Hockey High to Rocky Mountain Dream
Life was good or so she thought. A good marriage, the kids were grown and doing well. She had an exciting job promoting women’s and girls hockey in Ontario.
There were the persistent "Move west for a great life in the Rocky Mountains" sales pitches from her sister including numerous invitations to her new hometown of Cranbrook, British Columbia.
The births of a nephew and niece also meant frequent trips to the beautiful East Kootenay corner of BC. With each visit it became more difficult to leave the peacefulness and fresh mountain air to return to the traffic jams and chaotic life in southern Ontario.
Then one September evening in 2007, when chatting on-line, her sister excitedly typed that she found a website for the new Shadow Mountain golf course development.
Well that was it. A month and two trips west later, the decision was made to invest towards retirement in the amazing Rocky Mountain playground.
Next question, how could Melanie McFarlane and her husband Rick make the dream happen sooner than later? Could Melanie leave the women’s hockey world where she had spent the last 18 years involved in local, provincial, national and international events; her efforts culminating in being honoured as the 2003 Woman of the Year for Health and Fitness for the City of Hamilton.
Then in 2006, Melanie received national recognition when Hockey Canada presented the left-winger turned goaltender with the Isobel Gathorne Hardy Award. The prestigious "Player of the Year" award is attributed to an active player, at any level of the game, whose values, leadership and personal traits are representative of all female athletes. The award recognizes a player that has demonstrated strong community involvement and dedication to the game of hockey.
Could the lure of a life in south-eastern BC be greater than her hockey life? The answer was YES!
Melanie and Rick were excited at the prospect of joining the friendly and fast growing Cranbrook community, with Shadow Mountain offering a very special place to ultimately put down retirement roots.
Making the mid-life move, Melanie looked for a business idea which also offered an opportunity to get to know local folks. Who better to ask then someone who has a finger on the Kootenay pulse.
Over a coffee, Shadow Mountain Sales Consultant Irene Barnes and Melanie talked about the exciting future for Cranbrook, the Kootenays and Shadow Mountain.
The new Rocky Mountain International Airport was a key ingredient in the future growth of the region. It provided international access to the local recreational lifestyle communities. With Delta Airlines offering a link to their western hub Salt Lake City, the world was finally discovering BC’s best kept secret.
Irene mentioned the need for someone to help the future recreational homeowners keep care of their homes while vacant. What a great idea! The wheels began turning and the company name happened before the end of the day.
Thinking about the bear shadow on Shadow Mountain a perfect name would be The Bear Necessities Home Watch Service. Melanie could offer home checks, snow removal, lawn mowing, house cleaning, stock fridges, greet deliveries, airport shuttles and much more.
One goal would be to offer the recreational home owner a chance to spend more of their precious time on recreation and less time in the grocery store or cleaning. The company’s services would also be provided to permanent Cranbrook and area residents going away on vacation.
The transition west has started. Melanie has made the move and The Bear Necessities Home Watch Service is up and running. Rick currently remains in Ontario and is looking forward to joining Melanie soon in their new western adventure.
Melanie has certainly found a niche market as young families, baby-boomers and retirees all discover this recreation paradise. Not wanting to forget about her love of hockey, Melanie packed her goalie gear and was lucky enough to find that the new Cranbrook Women’s Rec Hockey League needed a netminder. Playing hockey in the Rockies, living in the beautiful City of Cranbrook…..dreams do come true!
Now it is Rick and Melanie’s turn to make the persistent "Move west for a great life in the Rocky Mountains" sales pitch to Ontario family and friends!
Delta Deal Good to Go!
The demand for the budding Kootenay Tourism Product is about grow – exponentially. Canadian Rockies International Airport (YXC) is about to take a monumental step into the international market place. The groundwork has been put in place for Delta Airlines to provide non-stop flights from Salt Lake City to the Canadian Rockies International Airport.
The first Delta flight is pencilled in from Salt Lake City to Cranbrook on December 17th of this year.
“This is a growing area, access has been a challenge to the region and this is ripe for people to come to this community from the States, and this is the easiest and the fastest way to get there.” said Kent Myers of Airplanners.
The potential economic impact of the inbound Delta flights to the area is enormous, allowing US visitors to enjoy the incredible Kootenay lifestyle, with just a 2 hour flight.
However the real gem of the deal might prove to be the outbound flight for locals, and recreational real estate owners.
International Carriers know that this is a new and unproven market, as such a guarantee will be required. In a brilliant display of cooperation and teamwork, municipalities and private enterprise have teamed together to ensure that this deal is reached.
There has been strong participation from a wide cross section of Kimberley and Cranbrook businesses. The support continues both up and down the valley, with Intrawest at Panorama, Copper Point, at Fairmont, and from virtually every business in Fernie.
This is a milestone that the that the airport marketing committee has been working toward for many years.
The impact that this will have on the local economy is going to be huge. There is strong demand for the Ski and Golf product, and with other destinations such as Whistler falling out of favor for being oversold, smart investors are getting in while prices are still attainable.
Salt Lake City is a smart tactical move as it is considered an omni hub and is Delta’s fastest growing domestic hub in terms of destinations served. Delta and the Delta Connection carriers offer Salt Lake City customers 335 peak-day departures to 108 nonstop destinations.
“Service is set to start in December with a 50 passenger jet. Wednesday, Saturday, Sunday – they leave Salt Lake City at 11:10 and will land here at 1:08. They’ll return and be back in Salt Lake City at 3:33. That will be a connecting flight that will go out toward the United States across the Delta hub.” Myers said.
According to Myers, the excitement does not stop with the exposure to the to the international market:
“We have talked to West Jet. We will talk to Air Canada. We want to grow the domestic market as well.“
