Dad was one of the do-gooders who pitched up at The Elks Club on Friday afternoons for special events during the 70s and 80s. Time ticked on and I found myself getting married there on a very hot August 4, weekend. Family and friends gathered amongst the center city trees, with the smell of salty air rising up from the narrows all the way to the Elks club.

We had a wicked ole’ time that day. I married Frank Shortall, God rest his soul. Kindest man, with a heart of gold. What a sight we all were at the wedding, five bridesmaids in pink dresses and in fashion, flat-top Bolero hats. We thought we were IT! We all stood among the hundred-year old trees which made the perfect backdrop for the pictures of our wedding. I’ll never forget it.

COMMUNITY

That’s what the Elks Club was way back when. A sense of family, community and a place for the special moments of life. People who care about others, make memories and have a whole lot of fun. The Elks Club is a family-oriented, Canadian volunteer organization of men and women bringing together the community. The club’s mission is to promote and support charitable causes, community service, and youth activities and its local patrons with great events. Does that sound like a good place to visit?

MUSIC & FRIENDS

Recently, the St. John’s Elks Club renewed its commitment to our city by bringing together people and music in a big way. This new live music hub is a creative celebration of our unique music scene. And why wouldn’t they? St. John’s has more musicians per capita than anywhere else in Canada. It’s a Music Mecca. I call the downtown core all the way up to the Elks Club, our little Greenwich Village of St. John’s City. It’s a melting pot of local musical fare.

Pop into the Elks Club and you’ll find St. John’s great singing talents like Judith Morrissey and Sherri Breen harmonizing the house down with the Road Side Attractions! Or you might catch a night with Mick Davis woo-wing the crowd with his Bob Dylan style tunes. It is something to behold.

EVENTS VENUE

The Elks Club has a great dance hall that is perfect for larger live music events, as well there is a smaller intimate space that often draws a crowd of about 30 music-loving locals on a Friday afternoon.

The music events have been a huge success, and the club quickly became known for its down-to-earth, close-knit, musical, local experiences.

MATCHMAKER ON SITE

Rumors have it that there’s a matchmaker on the premises, so beware. You might end up smitten by the end of the night! Can’t say who it is though. If you are single, you’ll find out soon enough.

JOIN IN FOR THE FUN

The St. John’s Elks Club is a great example of how a community can come together through music-loving individuals who deeply care about our beautiful city and its people.

People make a difference, and places come alive because of those people. Thanks to everyone at the Elks Club for transforming it into a music heaven.

At the age of 27, with no money, no resources, and no support, in a tiny back room, in my home on Signal Hill, St. John’s Newfoundland, I started The Oil and Gas Magazine.

At the time we named the first magazine Atlantic Canada Oil Works.  The vision came in 1991 as news began to rise about the possibility of our oil and gas industry. Hibernia was the conversation of the day. It was the promise of a new era, new jobs, and welcomed opportunities.

With the fish moratorium looming it was the brightest spot we had in terms of our economic prosperity.  Knowing little of publishing, oil, gas, or advertising sales, I found a way amongst a sea of nay-sayers.  Every conversation supported the next.

Those who aligned with the vision progressed with us.  With the support of local business people like David Rudofsky, Robinson-Blackmore Printing and Publishing, Dave Keating, and Kim Todd, May of 1992 saw the first magazine published.  That was six years before we had any oil produced in the province of Newfoundland and Labrador. It was indeed a visionary foresight.

Exploration and Drilling Timeline for Atlantic Canada Offshore Resources 1812 – 1984. Source: NOIA

• 1943: First Atlantic Canadian offshore well drilled off PEI
• 1960: First seismic program offshore NS, near Sable Island (Mobil Oil)
• 1966: The first two Grand Banks wells drilled offshore NL (Amoco Canada)
• 1967: First NS offshore well drilled (Mobil Oil)
• 1971: Sable E-48 Discovery well offshore NS (Mobil Oil)
• 1972: Thebaud gas field discovered offshore NS
• 1973: Cohasset Field discovered offshore NS (Mobil Canada)
• 1973–75: Bjarni H-81 SD well (‘73); Gudrid H-55 SD well (’74); Snorri J-90 SD well (’75) offshore Labrador (Eastcan et al)
• 1977: NOIA (Newfoundland Ocean Industries Association) established
• 1978: Hopedale E-33 SD well offshore Labrador (Chevron Standard)
• 1979: Hibernia P-15 Discovery well, Grand Banks offshore NL (Chevron Canada Resources)
• 1979: Venture D-23 Discovery well offshore NS
• 1980-1984 – Hibernia Field delineated and appraised
• 1981 North Bjarni F-06 SD well offshore Labrador (Petro-Canada) and the Hebron I-13 Discovery well, Grand Banks, offshore NL (Mobil Oil
• 1982 Storm sinks Ocean Ranger drilling platform, Grand Banks offshore NL; 84 lives lost
• 1983 South Venture, Glenelg and Alma fields discovered south of Sable Island, offshore NS
• 1984 Terra Nova K-08 Discovery well, offshore NL, finds Terra Nova Field (Petro- Canada et al)

