Colchester Regional Development Agency, A Strong Voice for A Growing, Vibrant Region

NOTE: Communications Nova Scotia is releasing feature stories highlighting the newest charter members of the Nova Scotia "Come to life" initiative. Nova Scotia "Come to life" is a public-private sector initiative that markets Nova Scotia as an excellent place in which to live, work, invest, play and visit. The following feature story was written by Steve Warburton.

As anyone who's ever taken the Trans-Canada Highway in Nova Scotia knows, the Colchester area, and specifically Truro, is a strategic crossroad.

It's where traffic from Canada's mostly easterly regions moves west. It's the turnoff to Atlantic Canada's major city, Halifax. And it's where more and more businesses are using location as a major development advantage.

As Jo Ann Fewer, executive director of the Colchester Regional Development Agency (CoRDA) points out, not only is the area a half-hour from Halifax's international airport and about an hour from Moncton's, it also has its own regional airport in Debert. It's less than an hour from the Port of Halifax, Canada's third busiest, and its two major container facilities.

It has major rail connections and those aforementioned highways. So it's little wonder three regional distribution centres are located there: grocery giant Sobeys, Tim Hortons and Home Hardware have all opted for the superior market access the Colchester region offers.

Still, Fewer says that's not the whole story.

"No question, we are a distribution centre," she says, "but there is also the story of smaller companies coming here because of our access to the airport and our quality of life."

As well, she points to the region's research strengths and diversified industrial and business base -- from Crossley Carpets to Canada's first name in underwear, Stanfield's Limited. From Fewer's perspective, not only is the Colchester region a geographic crossroads, it's also a development one, as it uses established strengths to build new opportunities.

For example, as home to the Nova Scotia Agricultural College, a research-intensive institution, the Colchester region is able to provide support to a range of emerging and established enterprises. That is one reason for the success of AgriTECH, one of the region's six industrial parks. AgriTECH's mandate is to provide "the fertile environment to grow and develop real economic opportunities for the agrifood industry," and the park's 65-hectare site hosts a range of companies, from a commercial analytical laboratory service, to a water treatment specialist, to a food production and safety consultant.

The area can also boast about the success of the Truro Power Centre. The Millbrook First Nation initiative is the result of an historic deal between Millbrook and the three levels of government. Now seven years old, the centre boasts a variety of tenants.

The region's resources and enterprises are all part of the pitch when Fewer and her dedicated team promote Colchester's advantages. In a report measuring factors such as, transportation, utilities and taxes firm KPMG chose Truro as the best small Canadian centre in which to do business.

But to Fewer and her crew, this raft of positives is only part of the picture. The spark that ignites the development mix is the region's welcoming people, friendly communities, attractive lifestyle and affordable housing. As Margot Begin-Gillis, director of communications and people development for CoRDA, says, "There is an energy that people connect to."

And Begin-Gillis says CoRDA, and its vast volunteer network, makes sure clients make that connection.

"We have the ability to put them in touch with the right people," she says. "You do not have to reinvent the wheel when you come here."

The communities that make up CoRDA care about their people, particularly when it comes to making the region attractive to businesses. The Fifteen2TwentyNine website and subsequent Make Way for Youth program improve communication with youth and match them with employers.

CoRDA's Make Way for Youth Program also introduces youth to the area in a unique way, flying urban kids in for a long weekend of meetings and hospitality.

The group's Come Home to Colchester initiative lures ex-patriots with opportunities to win free flights home. Last year, a couple living in Prince George, B.C., flew back for Come Home to Colchester 2006 celebrations. The initiative gave them a chance to visit, look at buying property in the region and start making plans to relocate.

The development agency continues to be an aggressive marketer of the region with its Where Business Moves campaign. The program includes billboards in major cities and a website -- www.wherebusinessmoves.ca .

"We aren't afraid to design a program if there isn't one in place," says Fewer. And now, with discussion of Nova Scotia's potential as the Atlantic Gateway for container shipping traffic, the area is searching for ways to capitalize.

The area is already tied into a network offering single-carrier, double-stack rail service to Chicago and it straddles Canada's major east-west highway link, connecting it to major Canadian and U.S. markets. The decommissioning of the former military land at Debert opens up more than 4,000 acres (1,600 hectares) for industrial, commercial, cultural and residential development, along with the possibility of setting aside 500 acres (200 hectares) for an inland terminal.

Typical of CoRDA's role as collaborator and enabler, talks to advance the project with key interested parties, including the Confederacy of Mainland Mi’kmaq, Canadian National railroad and the Truro Chamber of Commerce, have already begun.

For Fewer, this is just another example of the co-operation and determination community leaders have in pursuing goals, maximizing on the crossroads advantage and building on strengths.

And it's yet another reason the Colchester region is so attractive to businesses.