Yes!
We're Moving and Expanding!
by LINDA
TENNEY
As
I write this editorial, I look around our “old” office
while thinking about the “new”. We’ve come a long
way since May 2004. Our first “Beacon” was simply a black
& white newsletter, photocopied onto 11x17 canary yellow paper,
and hand-folded by Sharon and I on the dining room table. We had no
idea that four years later we’d be distributing a monthly 56-page
magazine (or 48 pages like this month) with 24 pages of colour. And
we certainly had no idea that we’d have a second publication
(the Baynes Sound Current) to add to our publishing mix. Whew!
In 2005, when we decided to take office space in Bowser, we thought
the 600 square foot storefront would be too big for us. Little did
we know that a mere two years later, it would be too small. In that
time, we hired office staff (Jeanette and Deanna) and fit them into
our “cozy” space, we developed The Beacon Gallery to highlight
artists
from the community, and we expanded our “Community Information
Centre” concept to promote our area to tourists, and to network
local businesses to residents in need of their services.
People who know us – all of us – know that we work very
long and hard hours. Each one of us has their nose pushed firmly to
the grindstone to ensure that what we do here now, and what we do
in the future is one step beyond even our own expectations. We thank
everyone in the community for responding in such positive ways. It’s
often through your comments and suggestions that the direction of
our business is determined.
Our new office space (about 1200 square feet) will allow us to do
more of the same, only bigger and better. We intend to expand The
Beacon Gallery to include permanent displays to help our local artists
and artisans market their works to tourists and residents. We’ll
also have a feature area where selected works will rotate on a two-week
basis. Our Community Information Centre will expand to include even
more about what’s going on in Lighthouse Country – maps,
brochures, business cards, tide tables, trekking information, recreational
activity lists and notices.
Last month the Regional District of Nanaimo’s Recreation and
Parks Department announced that its new part-time Recreation Programmer,
Kim Longmuir, will work in our area to help enhance the delivery of
recreation services provided to the community. We’re very pleased
to announce that Kim will be sharing office space with
us every Monday and Tuesday. Stop by to meet her in the New Year.
We’ll move into our new space on January 15th, and invite everyone
to stop by to see the new digs. There’s lots more to announce
that my editorial space can’t accommodate, so talk to us about
it...find out what we’re doing next and how it might help you
enjoy your community even more.
We won’t be hard to find - our new office is right next door...just
a hop-skip away from the old one. We’ll be the first ones in
the new building at Magnolia Court in Bowser - #110-6996 W. Island
Hwy.
In the coming
months, we'll keep you informed right here on our web site and in
each and every print edition of The Beacon Magazine. If you don't
already receive your Beacon in the mail, we encourage you to take
advantage of a subscription.
Imagine...only about $2.25 per month for a fabulous community magazine!
Comments
and suggestions about our new website are most welcome. Simply send
your email to beacon@eyesonbc.com.
~ January 2008
MORE NEWS COMING
SOON
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today!