Exploration and Drilling Timeline for Atlantic Canada Offshore Resources 1985 – 1992. Source: NOIA

• 1985 Atlantic Accord signed by GC and GNL, covering joint management of offshore resources and revenue sharing; regulator C-NLOPB established.
• Hibernia Development and Benefits Plans filed with C-NLOPB
• Hibernia declared a significant discovery
• Terra Nova declared a significant discovery
• White Rose N-22 Discovery well, Grand Banks, offshore NL (Husky Oil)
• 1986 C-NLOPB approves the Hibernia Development Plan through Decision 86.01
• Canada-Nova Scotia Offshore Petroleum Resources Accord signed
• Panuke Field discovered offshore Nova Scotia (Shell)
• 1987 Canada-Newfoundland Atlantic Accord Implementation Acts enacted
• 1988 Hibernia project partners form Hibernia Management and Development Company (HMDC) to construct Hibernia facilities
• White Rose E-09, Grand Banks offshore NL (Husky Oil et al) finds commercial quantities of oil
• Canada-Nova Scotia Atlantic Accord Implementation Acts enacted
• 1989 Lasmo Nova Scotia and GNS joint venture to develop the Cohasset and Panuke Fields
• 1990 Canada Nova Scotia Offshore Petroleum Board (C-NSOPB) established
• Hibernia Milestones include: Hibernia declared a Commercial Discovery by C-NLOPB; C-NLOPB issues a 25-year production license to the Hibernia consortium; Hibernia Agreement signed by GC, GNL, and consortium of 4 oil companies
• Cohasset Project Development Employment and Industrial Benefits Plans approved by C-NSOPB
• 1991 The birth of The Oil and Gas Magazine
• Cohasset Project (Lasmo Nova Scotia) issued first production licences
• Balmoral M-32 Exploration well discovers oil
• 1992 Gulf Canada Resources withdraws from Hibernia development; project retrenched
• Cohasset-Panuke Field produces first oil
• Continuation Agreement signed by Hibernia partners
• Dry-dock construction of Hibernia’s Gravity Base Structure (GBS) begins

NOIA

The Newfoundland Ocean Industries Association was in its infancy. An idea sparked in 1977 by Rob Stong and other oil and gas enthusiasts,  NOIA  grew to be a united resource that supported oil and gas development in the region. In 1992, Christine Fagan was the President of NOIA and Ruth Graham was the Executive Director.  Two very strong visionary women led us into a time of prosperity and we are thankful!

A devastating blow to the oil and gas industry happened when Hibernia’s partner, Gulf pulled out of the project leaving a gaping hole in the consortium of partners.  Things were not looking good. The first project touted to be the savior of the province was now in trouble again.

 The government and business community lobbied the local and national decision-makers leading to a decision to have the Federal Government of Canada be the temporary final partner.  This was the foresight and dedication it took to build the industry.  John Crosbie and others in the business community traveled to Ottawa to meet with Jake Epp who was the Minister of Energy for Canada at the time.  They worked it out, Hiberina was a go.

The sparking of Hibernia brought with it ideas of other on-land oil developments, on the west coast of Newfoundland. The Hunt-PanCanadian Port au Port #1 well was drilled on the west coast, in the Spring of 1995.

Exploration and Drilling Timeline for Atlantic Canada Offshore Resources –  1993 – 1998.
Source: NOIA (EnergyNL)

