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Recognizing 35 Years of Service to Community Futures North Okanagan

October 28, 2020/in News

Community Futures North Okanagan recognizes founding chairperson Claudette Everitt with its Long Service Award.

VERNON, BC— Claudette Everitt still remembers the day when the North Okanagan’s entrepreneurial and business landscape changed for good.

While serving as the first female president and later executive director of the Greater Vernon Chamber of Commerce, Everitt received an envelope at the chamber’s offices, then located in the old Watson House on Highway 97.

In the days before emails, the contents included information about a new federal program that aimed to develop investment funds and create new jobs in the community.

Little did Everitt know then that the envelope would contain the very beginnings of what is now known as Community Futures North Okanagan.

Predicting the Future

Everitt has spent the last 40-plus years setting up federally funded programs that have helped everyone from indigenous youth to women entrepreneurs.

In 1978, after moving to Vernon from the Albertan city of Grande Prairie, she received contracts with Vernon agencies such as Vernon and District Association for Community Living’s Venture Training, the John Howard Society, and the Greater Vernon Chamber of Commerce.

“I found I could talk to politicians because I was not one myself,” says Everitt.

While serving as the Vernon Chamber president, Everitt helped gather like-minded community members and organizations to develop a proposal to start a not-for-profit corporation called the Okanagan North Community Futures Corporation.

Working in partnership with the North Okanagan Development Corporation, Community Futures’ focus was on community economic development activities to help people find employment. At the same time, start-up business loans were made available through the Business Development Centre.

“After I heard about the federal program, I knew we would have to organize a place where clients could access all the different resources they needed to get started under one umbrella organization,” says Everitt. “If we wanted to be fully operational, we also needed a strong community board with people that knew the community and that people respected. We were able to get people like (QC and well-known Vernon lawyer) Paul Nixon to join the board.”

Around that time, Everitt and fellow Community Futures board members and then executive director Jane Lister (now regional dean of Okanagan College) set out to find a new building that would house staff and allow people to attend workshops and access programs in one location.

“People from as far as Lumby and Armstrong started coming to us, and we were renting office space all over town to serve them.  We wanted a place where they could come and access all of our services,” says Everitt.

In 1996, the North Okanagan Development Corporation purchased new premises at the corner of 33 Street and 32 Avenue in Vernon to house all of Community Futures North Okanagan’s programs.

“We were able to grow from there with our self-employment and loan programs. We also had many people working as volunteers, and many of them would come up with great ideas,” says Everitt.

One of Everitt’s proudest moments as chairperson came in 2000 when Community Futures North Okanagan achieved its ISO 9001 Certification, an international standard for quality management that demonstrates the ability to provide products and services that meet customer and regulatory requirements consistently.

“No one else in Canada had achieved it before,” she says. “It took an incredible team to get to that point. It just proved that our staff were top-notch people.”

Committed to Community

Over the years, Everitt has served on numerous boards and committees both locally and nationally.

Her work in helping women attain a more significant leadership role in the business world was recognized when she was named as Woman of the Year by Vernon Women in Business in 1990.

In 2002, Everitt was awarded the Queen’s Jubilee Medal for her long-standing commitment to making her community more vital. In 2015, she was recognized with the national Therese Casgrain Volunteer Award.

“I have always volunteered and have tried to do what I can at my own capacity,” says Everitt. “It’s important to see programming go through. I have been happy to see how our community has evolved and adapted to technology and innovation. Community Futures has been a huge part of that.”

Adds Leigha Horsfield, Executive Director, Community Futures North Okanagan: “The Community Futures North Okanagan board of directors, management, and staff would like to extend our deep gratitude and appreciation for Claudette’s vision and years of volunteerism. She has been an integral part of our organization since the very beginning, and we are grateful for her contributions as one of our founding members.”

