SPOTLIGHT ON BUSINESS MAGAZINE
SEPTEMBER 2017
When the puck drops at the Rath Eastlink Community Centre for a Truro Bearcats game, there could be as many as 2,500 MHL hockey fans in attendance. When big ticket bands like the Beach Boys and Kenny Rogers take to the stage, there are as many as 3,000 concert-goers coming through the gates. And when that puck drops and when that first cord is played on any given night, there are 1.37 million Atlantic Canadians within a three-hour drive of the RECC. “People travel from communities in all three Maritime provinces to watch their hometown MHL teams take-on the Bearcats; the team has a rich history of success both on and off the ice,” Matt Moore, the General Manager of the RECC, said with a sincere snicker. “We take our hockey very serious and as you know, people in Atlantic Canada take their music equally serious. The parking lot has license plates from Newfoundland, New Brunswick, PEI, and of course Nova Scotia when we get a big name on stage.” But the real appeal of the state-of- the-art RECC isn’t limited to sport and song. The RECC is a hybrid facility and its overall business model ranges “quite broadly,” explained Nick Sharpe, the Director of Partnerships and Events. “We have five key segments that play an integral role to our success: Health promotion; aquatic programming; fitness programming; community ice rentals and programming; and event attraction. Walking the tightrope of business development in all of these areas can be a broad challenge, but that’s what keeps us excited.”
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SPOTLIGHT ON BUSINESS MAGAZINE • SEPTEMBER 2017
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SEPTEMBER 2017 • SPOTLIGHT ON BUSINESS MAGAZINE
By David MacDonald M att and Nick were made for the RECC. Matt, a 33-year old father of four young daughters, hails from St. Martins, New Brunswick. He earned a degree in Sport and Exercise Psychology at the University of New Brunswick and became a high performance coach with the Alberta Sport Development Centre where he took-on an active role in the opening of Canada’s largest recreation complex, Macdonald Island Park, in Fort McMurray, Alberta. Since returning to the Maritimes, Matt has been a part of the management team at the Moncton YMCA, a teacher at Eastern College, and the inaugural General Manager at the PotashCorp Civic Centre in Sussex, New Brunswick. “As far as the RECC goes, for me professionally-speaking, it’s very fulfilling to see an event well- executed and a patron walk away with an experience that they will have for the rest of their life.” “I’ve always felt that my community, wherever that’s been, is extremely important to our quality of life as a family. In Truro, there is a rising sense of pride and innovations that is fostering positive growth and new opportunities for our children. We enjoy all of the benefits that a rural community has to offer with a great central location and quick access to the urban markets,” Matt explained. “As far as the RECC goes, for me professionally-speaking, it’s very fulfilling to see an event well-executed and a patron walk away with an experience that they will have for the rest of their life but personally, it is even more fulfilling to witness members of our community improve their health. To me, regardless of the challenges that we all face in this complex industry, the simple success stories of those in our community who are reaping the rewards of our teams’ efforts and improv- ing their wellbeing is what keeps me motivated during cha lenging times.”
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Nick, a 29-year old Pictou County native and graduate of Mount Saint Vincent’s Business Administration program, is a man of many talents. His position as the Director of Part- nerships and Events at the RECC is “focused and adaptive,” he said. “I’m also the Chair of the Truro-Colchester Events Attraction Committee and play various roles on the Local Organizing Committees for the upcoming Down Syndrome World Swimming Championships, World Junior A (hockey) Challenge, and Nova Scotia Music Week. I recently joined the Truro Brand Leadership Committee, and I’m proud to be the Vice Chair of the Big Brothers, Big Sisters Board of Directors here in Colchester County.”
“I knew when I was a student finishing my business degree in Halifax,” he continued, “that when I started my career
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that I wanted to be close to family and friends – but I still wanted to have the amenities of the city, just in a smaller community like where I grew up. That’s when my wife and I landed in Truro. Colchester County is next door and the opportunities are amazing here. My wife is a nurse at the new Colchester East Hants Health Centre and we both feel very fortunate to be able to work in new, state-of- the-art, vital facility in a small town like Truro. The RECC really is an integral part of the surrounding communities and that’s one of the reasons I take such pride in my role. Often I hear folks talk about a shift in the last several years in Truro and I think the RECC’s role in that is undisputable. We are helping shape a more vibrant region for residents and visitors – and that’s something I think we should be proud of.” “Often I hear folks talk about a shift in the last five years in Truro and I think the RECC’s role in that is undisputable.”
The RECC is also shaping a more vibrant business comm nity.
Events like the upcoming World Junior A Challenge are “major economic drivers” for Truro and Colchester County, Nick explained.