• 1993 Hibernia Project shares relinquished by Gulf Canada Resources (25%) undertaken by Murphy Oil (6.5%), Mobil (5%), Chevron (5%) and the Canadian government (8.5%); project proceeds
• 1994 Generic royalty regime for petroleum developments onshore NL announced
• Port au Port 1 Exploration well, West Coast NL (Hunt Oil and PanCanadian Petroleum)
• 1995 Sable Offshore Energy Project (SOEP) and Maritimes and Northeast Pipeline (M&NP) formed
• Terra Nova development announced (Petro-Canada et al)
• 1996 A-36 Exploration well onshore West Coast NL (Hunt Oil and PanCanadian Petroleum)
• Hebron – Ben Nevis and other offshore NL properties acquired by Chevron Canada Resources
• SOEP royalty framework established
• Generic royalty regime announced for future petroleum developments offshore NL
• Norsk Hydro signs strategic alliance agreement with Petro-Canada, acquiring a 15% share in Terra Nova and 5% share in Hibernia
• 1997 Big Spring #1 Exploration well in Hare Bay, West Coast NL (Delpet Resources)
• Hibernia milestones: Topsides Module and GBS mated; platform towed out and fixed at the permanent site on Grand Banks;
• West Bonne Bay C-23 Discovery well, Grand Banks offshore Newfoundland (Amoco Canada)
• SOEP milestones: royalty framework announced [01]; Joint Public Review Panel recommends approval; environmental and DP approvals by NEB and C-NSOPB
• 1998 SOEP milestones: construction begins; Irving Oil signs a 15-year purchase contract for SOEP gas; first Venture production well; Goldboro Gas Plant construction begins; first Thebauld production well

With the onset of Hibernia, Atlantic Canada became a global topic of conversation.  A new frontier that had resources believed to equal that of the North Sea.  Technology and innovation supported the advancement of oil and gas developments.  Highly respected people and organizations like the Cambridge Energy Research Association, headed by Daniel Yergin, led industry-leading conversations that paved the way to our success.

Six years after the Hibernia project was signed it geared up for oil production.  A technological feat of great minds, this island in the sea was a construction phenomenon of global proportion.  The project attracted expertise from the UK, Norway, and Texas.  

There were people from all over the world, transferring knowledge and technology to develop the projects. Terra Nova’s development plan began simultaneously.  It was an exciting time of progress for Atlantic Canada.

IT TAKES A TRIBE

Creating an oil and gas industry offshore took an echelon of visionaries and progressive pioneers.  Oil companies, major contractors, sub-contractors, and suppliers came together to build an industry. As the oil and gas industry grew, the natural course of expansion took place and local companies traveled to global conferences and exhibitions promoting our region as well as exporting their products and services.  

Veteran industry leaders are seen here in the photo below: Colin Dyer, Clyde Woodward, Dr. Rex Gibbons (who was the Minister of Natural Resources at the time), and industry leader Fred Murrin. Each person is instrumental in the development of the oil and gas industry in Newfoundland and Labrador.

FIRST THERE WAS HIBERNIA – TERRA NOVA WAS NEXT

Building on Hibernia’s first oil success in 1998, the Terra Nova project came on stream. Taking a different production approach, the consortium members opted for a Floating Production Storage Offloading Vessel (FPSO).  It was the first time such an oil and gas solution had operated in Newfoundland’s offshore.

Exploration and Drilling Timeline for Atlantic Canada Offshore Resources –  2000 – 2003. Source: NOIA

• 2000 SOEP Fractionation Plant at Point Tupper opened Hebron M-04 Delineation well, Grand Banks offshore NL (Chevron et al)
• Terra Nova FPSO vessel arrives at Bull Arm, NL for topsides installation and vessel commissioning

2001 Deep Panuke project (PanCanadian Petroleum), offshore Nova Scotia, announced White Rose milestones: C-NLOPB approves Development Application (Husky Oil Operations).

McCully (Corridor Resources) milestones – #2 well reaches total depth; flow testing completed.

D-48 drilling begins at Point Tupper Lateral (M&NP) ready to deliver natural gas

Terra Nova milestones: FPSO departs Bull Arm for sea trials; first well drilled into Far East Block

HIBERNIA, TERRA NOVA, AND WHITE ROSE

2002 Captain Cook #1, West Coast NL (Vulcan Minerals) drilling begins Terra Nova produces first oil McCully D-48 (Corridor Resources) drilling completed White Rose.

Husky Energy sanctions project; Marystown fabrication facilities acquired for White Rose topsides fabrication.

Annapolis G-24 deepwater well offshore NS (Marathon Oil) strikes gas Deep Panuke public review undertaken jointly by C-NSOPB and NEB M&NP Phase IV expansion receives regulatory approval

2003 Study assessing risk from iceberg scour on Labrador Shelf released by C-CORE EnCana requests suspension of timelines on the Deep Panuke Project Hibernia oil production increased from 180,000 bpd to 220,000 bpd.

Bull Arm, NL leased for topsides fabrication.

NEWDOCK (St. John’s) undertakes subsea manifold fabrication Marine CNG Centre of Excellence at Memorial University announced (EnerSea Canada).

Orphan Basin offshore NL draws over $670 million in exploration commitments First gas from Alma field, SOEP Tier II.

