Business
The Prince George Citizen - Monday, May 17,1993 - 7 *
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Departing bank chief full of praise for regionf
The North is vibrant and full of potential for economic expansion, says the manager of business training for the Federal Business Development Bank.
“I feel strongly about the opportunities in the North, and the potential for people to move up from the south to take advantage of a better lifestyle and get involved with the community,” Glen Upton said in an interview about his transfer to the bank’s Victoria branch next month.
Young families from the Lower Mainland and elsewhere in southwestern B.C. will move here because of the many economic opportunities and the chance to start and build new businesses nere, said Upton. He moved here from the Lower Mainland himself in 1989.
‘‘And here you have time to spend with your family and on family matters rather than in fighting traffic,” he said. “It’s 10 minutes to work instead of an hour and a half.”
Upton’s last day of work here is June 10. He begins work at the FBDB’s Victoria office June 14.
“I’ll take over training activities for the Victoria region, training the business owners,” he said. “I’ll be coordinator of any and all business training activities such as workshops, seminars and formal training programs.”
Upton worked with Pepsi and Seven-Up before moving to Prince George four years ago to work for the FBDB, starting as a small business development officer.
“When I was in Vancouver telling people I was moving to Prince George, a lot of people who’d never been to Prince George said, ‘Oh’, like ‘Oh, that’s too bad.’ The others who had been here said, ‘You’ll love it. There’s so much to see and do.’
“Now when I tell people in Prince George I’m going to Victoria, they say, ‘Oh.’
“There’s not much snow down there.”
Upton has thoroughly enjoyed the four years he’s lived in Prince George.
“It’s been my pleasure. I’ve had the opportunity to deal with a lot of good people and organizations — the Chamber of Commerce, the Business Development Centre and the business community overall.”
He said he had had opportunities to be transferred down to Vancouver but had not taken them, preferring to stay in Prince George.
Upton has been involved in the activities of the Foothills Community Association, and he taught a marketing course at the College of New Caledonia last semester. He’s held or participated in a number of public speaking workshops and seminars.
Upton said his wife Diane and their three children have also enjoyed living in Prince George, and will miss the snow when they are in Victoria.
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Construction is under way for a new air terminal building at the Quesnel Airport.
The building will feature a
Business
notebook
Compiled by PAUL STRICKLAND
unique Cariboo design reflecting the history of the area, says MP Dave Worthy (Progressive-Conservative, Cariboo-Chilcotin).
Plans include a vaulted ceiling and a 2.5-metre veranda along the front and rear of the building.
The 504-square-metre facility will be built of wood and will use as much locally produced material and labor as possible, Worthy said recently.
The federal government approved funding for the project in the spring of 1992 and awarded a $750,000 contract to Espo Construction of Calgary in the fall of 1992 to design and construct the building. Espo Construction is also building the college residence on the College of New Caledonia’s Prince George campus.
Worthy said construction of the terminal is supposed to create 25 jobs over six months and the project should be completed in November.
Airline operations will continue from the existing building during construction, and passenger service will not be interrupted.
Quesnel Airport is owned and operated by Transport Canada. The facility handled more than 18,000 passengers and 13,000 aircraft movements in 1992.
The airport also generates an estimated $7 million annually to the local economy and sustains more than 130 jobs, according to a release from Transport Canada.
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B.C. Hydro recently awarded a contract for site preparation and civil construction work at Kelly Lake worth $408,000 to Intercoast Construction Ltd. of Prince George.
The utility had earlier awarded a contract for site preparation and civil construction at Williston substation worth $692,000 to a Prince George contractor, Redheugh Construction Ltd. Redheugh began work in early April.
B.C. Hydro provided the information in the sixth and most recent issue of its news brief circular on the Williston-Kelly Lake 500 kilovolt transmission line.
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The number of job vacancies listed with the Canada Employment Centre in Prince George increased slightly to 98 in April from 95 in March, according to the most recent Central Interior Unemployment Report.
Of the vacancies listed, the largest concentration of jobs was in the service sector — primarily positions for waitresses, dishwashers, cooks and janitors.
There was also a good number of sales positions. Most of these appeared to be in the construction and building products areas.
I
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-'AO,	2618
K«vf ROCKY MOUNTAIN CADET CORPS
Will be having Their
35th ANNUAL INSPECTION
Sunday, May 23, 1993
1 tOO p.m. (1300 Hours) at the
Connaught Youth Centre 17th & Victoria
PUBLIC WELCOME
We encourage alll past commanding officers, officers and cadets to join us in this momentous occasion.
(Commanding Officers please contact us personally about /our attendance.)
For more information call Rick or Rosanne Lewis 964-2415 or 561-4446
The amount of unemployment insurance benefits paid out in the Canada Employment Centre’s area totalled just over $8.5 million in April, the latest month for those figures are available. That was down from from S9 million in March.
The area the Centre serves extends from Bums Lake in the west to McBride in the east, and from Mackenzie in the north to Quesnel in the south.
Year-to-date figures (January through April) show the Centre has paid out $33 million in unemployment insurance benefits so far in 1993, significantly less than the $40 million paid out during the same period in 1992.
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Canadian Tire provided much needed employment to 14 clients of AimHi, the College of New Caledonia Job Education and Training (JET) program, Employment Action and the Mary Harper Centre last week, says the work options supervisor for AimHi.
“It reflects well on Canadian Tire,” Deane Hallem told The Citizen.
Canadian Tire was closed for two days last week as store employees changed from conventional retail shelving to decor warehouse racking.
But there was a great deal of dust and debris to clean up after the new shelving was installed and little time for the busy regular staff to deal with it before the store reopened.
Canadian Tire called on AimHi for help, and the word went out from there to the other agencies involved in job placement for the disabled. “They all pulled together in 10 minutes,” Hallem said.
AimHi provided eight of the required temporary employees. But Canadian Tire, needing as many as 20 for the cleanup job, hired all the individuals sent by the other agencies as well, she said.
“They helped us by hiring a lot of disabled people,” Hallem commented.
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The Retail Council of Canada’s Stop Shoptheft session on shoplifting prevention techniques takes place Wednesday at the Simon Fraser Inn from 8 to 10 a.m.
The seminar will provide answers to such questions as follows:
■ Who steals most — dishonest employees or dishonest customers?
■ How do they steal?
■ How can you look at your store through a dishonest customer’s
eyes?
■ How can you spot potential dishonest employees before they’re on your payroll?
■ How can you set reasonable policies and controls?
Afterwards the session leader will be on hand until 11 a.m. for any further discussion from participants.
Cost of the session is $25, which includes a buffet breakfast.
For more information phone the Profit Network, Retail Council 'of Canada, in Toronto at (416) 59§-4684, and ask for Beverly Donick, membership assistant, or fax (416) 598-3707.	;	1
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Buy any Dress and receive a FREE pair of Kids Pantyhose
Buy any pair of Osh Kosh Jeans or Overalls and get matching T-shirt at
1/2
Price
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PARKWOOD MALL
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