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SIL starting to take shape

Sechelt Innovations Ltd. (SIL) chair Chris Fawcus made a presentation to council on Jan. 22, saying that although they weren't ready when they started, things are now taking shape.

Sechelt Innovations Ltd. (SIL) chair Chris Fawcus made a presentation to council on Jan. 22, saying that although they weren't ready when they started, things are now taking shape.

SIL is a business development subsidiary of the District of Sechelt that council set up last year in order to attract more business to Sechelt. It was officially approved and launched with much fanfare on Oct. 30.

"Let me ask you to create in your mind a metaphor of an airplane that's been asked to take off without fully being built yet," Fawcus said at the Jan. 22 commiitte of the whole meeting. "So there's a lot of specific stats and facts that I can't provide you because we simply don't have all the avionics in place, but we do have a couple of wings and an engine and we're away to the races."

He noted the business development group has now come up with their values, vision and mission statement to guide them as they attempt to attract new business to Sechelt.

The group's vision is to have Sechelt "achieve economic strength and independence, ultimately becoming one of the most vibrant and desirable places to work and live in B.C.," Fawcus reported.

Their mission is to "bring focus to Sechelt's most desirable attributes - ensuring that those who share our community values view Sechelt and an inspired place to live and work."

Fawcus said the mission statement is meant to "ensure that those who share our community values are in fact attracted to Sechelt and feel inspired to come here and raise their families and live and work and enjoy all the great attributes that we all enjoy."

When giving an overview of what SIL has done to date Fawcus noted the group has been working on a marketing plan and talking with "numerous businesses to discuss opportunities and challenges."

He also said SIL has been meeting with potential buyers from outside the country who are interested in purchasing local businesses.

"The Provincial Nominee Program is the program that allows immigrants to invest by buying existing business so there's a succession opportunity in this program," Fawcus said.

He said SIL is looking for new businesses to set up shop that have "high income opportunities for employees and we want them to have a need for being supported by some kind of post secondary educational facility and the interrelation of those lenses is a pretty exciting conversation once you start applying them to specific opportunities."

A marketing plan for SIL is "currently underway," Fawcus said adding, "it's all coming together. We can feel the excitement and given that the rest of our board is from a sales and marketing background we're seeing the product folding out quite nicely and we're excited to get out and sell it."

SIL now has a permanent office set up at Unit 103, 5674 Teredo Street and the group can be reached by phone at 778-458-3044 or by email at info@secheltinnovations.ca.