Working offshore on the Hibernia platform meant having to adhere to the conditions of the dangerous Atlantic Ocean.  Mighty waves, foggy conditions, and icebergs were offshore considerations that required great consideration and care as new safety regimes were put in place to keep people safe.  With projects of this magnitude, there is always a risk of loss of life.  Given the sinking of the exploratory drilling rig the Ocean Ranger in previous years, the operators and major contractors took the time to consider safety at every turn. Safety was number one!

The year 2000 saw the dream of Terra Nova come to fruition.  With Hibernia well underway and billions of dollars spent on construction, the economic climate was picking up and prosperity started to trickle into the homes of the local people, in the form of jobs, companies, and to the province in the form of royalties.

1999 spudded the first online experiences for content. People began to harness the possibilities of the internet. At the time, they called it the “super highway”. This new technology was opening up to the world wide web. For the first time, we would no longer be bound by geography.  This was a life-transforming time for people and businesses. Information became more readily available. Progress would speed up as a result.

The first decade of the oil and gas industry in Atlantic Canada saw many milestones offshore Newfoundland and Nova Scotia.  

Oil and gas projects quickly became the foundation of the economy and offered the people of the region an entirely new level of hope.  Newfoundland and Nova Scotia were showing promise of oil and gas and the early 70s and 80s drilling operations.

Exploration and Drilling Timeline for Atlantic Canada Offshore Resources –  2004 – 2016.
Source: NOIA (EnergyNL)

• 2004 White Rose milestones: FPSO SeaRose hull completed in South Korea; SeaRose arrives Marystown, NL for topsides installation and vessel commissioning.
  
• 5-year moratorium on duty for temporary importation of mobile offshore drilling units (MODUs) announced by NRCan.
  
• Bear Head LNG terminal (Anadarko Petroleum) construction begins.

2005 Hebron – Ben Nevis development JOA announced by Chevron Canada and partners (ExxonMobil, Petro-Canada and Norsk Hydro).

Rowan Gorilla VI, the first jack-up used offshore NL, spuds well in South Whale Basin (Husky Energy).

White Rose milestones: SeaRose hookup and commissioning completed, departs Marystown, NL [07].

SeaRose arrives at White Rose Field, offshore NL.

first oil Construction begins at the Canaport LNG terminal in Saint John, NB.

2006 Deep Panuke Offshore Strategic Energy Agreement (OSEA) signed by EnCana and GNS Orphan Basin first exploration drilling begins (Chevron) West Bonne Bay SDL delineation drilling confirms hydrocarbon (Norsk Hydro, Husky Energy)

2007 First gas at McCully (Corridor Resources)

GNL and Hebron Consortium sign MOU regarding the development of field GNL releases Energy Plan, introduces Energy Corporation – Nalcor Energy.

Deep Panuke receives governmental approval and project sanction White Rose milestone: Formal agreement between GNL and Husky Energy for the White Rose expansion project.

2008 Rig sharing agreement announced between StatoilHydro, Husky Energy & Petro-Canada Formal agreement between GNL and Hebron partners for the development of Hebron field.

2009 NL offshore projects reach 1 billion barrels produced

Cougar Helicopter Flight 491 ditches in Atlantic Ocean offshore NL; 17 lives lost, one survivor.

An offshore Inquiry was established to recommend improvements to safety for helicopter transport.

StatoilHydro announces discovery in Flemish Pass, on Mizzen Prospect.

Nalcor Energy acquires 67 percent working interest in three permits at Parsons Pond.

2010 Hibernia Southern Extension approved by C-NLOPB GNL announces Lower Churchill project deal reached.

GNL finalizes its third offshore equity deal, this time for 10 percent of Hibernia Southern Extension development approved by C-NLOPB.

ConocoPhillips completes drilling of its first exploration well on the NL side of the Laurentian Basin

Chevron Canada wraps up drilling its second deepwater exploration well in the Orphan Basin.

Commissioner of the Offshore Helicopter Safety Inquiry releases report on the crash of Flight 491

Legacy Fund established to award scholarships to post-secondary students GNL announces Lower Churchill project deal reached with GNS

THE WORLD BECOMES ENVIRONMENTALLY CONSCIOUS

HEBRON IS THE NEXT MEGA-PROJECT

2011 TSB releases investigation report into the crash of Flight 491

Hebron partners submit development plan application to the C-NLOPB

First oil flows from Hibernia Southern Extension

Statoil spuds its second deepwater well, Mizzen F-09, in the Flemish Pass

Hebron Public Review Commission holds public hearings on the Hebron project

2012 Hebron Public Review Commission issues 64 recommendations in a report approving the oilfield development.

Hebron project receives regulatory green light from C-NLOPB.

