I am told it started in Sweden – in a grocery store, no less! Noticing that customers sometimes stopped to chat over their shopping baskets, management decided to offer a greater incentive for such meetings (and became a destination for more than the produce and milk).

Shoppers were offered Red Bands to place on their carts IF THEY WERE OPEN to meeting someone new.  It took off and the place is regularly packed with singles looking for a low-pressure and relaxed place to identify and meet someone new.  The question is “are you?”

It’s a question you will get to answer soon, as Canadian coffee retailer Blenz unfolds a new Valentines' event for the month of February.  Starting February 1st, when you order your coffee at any Blenz, you will be offered the option of a RED BAND sleeve for you cup.  Direct, easy to identify, it simply means that you are open to meeting someone new….that you are happy to have them come over to say ‘Hi’ and certainly empowered to do the same thing yourself.  So tell me, Vancouver, how DOES this make you feel?  Are you curious? Laughing? Willing to give it a try?

No one I know has more fun hosting a party than Blenz CEO George Moen, so this party is off to a good start.  George tells me he was approached on Twitter by Yuliya (@yulst) who pitched the idea with this question opener “Do you know how hard it is to meet single people in Vancouver?!” Research with his single staff supported that position, and the concept was born.

I work in the field of Communications, and can see this is a great ‘social lab experiment’…..one I am intrigued to watch.  I can’t wait to interview some ‘Red Banders’ about this concept and their experiences for this space– it is sure to create conversations, and possibly debate.  One thing I love is that Social Media (in this case, Twitter) was instrumental in this process, designed to bring real people together face-to-face.  Who says online conversations won’t convert?

Birds do it, (apparently) Swedes do it……will coffee-drinking Canucks do it? Come get your own Red Band, and see for yourself.

Search for Aviva Strathcona Gardens and please vote every day until the 15th of December

Green jobs. Safer streets and local food. A healthier, more beautiful community for everyone to enjoy. Can one initiative move us toward all of these goals?

The Strathcona Neighbourhood, Vancouver’s oldest residential community, is characterized by beautiful heritage buildings and a rich artistic community, but also by homelessness, open drug use and dealing, prostitution, and graffiti. The neighbourhood is known physically for its abundance of barbed wire fences, cracked concrete, and unkempt strips of land. As an organization, our goal is to revitalize Strathcona by making it a safe and vibrant destination to live, work, do business and have fun, while promoting and respecting the unique characteristics of the area.

Our Idea We propose to create 20 to 30 community micro-gardens in high-traffic locations throughout Strathcona. These gardens would create green jobs for disadvantaged people in the area, help youth learn valuable work and life skills, strengthen community engagement and pride, create opportunities for local food production, beautify the area, and increase safety levels in the neighbourhood.

Benefits of this project

• Edible plants would provide new opportunities for local food production. Using native plants would reduce the resources required for their maintenance thus minimizing the ecological footprint of each garden.
• Community gardens bring people outside, get them talking and working together, and involve them in the community. This helps strengthen relationships and engagement within the neighbourhood, giving participants a sense of belonging and ownership.
• This project would also reduce spaces available for criminal activity through the principles of Crime Prevention Through Environmental Design (CPTED). A public place that lacks significant ownership interest is often perceived as an area where criminal activity is supported. By converting underutilized spaces into gardens, the BIA would help reduce areas that encourage crime.
• The most profound benefit of this project would be the generation of green jobs for individuals with job readiness barriers and inner city youth. Mission Possible, our partner in this program, hires and trains individuals who are overcoming poverty, addiction and homelessness, and helps them secure and maintain meaningful work. They would also be hiring and training youth to give them tangible work and life experience and skills.
• There will also be opportunities for intergenerational interactions with Mission Possible’s employees and youth in a safe environment. Many of the landscapers will be able to teach the youth some of their consequences of their decisions in their lives in the hopes that the youth would not follow the same path.

How it would work Depending on the nature and size of each location, the gardeners and the property owners would decide whether the plot should be a community garden, single-owner garden, or a living wall. Vegetation would consist of native perennials and edible plants.

The gardens would be installed by qualified landscapers of Mission Possible Enterprises, a local non-profit which provides employment opportunities for individuals with job readiness barriers and assists in breaking the cycles of poverty, homelessness, and addiction. Local youth would also be employed as partners with the landscapers to learn valuable food production and community development skills.

