By Austin Nairn
The Annual Company of Young Professionals’ Winter Social was held at the BC Showcase where over 100 guests had an opportunity to connect, reflect, and plan for 2012.
In addition to enjoying refreshments, appetizers, and live music, (courtesy of CYP Member Maggie Zhang) guests heard from Mr. Rob Arthurs who is a senior manager with BC’s Ministry of Jobs, Tourism, and Innovation. Rob shared some outstanding suggestions about how Canadian businesses can be more competitive in the global marketplace by choosing to compete on the basis of quality rather than quantity, where they are less likely to be competitive in international markets.
Following the presentation by Mr. Arthurs, guests were offered a unique opportunity to tour the BC Showcase facility which features industry specific information and signature artwork from around the province. Created for the 2010 Olympic and Paralympic Winter Games, the BC Showcase helped foster business relationships, profile BC regions and industry sectors, and solidify the Province’s international business image as Canada’s Pacific Gateway.
2011 was an impressive year for The Vancouver Board of Trade’s Company of Young Professionals (CYP) Program as program participants learned from industry leading experts, attended hundreds of networking events, and contributed several thousand volunteer hours through Board Committees and community outreach initiatives. Many CYP Members generously brought non perishable food items to the Winter Social and will be volunteering with the Greater Vancouver Food Bank on Saturday January 7th.
The CYP Program is dedicated to supporting the development of young professionals under the age of 35 and is made possible with the outstanding support of the program sponsors listed here. CYP would like to thank these organizations for their continual support as they are instrumental in developing Vancouver’s future business and community leaders. CYP would also like to thank the outstanding BC Showcase team and sponsors of the Winter Social including Tom Lee Music, Vision Event Photography and Mount Seymour Resorts.