RRFDC turns a profit

The Rainy River Future Development Corp. held its annual meeting last Thursday at La Place Rendez-Vous to update members, elect new board members, and to take in safety advice from an entertaining speaker.
“We have raised the community benchmark to another level thanks to people from across the district who have served on committees and volunteered to make these things happen,” said RRFDC chairman Bruce Holmlund.
The RRFDC continues to support new business ventures across the district, and this year has approved a total of $1,317,000 spent creating more than 60 new businesses and 83 jobs.
The new loans covered all business sectors, including retail, manufacturing, service, and franchising.
Part of the year’s success was attributed to additional funding from FedNor, which has allowed the RRFDC to hire another employee who will focus primarily on targeting three small business groups.
Holmlund noted the membership also rose from 75 to more than 100 in the last year.
During the election of board members, Julian Morelli, Ken McKinnon, Ralph Hunsperger, and Moe Henry were acclaimed. They will join current board members Bruce Holmlund, Telford Advent, Janis Lesko, and John McTaggart.
Jim Cumming and Tannis Drysdale have stepped down from the board.
Meanwhile, the first RRFDC Volunteer of the Year award was presented to Gail Donaldson, and the Business Woman of the Year award was presented to Connie Cuthbertson, owner of Northwoods Gallery and Gifts here.
Auditor Forch Mauro presented the RRFDC’s financial statement for 1999 and reported a profit of about $477,000, which is up by about $150,000 over last year.
Later, guest speaker Tim Vandenbrink, captain of the Public Safety and Education Branch for the Edmonton Emergency Response Department, kept members laughing while encouraging adults to follow safety measures.
“I get 700 kids out of a school in under two minutes, why can’t we do that at home?” he asked, pointing out adults often instruct children to follow safety rules but don’t act as good role models themselves.
“I asked one little guy what do you do when the fire alarm goes off and he answered, ‘I go get the tea-towel for daddy,’” related Vandenbrink. “That’s like being at work and when the fire alarm goes off you go into your boss’s office to get the insurance forms.
“Don’t worry about if your children don’t hear what you say, worry that they see what you do,” he stressed.
The guest speaker was followed by an auction of donated items led by auctioneer and RRFDC board member Telford Advent to raise money for future investments.