An Inclusive Approach The Strathcona Community Micro-Gardens would provide an inclusive approach to addressing many of the problems affecting this community. We are counting on your support!

For more information on the Strathcona Green Zone, visit us at www.strathconagreenzone.com Twitter: @SBIA_GreenZone

About the Strathcona Business Improvement Association The Strathcona BIA (SBIA) is a member driven non-profit organization in Strathcona, a sub-community of Vancouver’s Downtown Eastside. The SBIA represents over 850 commercial property owners, business tenants, and 7,000+ employees. The area is a broad mix of industrial, commercial, retail, and residential zoning – many who have been in the area for over 40 years.

The SBIA is working to reinvent Strathcona as Vancouver’s Green Zone - a model of mixed use and diversity that supports sustainable business, collaboration, and the arts. Programs include educational workshops, a community wide energy challenge, waste audits and a resource exchange whereby businesses can connect with other businesses to repurpose unneeded materials and divert them from the landfill.

In addition to retaining and attracting businesses, the SBIA also supports a variety of community events, sponsoring the Powell Street Festival, the largest Japanese Canadian festival in Canada; the Eastside Culture Crawl, a three day event drawing over 10,000 people to artists’ studios in east Vancouver; and children’s programming at the Strathcona Community Centre.

Sandra Thomas of the Vancouver Sun recently wrote an article about seniors living in fear at Steeves Manor. Steeves Manor was originally built as subsidized housing to provide safe and affordable independent living for seniors and adults with physical disabilities.

   A few years ago the provincial Housing Ministry began moving the homeless, drug addicts and alcoholics into the manor. Now the frail and elderly live in fear. This is a circumstance that should have never of happened. Those that manage the property warned of this but apparently no one was listening.

As we age we live the old adage "early to bed and early to rise" however at Steeves Manor those are dangerous times. The more frail we are, the more likely we are to fear. Fear is not part of the "aging with dignity" concept. And it is aging that takes that myth of dignity away. Unlike the timid deer, they have no capacity to escape.

The ministry should have known this and it should have never of happened, but these are the weakest and meekest amongst us, so they are just shoved away. This is a circumstance was caused by a government always claiming the higher moral ground of the Christian right. Christ said "What so ever you do for the least amongst you, you do for me." I don't think this is what he had in mind.

This situation is a simple example of government not seeing a bigger picture. A bigger picture would show the requirement of separation between these two communities. Unfortunately for us and those within Steeves Manor we now have a government in disarray. I don't see this problem being rectified in the short term.

So as we prepare for the next election we should be asking "What kind of government do we want?" And I think "kind' should be the principle consideration, for "kind" can breed "civility" which can bring forth good government. Good government... what a concept.

Be kind today,

David Hutchison

David is the Leasing Manager at  The Poppy Residences david@thepoppyresidences.com

I always wondered at what point would I discover the real me. Find my real place in the world. Throughout my 64 years the answer seemed so far away, but when I turned 60 I determined the next 20 years were going to be the best.

While it is common for all of us to make such claims and promises as we go through life, I question how serious we are about those commitments. Do we hold them dear or are they forgotten at the first confrontation?

So far my commitment has stayed true and the times have been good, even through the challenges and there have been many. A lot of it has been because of my research into aging and the seniors sector. The single truth is that we are born, we live and we die, no one gets out alive.

As I have seen many a friend and loved ones pass on, my commitment has grown stronger and the strength of it has brought self discovery. It has reinforced the importance of the memories and the love they contain. And of all things I have discovered, nothing is more important than love.

Real love is something earned and given. In our current day of days, money and what can be bought with it is the focus of many. So much so, they miss the love that is given so freely. And it is the best bargain of all.

When you see someone in distress, remember what you give without expectation life see's and returns it 10 fold. Be generous and kind and you will be rich beyond your wildest imagination. This is my greatest discovery.

Be kind today,

David Hutchison

david@thepoppyresidences.com

You can also find more at www.transitionsadvertising.com

Canary Derby racers

Visit www.canaryderby.com and you will see "gravity-powered" soap box racers pictured in profile, in dead heats, surrounded by smiling faces and children with balloons. The fun is obvious and infectious, and it is coming to Burnaby's Deer Lake Park this weekend for the fifth annual event.

