Invermere Valley Echo, November 18, 2015

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Oliver Orchiston fully commits to some air time during the DTSS Lakers senior soccer team’s game against Trail’s J.L. Crowe Secondary on October 30th in Trail. The Lakers won the Kootenay Zone Championship, qualifying for the provincial AA senior soccer championships in Vancouver from November 22nd to 25th. PHOTO BY JIM BAILEY/TRAIL TIMES

Chamber mentorship program gets stellar reviews STEVE HUBRECHT steve@invermerevalleyecho.com The Columbia Valley Chamber of Commerce’s business mentorship program has been a boon to the valley, with program participants giving glowing reports of how it has turned out for them. The Chamber launched the business mentorship program this past winter, and matched up 10 mentors with 10 local business owners who wanted to be mentored in a kind of speed dating-like event. Once the mentors and the mentorees were paired up, each pair began to meet semi-regularly, with the mentor offering advice to help the mentorees operate their businesses. “It has been amazing,” said Ranch UpAround owner Lisa Lehr. “There are so many experienced professionals here in the valley and it’s wonderful to be able to benefit from their advice.”

Lehr started her summer camp- exist in the valley.” based business this summer, and was Tiffany’s Thredz owner Tiffany Gulbe mentored by Circle Cafe owner Peter was paired with local retiree Rick Bourke through the mentorship pro- Thompson through the program, and gram as she did so. said she found Thompson’s extensive “I was really looking for guidance on business experience (he spent about the bigger picture with my business, four decades working as a buyer, seand how to go about starting it, and nior manager, asset manager and a Pete was just an indeveloper of retail I absolutely love credible help with shopping centres) that,” said Lehr. my mentor... I don’t helpful as she went “Most of it was know how else I would about setting up a prioritizing, alignsecond Tiffany’s in ment and focus type have learned so much. Calgary. TIFFANY GULBE stuff, helping Lisa “I absolutely love TIFFANY’S THREDZ OWNER figure out where she my mentor,” said wants to dedicate most of her time, Gulbe. “Sometimes we meet once a and strategizing which ideas to pull week, sometime once a month. He’s out first and which to leave for later,” helped with so much — with lawyer said Bourke. “It went pretty well and stuff, with business stuff, really with the whole program was a neat idea. anything to do with anything. I don’t It’s a great initiative and a great way know how else I would have learned to connect people and resources that so much of what he’s taught me.” you otherwise might not even know Advice from a mentor has the benefit

of not only of drawing on experience, but also of being more objective than advice coming from friends or partners, said Gulbe. “I’ve taken on some things I wouldn’t have, if I hadn’t had (Thompson’s) support. It’s probably the best program I’ve ever done,” she said. “I really wanted somebody objective to look at my books, teach me about leasing agreements, and with my mentor I certainly got that. I find in business a lot of your peers usually don’t talk about the financial angle of things, and in a small town such as Invermere that doesn’t leave many other people to turn to for advice.” For his part, Thompson said he got as much out of being a mentor as Gulbe received being mentored. “I really enjoy it,” he said. “There are a lot of us in the valley, retired or semi-retired here, who have spent See A2

Valley Sessions LIVE at Pynelogs Saturday November 21st at 7 pm

What does ART mean to you?

Cinefest Film Series: Remember Tuesday November 24th at 7 pm · Tickets at the door

Visit columbiavalleyarts.com for our current events calendar, or call 250-342-4423.

Happy BirtHday to pynelogs!

1914 - 2014

Celebrating 100 years


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