�m just so happy you guys are here. If you hadn�t come to dig this trench, my whole village would die.� It was things like that that made my trip. It was the best experience of my life.

In closing, I�d like to thank the Credit Union for giving me the rest of the money I needed to finance my trip to the Dominican because without the Credit Union�s support I wouldn�t have been able to have touched these people�s lives. Nor would I have been impacted by what I experienced.

So thanks again.

Whatever you love, pursue.

Mon, 30 Oct 2006 00:00:00 -0700

Hi!
My name is Ali Keraiff and I play badminton. I have been playing for eight and a half years. I started at my school in Crawford Bay and now I play on a varsity college team. We are called the Cougars. Last year I went to Nationals and got a bronze medal. This year my goal is to win gold. Because of badminton I have traveled all over British Columbia and Alberta. I have made so many new friends because of badminton. This year with my college I am going to an International Tournament in Hawaii. The Credit Union sponsored me so I could go. They also supported my high school team. Thanks to my grades I have been able to get academic and athletic scholarships from my college. I have loved sports all my life and through sport I have traveled, met new people, and learned a lot about myself. Whatever you love, pursue. I have pursued badminton and school and am happy because of it. Even if you come from a really small town you can go to big places. I have never been to Hawaii before and get to go because I have worked hard to go to college and play badminton. It takes a lot of work to go to college and play on a sports team but it is worth it. I can�t wait to compete at an international level. It will be so much fun. Wish me luck!!

Canada World Youth / Projecto Rondon, July to December 2005

Fri, 01 Sep 2006 00:00:00 -0700

Hi, my name is David Piver and I have just finished a Canada World Youth (CWY) program, which the Nelson & District Credit Union helped to sponsor me for. CWY is a private, non-profit organization that has been offering young people from Canada and abroad an opportunity to participate in international educational exchanges for over 34 years. Half of the program takes place in Canada, and the other half in one of more than 25 exchange countries. From late June until Christmas 2005 I have been in Brazil and in Quebec doing volunteer work. In my group there were 10 Canadian and 10 Brazilian participants aged 17 to 24 years. I lived with my counterpart Cristian for the entire 6 months. During our stay in Brazil and Quebec we lived with host families and did volunteer work in community organizations four days a week. One day a week a different pair of participants facilitated educational activity days for the group, which helped us learn more about our host communities and the region we were living in.

In early July I left to go to Brazil, where I spent three months in the most southern state called Rio Grande Do Sul. There I did volunteer work at an orphanage with Julia, my work counterpart, in the city of Santa Cruz Do Sul. At the orphanage we taught 6 to 12 year old children how to use computers. The orphanage had received the computers as a donation and needed volunteers to spend time with the children to show them how to use the computers. At the beginning I felt that my work placement wasn�t very useful, but in a short period of time I saw how much the children we worked with appreciated us being there with them. With time my Portuguese got better, so did my relationships with the children. The three months went by very quickly, and it was extremely hard to say goodbye. At the end I was able to see that our little contribution of time made a big difference to the children we were with.

In late September we returned to Canada to continue our project in St-Jerome, Quebec. There I did volunteer work in a street caf� for youth at risk, with Gabrielle my new work counterpart. Some of our jobs there included the following: we would make soup in the mornings to serve to the clients in the afternoons, in the afternoons when the caf� was open we hung out with the people who came to there and got to know who they were and were there to listen to them, and on Thursdays we prepared food baskets to give out to the youth in need in the community. Also, we had a grandmother come and teach us how to knit. After only a few lessons Gabi and I had become first class knitters, and knitted numerous dishcloths for the caf�. Learning how to knit was extremely cool. From that time on, whenever either of us had any spare time we would pull out our knitting. It�s a great and productive way to pass the time and I recommend it to everyone.

For me this program was a good eye opener into how life is in other parts of the world and our own country. It was also a good break from my regular daily routine and allowed me to think about what I want to do with the rest of my life. If you�re interested in travelling, meeting new people and living new experiences I suggest looking into CWY. The application is very easy to do. Visit http://www.cwy-jcm.org/en for more info.
Once again, thank you very much NDCU for helping to make it possible for me to participate in this program.

Sincerely,

David Piver

Youth On Mountains - Adventure Leadership Course, August 2005

Fri, 16 Sep 2005 00:00:00 -0700

Youth On Mountains Leadership Course

On August 23, 2005 four young women and two experienced guides set out on an
excursion for five days. During that time, several things occurred. Some people in the group
had never been in the backcountry for prolonged periods of time, experienced no-trace camping, been rock climbing, or walked on a glacier. Over the length of the course, each member of the Youth On Mountains (YOM) group rose to the occasion as they met new challenges and experienced leadership in a whole new way. Some members of the group have contributed short pieces on their experiences at YOM to give a better understanding of what it was like for them personally.

�My experience during the 5 very full days of the Youth on Mountains adventure leadership course was incomparable to any other experience in my life. I enjoyed pretty much every part of the trip and am so grateful that it went the way it did. Over the course of 5 days I went from being sometimes uncomfortable around the group and unsure of my abilities and skills to being super-confident in everything that we did and outgoing. At the beginning I didn't know what a bear-hang or a sump hole was, how to read a map and calculate how long an excursion would take, how to route find, or how to be the kind of leader that I would respect and want to be lead by. Miranda and David, our guides, taught us these things patiently and carefully and it never felt like a lesson the way school lessons tend to feel. At the beginning we were dependant on the guides, and by the end we were doing everything ourselves. It was such a neat transformation and something I will never forget.�

�The Youth On Mountains program allowed me to experience things I never saw myself doing not only in my youth, but in my life. I never imagined I would actually have the opportunity to not just walk on a glacier, but spend four hours navigating on glacial terrain. It was one of the most humbling and amazing feelings I have had.

During my five days on the mountain I learned countless things about backpacking in the wilderness: from how to properly pack a pack, to how to stay warm at night, to how to navigate and successfully choose a route to your final destination. But not only did I learn things about the wilderness, I learned a lot about myself as well. I was able to overcome fears, and develop bonds with all the group members; bonds that can only be formed by the sharing of a unique, challenging experience.

From rock climbing to hiking, mountaineering to traversing across ice fields, this trip had it all. We could not have asked for better guides, and I would recommend Youth On Mountains to anybody.