Bringing together the technology and business communities of Victoria and Vancouver, Canary Foundation of Canada, and BC Cancer Foundation, the derby is a fundraiser to help support early detection cancer research in BC.  This year's Lower Mainland event is being held in Deer Lake Park, a location which provides a great site for the race itself and a wonderful family-friendly venue to enhance the day's events.

On the surface it looks simple: companies sponsor entries, assemble teams to build the cars and raise donations.

In reality, there is a whole lot more to it, than that.  There are corporate teams - and there are corporate rivalries.  Egos and bragging rights may be at stake!  Most cars are built from kits (team members wield hammers and tools - and donate occasional thumbs to the process) but 'automotive designers' have been consulted on cars in the past, and this year sees SFU Mechatronics students participating too.

(FYI: Mechatronics is a new degree program at SFU, which uniquely integrates mechanical, electronics, control, software, and computer engineering for the development of electromechanical products and systems.  Do you think they could build a cool "gravity-powered" car? Worth watching for, I'd say....better come see for yourselves!).

There is a full day of fun on tap, with races run in heats to set up semi-final and final contests. Teams also compete on an Obstacle Course and there is an award for Style, too.

A "Bouncy Castle" provides diversion for the younger set, and there is room to picnic, with hamburgers (Vera's, with proceeds going to the Canary Derby) and a Beer Garden (thanks here to Labatts and Cedar Creek Estate Wineries) contributing to our fundraising goal.  Corporate Sponsors and In-Kind Supporters (like those mentioned here) combine with over 100 volunteers to make this all possible.  Support like this is key to Derby success.

Canary Foundation head Don Listwin will be in attendance and award trophies. More than that, everyone there will be engaged in a celebration of the culmination of countless hours devoted to this tremendous cause.

The Organization Committee is amazing. These people have lent their expertise, enthusiasm, dedication and support. The attention to detail this requires is phenomenal! I am emceeing this year's race (thanks to @cybelenegris for the invitation), and my notes tell me this:

●      Thanks to the generous support of the Canary Foundation of Canada. Through the Derbies, Canary Foundation of Canada has raised $742,000 and Canary Foundation has donated over $2million, along with local donors to BC Cancer Foundation.

●      Canary research has made advances and now includes ovarian, lung, pancreatic and prostate cancers.

●      The earlier cancer is detected, the better the chances of survival. Your support is helping locally and globally. Our own BC Cancer Agency researchers are playing a vital role in an international collaboration, spearheaded by Don Listwin and his Canary Foundation.

More than ever before, people are surviving cancer and enjoying a high quality of life. Yet, cancer affects us all - hug your family and your friends - and we need to do all we can to detect and defeat it.  What better way to make that step, than to support a great event in your own city and be part of the solution for us all.

Come to The Canary Derby on Saturday, September 25th - it's the race for a lifetime. Enjoy the time of yours!.....(Did I mention the photos and balloons?)

Imagine if....
you were blind.  What would you miss seeing?

To mark World Sight Day, October 14, 2010, Seva Canada has launched a global campaign to raise awareness of the issues around global blindness. Around the world, people are being asked to complete these simple actions:

1. Imagine if... you were blind
2. Write down what you would miss seeing
3. Take a photo
4. E-mail your picture to admin@seva.ca
OR
5. Join Seva Canada's Facebook group
6. Upload your photo to Facebook (Twitter & Flickr)
7. Tag "Seva Canada" in your photo
8. Share your photo and message with your friends
9. Win prizes!

In Vancouver on October 14th...

In partnership with SMART Pics, Seva will be setting up photo booths in 3 separate Vancouver locations on October 14, 2010 to encourage people on the street to participate.

Join them at one of these 3 locations:

- On Granville Island, in the Net Loft outside Granville EYELAND from 11am to 3 pm
- In the foyer of the main branch of the Vancouver Public Library from 12pm to 4 pm
- At the corner of Broadway and Cambie near Blenz Coffee from 11am to 3pm

A combination of both SMART Pics, Seva and SIFE BCIT street teams will be at each location to attract attention and drive traffic to the photo booths.

World Sight Day is an initiative of VISION 2020, a joint program of the World Health Organization and the International Agency for the Prevention of Blindness with an international membership of NGOs, professional associations, eye care institutions and corporations. Seva Canada is a member of VISION 2020.

Join Seva's World Sight Day Campaign www.seva.ca

On Sunday, September 12, 2010, 310 Vancouverites came together at VanDusen Gardens, despite the rain, to participate in the annual Winner's Walk of Hope for Ovarian Cancer Canada.  The walk in Vancouver raised $179K and counting and weather proved to have no factor in helping raise funds and awareness about ovarian cancer!