Province reaches $150-million settlement with Hebron partners for out-of-province fabrication of drilling equipment set, one of three modules to be built in NL under the 2008 Hebron agreement.

$7.5-billion Muskrat Falls hydroelectric project is officially sanctioned.

$14-billion Hebron oilfield development receives project sanction from partners led by ExxonMobil.

2013 C-NLOPB increases oil reserve estimates for Terra Nova oilfield from 419 to 506 million barrels.

First steel cut for Hebron topsides modules. South White Rose subsea tieback (33 million barrels of oil) receives regulatory approval for gas injection.

Construction of Hebron GBS reaches 27.5 meters in height in August.

Statoil Canada estimates 300-600 million barrels of light crude discovered at Bay du Nord prospect in the Flemish Pass.

Husky Energy announces it will develop White Rose Extension Project using a wellhead platform. Platform’s concrete base will be built at Argentia.

Husky begins construction of a new graving dock at Argentia where the wellhead platform will be built for the White Rose Extension Project.

Stena Carron drillship finishes drilling the Margaree A-49 exploration well for Chevron in Orphan Basin in November; the well was spudded in March.

October 2013: Paint hall extension and other major facility upgrades completed in Marystown for the Hebron project.

2014 C-NLOPB issues Western Newfoundland and Labrador Offshore Area Strategic Environmental Assessment Update report May 5.

Light intervention vessel Skandi Inspector completes a 40-day program in July to improve hydrocarbon recovery in three Terra Nova wells – a first-time use of LIV technology in the NL Offshore.

180,000-tonne Hebron GBS is towed three kilometers from Bull Arm drydock to a deepwater construction site in Trinity Bay on July 22.

Subsea production equipment was installed for South White Rose, the second satellite development at the White Rose oilfield.

C-NLOPB issues Eastern Newfoundland Strategic Environmental Assessment final report August 5.

C-NLOPB releases the White Rose Extension Project public review report on September 29.

The provincial government appoints a five-member independent panel on October 10 to review hydraulic fracturing in Western Newfoundland.

Seismic data acquisition in the NL Offshore reaches a 30-year high with a collection of 36,973 line kilometers of 2D data. As well, 3,187 square kilometers of 3D data were acquired.

In December, C-NLOPB announces the largest bid received for a single offshore parcel in the NL Offshore – $559 million in work commitments from ExxonMobil, ConocoPhillips, and Suncor Energy for EL 1135 in the Flemish Pass.

C-NLOPB increases its reserve estimate for the Hibernia oil field by 249 million barrels to 1.644 billion barrels; the previous reserve estimate was 1.395 billion barrels.

Husky Energy announces a one-year delay on December 17 in project sanction for White Rose Extension Project.

Husky will identify cost efficiencies with the proposed wellhead platform to develop West White Rose and also consider a subsea development option.

World oil prices drop by 50 percent in the last half of year, the steepest price decline since the 2008 financial crisis.

Drill rig West Hercules spuds first well (Bay de Verde F-67) November 4 in Statoil Canada’s 18-month drilling program to appraise the Bay du Nord discovery in the Flemish Pass.

Rig Henry Goodrich spuds its last well (Aster C-93A in southern Flemish Pass) on December 19 in the NL Offshore for Husky Energy.

Hebron’s structural fabrication of the lower and intermediate decks continued. In total, 4 decks will comprise the DSM structure. Multi-discipline outfitting of the DSM began in the 2nd quarter of 2014.

2014-2015: Derrick Equipment Set – fabrication for the Hebron Project and HebronUtilities/Process Module fabrication took place from 2014 – 2016.

2015 The Canada-Nova Scotia Offshore Petroleum Board authorized a Shell Canada Ltd. drilling plan in the Shelburne Basin.

Results of a seismic study of 11 parcels of land up for bids in November 2015, offshore Newfoundland show the potential for up to 12 billion barrels of oil, with a market value of up to $600 billion.

Oil companies committed to spending more than $1.2 billion on exploration in a frontier area of Newfoundland offshore. This round of bids marked the biggest-ever combined amount of revenue for exploration in the region. There were 11 parcels of land totaling 2.5 million hectares around the Flemish Pass basin. Bids were submitted and accepted for seven of the land parcels.

2016 Hook-up and commissioning of the Hebron project. Scheduled for production in 2017.

As years passed and projects progressed we experienced challenges with Covid 19 and Climate change.
With these challenges came many new solutions, a new attitude about development, and a welcome consciousness for the planet.

As soon as Covid hit, the silver lining of the global pandemic also emerged. While the world was falling apart at the seams, some people were sewing it back together again with random acts of kindness and unprecedented care for our animals and the planet.