If there is one thing I can really take away from this experience, it is something I learned about myself, and about life: "If it seems too overwhelming to look at the big picture, by taking it (sometimes literally) one step at a time, your goals can be accomplished.
Thanks NDCU!�

�This letter is to the people of the Credit Union, I am very appreciative of what you did. Donating so generously to the Youth On Mountains program was the most wonderful thing you could have done. I know you didn�t have to give us the money and that is why I am even more grateful. The funding you provided us was the only way we could have accomplished what we did. This program has literally changed my life. I learned leadership and navigational skills. I learned how to set a bear hang, how to traverse a glacier, and most of all I learned the importance of group support, and group effort. If I had the chance to do it again I would take it in a heartbeat.

Thank you so much, I am eternally grateful.

Yours truly, Robbin Wagar�

I would like to extend my thanks to the Nelson and District Credit Union for donating to this program. As you can tell from these accounts, the program was a great success, and everyone who participated left with something that will last them a lifetime.

Sincerely, Madeleine Martin-Preney.

Traveling in Tanzania with YCI. Part 2.

Wed, 07 Sep 2005 00:00:00 -0700

Mary Schwieger attended Crawford Bay School on the East Shore of Kootenay Lake before
graduating in 1999 and moving to Victoria for university. She has just completed her B.Sc. degree in Geography and Anthropology and is spending her summer working for the North Woven Broom Company in Crawford Bay.

She has graciously offered to share her experiences on her upcoming travels to Tanzania by composing two short stories for us. Here is the second installment.

It was summit day on Kilimanjaro. We crawled out of bed around midnight to find a blanket of snow over our tents. The thin air at our 4600m or 15,100ft elevation camp made breathing difficult and my lungs were beginning to protest with a painful cough. By one o�clock in the morning we were heading out of camp and I concentrated on my balance while pushing against the wind, thankful that our headlamps could not show how far away the summit was. We had been climbing this mountain for five days already, and had several times questioned our sanity in undertaking such a trek after spending several months in Tanzania, where the heat reduced our motivation to exercise and we had been living off a simple diet that included a lot of rice and bananas. Our time spent in the sun-baked and dusty Dodoma region felt far away as we trudged in darkness through the snow.

I arrived in Tanzania, East Africa in September of 2004, as one of eight volunteers with Youth Challenge International (YCI). During our orientation in the coastal city of Dar-es-Salaam, we learned that we would be helping to launch the first phase of a three-year HIV/AIDS prevention project in the semi-arid Dodoma region, a lengthy bus journey beyond the paved roads from Dar-es-Salaam

I worked in Mpwapwa district, an area comprised mainly of people from the Gogo Tribe. Mpwapwa is a friendly town and we were delighted to find all the services that could help make our project successful. We had stationery shops, a bank, a hospital with an HIV testing clinic, government offices, restaurants, and guesthouses. Surrounding the town are many outlying villages and rolling hills which seem to stretch on forever.

During our ten weeks on the project, my team of four Canadians and two Tanzanians organized and carried out four multi-day AIDS sensitization workshops for village leaders and schoolteachers. We also held AIDS poster contests at four of the local schools to encourage discussion of HIV/AIDS amongst the youth. Our project was received with great enthusiasm and very challenging for us as we stretched our small budget as far as possible to reach as many people as we could. We also had the ongoing task of improving our Swahili so that we could become less reliant on our Tanzanian counterparts, and more involved in the community itself.

Being in charge of the group�s menu and food budget, the only place I felt very secure in my Swahili abilities was the marketplace, although not right away. My first day in the market resulted in the ordering of ten kilograms of rice in a plastic grocery bag. It wasn�t long into the walk home when I realized just how heavy ten kilos of rice was, especially when loaded down with eggs, beans, onions and tomatoes as well. Eventually local school-kids took pity and helped in carrying the groceries home. We also quickly learned that women in the mornings visit door-to-door balancing large baskets of produce on their heads, which saved a lot of trips to the market.

Three months was not a long time to get used to life in East Africa. At the beginning, we attracted so much attention that when we walked past the local primary school, every seat would empty as kids rushed to the windows to yell out greetings. Eventually though, people had learned our names and gotten used to our presence in town. We had also gotten used to the more relaxed pace of life in Tanzania and were continually improving our understanding of the local culture. Aside from the social challenges we faced, we also had to constantly deal with the hot dry climate, limited food options, and a range of illnesses waiting to strike whenever we weren�t careful.

Despite the frustrations we encountered along the way, our experience in Mpwapwa was overwhelmingly positive. Local doctors and teachers freely contributed their time and energy, while local government officials offered support in the form of advice and enthusiasm for our project. Throughout our stay, our neighbors and local residents made us feel comfortable and welcomed. We put a lot of energy into our time with YCI, and hopefully we were able to make a positive impact. HIV/AIDS in Sub-Saharan Africa is such a huge disaster it is difficult for me to even comprehend how sad and enormous and long-term the effects are. I was overwhelmed by the determination and optimism of the youth we met, many of whom had lost family members to AIDS and some who were suffering from the disease themselves.

As our project neared to a close, I was sad to see the end, but also excited. I would miss our community, but I had decided to stay and explore the country until my visa expired. Along with several other volunteers I would end my time in Tanzania with a camping safari to see lion and hyenas and all those other animals that live in the Serengeti and Ngorongoro Crater, and of course I had to climb Mt. Kilimanjaro which I had wanted to do since my first visit to East Africa.

I spent a great deal of our hike through the darkness on Kilimanjaro reflecting on my time in Tanzania, it warmed me up and kept my mind off the mountain until the sun began to rise. At this point we were struggling up the final scree slope to Stella Point. It was brutally steep and every step was a struggle for me. Finally reaching the top of Stella Point, I sat down in a snow-bank, and for the first time appreciated the towering glaciers and began to relax as the dreaded scree slope was behind me and it was a straightforward walk to the summit from now on. We reached Uhuru Peak, at an elevation of 5,895m or 19,300ft around nine in the morning amid cheers and gasping breaths. In that moment of success I chose not to think about the hike back down, which of course we all survived.

