Elettra Communications attended a special Gala event at the weekend at The Kettle Society’s new supported-housing building located at 1134 Burrard Street.

The Kettle Making a Difference – An Evening with Olympian Clara Hughes and Friends, was a special fundraising event to raise funds for The Kettle Society’s community mental health programs and celebrate Clara’s inspiring 12,000km bike ride across Canada to build awareness and eliminate the stigma surrounding mental health.  The Kettle had been chosen as Vancouver’s “community champion” for the ride.

Kari Adams from CTV emceed the event and CTV broadcast live weather forecasts and interviews from the VIP reception.

Speakers included: Deputy Mayor Adriane Carr; Debra McPherson, President of the BC Nurses Union; Daniel Boffo from Boffo Properties; Mary Deacon, Chair of Bell Let’s Talk; Brenda Lea Brown, Chair of the Kettle board; and Kettle member Denis Piper.

Six-time Olympian Clara Hughes took time out of her grueling and physically challenging schedule to address guests and VIPs and deliver an emotional and inspiring keynote speech which touched on her own experiences with mental illness.

The Kettle Society was busy last week as it welcomed media to its newest supported housing project, before its first tenants move in. CTV, The Globe & Mail,The Georgia Straight and BCIT all featured articles about the building.

The Kettle Society also hosted An Evening With Olympian Clara Hughes & Friends on Saturday, May 17 at Kettle on Burrard.  The event was attended by more than 200 guests and VIPs and featured a keynote address by the six-time Olympian, who is cycling across Canada to build awareness and raise funds for mental health.

Located at 1134 Burrard Street, this new building is one of 14 City-owned sites that are being built to end street homelessness. The building has been designed to address the needs of individuals who are homeless, are at risk of homelessness, have mental health issues, or require other support services to increase their wellness and overall quality of life. 

Kettle on Burrard has 141 suites and 24-hour staffing and security.  The building is operated by The Kettle Society, a non-profit registered charity, which has been providing housing and support services to people with mental illness in the Metro Vancouver area since its inception in 1976.

The project is being funded by the Province of BC (BC Housing and Ministry of Children and Family Services), the City of Vancouver, and Streetohome Foundation.

Last week, Business in Vancouver explored the benefits of mentoring and networking by speaking with UBC alumnus, Carmen Lee of the Hong Kong-Canada Business Association. Through the networking and mentorship programs alumni UBC is building lifelong connections between graduates and UBC.

Read the full story here.

Company to occupy two floors of AAA office space in Pacific Centre redevelopment Vancouver, BC, May 2, 2014 - The Cadillac Fairview Corporation Ltd. is pleased to announce Microsoft as the second office tenant confirmed for Pacific Centre’s 725 Granville redevelopment project. The company will lease 143,000 square feet on two of the four levels of office space above Nordstrom’s future Canadian flagship location.

“We are thrilled to welcome Microsoft to 725 Granville,” says Tom Knoepfel, Senior Vice President & Portfolio Manager, Cadillac Fairview Western Canada. “The organization will be well served by the building’s central location and amenities, and the large floor plates allow them to design a customized work environment for their Vancouver operations.”

The company will take occupancy of the entire 6^th and 7^th floors of 725 Granville in January 2016. This past January, Cadillac Fairview announced law firm Miller Thompson will move into 48,000 square feet on the 4^th floor in 2017.  Of the four levels of office space, 66% is now leased.

The new office space is part of the redevelopment of the former Eatons/Sears building. The top four levels of the building are being converted to 290,000 square feet of AAA class office.  Each floor has 17-foot ceilings, slab to slab, and offers 72,500 square foot floor plates, a unique feature in the downtown core.

Nordstrom will have 230,000 square feet on three floors below the office space. A new 44,000 square foot multi-tenant retail space will be built on the lower mall level. The project was designed by local and renowned architect, James K. M. Cheng. As part of Cadillac Fairview’s commitment to sustainability, the project is targeting LEED Gold Certification under the LEED: Core & Shell Program.

Construction is well underway on the site. The office space is expected to open in early 2015. New retail stores on the lower level are expected to open in Spring 2015. Nordstrom is expected to open in Fall 2015.

UBC Alumni Weekend

alumni UBC welcomes students past and present, family, and friends to Alumni Weekend– the most entertaining and intellectually stimulating day of the year. Featured events include:

• University Fair, tours, engaging lectures, family-friendly activities, beer garden and live main stage entertainment.
• A show from Jamie Hyneman and Adam Savage of Discovery Channel’s MythBusters. Jamie and Adam will tell tales of experiments, explosions and hijinks, and the unpredictable occupation of myth busting. (Pre-purchased tickets are required for this show.)
• Hard hat tours of the new Alumni Centre in the afternoon.
• Fun classes with topics such as the science of beer, raw vegan sushi making, the magic of chemistry, and much more.
• Free admission to UBC’s attractions, including the Museum of Anthropology, UBC Botanical Garden, and the Beaty Biodiversity Museum.