Here are a few pictures snapped by Photography by Wade Andrew from the morning:

A volunteer in her WWoH Volunteer Shirt

There were participants of all ages

Participants walked along the path of the gardens

Co-Chair Diane MacCormack with a young walker

For more information about the the walk please visit www.winnerswalkofhope.ca and to learn more about the signs and symptoms of ovarian cancer please visit www.ovariancancercanada.org.

Blair Kaplan is the owner and CEO of Living Free Canada, who is Canada's unbeatable, online health and wellness community, partnered with companies that reflect a fun and healthy lifestyle and provides you with elite coupons.

You can follow Living Free Canada on Twitter: @LivingFreeCND, Facebook: Living Free Canada and You Tube: Living Free Canada. Have an active mind, happy heart and loving soul.

In my desire to be more conscious of the environment and how I impact it, quite some time ago I decided to start bringing my own recyclable cup when I went out for coffee.  This is a small gesture and though it hardly makes up for the foot print I leave with all the travel I do, I still feel good about doing it. This morning I took the 17 floors down to the ground, went out the front doors and found that I had forgotten my cup.  Without hesitation I got back on the elevator and went back for it.  This might have taken me an extra three minutes.  I wasn't in a hurry, so I did it.  If I didn't have the time, I would have either asked for a for here cup or if I actually needed my drink to go, I would have forgone the drink.  Now I am not addicted to coffee, chai lattes or matcha and if I don't have it, I won't melt down, so for me to forgo my drink isn't a big deal but it is enough of a punishment to make me think twice the next time I leave the house.  As I went back down for the second time, I passed the newspaper box and on the front of the paper it said something about a recycling crackdown and a trash cam being introduced in the Okanagan.  What a good idea I thought.  Finally!

Have you ever taken a look around a coffee shop and noticed all the people who are there who are drinking from TO GO cups?  Count the next time you are in the coffee shop and you will be astounded.  It is usually at least 75%.  Why is this?  Is it laziness on the part of the person taking the order to not ask?  Is it less expensive for the coffee shop to use paper cups rather than china?  I would have thought it would have been less costly.   Is it because customers are asleep at the switch and not asking for a FOR HERE cup?   This problem was really highlighted to me last year when I was teaching a Pilates teacher training course.  I had 7 students in the course and by the end of the day, the garbage was filled overflowing with coffee cups.  I was disgusted and saddened to think that these were not going to be recycled so I took them back to the coffee shop where they were purchased and asked where I could leave them for recycling.  I was told that they don't recycle!  Blown away, I was totally blown away.

I also used to be irresponsible about not bringing recyclable grocery bags to the grocery store.  I am much better now but there are times when I don't have them and I either make myself buy less or carry it out in my purse, another form of punishment that seems to work pretty well for me.   I suggest keeping bags in your car trunk, side pocket of a back pack or in your purse. These bags can fold up pretty neatly, especially if you get the ones that are designed for that or just fold them and secure with an elastic band.

I encourage you today to go out and buy a nice sexy looking coffee cup and take it with you the next time you go out for coffee.  Your coffee will stay warmer and you will be leaving less of a footprint.  Ladies, when you have a massive purse, there is no excuse to not be able to fit in a coffee cup and if you don't want to feel like a granola (although, granola is very hip these days), just ask for it for here.

Cari-Lee Stevens is a corporate wellness speaker and a transformational wellness coach.  She owns CL Stevens Fitness Inc. a company that specializes in on-site corporate and community based fitness such as yoga & Pilates. Learn about how you can get $5000 of FREE training for your company.

Follow her on twitter@cleansegirl
Blog: www.cleansegirl.com
Lectures & Coaching: www.carileestevens.com
Pilates Teacher Training: www.canadianpilatesinstitute.com
On-site corporate fitness:  www.clstevensfitness.com

The HST Hoedown: take your seats, folks, this is one interesting ride. Sparks are flying, heads are rolling, and our lives are a’changing. To quote Michael Smyth of The Province, “everyone has a dog in this fight.”