For the love of stretchy pants

Fri, 04 Mar 2005 00:00:00 -0700

It�s a sunny day at Mt. Baldy Ski Area just outside of Oliver, B.C. Ricardo Smith and his buddy Mark Weigeldt are spending their day off from work at the same ski hill doing something they love; skiing. On a normal day they look just like any other skiers � Gore-tex jacket and ski pants, top-of-the-line skis and boots, and functional yet fashionable goggles. But today is different.
The pair walks towards the lift line like they have just stepped out of the past. Smith is wearing a black one-piece ski suit accented by neon pink, yellow and green. Matching goggles and gloves and a neon pink fanny pack completes the ensemble and really pushes the outfit over the top.
Weigeldt is wearing a pair of tight-fitting navy blue corduroy stretchy ski pants; the pom-pom on his wool toque is the size of a softball. Both outfits are a little small, but it only adds to the humour. For people who know them, this is nothing unusual. But for newcomers to the world of retro ski fashion, there will be double takes and thumbs ups throughout the day. And Smith and Weigeldt think it�s hilarious.
�I started for no good reason whatsoever,� says Smith, a 25-year old who has been sporting retro ski clothes for over five years. �A buddy and I went to the ski hill at Sunshine Village and decided to do something a little different. People looked at us sideways and it was good.�
Smith has since purchased over 50 different retro ski outfits. One of which, a dark blue and red ski racer�s outfit from the early 1980s, he has proudly displayed on the wall of his apartment in Oliver, B.C.
Retro ski clothes serve little practical purpose in today�s market. Ski technology has changed drastically in the past few decades and the industry has come a long way from the days of woolen sweaters and leather hand lace boots.

New technology and the invention of Gore-tex have made the woolen sweaters of the yester-years impractical and obsolete. But retro hats, goggles and gloves remain popular amongst skiing enthusiasts. And for some ski fanatics, busting out the old school styles is as much about showing appreciation for, and paying homage to, the sport as it is about having fun � and maybe getting a few laughs.

Richard Allen is a 51-year old, third generation skier and a collector of anything vintage ski related. Similar to Smith and Weigeldt, he collects clothing and equipment from his generation.
�Collecting is a thing that gets in your blood,� says Allen. �It�s an addiction, and then you find some cool stuff. I just never give up looking.�
Allen�s addiction later spawned into a business, Vintage Ski World an international organization dedicated to the heritage of skiing, which he runs out of his U.S.A home in Carbondale, Colorado.
�I just had all this stuff and tried to make money with it,� says Allen. �It�s a way of life, an entertainment, a business and a passion that defines who I am and my relation to the ski industry.�
Allen began collecting ski clothes from his family back in the 1970s. Norwegian wool sweaters knitted by his grandmother and his grandfather�s old wooden skis became the foundation of a collection that now exceeds a thousand pieces of retro � or vintage � ski clothes, equipment, posters and memorabilia. According to Allen it�s one of the largest collections of its kind in the world.
Allen and his partner Mary Roland travel throughout the U.S.A. in their self-contained travelling museum � a large white van � hosting vintage ski parties and displaying a piece of skiing history. Skiers can rent Allen�s equipment and clothing to relive the past. Allen only sells items that are not essential to his collection, which includes a collection of reproduced vintage ski posters and art.
�People are disappointed that my clothing isn�t for sale,� says Allen. �But it�s irreplaceable.�
Allen�s collection traces the history of ski clothing, and demonstrates the high and low points from each era. Prior to the 1930s, clothes were not ski specific. People just wore their regular winter clothes to the ski hills. But wool sweaters didn�t protect against the wind and the introduction of the nylon windbreaker was a welcomed invention by skiers. Baggy ski pants prior to the 1950s would flutter in the wind, so ski racers taped the legs tight to prevent them from flapping. Clothes became more functional in the 1950s and 1960s, and the invention of the stretch pant made the baggy pant obsolete.
�The stretch pant was the icon that made skiing glamourous again,� says Allen.
One-piece suits became popular in the 1970s and 1980s, which prevented snow from going down the backs of skiers who fell. Ski fashion of today�s generation has gone back to the baggy style of the 1950s, with the exception of ski racers, and some people say that skin tight pants on the ski hill is a fashion trend that might be too much for the general public to return to. Many skiers are content with watching this phenomenon from the ski lodge.

Retro ski themed parties are becoming more common at ski hills across Canada and the U.S. It�s a chance for skiers to experience the clothing and equipment of past generations and helps keep it alive for both the skier and non-skier. Allen, however, can save people the time and hassle of hunting for clothes themselves. He will travel to a client�s home or local ski hill and set up for a retro ski party. Some of the themes Allen offers include Olympic Skiing, Ski Colorado, Ski the 60s and Married in the Mountains.

Allen hosted his first ski wedding a few years ago at the suggestion of a friend. It consisted of three different retro ski themed events where the guests chose different outfits for a day of skiing, skating and for an apr�s ski party.
�People came in to the conference hall at Sun Valley where we were set up each day to pick out an outfit,� says Allen, �and the bride and groom dressed up at each event, but not at the actual ceremony.�
The second wedding he did, however, was more outrageous. The bride and groom were avid skier enthusiasts and wanted to do something different for the big day. And they succeeded.
While most of his clientele is from the baby boom generation Allen says a lot of younger people are interested in past ski fashions, although he isn�t exactly sure why. But the type of clothes a skier is attracted to, according to Allen, correlates with the era they grew up in.
�We tend to collect stuff from our own generation because we can relate to it,� says Allen.
Twenty-three year old Weigeldt is attracted to the tight fluorescent clothing of the mid-1980s to late 1990s. He sees a certain comedy in skiing in the gear from his childhood.
Weigeldt says that not everyone is into retro ski clothes from his generation because �not everyone can throw on a pair of stretchy pants and ski for the day.� The passion begins with an appreciation for the sport and it doesn�t hurt if the person has a sense of humour.
Smith offers another reason why he doesn�t purchase clothes from earlier generations but tends to purchase stuff from the late 1970s to the early 1990s. �It�s recent enough for people to laugh at,� says Smith. �If you go back too far then people appreciate it. Its just cool, not funny.�
And even if a person isn�t into wearing the clothes themselves, there is something down right hilarious about seeing a neon pink and black one-piece ski suit on the slopes or apr�s ski. There may be a few snickers but chances are its because skiers are remembering the time they once owned, and wore, the same style ski suit. They can relate to retro ski clothes because it was what they grew up with. They remember when the clothes were in fashion and can appreciate its re-emergence onto the ski hill. Chances are they once owned similar clothes.

