Influencing the West Kootenay

Here are a few of the business leaders who are driving success in Trail, Rossland and beyond

Deanne Steven is the dynamic executive director of Tourism Rossland in Rossland, B.C. — Ryan Flett photo

While successful business is vital to the economic viability of any city, the influence of business leaders can extend into the greater community as well as their own workplaces and families. Here is a glimpse at a few inspiring entrepreneurs and business leaders in Trail and Rossland, B.C., and the various places where they are making a difference.

Deanne Steven, the executive director of Tourism Rossland, is an irresistible force in the city’s tourism-driven community—she brings an abundance of innovative ideas, intelligence, resolve, positivity and charm to her job. She’s also alert to every possible opportunity to promote her community.

We asked Steven to talk about her successes, and here’s what she said:

“I’ve been doing this for nine years, and it’s amazing to step back and notice the impact that we’ve had. We’ve really come a long way as a community. With everybody working together, we’re really making progress. Most of our projects are long-term, and we don’t notice how far we’ve come. We forget that it’s important to celebrate our success.”

She so consistently shared the credit that we’re adding modesty to her list of qualities.

“We have to be collaborative, and that’s the hardest part of what we do,” Steven added. “It’s also why we’re being successful. When we say we’re going to do something, we know we can accomplish it because we have a plan to back it up. We work until we accomplish what we said we would do. It may sound like a cliché, but we have a proven record of accomplishment.”

Dan Ashman, dealer principal for 32 years at AM Ford in Trail, has been described as an influencer and as relentless, and he agrees. “It works for me—my motto is, ‘Consistency over time delivers.’ ”

Dan Ashman heads up AM Ford, a multi-generational family business in Trail, B.C. — Dan Caverly photo

As an avid supporter of health care, Ashman led the campaign for the region’s mobile MRI and the installation of defibrillators in 14 sports venues in the West Kootenay. He continues to support the acquisition of permanent MRIs for regional hospitals in the Kootenays.

“If anyone thinks I’ve forgotten about this—well, I haven’t,” he said. “Now is the time to aggressively pursue support from the IHA (Interior Health Authority), given that 2017 is an election year.”

Ashman encourages his staff at AM Ford to always improve themselves, and he holds himself to the same standard—he calls it the “Be Better Program.” For the past 20 years, he has challenged himself with weekly mentoring from Vic Lindal, a world-renowned life coach.

Ashman is certainly doing something right. He’s been married to his wife, Patty, for 42 years—he said that Patty, their three children and four grandchildren are the balance in his life. All three of their children are in careers related to the automotive industry.

Jan Morton, founder and executive director of the Greater Trail Community Skills Centre, copes with intense moments on the job by remembering her own statement from 1997: “When you are a catalyst, there will be heat.”

Jan Morton, founder and executive director of the Greater Trail Community Skills Centre, is looking forward to the organization’s 20th anniversary in 2017. — Art Harrison photo

Morton said that because the centre’s principal focus is development of the labour market, it often serves as the bridge between the traditional business sector and the social sector.

“One moment, I might be working with an individual who is homeless or unemployed, and the next I could be working with the owner of a business or an elected leader at some level of government.

“We can make things happen because there’s communication at all levels—we’re a network bringing together community sectors that have common interests but may not communicate.”

As well as working with employment services and the social sector, Morton is part of some exciting leading-edge work with Teck Metals and Bock & Associates related to the retention and advancement of women in non-traditional work. The three-party initiative, called Mining and Refining for Women, is primarily funded by Status of Women Canada.

The Skills Centre will celebrate its 20th anniversary in 2017, and Morton said it has been a privilege to work in this field.

Don Freschi, general manager at Community Futures of Greater Trail, is also entrepreneur-in-residence (EIR) for the Kootenay Association for Science and Technology (KAST) and co-owner of Fenix Advanced Materials Inc., a high-purity-metals producer that began operating in July 2015.

Don Freschi is the entrepreneur-in-residence at the new MIDAS Lab in Trail, B.C. — Photo courtesy Don Freschi

“We take metals from Teck and process them to an ultra-high purity level for use in semiconductors for integrated circuits,” Freschi said. “Computers and solar panels need semiconductors, and we make the high purity metals for them.”

As the EIR for KAST, Freschi mentors small companies.

“The rule in starting a business is, if you’re going to fail, fail quickly (before you spend a lot of money),” said Freschi. “We’re here to support and grow the businesses that will work. We have some early startups in the Venture Acceleration Program and also some mature companies that want help with growing their business.

“I love being an entrepreneur. It fits into my role as general manager at Community Futures as well—I love to be out there helping clients. I think that to be an influencer you have to be thinking all the time. You have to be disruptive, thinking of different ways of doing things. I’m honoured to be considered an influencer.”

Sue Bock of Bock & Associates in Trail, is an executive coach and workplace consultant who does workplace and leadership development. “As a coach, I don’t ‘fix’ situations,” Bock said. “I help people arrive at solutions that work for them. I ask questions that direct them to the right answers for them.”

Through her company, Bock & Associates, Sue Bock supports and empowers business leaders in Rossland, B.C. — Photo courtesy Sue Bock

Bock works in sectors that include financial services, forestry, mining, non-profit organizations and entrepreneurs, among others. “I’m really there to be a thinking partner, assisting clients to find the clarity and courage to do what they need to do and want to do,” she said.

“The Mining and Refining for Women pilot project I am doing with the Skills Centre and Teck, Trail Operations, is by far one of the biggest influencers of my career,” Bock said. “I have the opportunity to work with a 100-plus-year-old, historically male-dominant organization to support them in achieving a more gender diverse and inclusive workforce. To be able to have a conversation with my granddaughters and friends’ daughters about the amazing opportunities mining and smelting could offer them locally is a personal win. Trail is ‘cutting trail’ on this initiative, and it’s our local leaders who are all making this happen.”