August 2022 – Community Futures North Okanagan

CF North Okanagan is Rainbow Certified

August 26, 2022/in News

All walks of life are welcome at Community Futures North Okanagan—and now it has the logo to act as a beacon for safe and inclusive support. The business and employment services organization recently earned the national ‘Rainbow Registered’ certification indicating it meets third-party standards for inclusivity with the LGBTQ+ community.

“We are proud to celebrate diversity of every kind and want to make sure that people from the LGBTQ+ community know this is a safe place to land for services, and that we are able to support those who identify in various ways,” says Leigha Horsfield, executive director, CF North Okanagan.

The Rainbow Registered accreditation program grants a time-limited recognition to businesses and organizations for demonstrating compliance with standards across four pillars: policies and practices, training for diversity and inclusion (D&I), inclusive leadership and a culture of inclusivity.

When the opportunity arose to get Rainbow Registered, CF North Okanagan had already been on the path to creating an environment of inclusivity, including:

Policies and practices for the team and clients are written and communicated through a lens of respect for all genders and orientations, and comply with all relevant Acts
Staff training using facilitators with lived experience sharing learnings with the staff
Inclusion committee works to educate staff and support inclusion initiatives through information, activities and celebrations
Volunteer days give staff a chance to support organizations that support the LGBTQ+ community, such as Armstrong Pride
Marketing materials demonstrating diversity and inclusion

The certification process included multiple meetings and a thorough one-on-one review of the application with an assessor. Accredited organizations are given the right to be associated with the program’s prestigious Rainbow Registered designation mark, now displayed on the CF North Okanagan website and the Vernon-based organization is findable in an online directory.

“Our team is very proud that we’ve been able to achieve this certification and it’s validating to know the work we’ve been doing is recognized by an external body,” says Horsfield, adding that anyone wanting to join the CF team will also now be able to see that CF North Okanagan is supportive, open-minded, eager to learn and doing recognized work to walk the talk.

RNIP program evolves to ‘meet local economic needs’

August 23, 2022/in News

Rural Northern Immigration Pilot policy changes effective Sept. 1

VERNON, BC—More businesses will be able to take advantage of a program that connects local employers with skilled international workers.

Launched in February 2020, the Rural Northern Immigration Pilot (RNIP) helps smaller communities benefit from the immigration of skilled workers by creating a path to permanent residency. Once there’s a match between qualified employers and applicants, a Community Futures North Okanagan committee reviews applications and recommends candidates for the program.

Starting on Sept. 1, employers are limited to six community recommendations per year. Each candidate can now apply for two recommendations throughout the entire program. Before the changes, there was no limit on the number of community recommendations for employers and skilled workers.

“Due to significantly increased demand for the program, these limits help ensure more employers in our community have a chance to benefit from the RNIP program,” says Leigha Horsfield, Executive Director, Community Futures North Okanagan.

However, Horsfield says, priority jobs such as registered and licensed practical nurses, medical lab techs, nurse aids, early childhood educators and assistants as well as certain skilled trades workers are exempt from this new cap.

Vernon is one of two communities in B.C. and one of 11 in Canada selected to participate in the pilot. Through the program, the community can recommend up to 220 applicants per year.

“The program’s ability to fill skill shortages in our workforce is exceptional,” says Horsfield. “Through the program, we’ve seen the North Okanagan promoted as a destination of choice for skilled immigrants and their families.”

Businesses interested in hiring skilled workers through the program attend training sessions with Community Futures. Employers must meet several eligibility requirements, including offering full-time, non-seasonal employment, have at least three full-time employees, and offer competitive wages.

To learn more about the RNIP program and stay up to date with new changes, visit www.rnip-vernon.ca.

‘Fantasy becomes a reality’: Echo Lake Resort fully booked in new owners’ first season

August 15, 2022/in Success Story

The sound of kids laughing fills the air as a young family throws a frisbee on the main lawn. On the lake, generations of families cast a line into the water in hopes of reeling in an eight-pound Rainbow Trout.

Originally built in 1943, the nearly 80-year-old resort has drawn generations of families who love the rustic charm of Echo Lake. For Echo Lake Resort’s new owners Sara Spearman and John Elley, seeing people enjoy the space and connect with nature makes the months of hard work and uncertainty all worthwhile.

“Everyone who comes here says it’s their special place. They’re able to overlook the small quirks that come with simple living,” says Spearman. “What actually matters is that people can come together.”

Elley and Spearman purchased Echo Lake Resort at the start of 2022. Former investigators for the Independent Investigations Office of British Columbia, the couple decided it was time for a change. With an interest in real estate and a love of the outdoors, Spearman and Elley decided to buy a resort.

That’s when the couple hit their first roadblock. Their dream of a fishing resort that brought families together outdoors was outside the traditional commercial mortgage structure of hospitality and tourism businesses. For Spearman and Elley, that would’ve meant unrealistic interest rates and unattainable loans from traditional lenders.

If they wanted to breathe life into their dream, they knew they needed to find another way. And then their accountant and good friend, Debra Neufeld, recommended Community Futures.

“We were in the right place to meet the right people and the right lender at the right time,” says Spearman. “Community Futures helped our fantasy become a reality.”

The couple’s love of the Cariboo started their search for properties north of Kamloops. But, after having little luck finding a resort that fit their vision and business plan, the search lead Spearman and Elley to the Okanagan.

“I broadened our horizons and saw Echo Lake Resort online. I told Sara, ‘This place is stunning. You should look at it.’ Sara asked if it was in the Cariboo, and when I said no, she said she wasn’t very interested,” Elley laughs. “But Sara came back a week later after looking at it online and we arranged to go see it. As Sara was on call, I viewed it alone on a beautiful September day, and it was absolutely amazing.”

Sara viewed the pictures and by Halloween, they had an accepted offer.

Excited to launch their new careers and lives in the Okanagan, Spearman and Elley reached out to Community Futures North Okanagan in the fall of 2021. While Spearman and Elley refined their business plan, Scot McNair, Community Futures North Okanagan loans coordinator and business analyst, worked alongside the couple to secure funding.

“There were a lot of risk points that needed to be mitigated, and Community Futures helped guide us through the process,” says Spearman, noting the need for special insurance policies and transferring the BC Park Use Permit to operate the resort. “The timeline was tight. We had to make a lot of things happen with a lot of balls in the air. It was very challenging.”

Conditions were removed in January and Spearman and Elley took possession on April 2. The couple packed their bags, left the Lower Mainland and got to work.

With only a few short weeks before the start of the season in May and fresh snow still falling in the Okanagan, Elley and Spearman had one month to turnover campsites and make improvements.

“It was overwhelming. After the first week, I said to my best friends who came to help that even my fat hurts. I was so not ready for this,” says Elley. “But you just have to be able to roll with the punches.”

In the weeks that followed, Spearman, Elley and, later, their two new employees Maggie and Dean, made improvements such as adding hot water to the bathroom sinks, installing paper towel dispensers in the bathroom and making the lawn and campsites shine.

With a fully booked summer to start their first year in business and next year already 80 per cent booked, they’re confident they’re on the right path. But, for Spearman and Elley, the real highlights have been teaching a group of young kids to fish and seeing families connect and recharge offline.

“The year of start-up trials and tribulations was all worth it,” says Spearman. “It’s not just the location in the Okanagan or the cabins, it’s a special lake in a special valley and it will always be like this. We don’t feel like owners. We’re caretakers and stewards. And we’ll steward it towards its future.”

Want to learn more about Community Futures North Okanagan’s flexible business loans? Reach out to our business advisors at 250-545-2215 or visit futuresbc.com.