Thrift stores provide enthusiasts like Allen and Smith with a source for tracking down retro ski attire. Generally second-hand clothing is inexpensive, but depending on the store, some retro ski clothes can be pricey.
�The most I paid was $25 for a one-piece neon pink and yellow suit,� says Smith. �The price I�ll pay depends on the quality and fit of a piece of clothing.�
Allen says that thrift stores in ski towns, especially those run by church groups, are the best places to buy retro ski clothes. They often sell items cheaper than higher-end stores that offer clothing on consignment. He recently walked out of a thrift store in Jackson Hole, Wyoming, with two bags of newly purchased ski clothes to add to his collection.
�E-bay is also a good spot to buy clothes from,� says Allen.
But Smith says that buying clothes over the Internet is expensive � the fact that Allen lives in the US may be the dividing factor on this, since unlike Smith, he does not have to convert the prices into Canadian dollars.

Retro ski fashion retains its roots in the ski industry. It is a fun way to break up the monotony on the ski hill. As retro theme parties become more popular it is possible that retro fashions will hit the mainstream. And when it does, people like Smith will find something new to have fun with. For now, he gets a kick out of the whole thing.
�I find it funny,� says Smith. �Besides, I like wearing tight pants.�
Even if retro ski clothing hits the mainstream, the history behind the fashion phenomenon will remain the same. Not everyone can appreciate neon one-piece suits and stretchy pants, just as not everyone can appreciate skiing in wool, but the past is kept alive through the clothing that represents it.

Nelson & District Credit Union Supports Academic Excellence

Tue, 22 Feb 2005 00:00:00 -0700

As students in Nelson and area strive to reach their academic and career goals, the growing Nelson & District Credit Union Aspire Scholarship will be there to reward their efforts.

Tom Atkins, Manager of Program Development & Training and Youth Services Specialist, announced today an additional $5,000 contribution to the scholarship fund. The scholarship endowment has now reached $17,000, thanks in part to matching funds from the Selkirk College Foundation.

Atkins said, �The credit union is a strong supporter of youth in our community. We have a strong outreach program for young people, including our youth financial resource web site, zippitydodog.com. By providing a scholarship, it is just another way we can help students. What better way to support and recognize dedicated �local� students than with an award that will assist them in building successful careers in our communities.�

The credit union�s involvement in education in the West Kootenays includes scholarships, sponsorships and the delivery of a financial literacy program to local public schools. These programs aid students and were important factors in the local financial institution receiving acknowledgement by means of local, provincial and national innovation awards in 2004.

�I�m delighted by this show of support from the Nelson & District Credit Union,� said Selkirk College President Marilyn Luscombe. �Scholarships reward academic excellence and helps relieve students of the financial burden of attaining the certificate, diploma, or degree they need to achieve their goals.�

The Selkirk College Foundation provides approximately $200,000 in direct support to students each year through scholarships and bursaries.

Traveling in Tanzania with Youth Challenge International. Part One.

Thu, 26 Aug 2004 00:00:00 -0700

Mary Schwieger attended Crawford Bay School on the East Shore of Kootenay Lake before
graduating in 1999 and moving to Victoria for university. She has just completed her B.Sc. degree in Geography and Anthropology and is spending her summer working for the North Woven Broom Company in Crawford Bay.

She has graciously offered to share her experiences on her upcoming travels to Tanzania by composing two short stories for us. Here is the first installment with the second to follow when she returns.

After my graduation from the University of Victoria this spring, I was unsure of what to do next. I wanted to travel overseas; and meanwhile wanted get involved with the interests I had developed in university. After weeks of scanning the internet for possible opportunities, I discovered �Youth Challenge International� (YCI), a charitable youth organization that allowed me to do all of the things I wanted to do. Within a couple weeks of applying, I completed an interview, and was accepted into an upcoming HIV/AIDS related volunteer project in Tanzania, East Africa.

My interest in Africa began in 2002, when I was enrolled in Langara College/ McGill University�s �Canadian Field Studies in Africa Program� (CFSIA). The CFSIA takes a group of university students on a 10 week safari through Kenya. All class work is completed in the field, which sometimes means finishing essays at night with a flashlight, or writing exams with baboons screeching in the trees overhead. The CFSIA provided me with a rare opportunity to learn first-hand about East Africa, and has been an excellent starting point for further visits to the region.

There are so many reasons why I am looking forward to returning to East Africa. In a relatively small geographical area, it is possible to travel through the deserts and lakes of the Great Rift Valley, visit the Serengeti and Mt. Kilimanjaro, and swim in the Indian Ocean. The people I met in Kenya came from a huge variety of cultural backgrounds, and everyone was super friendly and welcoming. During my last trip we were constantly moving, and this time I am looking forward to spending more time in one area and getting to know people better.

I don�t know what to expect of my placement with YCI. What I do know, is that our task is related to AIDS education, and that I have three days of training in Toronto followed by about ten more days of training when I arrive in Dar-es-salaam. I don�t know what my living arrangements will be like, or what specifically I may end up doing. Part of the challenge and adventure of this project is that I have to be prepared for such unknowns. I do know that there is significant responsibility placed on the YCI participants, because we will be working in teams and the success of our project will be based largely on the effort we put into it. The topic we will be dealing with is also very serious. HIV/AIDS is causing such devastation in Sub-Saharan Africa, and I really hope we will be able to help in some way. As this is the first year YCI has done a project in Africa, there are currently no alumni to get advice from. However, YCI has well-established projects in countries such as Vanuatu, Guyana, and Costa Rica, and testimonies from past volunteers have assured me that this will be a really wonderful experience.

I had four months to prepare for Tanzania. Four months have rapidly shrunk to less than one and my list of things to do is growing. I have to purchase a large amount of camping supplies still, but can�t decide on what type of mosquito net to bring, (good quality, or risk malaria but have more space in the backpack?). A similar debate goes for type of sleeping bag, air mattress, and pretty much everything else. However I do have my medical kit organized; Larium and DEET to ward off malaria, Cipro for emergency illnesses, an assortment of 50 or so other drugs, and three more vaccinations to add to the five I received for my last trip to Africa. If anyone plans a trip to Africa they must get over any fear of needles, quickly! YCI has also required that I obtain First Aid and CPR certification, pass a swimming test and learn some Swahili. In addition, program participants are required to fund-raise $3,535 towards the project and $2,000 for the flight.

Fund-raising on the rural East Shore of Kootenay Lake is not the easiest of tasks, especially as I am working full time to pay off my student loans. However, I have written many letters asking for support. Organizations such as the Nelson and District Credit Union, and the Kootenay Lake Lions Club, as well as individual people, have shown great interest and generosity. Although I came close, it looks as though I will not be able to fund-raise the entire amount. I am working extra hard so that I can afford to pay for some of the program myself, and spend a couple weeks traveling in Tanzania after the project has ended.

