Sechelt was the place to be Oct. 12 when a day-long Olympic summit brought Premier Gordon Campbell, one of his cabinet ministers and John Furlong, the head of the 2010 Olympics, to town.
Klaus Fuerniss, Chair of the Sunshine Coast Spirit of 2010 Committee, welcomed a capacity crowd to the Raven's Cry Theatre to learn what economic advantages the 2010 Olympics could bring to the Sunshine Coast.
Furlong introduced 26 young athletes from the Sunshine Coast. To sustained applause from the more than 250 people in attendance, two red-serge uniformed RCMP officers escorted the young people on stage.
While the summit was billed as an opportunity for businesses to learn ways to profit from the 2010 games, Furlong urged those in attendance to remember the purpose of the Olympics.
"This is about sport," he said. "Peace through sport is an idea whose time has come. Olympic values are Canadian values."
The summit featured a decided First Nations influence. Sechelt Indian Band Chief Garry Feschuk was the master of ceremonies, and dances by the Le La La Dancers and a prayer by three Sechelt elders began the day.
The second speaker was John Les, Minister of Small Business and Economic Development. He announced B.C.'s tourism budget has increased from $25 to $50 million annually and predicted tourism revenues will double by 2015.
Les urged the Sunshine Coast to beef up its business by creating four-season appeal for visitors. Community branding and transportation are important for a year-round tourism market, he said.
Les anticipates strong tourism growth for the entire province up to, during and after the Olympics.
An American from Evanston, Wyoming told of his experience during the 2002 Olympics. Rick Lunsford, Evanston's community relations officer, told of his city's highs and lows in conjunction with the Salt Lake City games. Evanston, 45 minutes away from the Utah Olympics, was originally booked for 1,000 hotel rooms. When the committee cancelled the bookings, the city had to scramble to make up the lost revenue.
In a move that proved to be the answer, Evanston invited the Jamaican bobsledding team to use his city as its North American training base.
Then Lunsford and the bobsled team captain took their show on the road. In Denver the two men attracted a lot of media attention, appearing on all the network channels with a bobsled and promoting Evanston in every telecast.
In the ensuing months, the city reaped the benefits of all the appearances with a huge upswing in tourists. The city managed to recoup its Olympic loss of rooms and more.
Local contractor Clark Hamilton said Lunsford was the most enlightening speaker at the summit.
Premier Gordon Campbell headlined the lunch hour. He announced the launch of a new website (www.2010CommerceCentre.gov.bc.ca.) which will give B.C. businesses access to an estimated $4 billion in economic opportunities generated by the 2010 Olympics.
"[The website] will play a critical role in putting B.C. businesses in contact with potential partners and clients, helping create jobs and opportunities in communities across the province before, during and after 2010," Campbell said.
Campbell's speech followed a video presentation featuring NBC bigwig Dick Ebersol.
Later in the afternoon, the chair of the Sunshine Coast Economic Development Committee, Gerry Tretick, described the opportunities the Olympics bring to the Coast, including possible venue training for everything from skiing to figure skating. Tretick said improved access and facilities at Dakota Ridge and an Olympic-sized skating rink in Gibsons could make these dreams realities.