• Tragedy united us.
• The level of care for others rose to incredible levels.
• People began to open their hearts and share more.
• Priorities came to the surface, and contribution was at the top of the list.
• Appreciation for the simple things and gratitude were at an all-time high.
• Texts and emails of encouragement and cheerful words of hope and better days were prevalent.
• People volunteered in record numbers.
• Some people donated to charities, food banks, and other non-profits. Everyone dug in and gave a hand.
• Businesses looked to find new ways to support staff, communities, and the world at large.

The pandemic paved the way for millions of people to find beauty in the toughest of places.

BUSINESSES PIVOT

During Covid 19, the business world changed dramatically. Some companies went out of business entirely while others adapted to the challenges at hand. People found new ways to connect and conduct business on Zoom and other online platforms. It was a natural course of correction that took the world from our old ways into the new online, globally connected world, ultimately setting us up powerfully for the future to come.

The online world boomed.

CLIMATE CHANGE

Fossil fuels proved to be a less favorable option for energy because of their environmental impact. Climate change was real and the world had to respond. The OGM mobilized to respond as well, quickly becoming a paperless publication and a culture that planted trees rather than cutting them down for paper. Why would we use paper, when everything was now digital?

This era launched The OGM flipbook edition that ultimately allowed the publication to have a global readership of energy readers reaching all areas of energy development. It was a time of transition, growth, and globalization.

For the energy industry, what was readily apparent, was that there was no single solution to climate change, and the most effective approach will likely involve a combination of different strategies, called the new “energy mix”.

Reducing greenhouse gas emissions is widely considered to be the most important step we can take to address climate change. This is achieved through a variety of measures, including:

1. Increasing the use of renewable energy sources such as solar, wind, and hydroelectric power.
2. Improving energy efficiency in buildings, transportation, and industry.
3. Planting trees and other vegetation, which absorb carbon dioxide from the atmosphere.
4. Implementing carbon pricing systems, such as a carbon tax or cap-and-trade program, can incentivize the reduction of greenhouse gas emissions.
5. Investing in research and development of new technologies that can help to reduce emissions, such as carbon capture and storage, and advanced nuclear power.
6. Promoting sustainable land use practices, such as reforestation, conservation, and sustainable agriculture, can help to reduce emissions and increase carbon sequestration.
7. Encouraging individuals and businesses to adopt more sustainable practices, such as reducing energy consumption, using public transportation or electric vehicles, and supporting environmentally-friendly products.

TECHNOLOGY ADVANCES SUPPORTING CARBON EMISSION REDUCTION

There are many technologies that help address some of the environmental challenges facing the planet. Some examples include:

1. New innovation with renewable energy sources such as solar, wind, and hydroelectric power.
2. Energy storage technologies such as batteries and pumped hydro storage can help balance intermittent renewable energy sources and make it easier to integrate them into the grid.
3. Electric vehicles can help reduce transportation-related emissions, particularly if they are powered by renewable energy sources.
4. Carbon capture and storage technologies can help capture and store carbon dioxide emissions from power plants and other industrial sources, helping to reduce their impact on the environment.
5. Sustainable agriculture practices, such as regenerative farming and permaculture, can help to reduce the environmental impact of food production.
6. Water treatment and reuse technologies can help to reduce the amount of water consumed and mitigate the impact of water pollution.
7. Recycling and waste management technologies can help to reduce the amount of waste generated and increase the efficiency of resource use.

The OGM, now OUR GREAT MINDS, repositioned the brand to provide the world’s leaders in climate change innovation with a platform and a voice to make a difference.

New advances in the oil and gas industry allowed us to be more climate-conscious. New energy modalities brought in sustainable energy solutions. The world changed rapidly to accommodate the climate change battle. Stringent climate change goals were set around the globe. As a result, a tidal wave of new energy innovation emerged and much more is on the horizon. These are unprecedented times, with unparalleled opportunities!

What will the next 30 years look like for TheOGM.com?

Only time will tell. But what we can say for sure is that the new innovation, new processes, and new commitment to the planet, is a sustainable mindset and commitment that we will be publishing and sharing with the world. We are embracing new energy modalities, technology, AI, and all the tools of the future that will make this world a better place for all of us. Just because we can’t tangibly see or know the future, doesn’t mean it’s a scary place to go. Quite the contrary, erase all the bad news, focus on what’s possible, see the opportunities, build sustainably, and HAVE FUN. That’s what’s going to make all the difference.

As we unleash the solutions that create a sustainable planet for our kids, we inspire all others to do the same.

Join us in the transition to renewable energy. We will help you tell your story and we’ll share your solutions with the world.