Before I leave I still have the massive task of fitting everything into my backpack, and organizing my post-project travel plans, as I am hoping to end the trip with a trek up Mt. Kilimanjaro with some of the other volunteers. This may be the ultimate physical challenge of my journey, and definitely makes packing more difficult as I have to carry around my warm winter clothing through Equatorial Africa for the duration of the project.

Doing volunteer work in Tanzania will no doubt be the toughest challenge I have ever faced, I am also sure it will be the most rewarding experience of my life so far, and I can�t wait for it to begin. I think Canadian youth are incredibly lucky to have opportunities through organizations such as YCI that allow us to have some support while working in a very different part of the world.

Mike Kinrade, Mountain Bike Star- 'the interview'

Mon, 10 May 2004 00:00:00 -0700

Born and raised in Nelson, BC, Mike Kinrade combines his behind the scenes skills of film making with his love of mountain biking to do what many of us try to achieve: Find something we want to do for the rest of our lives and figure out how to get paid for it. Known for producing such mountain biking films as �Hidden Pleasures�, �Second Coming�, �Riders Anonymous� and his most recent �Self Titled�. Mike�s ability to capture the talents of riders on film began at a young age and he�s only getting better, just like a fine cheese�but Mike doesn�t smell.

The crack reporting team at Z-Dog asked Mike a few questions�this is what he said.

ZDog - Where are you originally from?
Mike - I was home grown in Nelson.

ZDog - What employment experience did you have throughout
high school and leading up to where you are today?
Mike - I�ve been self-employed for the past few years. Video and media production are things that I have been keen on pursuing since grade 10. We started making stupid little films with our friends when we were about 12 and then we brought our passion to the ski hills and bike trails. I also worked at home hardware for a couple of years but that didn�t help much.

ZDog - What got you interested in filmmaking and why did you choose to make bike movies?
Mike - I don�t like working in average conditions, no matter how hard it is to keep up this living. I wanted to do bike movies because I have a love for riding my bike and I apparently have nothing better to do with my time. So I thought I should make the most out of it.

ZDog - When did you begin making movies?
Mike - I�m not sure when that happened. I guess I was about 17 when I wanted to make my first movie under my own company.

ZDog - Who are your influences?
Mike - Mr. Rogers. He�s always been a good neighbour. Really though, I have a lot of people who influence me in life.

ZDog - What did you plan to be doing upon graduation? What were you actually doing?
Mike - My first idea was to go to BCIT and become an electrical engineer. I didn�t even come close. I saw the ad for the multimedia school at Selkirk and that grabbed my interest.

ZDog - What did you end up doing?
Mike � I graduated from the Selkirk Multimedia Production and Design course over 2 years ago and tried to use all that I absorbed at school towards having my own multimedia company.

ZDog - What steps did you take to learn about the film industry and filmmaking?
Mike �I mostly learned from experience. That way it sticks in my head. I have a horrible memory. You have to get right in my face in order for me to remember anything.

ZDog - Have you taken any courses to learn new skills or are you completely self-taught?
Mike - The media course from Selkirk taught me a lot about other forms of media, but as far as video production goes I�m mostly self-taught. You can�t be taught how to produce a film. You rely mostly on your communication skills.

ZDog - Please provide a brief description of your current job including title, responsibilities, employer, and anything else you feel would be of interest to youth.
Mike - I�m really not too sure about what it is that I do. People just seem to trust that I can get the job done. It�s kind of scary sometimes.

ZDog - What is the best/worst aspect of you job?
Mike - The best is the worst�being self-employed.

ZDog - What advice can you give to high school students who are trying to decide what to do after graduation?
Mike - Do what you want and make sure you do it well. Don�t be closed-minded and follow the normal routine of teenagers (wow I never thought I�d say that line). Don�t work at McDonalds or Wal-Mart, etc. Brain drain jobs do just that and lock you down. No one ever says that they want to work a crappy job, so why do it? Yes it�s very hard to be different but that�s what makes us stronger.

ZDog - What advice can you give for those interested in breaking into the film industry either behind the scenes or on screen?
Mike - Just be prepared to get tough or get out.

ZDog - Considering the skills you have obtained and your own goals, where do you see yourself in 5 years?
Mike - I want to get further into different kinds of productions, like events, documentaries and other things. It is quite a diverse field.

Thanks Mike

When Mike�s not riding his bike or filming you can find him by his sewing machine designing spandex body suits for upcoming races and movies�he�s determined to bring spandex back in style.

what�s for lunch?

Mon, 19 Jan 2004 00:00:00 -0700

Wednesdays for Eric Akis usually begin Tuesday night. In preparation for his next Thrifty Foods photo shoot, he is busy in his Oak Bay home prepping ingredients that will become the recipes for the following weeks� flier. The next morning, Akis loads everything into his car and then adds the finishing touches at the 2001 Studios kitchen in downtown Victoria, BC.

One dish can take almost an hour to photograph. Last-minute changes here, a few touch-ups there or a complete overhaul of a concept demonstrate Akis�s thoroughness on the job, which sometimes delays photographer Mike Tourigny, who patiently waits for Akis to finish.

�Can I start taking the pictures now?� says Tourigny.
�Not yet, wait one more minute,� says Akis as he re-plates his scallops for the third time.
�You�re killing me, man.�

Akis is well rounded in the culinary world. As a former chef in an award-winning restaurant he now divides his time between his job as the Times Colonists food writer and the food stylist for Thrifty Foods, Vancouver Islands largest supermarket chain. He also just published his first cookbook, Everyone Can Cook.

Of all the things he does Akis enjoys his work for the Times Colonist the most. He doesn�t like to get stuck in a rut and the column provides change since he is constantly developing new recipes and coming up with new ideas each week.

�You�re always creating. There�s always a new horizon. There�s always something new to discover. I just like when it all comes together, when you have a beautiful image and a really well-written story and recipes that work,� says Akis. �That�s really cool.�

Akis� love affair with food began at a young age. As a young boy growing up in a military family, in Sioux Lookout in Northwestern Ontario, his parents worked on the military base and Akis turned to food as a way to curb his boredom.

�In the summertime I got kind of bored. I think I was ten or eleven, so I would make [my parents] lunch when they came home. Really simple, and they really encouraged me, and I thought this was kind of neat so I got interested in food quite early,� says Akis.

Akis first entered the professional kitchen at 15 as a civilian kitchen helper in the military kitchen. Under the guidance of a man who would later become his greatest mentor, Akis developed a love and appreciation for food that remains with him today.