A packed courtroom celebrated with former premier and tax revolt leader Bill Vander Zalm on August 20^th when Chief Justice of the BC Supreme Court Robert Bauman ruled that the anti-HST petition with over 700,000 signatures is valid and can proceed. Bauman dismissed the big business coalition that tried to stop the petition from moving forward. The chief judge even celebrated the grassroots initiative, quoting Campbell, who described the tax revolt as “a victory for democracy.”*

*Read more: http://www.vancouversun.com/news/Anti+petition+ruled+legal+Supreme+Court/3423142/story.html#ixzz0yCSuoCLA

The volume of these signatures represents a public outcry. Was your signature one of them? Mine was.

For all intents and purposes, this appears to be a resurgence of grassroots democracy. It is now in the hands of the BC Legislature to hold a free vote. The HST stands a chance of being blocked and replaced with the old style PST or some as yet undreamed way of raising more taxed income.

From my observation, the push to stop the HST is a knee jerk reaction by a BC Electorate outraged against a number of broken promises by Premier Gordon Campbell. When Gordon Campbell campaigned against the HST during the 2009 election and then changed his mind shortly after it, this was yet another broken promise. The petition was the conduit that BC voters needed to say enough is enough.

In my opinion, it is The Zalm’s steely determination and his acute understanding of the constitution that helped this battle stay on course with his rights as a citizen. The ruling represents a small victory of the people.

With an understanding of the constitution, one can go far in empowering a determined BC Electorate. Sure beats standing around in a group with a placard trying to get attention.

This drama will continue in court, and with our politicians, this is shaping up to be an interesting Fall. Stay tuned.

Laurie Kingdon, graphic designer
Outside-the-Box Graphics

778.839.3755
"Use my creative spark to ignite yours."

Every day we are shown new ways to improve our lives, in almost every aspect of living, such as: transportation, nutrition, beauty and specifically fitness. Time is a precious commodity and everyone tries to maximize their effectiveness while not being wasteful with their time. CrossFit is a way where one can see physical and mental results with spending less time “working” for it!

No, this isn’t something off a midnight infomercial; this is something on a whole new level. The majority of the marketing is done by word of mouth, which is how I heard about it!

I booked my first session, which is always a 2 hour session which was on a Friday at 6 am. I thought, “Oh boy, how the heck can I work out for 2 hours, especially at 6 am!” I was very excited because I love to sweat and I got to try out a new pair of fitness socks from Icebreaker, which is a new fitness apparel company I recently learned about! Nothing gets me more motivated than new work out attire!

I arrived to my session at CrossFit on East 3^rd and Clark (in Vancouver) to be greeted by a chipper trainer named Corey Lapell. I was about to spend the next 2 hours learning about CrossFit, my current physical abilities and what possibilities I can create for myself.

Lapell started by tell me the history of CrossFit. This was an education and interesting story that just seduced me into wanting to try this method more and more. It is important to understand the history and learn about the positive changes it will make in your life.

After learning about the history, it was time for my fitness evaluation. This is done so I can monitor my improvements while using CrossFit.  If you are curious as to what the evaluation consists of you will find out when you go for your first session.

I felt GREAT  after my evaluation and learning what I am able to accomplish now makes me want to strengthen my muscles and beat my current fitness scores. It is always worth trying something new to see if it works for you. There is an elite coupon at www.livingfreecanada.com (under Fitness) for a free 2 hour session.

Oh, and if you are curious, the socks were great!

Blair Kaplan is the owner and CEO of Living Free Canada, who is Canada's unbeatable, online health and wellness community, partnered with companies that reflect a fun and healthy lifestyle and provides you with elite coupons.

You can follow Living Free Canada on Twitter: @LivingFreeCND, Facebook: Living Free Canada and You Tube: Living Free Canada. Have an active mind, happy heart and loving soul.

Click on the image for more information

The Canary Derby is a soapbox car race to raise money for early- detection cancer research, benefiting BC Cancer Foundation. With races held in both Victoria and Vancouver, it brings together corporate-sponsored teams of enthusiasts who combine their skills, energy and support to create a great family-styled event fueled by their passion and purpose to give back.

This year’s Vancouver event will take place September 25th, at Burnaby’s Deer Lake Park, a location perfect for racing fun in a wonderful setting that the whole family can enjoy.  This is a FUNdraiser that is based on participation, and an event that brings people together for a day of competition and laughter….and perhaps a picnic or two!

Team rivalries have developed and reputations may be at stake!  Each team designs, builds and races a soapbox car and organizes their own fundraising activities. often including dinner parties and head-shaving pub crawls.  Team members set their own personal goals for fundraising, too, including their friends and family in support of “early detection – the BEST investment” you can make.

