When Ann Makosinski invented a flashlight powered by body heat, she didn鈥檛 realize it would turn her into a covergirl.
鈥淚 didn鈥檛 know I鈥檇 be on the cover,鈥� laughed the St.聽Michaels University School student who, flashlight in hand, lights up the cover of Capital magazine鈥檚 premi猫re issue.
鈥淚 obviously wanted to work on my project, but I鈥檓 glad I got some attention so I can spread the word on the concept that humans have so much heat we can harvest and use as electricity,鈥� she said, cheerfully dumbfounded when thrust into the spotlight during Thursday鈥檚 launch of the Times聽Colonist鈥檚 new business and lifestyle magazine at Atomique Productions鈥� Douglas Street headquarters.
Makosinski, 16, was one of 115 local movers and shakers 鈥� an eclectic mix of young newcomers and established veterans 鈥� and sa国际传媒 staffers who noshed on gourmet appetizers from North 48 washed down with beer and wine from Truffles or Capital-branded bottles of Blue Bridge Raspberry and No. 75 cream soda from VictoriaSodaWorks.
鈥淚t took a very good community effort to put this together,鈥� said Bruce Carter, CEO of the Greater Victoria Chamber of Commerce.
鈥淚 think almost every business in Victoria is in this city because they love where they are. It鈥檚 the place where 90 per cent of all people in sa国际传媒 want to retire to and we鈥檙e the ones who have actually done it.鈥�
Even community and business leaders who have 鈥渞etired鈥� contribute to the capital region鈥檚 economic vibrancy and diversity the magazine reflects, noted Tartan Group owner Deirdre Campbell.
鈥淭he word Capital can be thought of in so many different ways,鈥� she said. 鈥淲e鈥檙e the capital city of sa国际传媒 but we have so much knowledge capital here that many people don鈥檛 realize 鈥� from people retiring early who still want to be involved, to all the young people coming up and getting involved in technology and tourism.鈥�
Trisha Lees and Christine Gleed, two dynamic young PR professionals who co-founded local communications firm Mouthpiece, are part of that new generation.
鈥淭he key to success in Victoria now is that you have to be diversified; you can鈥檛 just be niche,鈥� Lees said.
Other familiar faces included Al Hasham, president of Maximum Express, which is delivering 1,500 copies to local businesses; Cedarwood Productions鈥� owner Karen Davies; and business consultant Keith Dagg.
He introduced David McPherson and Sean Battistoni, regional business and consumer sales managers respectively for Shaw Communications, which Dagg just signed as silver sponsor for the Bayview Place Island Savings Open presented by the sa国际传媒.
Paul Rayman, taking a break from his duties as unit manager of the Gracepoint TV series and operating the Pedaler, his local bicycle tour company, found himself put to work.
鈥淚鈥檝e got a new job as a doorman,鈥� joked Rayman, opening the door for arrivals. 鈥淚t鈥檚 just another service I offer.鈥�
The self-employment sector was well-represented, including former Victoria Film Festival operations manager Mike Vardy.
鈥淚nitially, I was an enthusiast about productivity and learning how to get better at work, but now I鈥檝e become a specialist,鈥� the writer, speaker and father of three said, explaining his home-based company鈥檚 title: Productivityist.com.
If sa国际传媒 editor-in-chief Dave Obee appeared to be walking on air after unveiling the magazine with retail advertising sales manager Jason Scriven, you couldn鈥檛 blame him.
鈥淚t鈥檚 been amazing to watch our staff come together and work on this project,鈥� he said.
鈥淭here was a bit of a buzz about doing this kind of thing in the newsroom. I trust our readers will be as enthusiastic as we were.鈥�
There are stories in Capital that likely wouldn鈥檛 appear in the newspaper because they are 鈥渕agazine-type鈥� stories, he added.
鈥淎nd there are hundreds or thousands more stories like that out there, which is why we鈥檒l do more magazines as time goes on.鈥�
You can view the premi猫re issue attimescolonist.com. The next issue is due Oct. 25.
