Pinawa Preamble Newsletter 2015 Apr 23

PINAWA COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT
CORPORATION
CHAIRPERSON’S ADDRESS
PINAWA CDC
BOARD OF DIRECTORS
Chair
Blair Skinner, Mayor
Vice-chair Chuck Handford, new Council
Past Vice-chair Jane Sargent, Volunteer
Treasurer Dorothy Wilken, past Council
now Volunteer
Secretary Jenny Petersen, RA/EDO
Director Don Daymond past Council
Director Denis Sabourin, new Council
Director Chuck Handford, past Volunteer,
new Council
Director Rhonda Henschell, Council
Director Stu Iverson, Volunteer
Director Clay McMurren, past Council
Director Al Abraham, new Council
Director Margaret Mills, Volunteer
Director Susan Musey, Volunteer
Director Jeff Simpson, Chamber Rep
Director David Bilsky, Volunteer
STAFF
Resident Administrator, Economic
Development Officer
Jenny Petersen petersenj@pinawa.com
Community Development Officer
Nancy Bremner bremnern@pinawa.com,
info@pinawa.com
Administrative/Program Assistant
Dee Handford handfordd@pinawa.com
www.pinawa.com
April 2015
The Pinawa Community Development Corporation facilitates the
community and economic development of the town and to be effective,
needs to adapt to the evolving needs of Pinawa. During 2014, the PCDC
has been working extra hard to become the organization that Pinawa needs
it to be for the next decade.
In November 2014, the Pinawa Economic Plan 2014-2024 developed
by Simpson McGrath was approved. The 10-year plan has 4 key priorities:
1. Hotel/Conference Centre/Bar/Restaurant
2. Improved Communications Infrastructure (internet/cell coverage)
3. Healthcare opportunities
4. Education opportunities
We are already seeing significant progress on this plan. An investor
has expressed an interest in developing a hotel/conference centre.
Simpson McGrath made the contact during the development of the
Economic Plan. We have also had discussions on a potential project to
bring fibre optic cable in to Pinawa that would provide essentially unlimited
high-speed internet. These discussions are preliminary in nature but are
very encouraging. Should these opportunities materialize, PCDC are
poised to amend our program plan accordingly. For example, PCDC could
make working with local groups to create more events a higher priority
since accommodations in Pinawa would now be available.
At the same time, the PCDC continues to market our community. But
change is happening in this area as well. The focus over the past several
years has been on initiatives to get the Pinawa “brand” out there. The
feedback from Simpson McGrath in developing the new 10-year economic
plan is that this strategy has been very successful. In talking with various
investors, developers, etc., they already knew about Pinawa and what we
have to offer. So PCDC are now changing the focus of our marketing
initiatives to opportunities that will result in people making the decision to
move their families and/or start a business in Pinawa.
The next 10 years is going to be very exciting for Pinawa. PCDC is
evolving to maximize the benefit to our Community. There is an opportunity
to become part of this process. There is a director position currently vacant
and there are a number of Director positions up for re-election this year.
The Board of Directors very much want to hear more from the PCDC
membership as we chart our way through these opportunities. So please
come out to the Annual General Meeting on April 30.
Annual General Meeting 2015
Thursday April 30 at 7:00 pm
The Vanier Centre All Welcome!
OUR VISION:
Pinawa to be a growing, prosperous, vibrant, and sustainable community
OUR MANDATE:
To promote the LGD of Pinawa and lead the enhancement of business development,
community development and quality of life. We work through cooperative efforts with
other groups and organizations.
OUR GOALS:
The Pinawa CDC is working to achieve four major goals:
1. To have a comprehensive marketing plan to support the mission of Pinawa CDC
2. For Pinawa CDC to have a high profile in the community
3. Attract new businesses
4. To be a sustainable and continuously improving organization
SERVING OUR COMMUNITY
Pinawa Community Development Office is located in the Sunova Mall. We also operate an Information
Centre, the Uniquely Pinawa Gift Shop, and we support our local artists by selling their consignment items.
We support events by facilitating meetings and marketing these events. We welcome citizens to drop by and
discuss their ideas and projects with staff.
ANNUAL HIGHLIGHTS OF THE PINAWA CDC
The CDC is the marketing and community/economic development arm of the Local Government District
(LGD) of Pinawa. In partnership with the LGD, a visioning session took place in May 2014. The newly
commissioned consultants, Simpson, McGrath Inc, took this session one-step further and conducted a variety
of one on one meetings with citizens up to the end of July of last year. From these meetings a strategy,
which we chose to prioritize, was developed. Although not in order over the next three years staff will be
working on these goals: 1. Hospitality, 2. Education, 3. Communication Infrastructure, and 4. Health.
To provide marketing for the community the 5th two-year Pinawa Discover Guide was published in early
March of 2015 in time for the RV Camping and Winnipeg Golf Expo Shows. This guide is created by the CDC
working in partnership with Thompson Designs. The Pinawa.com website was completely renovated for a
new look and functionality and was active by June of last year. Never static but always changing, for the
good, we are still working on interactive improvements on the website for the citizens of Pinawa.
The economic development side has seen our Economic Development Officer meet with possible developers,
apply for grants for infrastructure improvements, and assist new businesses with business plans and to
secure funding.
The Community Development Officer continues to develop intergenerational activities such as tree planting
on the Ironwood Trail and hosted the GoMedia Tour with media from Paris, Germany, B.C. and other parts of
Canada. The town markets run by the CDC continue to be an annual highlight.
Did You Know?
That the CDC office acts as support staff to two Pinawa organizations. We also assist non-profit
organizations in many ways such as selling tickets and items for fundraising. New this year we are
responsible for organizing the booking of the mall kiosk! Drop in to see Dee to book your space.
For a biennial fee of $10.00 you can be a voting member of the Pinawa Community Development
Corporation (Pinawa CDC)? You can be appointed as a Board Member and work with a progressive Board
to further enhance the quality of life in Pinawa. Drop by the Pinawa CDC Office to become a member or
memberships may be obtained before the Annual General Meeting on Thursday, April 30, 2015 at The
Vanier Centre.
BE A PART OF PINAWA’S FUTURE – BECOME A MEMBER TODAY!