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Weds., May 28, 2014 www.revelstoketimesreview.com Vol. 117, No. 22
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Bike to Work Week – 16
A look at Focus Revelstoke
Image copyright Google Maps/Graphic by Rob Stokes
For a year, a group of local business people have been holding informal meetings with the aim of finding ways to make Revelstoke a better place to live and do business. They call themselves Focus Revelstoke. We talked to some of the people involved to find out what they’re all about. ALEX COOPER
editor@revelstoketimesreview.com
Deep in the back rooms of Revelstoke, a group of business people have been holding clandestine meetings, secretly plotting the community’s future. The group consists of a lawyer, Realtors, developers, a former mayor and more. They’re the Illuminati or Bilderbergers of Revelstoke. Just what is Focus Revelstoke up to? “Some people seem to think of it as some secret subversive group, but basically it’s open to anybody that wants to come,” Mark McKee, one of the groups de facto chairs told me in an interview. “It’s not really a big deal.” Focus Revelstoke is an informal group of mostly business peo-
ple that have been meeting for the past year, brainstorming ways to improve the community. Their meetings are open to anyone interested in taking part and about 30 people have joined in at some point. It’s not a political party, though two members of the group are running for council. Randy Driediger, the manager of RCU Insurance, takes credit for starting the group about a year ago when he invited a few local business people to a meeting to look at ways to spur economic development. One of them had an acquaintance looking to relocate their business, and the hope was to convince them to come to Revelstoke. “It was two-fold,” he said. “It was not only looking at the city, but also finding a way for local busi-
ness people to invest in the community in some way to not only help the community, but also to make us some money. That was the original idea.” From that start, the group started to grow and its focus began to shift. As more people joined, the aim wasn’t economic development for the sake of making money, but development to make Revelstoke better. “Let’s just help the community, and we’ll all benefit from it,” said Driediger. The members include a selection of business people and active community members. There’s McKee, a former mayor; lawyer Connie Brothers; Scott Duke and Trevor English, two business people who are running for council; Brock Freathy of Ursus Construction,
Greg Hoffart of Tree Construction, Jean-Marc Laflamme, a web marketing expert, and more. “Focus Revelstoke is a think tank comprised of leaders of the community and active members in the community,” said Duke when asked to describe the group. “The mandate is to make Revelstoke a better place to live.” At the meetings, which are held irregularly, they discuss different issues, from taxation to development cost charges to signage. There’s a loose agenda and ideas are exchanged. They look at what other communities are doing and discuss how the good ideas can be implemented in Revelstoke. “I would hope council and staff is no different,” said McKee. “If they see another community doing something really good and innovative, then we should see if it can be implemented in our community.” There’s no doubt the group has a business focus and there is overlap between Focus Revelstoke and the Chamber of Commerce Board
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of Directors. As well, the group has members that sit on various city committees. If a good idea emerges from a Focus Revelstoke meeting, members can take it to their various committees and boards and try to have it implemented. The group has launched a few tangible initiatives. One was a list assembled by Duke of potential businesses that could work in Revelstoke. Another is the Revelstoke.com website. “The .com is for community,” said Laflamme, who built the site. The site’s tagline is “Entrepreneurial Mountain Paradise.” The website has three sections — a community description for potential residents and business owners, a place with information on running for mayor and council, and where candidates can post their bios; and a section where people can solicit feedback on ideas. The latter section is perhaps the most interesting. Using an app
see Focus, page 6
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