Over and out,
Tina Olivero
Tina@TheOGM.com

The book’s main point is the importance of a holistic approach to life, emphasizing the interconnectedness of all things. In this view, everything is interconnected and interdependent, and we must take a systemic approach to solving problems. We cannot just look at individual issues, such as pollution or overconsumption, but must address the underlying systems that create these problems.

The book encourages readers to live simply, be self-sufficient, and reduce their impact on the environment. It provides a list of tools and resources for self-sufficiency, such as farming equipment, building materials, and books on various topics. It emphasizes the importance of knowledge and education in achieving self-sufficiency and sustainability. In this view, we cannot simply rely on technology or government to solve our problems; we must take responsibility for our own lives and learn how to live in a sustainable way.

The book also promotes the idea of community and collaboration. It suggests that people work together to achieve common goals, such as creating local food systems or developing renewable energy sources. It encourages readers to question authority and think for themselves, to challenge the status quo and create new ways of living.

One of the key points in the book is the importance of renewable energy sources, such as solar and wind power. The book promotes the use of natural and organic products, warning against the dangers of synthetic chemicals. It encourages readers to be mindful of their consumption and waste, and to reuse and recycle whenever possible. This message is as relevant today as it was in 1968, as we continue to face environmental challenges such as climate change and plastic pollution.

The book also emphasizes the importance of taking care of one’s physical and mental health. It encourages readers to explore and appreciate the natural world, to spend time outdoors and connect with nature. It advocates for the use of alternative forms of transportation, such as bicycles and public transportation, to reduce our dependence on cars and fossil fuels.

20 KEY POINTS OF THE BOOK WHOLE EARTH

1. Holistic approach to life, emphasizing interconnectedness.
2. Importance of self-sufficiency and sustainability.
3. Emphasis on education and knowledge.
4. Importance of community and collaboration.
5. Questioning authority and thinking for oneself.
6. Use of renewable energy sources.
7. Natural and organic products over synthetic chemicals.
8. Mindfulness of consumption and waste.
9. Reuse and recycle whenever possible.
10. Care for physical and mental health.
11. Connection with nature and appreciation of the natural world.
12. Alternative forms of transportation, such as bicycles and public transit.
13. Use of alternative forms of currency, such as bartering and time-based systems.
14. Importance of art and creativity in life.
15. Encouragement to be politically active and engaged.
16. Responsible use of technology to improve human condition.
17. Recognition of potential dangers of technology.
18. Emphasis on diversity and cultural exchange.
19. Lifelong learning and personal growth.
20. Decentralized, non-hierarchical approach to social organization.

The book promotes the use of alternative forms of currency, such as bartering and time-based systems. It emphasizes the importance of art and creativity in life, and encourages readers to be politically active and engaged. It advocates for the use of technology to improve the human condition, while also recognizing the potential dangers of technology and the need for caution and responsibility.

One of the key messages in the book is the importance of diversity and cultural exchange. It promotes the idea of lifelong learning and personal growth, encouraging readers to challenge their assumptions and biases. It advocates for a decentralized, non-hierarchical approach to social organization, recognizing the potential of small-scale, local solutions to global problems.

In many ways, “Whole Earth” was ahead of its time. It anticipated many of the environmental and social challenges we face today, and offered practical solutions and a hopeful vision of the future. The book’s influence can be seen in the environmental movement, the organic food and farming movement, and the wider cultural shift towards sustainability and self-sufficiency.

“Whole Earth” is a timeless guide to sustainable living and a holistic approach to life. Its message is as relevant today as it was in 1968, and its practical advice and inspiring vision offer a roadmap for a more sustainable and fulfilling future. As we face the challenges of the 21st century, we can learn much from this pioneering book, and from the values and ideas that it represents.

Have you ever looked eye to eye with a whale as it breaches the surface of the water and just know something magical just happened?

Have you ever taken a sea kayak trip into the caves and under the waterfalls?

These are some of the things that happen at Ocean Quest Adventures as you discover Newfoundland. Come on, let’s go discovering…

NEWFOUNDLAND IS HOT

Newfoundland is HOT with tourism enthusiasts who are looking for adventures that blow the mind. Icebergs, whales, caves, codfish, puffins and more are all a part of the majestic scenery you will see in this magical, mysterious land.

These days, Newfoundland is on everyone’s bucket list as they experience the unknown …. and Ocean Quest Adventures is only too happy to oblige.

Ocean Quest is a local Newfoundland company with a well-established adventure and diving resort. It offers experiences like scuba diving, iceberg tours, a three-hour ocean safari, sea cave adventures, and even a cod fishing extravaganza! Oh my, the sheer thrill of it all!

