Every once in a while I get to write a story that makes my heart sing. This week was one of those times. The story isn’t ground-breaking journalism by any stretch of the imagination. Nor is it apt to please the crowd looking for a bogeyman under every rock. But it made me very happy.
What we have is an inspiring item about a local businessman who wanted to make a difference in the life of a young person based on his own experience.
When Richard Wilson was a young Chatelech Secondary School graduate looking to become a chartered accountant, he had no choice but to move off the Coast to do so. So for the several years it took to attain his business degree and CA designation, he lived on the other side of our part of the big Pacific pond.
When he finally achieved his educational goal, Richard came home to Sechelt. Over the years he formed partnerships with others until he was part of a business that became The Coast Group of Chartered Accountants.
Once the firm had reached a necessary degree of sophistication and diversity (read lots of satisfied clients) he and the other accountants were able to nail Richard’s dream to get the OK to hire an articling student. No mean feat — the Chartered Professional Accountants have high standards, and anyone seeking the CPA designation must meet those standards. That means tough courses and ongoing mentorship from The Coast Group’s professionals as well as practical experience in all facets of accounting.
To be a company providing these opportunities is a true feather in the cap of The Coast Group partners. It means their firm is every bit as good or better than one you could find in Vancouver or any other big city.
One more interesting fact about The Coast Group is another of the chartered accountants, Lisa Kennedy, is also a Chat alumna. Every year both Richard and Lisa make it a point to present Coast Group scholarships to some of the Coast’s brightest grads and at the same time tell the young people why supporting business education is important to the accountants’ company.
Enter Chelsie Baker, another young Chatelech grad who had to go off-Coast to complete her educational dreams. But after one year in the big city, she’d had enough. She moved back to the Coast, and for most days of the next three years, she commuted to North Vancouver to complete her business degree — no small accomplishment, as anyone who takes the ferries daily will tell you.
Chelsie is also a hard worker as the folks at Pebbles Restaurant told Richard when he checked out the young woman’s references. (Richard joked the Pebbles people were reluctant to tell him just how great Chelsie is because they didn’t want to lose her.)
“We liked everything we heard about Chelsie,” Richard said.
Her commitment to staying the course to finish her business degree, her interest in accounting and her customer service skills were just what The Coast Group was looking for. On Oct. 1, Chelsie became the first accounting student able to article on the Sunshine Coast.
By anyone’s definition, that’s a happy ending. What could make it even sweeter is if there are more companies in our neck of the woods that can do something similar. If enough businesses could offer proper training and decent wages to young people, it could make a huge difference on the Coast.
Think about it. Your smile could be as big as mine.
