Peggy Revell
After spending more than a decade helping district businesses get off the ground, Angela Halvorsen was one the recipients of this year’s Influential Women of Northern Ontario Award.
She was one of a handful of women from across the north recognized by the annual awards, which pays tribute to women who have contributed to the economy and growth of Northern Ontario.
As a business investment officer with the Rainy River Future Development Corp. here, Halvorsen was presented with the Public Sector Award for the Northwest Region—an award she was nominated for by the local Business Women’s Network.
“I was so excited,” Halvorsen said upon learning that she was to be a recipient—something she actually knew two months earlier but had to keep mum about until last week’s award ceremony in Thunder Bay.
“I had to fill out some stuff for the application, so when I put that in, I thought, ‘Well, we’ll see what happens’ because there’s a lot of very deserving people out there and you never know who is going to be nominated.”
And while Halvorsen guessed she may have a chance at it, she never thought she would win the award.
“But then I got the call and the lady said I had won, so I was very excited,” she recalled.
“Thank you to the BWN that nominated me for the award. Thank you to everyone who has supported me through it,” she added.
In her position as business investment officer with the RRFDC, Halvorsen works to provide commercial loans and business advice for the district.
“So my job here is to help people that are either starting a business or perhaps buying a business—or maybe they have an existing business and they want to expand,” she explained.
“So that’s basically what I do is I help with that.
“We also have the financing function where we can go up to half-a-million [dollars] in loans that they can get through our program to help them with either buying, starting, or expanding a business, so I help them all through the process and get them going,” she added.
Halvorsen also just recently marked her 10th year with the RRFDC—she first was hired back in December, 1999 for an intern position as a project co-ordinator.
From there, she moved on to be a part of the “Northern Ventures” program, specifically meant to help women, youth, and aboriginal entrepreneurs, until she moved into her current position as a business investment officer.
“I’ve learned a lot since I came here, actually,” noted Halvorsen. “Because every entrepreneur has a different way.
“Every business is different, every entrepreneur is a little different,” she stressed.
“So you learn things as you go—but also as much information as I can give [clients], they often teach me something, too,” Halvorsen added, explaining that many of her clients pass along their experiences and tips so she, in turn, can share these with more clients.
The RRFDC currently has about 80 loans “on file” right now, she noted—a number which fluctuates from year to year depending on what businesses they are working with and what time range their loan is for (such as three or five years).
“There’s been one or two [businesses] that are actually just ending on their 10-year loan that I helped with from the beginning and helped through the process,” she remarked.
Given many banks won’t lend funds if a business doesn’t have three years’ worth of financial statements, the RRFDC allows a business access to a loan.
Then once a few years have gone by, the business can switch to a bank.
“Because we’re a federal program, we’re not in competition with the banks,” Halvorsen explained. “Our goal is to actually get them to move over to the banks so that money can come back to us and we can help another person along.”
Now in its 13th year, the annual Influential Women of Northern Ontario awards are organized by Northern Ontario Business.
This year’s recipients were honoured at two separate luncheons—one held June 1 in Sault Ste. Marie and the other June 3 at the Victoria Inn in Thunder Bay.
The day included a trade show, speakers on various topics, and a meal, followed by the actual awards ceremony, said Halvorsen, who had to give an acceptance speech, as well.
Accompanying her were members from the local Business Women’s Network and representatives from the RRFDC, along with her parents and some friends—just some of the roughly 300 people in attendance.
Other women recognized from the Northwest region included Thunder Bay resident Cindy Maki, who runs her own business, “True Vision,” and young entrepreneur Lindsey Beaulne, with Afortek Renewable Energy.
Thunder Bay student Brittney Marshall was recognized with the “Aspiring Achiever Scholarship.”
