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Friday, Friday May 29, 29 2015
ENTREPRENEURIAL SPIRIT
Aiming to face the dragons Build My Business Together program ends with a chance to make a pitch to a panel and win prizes KRISTI DOBSON ALBERNI VALLEY TIMES
Naomi Horbatch wants to face the dragons for a second time in her entrepreneurial career. The local wellness specialist is taking advantage of a Nuu-chah-nulth Economic Development Corporation (NEDC) program that ends with three participants pitching their ideas to a panel that could reward them with cash and other prizes. Horbatch successfully established her business in 2001 after acquiring a loan from the Nuu-chah-nulth Economic Development Corporation (NEDC). She opened a fitness centre, but shortly after, Port Alberni was hit with a recession, so she decided to return to college. “I kept hearing of people with health problems and was repeatedly telling them, ‘Well, you know, if you tried this,’ which eventually turned into my new business,” Horbatch said. In 2011, Horbatch participated in a business competition in which she had to pitch her ideas and plans to a panel of judges. She made the qualifying round in Penticton and moved on as a finalist to Hamilton, Ontario. With the help of NEDC and the skills and knowledge she acquired from the contest, Horbatch opened a wellness centre in the Tseshaht Administration building. Now Horbatch said she feels she is ready to expand and is going through a similar program launched at NEDC. “I want to build a bigger wellness centre with a training facility and boardroom,” she said. “I want to have workshops for employees and Microsoft Office training and include other traditional healers. This was all a dream 15 years ago and now it is coming true.” Two weeks ago, the NEDC lauched Build
Naomi Horbatch is hoping to meet the dragons again so she can pitch her business expansion idea and cater to a wider local audience looking for wellness alternatives. Here she is seen working with a regular client, Sally Anderson. [KRISTI DOBSON, TIMES]
My Business Together for aboriginal people on Vancouver Island. Not only is she a participant, Horbatch is the program’s executive co-ordinator. Horbatch said that although NEDC offers loans, this program offers so much more. Open to both on-site participants and online, it caters to an audience of aboriginal participants across Vancouver Island. They gain mentorship opportunities, hands-on workshops and presenta-
tions from expert guest speakers. The program’s coordinator, Jay Silverberg, comes with 45 years experience in business and training. “The biggest thing, and why the program is effective, is that we get to hear other people talk,” Horbatch said. “Your brain starts thinking about how you can apply things to your own business. It is important to have feedback from people and write down what you want to do.”
She said that in the last two weeks, she has already received support, ideas and the feeling that she is not alone. It is the follow-ups from sessions that are equally beneficial, she said. “The after care you take with Jay helps so much with your business idea,” Horbatch said. “His experience gives you different things to think about and he can be your friend, as well as the devil’s advocate.” Participants will learn all aspects of running a business, including finances, social media and entrepreneurship from an aboriginal perspective. At the end, three participants will be selected to undergo a “Dragon’s Den” approach to pitch their business ideas and vie for a number of cash and in-kind prizes. Those taking part either want to start their own business or expand an existing one. Included in their pitch will have to be a clear explanation of what they will do, how they will do it and where the money will be allocated. Horbatch believes the program will have long-term economic benefits for the region. “It will help build the local economy because the First Nations is the fastest growing demographic,” she said. “It gives those First Nations people wanting to start a business access to training and funding. If it wasn’t for NEDC I wouldn’t be where I am today. There is always someone there who believes in you and empowers you to keep going.” The current intake of Build My Business Together is still accepting registrations for the Tuesday evening sessions and make-up classes will be offered. Further intakes will take place in the fall. For more info, call 250-724-3131. Kristi.Dobson@avtimes.net
CITY COUNCIL ENDORSES TIPS LINE
Unsolved murders on Crime Stoppers’ radar MARTIN WISSMATH ALBERNI VALLEY TIMES
Alberni Valley Crime Stoppers received an official endorsement from city council this week and will be raising funds next month to pay tipsters as a reward for information that leads to arrests. Council voted to honour a request from the anti-crime society to place stickers on municipal vehicles. AV Crime Stoppers president Quintin Winks gave a presentation outlining the organization’s progress over the past few years. Among the crimes police are requesting information for are two unsolved homicides in the Alberni Valley since 2006. After its inception in 2000, the Port Alberni Crime Stoppers operated until 2007, at which point there was an “administrative hiatus” for several years, Winks said. The all-volunteer group was reorganized as Alberni Valley Crime Stoppers with a fresh board in 2013 and recognized with official society status from the government.
“We’re now just waiting for charitable status, which is something we need to get through the federal government,” Winks said, adding he expects the society to receive recognition as a charity in the next month. Fundraising efforts are planned for the community starting in June, Winks said. Raffle tickets will be sold at community events, and available directly from either Winks (250-729-0904), Jo-Anne Asher, notary public (250-7230633), or Chris Miller of Camlock Locksmiths (250-724-5625). Funds are used to pay out rewards for tips that lead to arrests. Up to $2,000 could be paid out for a major case, said Winks. “They’re based on precedents,” he said. “If it’s a tip that leads to an arrest for a break and enter, or vandalism, we’re looking more around $250 to $500 depending on the severity of the crime.” Anonymous tipsters collect their reward by leaving an alias or pseudonym, such as
The murder of 28-year-old Kristy Morrey is one of two unsolved homicides around the Alberni Valley in the past several years. [CRIME STOPPERS PHOTO]
“Mickey Mouse,” Winks said. They would then meet a Crime Stoppers society representative at a place of business and give the name for verification. “They would simply go to that place of business, which has no vested interest in [the case] and receive their reward.” Coun. Denis Sauvé helped create the local chapter of Crime Stoppers and worked closely with the group as a crime reduction analyst until his retirement from the RCMP last year.
“It’s a great organization,” Sauvé said, noting the importance of their website at avcrimestoppers.ca, which includes information on recent crimes in the Alberni Valley and mug shots of wanted individuals. A menu bar on the site includes links to unsolved crimes and a monthly crime map. “I’m glad to see that the missing people registry is still there,” Sauvé said. There are still “major unsolved crimes” in and around the Alberni Valley for which police are still looking for tips, he noted. Two unsolved homicides are listed by Crime Stoppers. Andrew Frank Cook, 50, was killed in a fatal hit and run on the morning of Aug. 2, 2009, two kilometres east of Bamfield on the Bamfield Highway. Cook was a resident of the Anacla reserve near Bamfield and likely was walking home when he was hit, according to the Crime Stoppers report. There were no witnesses, but the investigation to date has uncovered Cook’s last known
whereabouts at the Hawk’s Nest Pub around midnight. Police are asking the public if they saw any vehicles on the highway around the time of Cook’s death. On Aug. 20, 2006, 28-year-old Kristy Morrey was found murdered in her Beaver Creek home. Morrey attended a wedding reception in Cherry Creek the night before and the Crime Stoppers report includes a detailed timeline of her movements during the two days before her death. A core group of investigators remain dedicated to the case. “A file is never cold or closed,” said Sauvé. The AV Crime Stoppers is located in the local RCMP detachment building at 4444 Morton St. Anonymous tips can be called in at 1-800-222-TIPS (8477). Martin.Wissmath@avtimes.net » We want to hear from you. Send comments on this story to news@ avtimes.net. Letters must include daytime phone number and hometown.
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