�We used to work ten days on and four days off. On the tenth day [the chef] would have the staff over to his place for a Chinese dinner that introduced me to a lot of different flavours,� says Akis.

And he inspired Akis to go to cooking school at Confederation College in Thunder Bay, a few hours from his hometown of Sioux Lookout.

�My dad was sick and my mom couldn�t really afford to send me to school but this program tied into unemployment insurance and it was just perfect,� says Akis.

After the six-month program Akis did an apprenticeship in Thunder Bay at the Valhalla Inn. Not only did he learn about cooking he also met his future wife Cheryl: �She was kind of a step up [from me] so I would chase her around the kitchen and help her peel prawns, � says Akis.

After eight years as a chef in Toronto�s restaurant scene, Akis and his family moved to Victoria, BC. But Akis and his wife found the Victoria food scene cliquey and he realized that to get a job he really wanted, he would have to make his own.

�We found that you really have to know people [in Victoria as a chef],� says Akis. �So you have to make a name for yourself and that�s one of the reasons I started the consulting business.�

Akis later applied for the food columnist position at the Times Colonist. He stood out from the other applicants because of his culinary experience. Akis says that the former food writer often made mistakes in the recipes and because of complaints the Times Colonist was looking for someone with a strong culinary background.

�If [a recipe] says �tsp� [teaspoon] of baking soda but you forgot, or someone has missed, the � tsp [during] publishing then you get an email on Friday from someone who has got everything done to bake the recipe you provided but you screwed up on this one thing [and] it can really ruin it,� says Akis. �That�s a real curse with the press.�

At the Times Colonist, Akis is responsible for Wednesday�s food column. This can include rating the best pizza on the Island, or offering suggestions for ways to prepare specific ingredients such as anchovies.

�I have a list of ideas that could last me the next 10 years,� says Akis. �I keep paper and a pen by my bed incase I have a new idea in the middle of the night.�

The one thing Akis doesn�t do in his column is restaurant reviews, something he would never want to do full-time. As a former chef Akis has sympathy for chefs when he goes to restaurants, especially if he has to do a review. He knows that on a given night anything can go wrong. For example, he says, the best cook could call in sick and then the food reviewer comes in that night.

�And food is so subjective,� he says. �[Someone] might go to a place [and say one thing] and then I go there and wonder what they were thinking.�

Even with a strong culinary background many of Akis� recipes don�t make it into his Times Colonist column. Deadlines, mistakes in the kitchen or recipes that just don�t turn out usually end up on the cutting room floor.

�That�s kind of the stress part of it when you do recipes all the time, there are so many deadlines, so if for some reason the recipe just didn�t turn out at all you have to start over again and its like, �oh God�,� says Akis.

Akis also began the food writing job with no writing background. He says it was tough adapting to news style writing at first and he didn�t want to sound too over the top with food-related jargon. Dreams of writing for Gourmet magazine gave him the drive to learn and he sought out advice from veteran writers. He didn�t want to come across as arrogant and turn people off with his writing.

�I got some really good advice from one of the editors early on that made it easy,� says Akis. �He said write it like you would say it and if people like what they read then you�re pretty much smooth sailing.�

But the first eight months were an eye opener for Akis. His strong background as a chef really showed in his columns and some reader advice made him realize the direction he should take with the column.

�A reader said they really liked what I was doing with my columns but wished I could do recipes that everyone can cook,� says Akis. �That�s when I realized that 99 percent of my audience is the home cook, not that you have to make things really simple, but it has to be accessible, otherwise you�re not doing your job.�

Akis and his wife love food so much that during breakfast they usually discuss the dinner menu. Although he does most of the cooking at home during the week, Cheryl takes over on Sundays while Akis enjoys a few pre-dinner pints with friends at a local pub.

And Akis and his wife don�t usually cook together � their small yellow kitchen won�t allow for it � but Cheryl and their 14-year-old son serve as his taste testers every night. Akis uses his home kitchen to create the recipes that will appear in the Times Colonist or the Thrifty Food flier and as a lover of food herself, Cheryl is the first to point out any mistakes he makes in his cooking.

�I was doing apple pie one week and I made this beautiful pie. My wife tasted it and she said, �did you put any sugar in here?�� says Akis. �I had forgotten to put sugar in.�

But Akis is a big believer in fate and says he has no regrets in life. When he looks back and thinks about his accomplishments he can see how one thing led to another and eventually brought him to where he is today.

�When I got the writing job I immediately thought, ok, what can I do with this? Well, this could lead to a cook book; this could lead to food styling. So once you�re doing what you�re doing [you should] never just think this is it, just keep thinking forward,� says Akis.

Akis is the food stylist for Thrifty Foods, Vancouver Island�s largest supermarket chain. Food styling, says Akis, comes to him naturally but he admits he studies other stylists and has a resource of over 1000 cookbooks. Thrifty Foods initially hired Akis to do the flier recipes each week, but six years ago they decided to include images. This gradually led to food styling, which Akis also does for other companies as well as his cook book.

As a food stylist, Akis is more concerned about how the food will look on camera rather than how it will taste, which is the fundamental difference between a chef and a food stylist. Thrifty Foods sends Akis the in-store specials each week and he bases his recipes on a few main ingredients.

�It�s good for the consumer because people quite often say they don�t know what to cook that night so they�ll open up the flier and see what is on sale,� says Akis. Customers can then turn to the back of the flier, where four of Akis� recipes are printed each week, and plan dinner based on his suggestions.

But sometimes his pickiness gets in the way and something that worked well on paper may look wrong once it is set up. Akis will sometimes have to re-plate the food, change a few props or add a new ingredient to get the right look for the recipe. All of this means extra waiting time for the photographer, who is responsible for setting up the proper lighting and camera angles once the food is ready to be photographed.

Akis and Tourigny use a high-tech digital camera, which allows them to view the picture instantaneously. Unlike the pre-digital days when food photographers had to rely on Polaroids to capture the image, today�s technology lets stylists make changes without wasting a lot of time.

�With a digital camera you take a picture and it comes up on the computer screen and then you can go, ok, this glass should move over here because its not quite balanced, [or] this should move back, [or] maybe we should just blow out the whole background,� says Akis.

Like many culinary artists, Akis is somewhat of a perfectionist. He wants his food to look good enough to eat, and he wants his recipes to be simple. This means no shaving cream for hot chocolate or any of the other tricks that used to be prevalent to the industry. Akis uses real ingredients but like the turkeys for the Christmas campaign, not everything is always cooked.