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ABOUT COMMUNITY FUTURES NORTH OKANAGAN

Community Futures North Okanagan is a not-for-profit organization that supports economic development projects and helps our business community, job-seekers, and employers succeed. As a community-based organization with roots in Vernon dating back to 1984, Community Futures acts as a leader to create opportunities for growth and success across the North Okanagan. A team of nearly 45 staff provides workshops, programs, and services for three departments: Business Services, Employment Services, and Economic Development. Visit www.futuresbc.com to learn more.

https://www.futuresbc.com/wp-2/wp-content/uploads/2020/10/Claudette-Everitt-scaled.jpg 1920 2560 Kazia Mullin https://futuresbc.com/wp-2/wp-content/uploads/2021/08/Community-Futures-North-Okanagan-Logo.png Kazia Mullin2020-10-28 14:15:522020-10-28 14:15:52Recognizing 35 Years of Service to Community Futures North Okanagan

Community Futures hosts valley-wide virtual Small Business Week

October 7, 2020/in News

VERNON, BC—Small business owners from across the Okanagan-Shuswap region have the chance to participate in three days of development workshops and connect with peers from across the valley as Community Futures hosts a virtual version of Small Business Week events.

“This is an important business development opportunity that our community looks forward to every year, so we are fortunate we are able to host it virtually,” says Kazia Mullin, Business Services Manager, Community Futures North Okanagan (CFNO). “We’re excited to be bringing together some presenters and attendees who might not otherwise have the chance to network and discuss opportunities.”

“Many of this year’s sessions will focus on topics that are timely as businesses navigate operations during COVID-19, and we also have a nice balance of topics that are important building blocks and best practices in general,” says Mullin, who has been working with her Community Futures peers from Salmon Arm to Penticton to organize the event.

The virtual valley-wide Community Futures Small Business Week events run Oct. 20-22 with seminars in the morning, interactive breakout groups in the afternoon and networking opportunities throughout the day.

Community Futures Valley-wide Virtual Small Business Week

Tuesday, Oct. 20

Sponsored by BDO

  • Preparing for tax season
  • Entrepreneur’s Exit: Steps to your Sale
  • Strategy for Small Businesses
  • Entrepreneur’s Financial Literacy: How to Tackle and Take Control of Your Debt
  • An Entrepreneur’s Financial Check-Up

Wednesday, Oct. 21

Sponsored by Vantage Credit Union

  • Digital marketing: The big picture
  • Crisis Communication
  • Marketing Planning
  • Digital Tools
  • Cyber-Security for Small Business

Thursday, Oct. 22

  • Supporting your team during a pandemic
  • Creating a workplace that people want to work in
  • Managing Bullying/Harassment complaints and mental injury claims
  • Managing a Remote Workforce
  • Stress Management

Small Business Week participants can register for one or all three days and will be able to attend all events on that day. Registration is free. To learn more, register and access the links for each day’s events, visit https://www.eventbrite.ca/e/small-business-week-tickets-124192889275.

The 2020 Small Business Week events are supported by VantageOne Credit Union and BDO, along with community partners Greater Vernon Chamber of Commerce and Accelerate Okanagan.

ABOUT COMMUNITY FUTURES NORTH OKANAGAN

Community Futures North Okanagan is a not-for-profit organization that supports economic development projects and helps our business community, job-seekers, and employers succeed. As a community-based organization with roots in Vernon dating back to 1984, Community Futures acts as a leader to create opportunities for growth and success across the North Okanagan. A team of nearly 45 staff provides workshops, programs, and services for three departments: Business Services, Employment Services, and Economic Development. Visit www.futuresbc.com to learn more.

https://www.futuresbc.com/wp-2/wp-content/uploads/2020/10/Small-business-week-2-scaled.jpg 2117 2560 Kazia Mullin https://futuresbc.com/wp-2/wp-content/uploads/2021/08/Community-Futures-North-Okanagan-Logo.png Kazia Mullin2020-10-07 09:21:402020-10-07 09:21:40Community Futures hosts valley-wide virtual Small Business Week

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About Community Futures

From our office in downtown Vernon, Community Futures North Okanagan offers employment, business and economic development services to help residents build their future and the community. We service Armstrong, Coldstream, Enderby, Grindrod, Lavington, Lumby, Mara, Okanagan Indian Band,  Spallumcheen, Splatsin and Vernon.

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