 Alumni Weekend offers something for everyone, kids and grown-ups alike. 

General admission and many of the events are free. However, registration is required. Register at http://www.alumni.ubc.ca/events/alumniweekend/.

WHERE:           University of British Columbia | Student Union Building (SUB)
6138 Student Union Boulevard

WHEN:             Saturday, May 24, 2014 | 9:30am – 5:00pm, with events scheduled throughout the day

To register or for schedule of events visit: http://www.alumni.ubc.ca/events/alumniweekend/

Questions? alumni.weekend@ubc.ca

Vancouver Magazine's Editor-in-Chief John Burns, Dara Young and David Gunawan of Farmer's Apprentice, and Lori Chalmers, Publisher of Vancouver Magazine

On Tuesday, Vancouver Magazine announced the winners of their 25th Annual Restaurant Awards at the Sheraton Vancouver Wall Centre Hotel.  This year marked the event's silver anniversary and hundreds gathered to celebrate the city's finest culinary talent. The festivities were hosted by CBC's Gloria Macarenko and Stephen Quinn and saw Gold awards handed out in 49 categories.  The night's big winner? The Farmer's Apprentice, taking home Restaurant of the Year, Best New Restaurant of the Year, and Best Casual Restaurant.

So who else took top honours? Click through for full coverage on vanmag.com.

Vancouver Sun reporter Kim Pemberton looked into how retrofitting older office buildings with geo-exchange systems can reduce energy costs and greenhouse gas emissions. The article explores how a first-of-its-kind retrofit will be done by Fenix Energy at Cadillac Fairview's 777 Dunsmuir building.

Read the whole story here.

Elettra Communications has an immediate opening for a Junior Public Relations Consultant with 1-2 years of PR experience. The position is for a 6-month term, with the possibility of an extension.  We are looking for an enthusiastic and driven professional who is keen to take the next step in their PR career. The Elettra team is dynamic, fun, and prides itself on providing the highest quality communications service to its clients. Posting Date: April 17, 2014

Closing Date: May 4, 2014

Responsibilities:

General

• Acting as day-to-day contact for a variety of clients.
• Supporting senior team members on a variety of communications projects.
• Supporting administrative functions of the agency.
• Supporting Elettra’s social media profiles.

Media Relations

• Writing media materials, including news releases, fact sheets, articles, and web copy.
• Developing media lists, distributing media materials, and pitching stories.
• Responding to incoming reactive media inquiries.
• Developing campaign recaps.

Social Media

• Monitoring social media channels on behalf of clients.
• Developing social media content and assisting in strategy development.

Events / community relations

• Coordinating events and community programs, working clients and suppliers.

Requirements:

• A Bachelor’s degree in Communications, Business, Marketing, Public Relations, or Arts.
• 1-2 years direct experience in public relations.
• Experience writing media materials, building media lists, and successfully earning coverage in editorial media.
• Strong media literacy and interest in local, national, and international current affairs and news.
• Active user of social media, including all major platforms. Experience in content development and monitoring.
• Exceptional writing and oral communications skills.
• A wealth of knowledge about, and passion for, the city of Vancouver.
• Excellent organizational skills.
• Flexible with hours and able to respond to media inquiries / attend events outside the 9-5, Monday-Friday workweek.

Applicants are to send their cover letter and resume to info@elettra.ca.

Home-grown technology allows for first-ever geo-exchange installation in existing, occupied building at 777 Dunsmuir

Vancouver, BC; April 16, 2014 – The Cadillac Fairview Corporation Ltd. is today announcing a project in partnership with Vancouver-based Fēnix Energy to undertake Canada’s first geo-exchange retrofit of an occupied, mixed-use high-rise complex in a downtown core. The project will take place at Cadillac Fairview’s 777 Dunsmuir property in Vancouver, which includes a 19-storey office tower, as well as the Holt Renfrew and Sport Chek portion of Pacific Centre.

Fēnix Energy will complete the geo-exchange system installation within 777 Dunsmuir’s existing building footprint, drilling 30 boreholes 400 feet into the earth through the building’s underground parkade.

“Cadillac Fairview is always looking for ways to reduce its impact on the environment,” says Ultan Kampff, General Manager, Pacific Centre and HSBC Building. “We’re proud to be working witha local company that is innovating on a global scale. Together with Fēnix, we’re using home-grown technology to find sustainable solutions, increase our efficiency, and lower carbon emissions.”

By harvesting a building’s rejected heat and storing it underground until it is needed, geo-exchange offers a solution for reducing the energy costs and greenhouse gas emissions associated with traditional heating and cooling. However, until now, geo-exchange systems have primarily been installed in new projects or projects where land is readily available adjacent to a building. Projects with small footprints in operating buildings, such as the one at 777 Dunsmuir, had remained elusive.

Fēnix Energy’s system enables the installation of vertical rather than horizontal piping underground. Fēnix has also designed a unique drilling system to facilitate boring in confined spaces such as parkades with low headroom. As a result of these innovations, the project will have minimal disruption on the surrounding area allowing the building to remain occupied.