�The only thing that you�ll see [in food photography] that might not be true is steaks might not be cooked all the way through,� says Akis. �In the Keg commercials when they flip the steak over it�s totally raw, they�ll use a hot iron to give it perfect grill marks so that�s one of the tricks.�

A newly published cook book, titled Everyone Can Cook, is Akis� latest venture. Simplicity was important while he was writing the cook book. Akis wanted people to feel comfortable so he wrote in a conversational tone, guiding the reader through each recipe and offering ingredient alternatives, such as substituting chicken for beef � anything to get people interested in cooking again.

�I think people are really interested in cooking but I think it seems to be going the other way towards convenience because people don�t have the time or energy to cook,� says Akis.

And Akis really does think everyone can cook, even though readers would come up to him at his book signings and say �everyone can cook? Well, you haven�t met my uncle or my brother�. Akis blames this mindset on the increased marketing of ready-to-eat food saying, saying it has caused people to forget how to cook.

�One of my missions is to get people more interested in cooking,� says Akis. �With that title [Everyone Can Cook] I want to do a series so the next one will be Everyone Can Cook Seafood, and then everyone can cook outdoors, so if it catches on, then that�s the plan.�

Akis has no plans or desire to return to the commercial kitchen any time soon. The only thing he has considered is working in a store that sells fine cheeses and gourmet food products. For now he is focused on his cookbook series. Last year he traveled to the Maritimes doing research for the second installment titled Everyone Can Cook Seafood.

Food-related trips combine Akis� love of food and travel. He has visited Australia, Singapore and Ireland, which have given him a new prospective on where food is grown and produced. Although supporting locally grown food is important he also thinks people tend to forget that communities in places like Ecuador also need to earn a living. This is why he enjoys watching shows like Pete Luckett�s Food Hunter on the Food Network because Luckett examines food in relation to people and places.

At the same time he also cites Savuer magazine as one of his favourites because they cover stories focusing on local people who are doing simple, but unique, things to food.

�They�ll do this guy in Kansas city and how he cooks his ribs and what his secret is and all that,� says Akis. �They�re more human stories which I like rather than a high affluent chef in New York City who is putting 48 ingredients in a foie gras appetizer.�

Akis is proud of his accomplishments so far and is more than happy to pull out past books, posters and fliers that he has contributed to. But he is not always happy with the final product. Akis was less than impressed by the layout the Times Colonist chose for one of his past articles on anchovies, where a large �A� made out of the slimy fish dominated the page, but he begrudgingly accepts it with sigh �At least it grabs the eye,� he says.

Akis enjoys food and it shows while he is at work. In the kitchen at 2001 Studios he is relaxed, confident and knows how to have fun. His relationship with photographer Mike, and Mike�s assistant Mandy, is filled with witty comments and a constant banter � the puns flow freely as Eric sets down a bowl of olives � but it doesn�t affect their work. Working with food has another benefit and the photo shoot ends with a common question from Mike and Mandy, stomachs growling:

�So Eric, what�s for lunch today?�

The Life of a Designer

Fri, 05 Sep 2003 00:00:00 -0700

The Life of a Designer

Kevin Macintyre, from Dundas, Ontario, has been drawing steadily since he was five, a talent that continued well on into high school. A passion for art and the willingness to work at something he loves helped Kevin decide to attend Sheridan College in Oakville, Ontario following high school graduation. Known as the top animation school in North America, Kevin originally went to Sheridan College to pursue a career as an animator but instead he entered the Illustration Program: �I wasn�t accepted into the animation program, my portfolio wasn�t strong enough � however it was the best thing that could�ve happened.� Explains Kevin. With no real experience going into the program, besides being naturally handy with computers, Kevin studied such courses as life drawing, still life drawing, painting, photography, computer design, page layout and design, and printmaking.

The three-year program taught Kevin many things. For example, Kevin learned how to take a simple idea, work with it using his own creativity and talents, and turn it into something completely different. �The best lesson school taught me was to expect more from myself [and to] never settle for something that is beneath [my] true ability.� Says Kevin. Academics and classroom time aside, Art College also provided Kevin with a space to create, allowing him to build a portfolio, which often means more to employers than good grades and a diploma. Similar to going to trade school or even University, its not so much about what you learn in the classroom but how you apply it to your work outside of the classroom. A good school will teach its students to reach their highest potential but what they do with the newfound knowledge, and how far they go with it, depends on the individual.

And the learning process does not stop once graduation day has come and gone. Kevin had two plans for himself following graduation. One was to move to Toronto and become a designer, the other was to move to a retreat and lead a quiet life of contemplation. �It wasn�t about job preparation so much as trying to figure out what I really wanted to do with my life.� Says Kevin. A believer in not rushing into things too quickly, Kevin did plan two first and later moved to Vancouver where he began working at Omega Nutrition. At Omega Kevin worked as a label and package designer where he learned things they can never teach you in school such as prepping art for pre-press. During his tenure at Omega Nutrition Kevin started off doing a lot of brochure and poster design but later moved into designing labels for products. �I get a big kick out of walking into a health food store and seeing one of my labels on the shelf.� Says Kevin of his time at Omega.

Now living in Nelson, BC, Kevin has found a way to blend his two plans and works as a designer while leading a quiet life away from the big city. Using skills he learned at school and at Omega, Kevin now works at The Express Community Newspaper as a Graphic Designer/Production Person as well as the writing the weekly adventures of Roy, his own comic strip. At the Express, Kevin mainly creates ads for local merchants that go into the newspaper as well as planning the initial layout of the paper. Clients either send in vague idea or something very specific and Kevin then creates an eye-catching ad out of the initial design. The job is high paced and leaves little room for contemplating about a design for a long time period. As Kevin explains, �its like speed design. It�s more about knocking something together quickly than spending hours working on it. But it�s fun to see how fast I can come up with a good idea. The weirdest part is that the brain simply trains itself to think faster, so the good ideas still come � I just don�t have to think about something for hours to get a decent working design anymore.�

Working at the paper has allowed Kevin to bring clients into the design process but he still enjoys doing freelance work, an area he would like to expand on in the next five years. �There is really nothing more satisfying than being known enough that you can pick and choose the projects that appeal to you.� Says Kevin. For now, Kevin is enjoying life in Nelson and has some solid advice for students unsure of what to do after graduation: �Take some time off if you can afford it. We spend our entire childhood and adolescence in school and then are supposed to leap head first into a career. Take some time out to figure out how you really want to apply what you�ve gotten from school. There�s nothing worse than getting into a job you hate just because you feel you have to.� Hard work, determination, and high expectation of oneself will ultimately lead to success and allow a person to do just about anything but remember to slow down once and a while and smell the roses.