Teams have a lot to do, what with raising funds and building cars and creating dynamite team shirts…..the fun just goes on and on.  For the participating companies, who also support the cause, this could be considered marketing, but the benefits go much deeper and further than that.  Team members build strong connections and work hard together – creating relationships that go far beyond the office.

There are scheduled heats on race day – this is the real deal – but that’s just the icing on the cake.   The real fun starts months before, with a read of the Rules and Design details, advice on How to Build a Race Car (find a driver…measure how wide they are….), and – last, but not least – Judging Details!

Come for the fun and excitement.  Maybe you can get your picture taken in a Canary Racer! Invite your family and friends….it’s more than a walk in the park  September 25th, Deer Lake in Burnaby.  Come watch the teams from companies like Webnames.ca, Wired Woman, and Work-at-Play, to name just a few.  I’ll be there…..will you?

By Cybele Negris

To kick off small business month, Small Business BC is hosting INSPIRE - The Freshest Business Fair of 2010! Join Small Business BC and local entrepreneurs for a dynamic afternoon of activities, exhibits and education to get your juices flowing with fresh ideas for your business or to inspire new business ideas!

Date: Friday, October 1st, 2010
Time: 1:00pm - 4:30pm
Location: 390 - 601 West Cordova Street (Waterfront Station Building), Vancouver, BC
Tickets: $25 (refreshments & snacks provided)
BUY TICKETS NOW!

Event Itinerary:
     1:00-1:30pm   Welcome / Entrepreneur Exposé
     1:30-2:15pm   Seminar "Branding Tips for Small Business"
     2:30-3:15pm   Seminar "Effective Marketing for Small Business"
     3:30-4:30pm   Interactive workshop & networking (Public Speaking and Image Consulting)
     4:30 onward    Join us afterward for the Small Business BC Open House event

Featured Speakers:

     Angela Bains, CA Design
     Fiona Walsh, FM Walsh & Associates
     Dean Barbour, Public Speaking Consultant
     Giovanni Amenta, Pink & Grey Style & Image Consulting
     Bilijana Vasiljevic, Exhibit Cre8ive

INSPIRE will highlight the success stories of local entrepreneurs and their businesses through a mini business exposé. This jam packed afternoon provides a great opportunity to:

• Learn from industry professionals about effective branding and marketing for your business
• Perfect your image and business pitch with tips from public speaking and image consultants 
• Network, share ideas and experiences, and HAVE FUN!!

Cybele Negris is Co-Founder of Webnames.ca, Canada’s Original Domain Registrar. She was formerly the President of Wired Woman Vancouver. She is on the Boards of the Forum for Women Entrepreneurs, Small Business BC, Government of BC Small Business Roundtable and the Vancouver Economic Development Commission. More information is available at cybele.tel or webnames.tel. Follow on Twitter @cybelenegris and @webnames

February 2010 was a magical time in Vancouver. The weather, the people,  the parties, and Olympic spirit infected us all. Armchair coaches haunted every big screen corner and everyone had a “story” to tell.

Kevin Jagger was no exception. Having played football at McGill, Kevin had a career in Investment Banking before leaving to help build a small media company.  He had watched some of his former teammates who had been drafted to play pro ball, and all that infectious energy infected Kevin too.

For him, it was a re-connection with his love of sports….something the corporate life had dulled. He was at an all-time high weight and an all-time low fitness level, when he realized he wanted to do something extraordinary.

Coming from a business-planning background, he took a pragmatic approach to this new idea, too. He would need access to facilities, training and support. He evaluated his physical capabilities and the requirements of a variety of sports. In his search, he found long track speed skating.

Picture this: At the time, Kevin was carrying 220 pounds on his 6 foot 1 inch frame. He had not been on skates since he was about 12 years old, and these new skates were like nothing he had worn before! It is rare for a 26 year old to get started in speed skating – or any other Olympic pursuit, I should think – but he was not to be deterred. All this probably sounds a little far fetched, but in meeting Kevin and talking with him, his energy, commitment and sheer joy in his dream are simply impossible to deny. He is living an altered existence, building a whole new life.

With all the hours this takes, he now works on his sport full time. He bikes everywhere, eats differently, is dropping weight dramatically (30 pounds and counting), and is working hard for his next big test.

