May Focus on Business Newsletter

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May 2022 Issue

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Economic Development Week

by Patricia Nicol - [email protected]

Join us in celebrating Economic Development Week from May 9 to 13^th, a North America-wide celebration and recognition of economic development professionals and the essential work they do every day. On May 2, 2022, Mayor Cathy Heron proclaimed that the City of St. Albert supports and recognizes Economic Development Week.

The recognition of Economic Developers was initially created by the International Economic Development Council (IEDC) in 2016 to increase awareness of local programs such as job creation, career development opportunities, and improvement of the quality of life in communities everywhere. Since its inception, hundreds of campaigns have been created throughout the United States and Canada, showcasing various plans, programs, events and stories that impact community economic development.

Economic developers are key drivers of community growth, diversity, and business success through developing, planning and implementing economic development strategies, acting as liaisons between public and private sectors. Municipal Council priorities and directives are top of mind when advancing tactics that build on past and future community development, working with businesses, residents, real estate brokers, developers and all stakeholders who have a vested interest in the growth and sustainability of the community.

The City of St. Albert EDO Team is a valuable resource for all local businesses, whether you’re looking to expand or downsize your operations, need assistance navigating Government Programs or are looking for advise on marketing initiatives, our Business Retention and Expansion Team is just a phone call away! Looking to start a new business or new development project in St. Albert? The City’s Investment and Attraction team has knowledge and expertise to guide you through the process, whether it’s policy, land use, or help looking for that perfect location – our concierge service offers you expediency, advice and support when you need it.

Business in Blue Jeans

by Patricia Nicol - [email protected]

Dress Up. Decorate. Celebrate!

The Rainmaker Rodeo is an iconic St. Albert event held annually in May, and plans are already in full swing for this spring. To mark this event, the St. Albert & District Chamber of Commerce organizes an annual contest that encourages local businesses to dress up and decorate their workplace in a western theme to celebrate the coming of spring and the Rainmaker Rodeo. This event brings thousands of spectators and participants into the St. Albert community during the fun-filled weekend event, benefiting all businesses.

St. Albert businesses can get in the spirit by participating in a week-long contest leading up to rodeo weekend and inspire other businesses to join in the fun. Registration is free and your business has a chance to win one of three main prizes, so there’s nothing holding you back!

From May 24 - 27, 2022, have your employees dress up and decorate your business with a “Western” theme. Judging will take place on May 25, 2022, with each business being judged on originality, employee participation, decoration, and overall atmosphere.

To take part in the contest and to register your business visit: https://www.stalbertchamber.com/business-in-blue-jeans/

Enabling Innovation 2022

by Shawn McCauley - [email protected]

The City of St. Albert was happy to support an event hosted by Northern Alberta Business Incubator (NABI) on April 21st titled Enabling Innovation 2022.

NABI was able to secure a grant through the Edmonton Regional Innovation Network (ERIN) to host an event which featured two sessions occurring simultaneously with presenters from various tech sectors giving enablers the ability to showcase their specialized facility and equipment to an online audience.

The purpose was to enhance awareness about the region’s enablers and forging their connections with our innovation-entrepreneurship ecosystem to accelerate the creation of new products, technologies, intellectual properties and product development.

The virtual event was well attended and provided an opportunity for entrepreneurs to learn about resources available to build and test tech products. For further information on connections within our innovation-entrepreneurship ecosystem, please contact our Economic Development department or NABI.

St. Albert Shop Crawl

A downtown event is taking place on Saturday May 7, 12pm - 4pm, starting at XO & Mane.

Support local and join over a dozen small businesses for a SHOP CRAWL. Yes, like a pub, only better!

Take a walk in beautiful downtown St. Albert and be surprised along the way by offers from participating businesses.

Look around, discover new businesses, say hello, sip, shop and enjoy!

Stop in at XO & Mane Boutique on Perron Street or contact them here for more details.

Business Beautification

Enhance the look of your business storefront in St. Albert

Did you know about the City of St. Albert’s Beautification Program?

Eligible businesses can apply for funding up to 50% of the cost of approved program elements that beautify your premises, up to a maximum of $2500 per element. Any storefront business within the City that has a valid business license is eligible for the Beautification Program grant. Home-based businesses do not qualify. To learn more visit: https://stalbert.ca/dev/downtown/beautification/

Spotlight on Business...Code Ninjas

Monty Killoh - [email protected]

With the ever-increasing presence of computers and software applications in our everyday lives, the skills required to build and maintain them are becoming more valuable than ever. Coding and STEM (the discipline of Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics) are the toolsets that support this technology, and Code Ninjas is here to help kids develop these very same skills in a fun and positive environment.

Code Ninjas is a newer franchise that’s seen massive growth; many locations have opened over the past few years in the United States, Canada, and the United Kingdom. Local franchisee for Code Ninjas’ newest location in St. Albert, Shannon, describes the programming: “Our core programs are our after-school programs – we run the Junior Program to teach coding concepts to kids aged five to seven, and the Create Program for older kids aged seven to fourteen. We also run summer camps for these groups, as well as camps during winter and spring breaks.” These programs involve a lot of hands-on activities, ranging from building robotics to creating video games to 3D printing models created on a computer.

Code Ninjas fills a generational interest gap – more and more kids have interests in computers, gaming and software apps, however there’s a lack of places where kids can go to explore these interests and learn the skills and know-how behind them (for example, despite coding being a highly sought-after skill in the professional world, its fundamentals aren’t taught in most school curriculums). As Shannon notes, “My son was one of those kids. There wasn’t a place for him to go and explore his interests.” For kids with an interest in computers but no place to explore that interest, or for parents who feel their kids are playing too many video games, Code Ninjas offers a positive environment to foster those interests not only to learn real-life coding/STEM skills, but also to build team-work, collaboration and problem-solving skills – “We teach kids to be creators instead of consumers,” says Shannon.

Code Ninjas offers free 30 minute trial “game-building sessions,” where kids can come-in to code their own video game, and parents can see for themselves what it’s all about. When they finish, their games are put on mobile devices and then played by their parents; “parents often times don’t understand what the kids are doing,” notes Shannon; “trying to communicate this to the parents can be a challenge!”

Code Ninjas

#100 – 43 St. Thomas Street

587-805-5100