Like a Fish in Water

Mon, 16 Jun 2003 00:00:00 -0700

Louise Porto has been interested in the world of water her whole life. In high school, she started out as a lifeguard and swimming instructor in her hometown of Binbrook, Ontario and used these skills after her arrival at University. With a desire to move to the big city, Louise decided to continue her education at the University of Toronto, which has a renowned reputation for its science program. Not wanting to limit herself, Louise took general science courses during her first year, which later became a double major in Environmental Science and Zoology. This is a great route to take for students unsure of a major and something many universities recommend. It allows students to familiarize themselves with a variety of subjects eventually leading to a specific major. �What really helped was working for a professor during the year(s), which helped me determine the exact area that I was interested in.� recalls Louise.

Louise�s education did not end in the classroom and she continued the learning process straight into the summer. � I noticed an ad up in the zoology building that wanted people to snorkel for a project to study fish behaviour. I thought that it would be interesting, since I liked the water so much. So I got the job and spent 2 months snorkeling in a lake to study fish behaviour.� This experience benefited Louise throughout the rest of her University career where she worked with this same professor for three years and �this is how [she] got interested in fisheries biology.� After graduation, Louise began working with the Ministry of Natural Resources where she eventually met the Professor whom she would complete her Masters degree with at the University of Guelph. �Upon graduating from U of T, I wanted to work, travel, and find a supervisor to do a Master�s degree with. I did all of these.� Says Louise.

After completing her Masters degree in Zoology, Louise headed west and landed in Vancouver where she began working for the Department of Fisheries and Oceans (DFO). Education and experience were key components for Louise�s success. Skills such as the ability to conduct research (from the proposal stage to writing a scientific report), to hire and train technicians, and to work with others outside of the science field not only allowed Louise to work with the DFO but she also started her own fisheries consulting company. Louise decided to leave the big city and relocated to Nelson where she currently lives. Traveling to Castlegar each week, Louise now works with Golder Associates Ltd as a Fisheries Biologist (IV).

As an intermediate Fisheries Biologist, Louise�s responsibilities are vast and varied. Louise conducts scientific research beginning with proposals, budget planning and ending with scientific reports. As an example of some of the research conducted at Golder Associates Ltd, Louise and her co-workers are currently studying the impacts of hydroelectric dams on the movement of White Sturgeon in the Columbia River. Other responsibilities include managing several MS Access databases housing all the data on various clients, managing, directing, and supervising fisheries technicians, participating in conferences, and giving presentations on various fisheries topics.

Education has always been important for Louise and she encourages high school graduates to go to University: �Further education is really important and will give you more choices later� take a general first year program in science (if you are interested in science); check out what types of jobs you can get in this broad field; talk to people that have careers in areas that spark your interest (we love to talk about ourselves!); try to volunteer in a particular area�read and research.� Says Louise. In the next five years Louise would like to return to school to learn more analytical tools in the realm of statistics and keep her skills up-to-date. Louise would like to move into a senior fisheries biologist position and begin �developing and directing research programs as well as providing guidance to clients in the design of scientific research.� Despite a busy work life, and her commitment to education, Louise still takes time for herself. As a competitive Triathlete Louise is training for a half Iron Man and recently finished the second installment of her Women�s Beginner Triathlon training courses. She loves the water and has found a way to apply it to every aspect of her life, the key to her success.

NORCO's newest staff member: Dave Devlin

Tue, 22 Apr 2003 00:00:00 -0700

One year ago if you had asked Dave Devlin what he would be doing upon graduation he would not have dreamed he would be NORCO's new team manager. Throughout high school Devlin had been interested in the outdoor community. His first real job was with Tourism BC as a travel counselor until he decided he needed to further is education: "I originally chose to major in Recreation Management because it seemed to be the best fit with my personality and career aspirations. [I'm a] social person with many interests in the outdoors and interaction with people, so the decision seemed obvious to me."

Rather than staying close to home, Devlin chose Acadia University located in Wolfville, Nova Scotia because of its unique Recreation Management program. The combination of outdoor pursuits, recreation theory, and business administration provided Devlin with a variety of skills although he was uncertain of a possible career choice: "I had many ideas such as working at a ski hill, or opening a bike shop, working for the parks board... nothing solid." Devlin confesses. Biking remained at the heart of who Devlin was and throughout University he worked part time at a bike shop in Wolfville, Step Outside, in both sales and "wrenching on bikes." The experience gained by working in independent bike shops, as well as his university degree, allows Devlin to perform his job as Team Manager at NORCO Performance Bikes. "The Technical knowledge of bikes and the industry itself is as much an asset as my university education" Devlin explains. "The combination of practical and classroom experience is invaluable."

As Team Manager at NORCO, Devlin uses the broad base of information and skills that University provided him to perform his many duties. Devlin uses the "soft skills" he obtained at University to perform the administrative end of his job and his business knowledge proves to be invaluable. Responsible for coordinating the team, which includes screening resumes, handling rider contracts and meeting the specific needs of each rider, Devlin uses day-to-day computer and office skills to keep everything in order. Although Devlin spends a lot of time in the office, talking to co-sponsors and securing support, he also provides technical support at races and events to the riders proving that his "job is very diverse and requires [him] to be in seven places at once." With the addition of a new team support vehicle, Devlin had to upgrade his license to include air brake use and continues to learn new things each day.

Hard work and determination, both in and out of school, are two contributing factors as to why Devlin now works for a company he believes in. It is easy for high school graduates to become confused about what path they should take after graduation. It is not easy to decide what you want to do for the rest of your life but once you find it you will know. Focusing on personal interests, keeping your eyes open to new opportunities and never giving up will ultimately lead to success. Although university is not for everyone it can be an important first step. It allows you to figure out where your interests lie and challenges you both in and out of the classroom. Devlin offers some solid advice about choosing a job or career path: "Choose a general direction you want to go in and then just do your best to make good decisions on a day to day basis. The biggest thing is don't burn bridges, always be thinking ahead, and keep your eyes peeled for opportunities... and don't be afraid to work hard!" Things do not happen over night and what you to do today may prove beneficial in the future.