He has incredible buy-in from his family, girlfriend and friends. His brothers support and sponsor him in different ways and he has also made some incredible connections in the elite speedskating world.
• Catriona LeMay’s sister is a coach, who took the time to talk with him
• Nancy Goplen, the Team BC Amateur Coach, invited him to a 2 day camp (him and a bunch of 12-year-old junior girls = check your ego at the door!), which helped him evaluate his strengths and areas for work
• Joanna Russell engineered a workout with a recently retired member of the Canadian National Speed Skating team
• That brought former Olympian Brock Miron into Kevin’s life and training schedule. Having battled back from severe injuries in his own career, Brock understands the total-body approach to training for this very specific sport. Kevin’s life has changed.
• Brock introduced him to Jeremy Wotherspoon (500m World Record Holder), and now Kevin will be able to to tap into Jeremy’s braintrust of knowledge and experience while training in Calgary ( home to the fastest speed skating ice in Canada).

This week in Calgary will be his first time on an actual speed skating oval! Brock thinks he has a chance of success – Kevin is willing to do the rest.
Let Kevin share his Calgary experience at http://www.longtracklongshot.com.
Remember this: Speedskating is the world's fastest human-powered sport. Would you dare?

From news reports I have read, the authorities rebuilding the site of 9/11 in NY City are considering putting a “memorial” Mosque in the area of Ground Zero, where the twin towers once stood. What do you think of this idea? Honestly, I’m not sure how I feel, but the picture below shows two opinion that kind of resonate with me. Maybe they could just have one memorial chapel that could be used by all faiths.

Written By: Nicholas Pavlich
Nicholas Pavlich is a public relations and marketing professional and freelance writer. Nicholas is @NicholasPR on Twitter and can be reached professionally through www.FuelledCommunications.com

On Canada day, as usual, my family and I went to check out Canada’s largest independent Canada Day celebration, the Salmon Festival in Richmond. Also as usual my daughter, now five, said before we left home for the festival that she was not hungry. But soon after arrival at the festival she began nagging for a bite to eat. We Knew just where to go! We headed straight for The Kosher Bagel Booth.

Amongst the multitude food stalls stands one lone Kosher eatery, The Kosher Bagel Booth - a symbol of the Richmond Jewish community. For four years Chabad of Richmond Jewish Centre has had a bayzayn or presence at two distinctive venues. The most popular has always been The Kosher Bagel Booth a place where Jews and non Jews can chap a nash, or grab a kosher bite to eat, with the most popular being the traditional bagel and lox. And now building on The Kosher Bagel Booths popularity, Chabad’s other booth, the community booth, is gaining traction, as this year’s festival showed!

Early in the morning, a team of 20 or so volunteers staffed a nearby kikh, or kitchen, to smear hundreds of bagels with cream cheese and fix them with the world's tastiest lox. While there were other items to nosh, or snack on, the cream cheese and lox was the most popular item. They all sold out well before the close of the festival. The mood at the makeshift bagel preparation factory was cheerful and, despite the early morning start, remarkably upbeat. Janet Ragetli, the volunteer organizer, summed up the situation:

"This is multicultural Canada's most special day. We all volunteer to make the Kosher Bagel Booth a success and raise money for Chabad of Richmond Jewish Centre, but we also want to raise the profile of Chabad and Judaism in the Richmond community. What better way than with the community’s most recognizable food, bagels and lox?”

Meanwhile, back at the other end of the Salmon Festival, Rabbi Baitelman, Director of Chabad of Richmond, and another crew was setting up the community booth. The space created an all important venue for Jews to meet, talk and “ask the Rabbi”. At the information booth the Rabbi spoke with more than 120 people, put on Tefillin with 25 more, gave out hundreds of candies to kids and helped 75 children make their own pushke or charity "tzeddakah" box.

“We have the booth for several reasons” explained the Rabbi. “Until we began the project, people who keep kosher would come to the Festival and have to schlep food from home. Now they can eat from at least one of the many food stalls. Besides, it became a forum to explain about kosher food and keeping a kosher diet. We have brochures that explain the basics of kashrut and answer any questions people may have on the subject,” he added.

By day’s end many people had not only celebrated Canada Day, but had a kosher bite to eat.

Written By: Nicholas Pavlich
Nicholas Pavlich is a public relations and marketing professional and freelance writer. Nicholas is @NicholasPR on Twitter and can be reached professionally through www.FuelledCommunications.com