Tanya Laing Gahr writer profile

Senior writer Tanya Laing Gahr has been writing for Kootenay Business magazine since 2006, and through the hundreds of stories she has written for the magazine and website, she has gained a deeper understanding of the unique and diverse nature of businesses in the region.

More than that, however, she has gained a sense of how the individual communities drive the businesses, helping chart the direction they go. Each district, town and city has a particular outlook and personality, and each take on challenges that continue to define who they are in the region and in the world.

Join Tanya as she explores the initiatives, movements, projects and developments that help shape Kootenay communities, the businesses in the region and the people who live here.

Email Tanya if you have a business story idea.

Most recent articles by Tanya Laing Gahr

Volunteers with the North Kootenay Lake Water Monitoring Program measure the snowpack.

West Kootenay, Castlegar, Nelson, Environment Special equipment helps researchers discover secrets in the snowpack

FortisBC’s Community Investment program has helped to fund a snowtube, a specialized piece of equipment used to collect core samples from snowpacks.

Trail, Environment A legacy for the Basin

The construction of a second power plant on the Waneta Dam will utilize water that would otherwise pass over the dam’s spillways.

Trail Bob and Heidi Evans

It’s like a movie script: boy meets girl, they fall in love and get married, open up a burger shop and live happily ever after.

Castlegar Florio Vassilakakis

Coming from a family with a 50-year history in the restaurant business, Florio Vassilakakis seems destined to follow along.

A smiling balding man stands with a drill ready to work on a canoe

Nelson Bob Hellman

Bob Hellman started building cedar-strip canoes 25 years ago as a hobby and quickly realized that he had found his life’s work.

Revelstoke Tracey and Bart Larsen

How do a nuclear physicist and a biology major make a living in Revelstoke? By starting a regional brewery, of course.

A man and woman stand in a snowy landscape

Julian Ross and Ruth Porter

This couple’s business got its start in the ’80s when Ross was in university and looking for a way to manage his busy schedule.

Kimberley Jim Ogilvie

Mayor Jim Ogilvie, first elected as Kimberley’s mayor in 1972, has dedicated his life to public service.

Fernie Phil Gadd

Formerly a commercials editor in British film and TV, Phil Gadd is happy to be Fernie’s new rising breadmaker.

Paula Sittler

Paula Sittler moved home to Greenwood, B.C., three years ago and purchased a commercial building—now home to Deadwood Junction.

Cranbrook Heidi Romich

Showing grace through adversity is part of what makes Heidi Romich a successful business owner.

Invermere Al Miller

Al Miller, the manager of Invermere Home Hardware, and his team are clearly doing something right. The store was recently awarded Retailer of the Year.

Fernie Carolyn Doyle

The first task of any entrepreneur is to recognize a niche that needs to be filled; the second is to do the job brilliantly.

Sparwood Bruce Robertson

Bruce Robertson is the manager of one of the busiest Kal Tire operations in the province.

Kaslo John Eckland

John Eckland is making history new again with the reconstruction of the landmark Kaslo Hotel.

Revelstoke Jason Roe, Lynsay Roe, Brydon Roe and Emma Kirkland

Brydon Roe, his brother, Jason, Jason’s wife, Lynsay, and her sister, Emma, have built an accommodating business.

Golden Cathy and Nico Tsanulas

Cathy and Nico Tsanulas have made a name for themselves in Golden by serving up delicious food—and lots of it.

Creston Thomas Fritz

Famous Fritz Meats & Deli has brought Old World flavours and quality to the tables of Creston Valley residents.

Grand Forks Mike Elliott

There can be no doubt that those who love what they do are among the luckiest people around, and Mike Elliott, owner of Kettle River Canoes, qualifies.