“The Nelson Business Association captures the pulse of what’s going on here and now. Whatever issues come up, we’re talking about them right away. There’s an immediate response to immediate concerns.”
— Justin Pelant of Ted Allen’s Jewellery
Welcome to the second Nelson Business Association (NBA) monthly column. Each column gives the business community an overview of recent NBA activities, events and initiatives. Features will include profiles of members and guest speakers.
WHAT IS THE NBA?
The NBA consists of business owners, the self-employed and those otherwise involved in or interested in the business community. Weekly meetings are held on Thursdays from 8 to 9 a.m. in the Emporium Room or the Library Lounge of the Hume Hotel. At the round-table discussions, members talk about the issues and activities concerning their own businesses as well as topics related to the NBA. Business issues, collaborative business ideas as well as new ventures for the NBA are also discussed. The format is loose and informal.
The NBA warmly welcomes and encourages new members. Membership is free and a donation is collected at each meeting.
AROUND THE NBA
Response to the fire at the Kerr Apartments: After the NBA meeting on January 6, the day of the Kerr fire, NBA members Chris Dawson of the Culinary Conspiracy and Jocelyn Carver, marketing and outreach manager at the Kootenay Co-op, immediately drafted a letter that was distributed to local businesses by volunteers. The letter asked businesses to help any way they could. Dawson also spoke with Ernie Mason and received permission to use the space where Hazeldon Gallery used to be as a drop off point for clothing and other items.
“I want to thank Ernie Mason for letting us use the space in the Trading Company, Linda from Cottonwood Kitchens for distributing our letter to businesses and to Elliot Carter of Nelson Chrysler for providing mini-vans,” Dawson said.
Carver was amazed at how quickly the community responded to the fire.
“I was floored by the generosity of downtown business,” Carver said. “People donated thousands of dollars worth of inventory. It was really incredible. To have small and medium size businesses give what they could was amazing.”
The majority of clothing needs for victims of the fire have been met and financial donations can be made to the Salvation Army (250-352-3488) or the Red Cross (250-354-4456).
MEMBER PROFILE
Member: Chris Dawson
What he does: Owner, Culinary Conspiracy
How long: “The business is in its fifth year.”
Duties involved in running this business: “Sharing my enthusiasm for all things food related. Aside from the usual ‘business’ duties, I make decisions on what new products to bring into the store. I do not see many suppliers coming out our way, so I do research, attend trade shows and sample many products. Many of our products are not distributed in Canada so I direct import products into Canada.”
Business approach/philosophy: “I am always looking for the next ‘it’ taste. I must be constantly evolving in our product offerings while maintaining a good supply of the basics. Generally though, if you see a brand in your supermarket, you won’t see it in Culinary Conspiracy.”
Life is best when... “a customer contacts me with how much they enjoyed our store and the product they bought.”
SPEAKER PROFILE
Speaker: Howie Grant
Subject: counterfeit money in Nelson
Sgt. Howie Grant spoke before the NBA in December to inform businesses on how to detect counterfeit bills. According to Sgt. Grant, the circulation of counterfeit money in and around the Nelson area is minimal.
“We’re seeing some counterfeit, although not too much,” Grant said. “The bills we do see are mainly $5’s and $10’s.”
Security features include a metallic strip on the left-hand side of the bill that changes colour, a ghost image or watermark and raised ink on the area that shows the bill’s numerical denomination.
“I would recommend that if you think it’s counterfeit, ask for ID,” Grant said.
While there may not be a large amount of counterfeit bills circulating in Nelson, there is another scam that can affect businesses and is harder to trace because it is digital.
“The biggest scam is people coming into stores pretending that they have to service your debit or credit card machine,” Grant said. “They are then able to read information from any credit card or debit card that has gone through that machine. It’s an electronic pick pocket is what it is.”
Elliot Robins is a local realtor and a member of the NBA