“These are going to be extremely important to local busi-
nesses; events like these always are. In October 2015, the RECC hosted SportsNet’s Grand Slam of Curling Rocks Masters in partnership with the local Curling Community, the Town of Truro, and County of Colchester. It was a big success that brought in well over a million to our economy and left Truro residents and stakeholders wanting to see more events come to the Region. Simultaneously, we were seeing a lot more interest in Truro from event owners and rights holders and organizers. We recognized that we have a lot of potential in becoming a world-class event desti- nation, but the first step was to establish an event hosting strategy. Thus, the Regional Events Attraction Committee was developed. The Committee, under a partnership of the Town of Truro and Municipality of the County of Col- chester, is made up of representatives from the RECC, Downtown Truro Partnership, Nova Scotia Provincial Exhi- bition Commission, Town of Truro, County of Colchester, and like-minded community members. With a final hosting strategy developed, the Committee is in the branding phase so that our objectives and mandate can be identified by people within and outside of Truro. The entrepreneurial leaders who call Truro home and the entrepreneurs who are always scouting our town understand the RECC is one of those major economic drivers. Whether we are speaking of new families settling in Truro, or attracting visitors through tourism and events, the RECC attracts people. And where there are people, there are opportunities for businesses.” Since opening its doors in
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2013, Truro has seen a population increase, Matt explained. “And that’s rare for any rural Maritime community over the last few decades. The RECC, along with the new hospital and new schools, are true catalysts for community devel- opment and business growth. We have assertive, youthful entrepreneurs in Truro and that means we’ll continue to be on the move for a long time.” “The entrepreneurial leaders who call Truro home and the entrepreneurs who are always scouting our town understand the RECC is one of those major economic drivers.” The RECC, located at 625 Abenaki Road, is just two minutes from Exit 13 on Highway 102 and the busiest section of Nova Scotia highway outside the Halifax Regional Munic- ipality. “When event owners and rights holders and pro- moters look at our catchment, the successes we’ve been having, our facilities, accommodations, and amenities, with the close proximity to an international airport, they see the value and potential in Truro. And it wasn’t an operation that sat idle for any length of time. The RECC really did kick off with a bang, which, as we all know, first impressions are huge, especially for event owners and rights holders. The Fred Page Cup, a Canadian Junior Hockley League tournament, was hosted in the first couple months of the facility opening to the public. Since then, the RECC has hosted concert events featuring April Wine, Clas- sified, Trooper, Blue Rodeo, Sammy Kershaw, Jann Arden, Kenny Rogers, Gerry Dee the comedian, the Beach Boys, Travis Tritt, and more,” Nick said. Truro’s potential for further growth is practically limitless.
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The RECC has also played host to the Harlem Globetrot- ters, the Super Thrill Circus, and a Gala event featuring
Canadian astronaut and former Commander of the Interna- tional Space Station, Col. Chris Hadfield.
“We’re also home to a couple of annual tradeshows, multiple Atlantic Canadian and Provincial cheerleading competitions, and local graduation ceremonies every year. We find that people don’t just come to the RECC once for an event; it becomes the event’s home, or at least a whistle stop on a tour,”
Matt explained. “The event owners and rights holders are always universally impressed.”
Nick recalled a recent visit to the RECC by a representa- tive from Hockey Canada. “It was a site visit to Truro for the upcoming World Junior A Challenge. One of the managers walked into the arena with me, looked up and around and said, “Wow, this is a nice arena.” People don’t expect that when they come to rural communities like Truro. Those moments remind me what a truly great asset we have here.” For Matt, the world class-standing of the RECC is unques- tionable, but there’s still something more to its early and mounting achievements. “There’s no doubt, our geograph- ic location is centralized within Atlantic Canada, however, I feel that the greatest key to our success has been Nick and the team’s ability to build positive relationships with a wide variety event owners and rights holders. It’s one thing to have this incredible asset in the advantageous real estate it’s in, but it’s another to fully maximize our potential through development of positive business relationships. That is what I feel is the most appreciated by our stakeholders and what keeps them coming back to do business with us.” This fall, the RECC has a number of arena events on the books, including a concert featuring platinum- selling Canadian country music star Dallas Smith on October 13 as part of his Side Effects tour. The concert will also feature the up-and- coming country music band Cold Creek County as special guests.
Then on October 14, Jones Entertainment Group is present- ing the Thunder from Down Under. And the always-popular interactive stage show the Price is Right Live! is set to take over the RECC on October 27. “When event owners and rights holders and promoters look at our catchment, the successes we’ve been having, our facilities, accommodations, and amenities, with the close proximity to an international airport, they see the value and potential in Truro.” The 13-game World Junior A Challenge will take over Truro and Colchester County from December 10 to 16 and will feature premier squads from Canada East, Canada West, USA, Russia, the Czech Republic, and Switzerland. The Down Syndrome World Swimming Championships, which takes place July 2018 in the Wilsons Aquatic Centre where an 8-lane, 25-metre competitive pool awaits the athletes, will feature over 200 participants from over 25 countries competing for medals. This will mark the first time in history this event has been hosted in Canada.
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as spotlighted in the SEPTEMBER 2017 issue of SPOTLIGHT ON BUSINESS MAGAZINE
Your Truro Dentist A beautiful smile is waiting for you.
www.spotlightonbusinessmagazine.com
Victoria Court Dental wants to provide you with the latest skills and technology the field of Dentistry has to offer while still remaining affordable. Our goal is to be a Trur Dentist that offers their best in F mily nd Preventive dentistry, so you can smile with confidence.
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