“Globally, buildings consume around 40% of our total energy, a significant portion of which is for heating and cooling. So the potential to make a difference through geo-exchange is enormous,” says Edward Smith, Managing Director, Fēnix Energy. “Green is about efficiency and using the energy that’s already there. Geo-exchange does exactly that, and now we have the technology to tackle the large existing buildings which make up our dense downtown cores”

The project is the next step in Cadillac Fairview’s GREEN AT WORK™ program, through which the company looks for innovative ways to reduce its carbon footprint and minimize its impact on the environment. This includes energy conservation and efficiency, with the ultimate objective of net-zero emissions from buildings. The retrofit of Cadillac Fairview’s building is expected to reduce carbon emissions from heating energy by 85%, the equivalent of 900 tons of CO2 or taking 190 cars off the road.

Vancouver Magazine announced today select finalists for its upcoming 25^th Annual Restaurant Awards.  Finalists were named in the magazine’s new Best of Neighbourhood award categories including: Best Downtown, Best Yaletown, Best West End, Best Gastown & Chinatown, Best West Side, Best East Side, and Best Richmond.

These categories join Best North Shore in highlighting establishments for diners for whom location is at least as important as reputation, type of cuisine, ambiance, and price. Click here for finalist restaurants.

“For the past 25 years, Vancouver Magazine has been cataloguing the city’s finest rooms and creating a definitive compendium of all that is delicious, masterful, and of the moment,” said John Burns, Vancouver Magazine Editor-in-Chief. “The addition of Best of Neighbourhood awards reflects our judges’ view that for many people, location matters a great deal when deciding where to dine.”

Finalists in the remaining 42 categories won’t be revealed until the gala, to be held at the Sheraton Vancouver Wall Centre Hotel on April 22^nd. More than 700 of B.C.’s top chefs, restaurateurs, sommeliers, and food critics will gather to recognize the city’s best. Vancouverites can follow the event live on Twitter and Instagram using #VanMagAwards.

Vancouver Magazine’s May issue includes a 42-page feature on all the award categories. The issue will be on newsstands on April 28^th and digital subscriptions will be available at vanmag.com.

About Vancouver Magazine:

Since 1967, Vancouver Magazine has been informing, guiding, and entertaining people who engage with the city. Mixing quality journalism and service-driven pieces, the magazine chronicles and reflects Vancouver’s emergence as a dynamic, cosmopolitan urban centre. Vancouver Magazine is available as a monthly magazine, through a weekly e-newsletter, The Fix, online at Vanmag.com, and on Twitter and Instagram (@vanmag_com).

The May 2014 issue of Style at Home magazine is on newsstands now, and the Workbook section includes the Burritt Bros. / Zoe Pawlak rug collaboration. Check it out!

Volunteer Opportunity - Event Coordination Event: Vancouver Magazine Restaurant Awards

Date/Time:  Tuesday, April 22nd, 10:00am – 6:00pm

Elettra Communications is looking for student volunteers to assist with Vancouver’s premier restaurant industry event. This opportunity will appeal to students who have an interest in public relations, publishing, marketing, or event management.

Vancouver Magazine’s Restaurant Awards event is the biggest of its kind in North America, and this year marks the event’s landmark 25th anniversary.  Twenty of the city’s top food critics form the judging panel and vote on the best dining experience in more than 40 categories. The event itself includes a reception and awards show. The annual extravaganza welcomes more than 800 restaurateurs, chefs, sommeliers, suppliers, and food and wine critics.

Duties: Volunteers will assist with a range of activities including: ·       Event set up ·       Guest check-in ·       Awards presenting/backstage coordination ·       Coat check ·       Gift distribution

Benefits to volunteering: ·       Event coordination experience. ·       Exposure to the behind-the-scenes workings of a large event. ·       Opportunity to build contacts in the PR, marketing, and publishing industries. ·       Lunch will be provided.

Dress code: All black. No jeans; no running shoes/sneakers.

How to apply: If you would like to volunteer for this opportunity, please contact cassandra@elettra.ca.  In your email please provide a brief introduction of yourself, and include a description of your current course of study and your contact information. 

This week we've been helping our friends at Spring Advertising out with Hugs for Hunger, their cuddly fundraiser in support of the Greater Vancouver Food Bank Society.

Today - the first day of spring - cute, furry, and gregarious animals are waking up from hibernation and giving hugs to Vancouverites. For every hug, Spring will donate $1 to the Food Bank. More valuable hugs, such as those on the Celebrity Hug Hit List, are described on www.HugsForHunger.com and on Twitter @springad. People can also donate through on-site Food Bank volunteers or the Hugs for Hunger website.

The hashtag #HugsForHunger is being used throughout the day to spread information and to attract the animals to specific downtown locations.

Big thanks to BT Vancouver, Miss 604, Inside Vancouver, The PEAK, 24 hours, Shore 104, and Global for getting the word out to their listeners/readers/viewers.

So if you see a fuzzy mascot downtown today be sure to get your hug!