An article I wrote for the Judy Gray Team blog.

Fresh Air

Everyone knows that fresh air is good for you!  The ocean air on the west coast of Vancouver Island is just about as fresh as it gets.  Did you know that sea air is charged with healthy negative ions that accelerate our ability to absorb oxygen?  That is why we feel so great and why a day out on the beach usually means a night of sleeping soundly!

These negative ions also help balance levels of serotonin which can help relieve stress and lift your mood.  Most people travel to the ocean to take in this fresh sea air and leave feeling relaxed and energized.  In Ucluelet, we get these benefits every day!

Waves of Relaxation

The sound of waves has always been able to lull us into a state of relaxation.  Lying on the beach listening to the constant lapping of waves onto the shore can easily put us to sleep.  These wave patterns are known to alter the wave patterns in our brain, which is why we are lulled into this deep relaxation.  Some people buy CD’s with ocean and nature sounds on them to help them relax…what if you got the same affect just sitting on your deck?

Healing Waters

Although the temperature of the Pacific Ocean in our part of the world is quite cold, some still choose to put on a neoprene wetsuit and go into the water for a swim, surf, boogie board, or paddle board session.  There are great health benefits to exposing yourself to sea water.  In fact, many healing therapies and spa treatment products are derived from the ocean.  Sea water contains healthy minerals and components like calcium, magnesium, sodium and potassium.

These minerals help heal wounds more quickly, reduce pain, calm the mind, improve skin condition and flush out harmful toxins in our bodies.  There is something fantastically refreshing about submerging in the ocean.  The taste of salt water on your lips, the cool and clean water on your skin; all of these nutrient rich components give you the ingredients for a healthy, long life.

Exercise and Recreation

It is easier to get outside and get active when you are surrounded by such dramatic and breathtaking nature.  Step outside your front door and go for a long walk on the beach.  Climb over ocean rocks, explore the intertidal life in pools at low tide.  Take up surfing, kayaking, or even stand-up paddle boarding all great exercise and very beneficial to your health.  Most people travel far to have a few days of this kind of lifestyle.  When you live by the ocean, it becomes your daily life.

We are fortunate to be near the Pacific Rim National Park Reserve.  It is a jogger’s delight as you’ll have the opportunity to run along 16km of sand swept coastline.  Running on hard sand at lower tides helps you burn calories without the harmful shock to your knees, hips, and back you get when running on pavement.  The view and your natural surrounding are absolutely stunning.  You will love it.

Oceanfront Property

Owning your oceanfront property is easier than you might think.  Condo suite units at properties like Black Rock Oceanfront Resort and Water’s Edge Resort offer ocean views with opportunities for investment, additional income, and all of the health benefits of seaside living.

Build your dream home at Oceanwest, Ucluelet’s waterfront community development.  Pick out your oceanfront or rainforest lot and start reaping the benefits of living by the ocean.

Friends, Edmonton Ski Club members,  local government, and the neighboring community gathered at the Edmonton Ski Club’s open house.

The open house was an opportunity for the Edmonton Ski Club (ESC) to give recognition to the City of Edmonton and the Government of Alberta for their generous contributions that led to the purchase of a new groomer.

Honoured guests and participants in the open house ceremony included:  David Dorward, MLA Edmonton-Goldbar; Stephen Mandell, Mayor of the City of Edmonton; and Linda Cochrane, General Manager, Community Services, City of Edmonton.

“What does the new groomer mean?” said Ken Saunders, President of the Edmonton Ski Club’s Board of Directors in his speech at today’s ceremonies.

“We will have a safer hill as we can now groom the slopes and terrain park to world class levels.”

The reconditioned BR350 groomer purchased from Prinoth is valued at just under $100,000.

The ESC received $48,500 from the Government of Alberta’s Community Initiatives Program and just under $117,000 from the City of Edmonton’s Community Facility Partner Capital Grant Program to purchase the groomer.

A portion of the City of Edmonton’s grant will also be going towards development of a new Master Plan for the ESC to redevelop and reinvigorate the site which has been a part of the Edmonton skiing landscape for over 100 years.

To help move forward on this project, the ESC has hired an architect, Brent Harley & Associates out of Whistler, BC, who have experience developing master plans for ski resorts.

“It’s through these partnerships we will pave the way to a new future, providing outdoor recreation, and a place for friends and families to meet and enjoy our fabulous winters,” said Saunders.

“We are proud and excited to help the Edmonton Ski Club build another century of recreation for all Albertans!”

The ceremony was also an opportunity for the ESC to honour and celebrate the life of Stuart Winkler.  Stuart was a former ski jumper, lifetime volunteer of the ESC, and a friend of the local skiing community who passed away unexpectantly this summer.  As a memorial to Stuart Winkler he will be rewarded the Salute to Excellence Sport Citation Award from Edmonton Community Services.

For more information visit www.edmontonskiclub.com.

Laura and Jake of Character Renovations give a testimonial for K&J Custom Granite for the great work they did on the counter tops and island in this beautifully renovated kitchen.

This production was written and directed by myself.  James Cadden was the camera operator and video producer.  If you would like to create a similar video for your website, YouTube Channel, and other social media sites please contact me at amy@amyhancock.com

Mike Klein from Stellar Homes gives a testimonial for K & J Custom Granite for the great work they did in the Genesis on the Lakes Show Home.

