Revelstoke Community Futures had a great year approving 18 loans worth $1,187,000, Chairman John Simm said in its annual report for 2015.
The report, unveiled during CFDC’s Annual General Meeting on Tuesdayt, June 28, said staff provided 471 business advisory services to 235 clients.
Chairman John Simm said these services helped 18 businesses in the creation or maintenance of 77 jobs. Included in the lending, Revelstoke Community Futures maintains positions in three syndicated loans. During the year, 31 partnerships were formed to deliver 19 community economic development projects valued at $1,486,600. It also dispersed two scholarships to RSS students.
“Numbers aside, some examples of staff and board member time being spent on community activities include participation on the Community Foundation, Revelstoke Volunteers, Revelstoke Museums, Revelstoke Arts Council, High Tech Task Force, Poverty Reduction Working Group, Social Development Committee, CSRD Advisory Planning Commission, Revelstoke Rotary Club, and Revelstoke Squash Club.
“The Affordable Housing Project has been officially completed. The paint
has dried, renters have moved in, and Debra can finally come up for air after having spent so much time helping this important project succeed.
Brooke adopted some new technology and now maintains the Community Futures Revelstoke Facebook page while also experimenting with various tools to extend our web reach. Also, by ferreting out inefficiencies, Brooke has saved approximately $4,000 per year in our operations.
“Cindy oversaw the redesign of our corporate website last year and now regularly posts informative updates. Cindy also delivered Junior Achievement to grades 6 and 7 at Arrow Heights Elementary and Begbie View Elementary.
“Work on the Living Wage Project continues. Our UBC Okanagan partners who are doing the research presented their intermediate findings and we look forward to seeing the final analysis and useful tools they are building.
“The idea for the Living Wage Project and the CED Forum theme, Understanding the Economics of Poverty Reduction, can be traced back to Kevin and his involvement in the Poverty Reduction Working group. Kudos Kevin.
“No fireballs were seen emerging from the Junior Dragon’s Den this year. We aim to learn as much as we can from this and perhaps try again. We’ve invited Smaug and Puff to a board meeting for advice – Brooke has yet to hear back.
“This year we reluctantly say goodbye to Cathy Burke, Rob Buchanan, and Todd Arthurs.
“Todd served on our board from 1996 to 2005 and then, joined the loans committee and continued his involvement until now. Todd’s knowledge and experience has been vital in many a loan application discussion. Rob has been a board member for 11 years. Hearing about Rob’s many exciting projects and having a view into Parks Canada has always captivated us and will be missed. Cathy, current vice chair, has been a board member for 10 years, has sat on the loans committee since 2005, and has been the key recruiter for new board members. Both Cathy and Rob also sit on the Volunteer Revelstoke Committee.
“Compressing the contributions of Cathy, Rob, and Todd into a single paragraph is both difficult and unfair. The alternative would require an impractical amount of space. Thank you so much for your service, enthusiasm and commitment Cathy, Rob, and Todd.
“On a more renewing note, Chris Bostock and Jim Maitre have both clocked in over a year since joining our board. We are fortunate to have these involved and intelligent individuals with us.
“On behalf of the board I would like to thank all our volunteers, the self employment and loan committee members and our staff, Kevin, Cindy, Brooke, Debra, and Lorraine for a job well done. Thanks also to Alan and Roberta, our co-located colleagues, without whom the office would not be the same.”
