Arjun Singh's Podcast Page

Former TRU President Kathleen Scherf, of who I am a fan, speaks about her unusualness and being a role model for others

A conversation with the manager of Sahali Mall in Kamloops, Sara Reynolds. Learn more about the Sahali Mall advantage for shoppers, tenants, and the community at large.01:01 - how Sara became manager of the mall01:59 - Sara's responsibilities at the mall02:28 - spaces for lease at the mall03:18 - new owners committment03:52 - dispelling rumour that mall will be torn down04:38 - advantages to locating store in Sahali Mall05:56 - new mall web site, www.sahalimall.ca07:29 - use of twitter and facebook08:45 - free non profit display space09:50 - artist collective in mall10:54 - mall tenant mix and general mall ambience

0:47 - when green drinks meets 1:24 - what is green drinks? 2:19 - welcoming to many people 3:07 - drop in, informal format, fabulous discussions 5:22 - motivation for Mary Ellen and other Green Drink leaders 6:32 - when Green Drinks meet and where? 7:12 - broad demographic of attendeesGreen Drinks Kamloops meets the last Monday of every month from 5:30pm to 7pm at Lynx Grill. You can either drop in or come for the whole 90 minutes. Mary Ellen Grant does a great job facilitating the group !

Thanks to Domtar's Bonny Skene for agreeing to answer some of my questions about the Kamloops Pulp Mill's request for an air permit amendment and extension. If you would like to provide feedback to Domtar on their request, their formal 60 day public consultation period ends on next Monday, August 11th. I would imagine folks could still contact Rick Adams at the Ministry of Environment after this.

Domtar's contact info for this issue is on their air permit amendment web site. Rick Adams' phone number is (250) 371 -2600 and can be emailed.

Audio Map:

01:00 - Can you briefly describe why Domtar is seeking this amendment to the Kamloops Mill air permit?03:33 - Can you explain the proposed new stack configuration for the mill?

06:01 - On the valley stacks, is there any way that you could avoid them?

07:27 - As this is the second extension request on the mill's air permit, can you give any confidence that Domtar will not seek further extensions?09:58 - It's a pretty bad economic environment for pulp producers and some would say pulp producing is a secondary area of business for Domtar, what is Domtar's vision and outlook for the Mill?13:05 - Is there a committment from the senior management of Domtar, those who the Kamloops Mill management report to, that this air quality work will be done by 2016?15:05 - Concerns have been raised by West End Kamloops residents that their air quality may actually be worse if your proposal is granted, is this true?19:27 - In my opinion the public engagement from Domtar on this air amendment has been well done, can you talk to the importance placed on consulting and engaging the community on this issue?

I found this wideranging convesation so interesting. All about the activities of the North Shore Business Improvement Association with its innovative leader, Peter Mutrie....00:53 - what is the North Shore BIA02:22 - mens clothing store wanted 02:37 - other types of businesses wanting to attract - entertainment, restaurants, artistic businesses03:13 - international flavour 03:50 - North Shore BIA events - banner festival, outdoor art gallery, art walk, makeovers 06:48 - North Shore ambience, artistic centre07:40 - business makeovers, Crime Prevention through Environmental Design (CEPTED)11:35 - other aspects of the North Shore Business Opportunity13:20 - catering to global investment14:35 - most diverse neighbourhood in Kamloops15:46 - Kamloopsians taking charge of their own destiny, entrepreneurialism, tournament capital program17:41 - the business case for tackling social issues, the root causes21:06 - NSBIA social enterprise projects, relationship building24:43 - the Power of Partnerships26:17 - business is an exciting world, not working in silos27:15 - NSBIA web site and email

I was honoured that Kathleen Scherf, TRU's new President, took the time to have this conversation with me about our amazing university. We talk about Kathleen's background, the nature of a TRU education, and also about her experiences managing a large, diverse, rapidly changing institution.Here is a roadmap for the audio: 01:08: how did you get interested in teaching and academia 02:46: How did you become a Frankenstein scholar 07:55: How did you get into university administration 10:05: Tribute to Roger Barnsley 11:14 - Changing the Culture of TRU 11:58 - How did you find about TRU President Opening and fall in love with TRU 13:34 - breaking the mold of a University President a bit 14:28 - the mom car, the parking ticket on the first day 16:43 - has been kind of unusual been a challenge, being who you are and trying to being a role model 19:05 - what makes a TRU education special - your vision? 21:23 - small classes and large classes 23:13 - value of President teaching first year students 25:54 - how do liberal arts students become financially independent? 27:45 - a comprehensive university preparing students well 28:34 - Law School update 33:54 - House of Learning update, other capital projects - Old Main repairs 36:17 - Managing a large, diverse, rapidly changing institution: collegial governance, transparent leadership, team concept

00:42 - moved to Kamloops 2.5 years ago, born&raised in Meford Ont02:19 - getting hired by Betty Hinton, the pAssport crunch opportunity04:15 - Kevin's pre Kamloops history of community involvement04:42 - what it was like working for an MP06:03 - the Michael Crawford domain name incident10:18 - running for city council, municipal politics so much more practical, great experience16:25 - the Ins and outs of a successful council campaign 17:47 - young people voting, getting involved. How do we get more of that?21:04 - Barack Obama22:48 - Kevin one of newest members on city social planning council, business community / social advocates integration28:10 - takeways from a younger person who is involved in his community.

This short podcast needs a little bit of context. Denis Walsh is a great friend of mine. I served on Kamloops City Council from late 2005 to late 2008. Denis was elected in late 2008. I ran again and fell two places out of being re-elected.Issues discussed:- Clean Air Day 2009- Steep Learning Curve- Trip to Federation of Canadian Municipalities convention in Whistler BC

My good Jason Wassing talks about his daughter's philanthropy and about the Kamloops technology industry scene in 2009.