This production was written and directed by myself.  James Cadden was the camera operator and video producer.  If you would like to create a similar video for your website, YouTube Channel, and other social media sites please contact me at amy@amyhancock.com.

Article written for the Coffee News Northern Alberta Newsletter – October 2012

Consumers Spend $8 Billion on Halloween

By Amy Hancock

According to the National Retail Federation 170 million American’s will celebrate Halloween. That’s 71.5% of the population with Halloween spending estimated to reach $8 billion. Even though it’s an American statistic, it is still a good indication of the eerie holiday’s popularity here in Canada.

A lot of people are spending a lot of money over Halloween. In fact, a survey done by Value Village in 2011 at found that the average Canadian planned on spending $300 over Halloween and that Halloween sales have increased more that 35% in the last 5 years.
(Read full story here)

Is your business taking advantage of what could be a spooktacular boost of your bottom line?

From hosting a Halloween party for your staff and clients, to throwing a Happy Halloween sale, or even just decorating your store and website for the season you can benefit from the dollars spent during this frightening time of year.

Read more Marketing Ideas for Halloween on our webpage.

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*Source:  http://www.nrf.com/modules.php?name=News&op=viewlive&sp_id=1430

http://www.torontosun.com/2011/09/15/spooked-retailers-hope-for-a-happy-halloween

I have started a new project with the Edmonton Dream Centre.  The Edmonton Dream Centre is a long-term in-residence facility for women in crisis, and their children; women who struggle with drug and alcohol addictions, homelessness, and other abuses.  Their amazing holistic programming allows women to work through their crises while having their children with them in a love and nurturing environment.

The work with real people to see help them discover real hope and work through a lifestyle change.  When I asked them to sum up what actually happens at the Edmonton Dream Centre they replied, “Changed thinking. Changed behaviour. Changed communities.”

In September James Cadden and I will be working on a professional video for the Edmonton Dream Centre.  This video will be a testimony from one of the women who’s life as been restored through the Edmonton Dream Centre.  A woman who hit rock bottom is now back with her husband and three children, living the life she was intended to live!

The purpose of the video is to drive corporate sponsorship.  Since the Edmonton Dream Centre is a not-for-profit organization they rely heavily on donations and corporate sponsorships.  As it stands now they are turning away dozens of women every year due to lack of funding.

If you know a business or an individual that might be interested in helping these families please let them know about the Edmonton Dream Centre!  We can work together to show love and help build stronger communities in the city of Edmonton.

Learn more about donating to the Edmonton Dream Centre.

This is a blog article I wrote for Black Rock Oceanfront Resort, located in Ucluelet, BC.

Terrace Beach, located directly within Ucluelet, is in the traditional territory of the Nuu-chah-nulth and especially the Ucluelet First Nation.  It’s deep cove and protected shore was used as a canoe beach landing and was used by people who have lived here for millennia!

Terrace Beach is a pebbled beach with protecting walls of rock on either side of the cove.  The forest stands old and tall, almost like fortress walls around this sheltered beach.  The water is calm, gently lapping up onto the shore as though it were a lake.  It isn’t hard to imagine why the Ucluelet First Nations used this beach to launch and land their canoes.

These canoes were 3 metres and longer and used for hunting, gathering seafood.  They also had dugout canoes over 10 metres long that were used for whaling, war, and voyages.  Sea lions, whales and seas were hunted many miles offshore.  Sometimes the largest canoes were rafted together in pairs and used to ferry house planks when people would move from one location to another, usually to hunt a seasonal resource like spawning salmon.

Can you picture the scene?  Cedar dugout canoes are loaded with harpoons, rope made of kelp, and floats made of sealskin.  Men are getting ready for a fishing trip.  Meanwhile, others are scoping the shallow waters of Terrace Beach and gathering shellfish in open-weave root baskets allowing the sand and water to drain out of the bottom.

A fire is burning close by, smoking and drying fish and shellfish that have already been caught and cleaned.  After it is completely prepared it will be carried along a short trail to hinapis, a small bay on the inside of the Ucluelet Inlet that is now called Spring Cove.  Often, the canoes would be portaged through this trail, and from there it is a short paddle to the Hittatsoo settlement on the other side of the inlet from there.  This shortcut was used since an ancient time, right up until the 1930s.

Terrace Beach is also an archaeological site and the site of an old First Nations midden.  A midden is basically a dump for domestic waste of that time.  Things like bone, shellfish, old tools, and botanical materials were dumped here.    These complex middens can be difficult to excavate but do tell us a lot by what they leave behind.

Bone tools were found at the midden at Terrace Beach, including a sharp knife and a harpoon point.

Picture Left:  “According to elder Barb Touchie, of Ucluelet First Nation, the small pointed tool above was used to gut and slice open the delicate flesh of herring.  Then the first was turned inside out and hung on sticks for smoking.

Picture Right: The harpoon point has a broken tip.  The base was wedged into a split pole, then wrapped with tree bark.  Larger harpoon heads were used for whale hunting and smaller ones were used for seals and large fish.  Artifacts are very frail and should never be disturbed.

To get to Terrace Beach:  Follow Peninsula Drive south until you pass the Terrace Beach Resort.  Turn left into the Hi-Tin-Kis parking lot and follow the signs for the Terrace Beach Interpretive Trail.

This is a great beach to explore history…and to have a picnic!

Until next time,

Amy Hancock