John Olivero, Scuba Instructor and Ocean Specialist at Ocean Quest says, “Scuba diving is our passion, the rest we do for fun! On the scuba diving scene, we tour the world famous Bell Island shipwrecks and mines. We also provide guided shore dives at various locations on the Avalon Peninsula. We have some of the best wreck diving tours in the world in these parts. Offshore Newfoundland is a scuba diver’s dream. We leave our customers with the experience of a great adventure and memories, and sometimes they are left with the feeling of great accomplishment, as some of our scuba diving trips take a lot of stamina and courage”

Ocean Quest is also a PADI Instructor Development Centre. Here they train scuba divers of every level from beginners to instructors as well as tech diver training with some of the most recognized instructors in the world.

ADVENTURE TOURS

Ocean Quest’s Ocean Safari sightseeing trip is a designated “Canada Signature Experience.” This trip offers incredible coastlines, and if you come at the right time you will catch the whales and icebergs. Ocean Quest also offers Marine Wildlife Snorkeling, Sea Cave Adventures, Cod Fishing – Catch and Cook, Kayaking and of course Private Charters.

John says, “Newfoundland is on everyone’s bucket list and they come here to experience the unknown. But it’s mostly people that captivate CFA’s and make them want to come back time and time again.”

CORPORATE TOURS

Ocean Quest is famous for its private tours that provide adventurists with everything from corporate gatherings, team-building excursions, private tours, and beyond!

John says, “Companies usually take our Private Charters on our Large 45 passenger Boat ‘The Mermaid.’ Companies come to have a half day on the bay for a staff party, special event or to connect with clients in a creative way. They get to see all the wonders of Conception Bay and have a feed as we provide a delicious BBQ service, and the boat is BYOB. It’s something different for sure. Our clients may see whales, seabirds, icebergs. Whatever is on the go.”

DIVE SHOP

John explains, “Our service shop provides a variety of services to any company that uses compressed air. Currently, we inspect and maintain much of the Scuba Equipment used professionally in the province. We supply and service scuba equipment for a wide variety of companies and government agencies.”

GREAT EXPERIENCES

Some of the greatest sights in the world happen in Newfoundland. For John, some of the highlights of his career include: “There is the Orca Whales who come and swim alongside the boat. There are times I have been less than 2 feet from a Humpback in the water. Diving on the iceberg with famous TV people. There are so many…But really the greatest experience is seeing people enjoy themselves so much! Often the people who come to us are reaching outside their comfort zone. We get them to the other side with a great adventure and a new sense of accomplishment.”

Ocean Quest just keeps on expanding with the opportunities, which is excellent because Ocean Quest has grown to have a reputation as a problem solver for both in water safety and compressed air in the industrial sector as well as other industries like TV and film.

John says, “Ocean Quest is Canada’s largest adventure and diving centre. Aside from adventure products we also provide in-water safety and boating services for the film/tv industry. We’ve worked with film crews like Aquaman, National Geographic, BBC, Netflix and many more. It’s been exciting for sure.”

Having been with the whales myself, taken tours and seen icebergs, I’m really proud of my brother John who eats, sleeps and breathes diving and ocean adventures. If you want to take a walk on the wild side just go for it. It’s one of the most incredible things you will ever do.

Check them out at OceanQuestAdventures.com

The Advance Care Planning in Canada #SpeakUp campaign is designed to help raise awareness and provide support around embracing hard conversations about palliative care.

You can listen to ‘Say” single here

The Advance Care Planning Initiative in Canada, led by Canadian Hospice Palliative Association (CHPCA) and popular Canadian singer-songwriter Tara Shannon is an initiative serves to engage Canadians in having conversations about future health care needs in the event you are not able to speak for yourself.

Advance Care Planning is about ensuring your values, beliefs and wishes are respected. It’s about how we care for each other. “SAY” provides a wonderful compassionate way to start the conversation.

Tara’s single ‘Say’, co-written with Hayley McLean, has a soulful and compassionate melody that lends itself well to the goal of the campaign; to help bridge a communications barrier between loved ones and the discussion around starting advance care planning.

It’s easy to assume the care wishes in the event of an accident or illness but taking the time to speak up and talk about it makes the difference down the road. “It can feel daunting to have those kinds of discussions…almost like we might be tempting fate…but when the care wishes are known beforehand, it really does make it easier for your loved ones and healthcare professionals when the time comes,” says singer-songwriter Tara Shannon.

“When I was approached to work with ACP on this campaign I actually kind of chuckled because I knew my music was on the sadder side but didn’t think I had reached the sadness of death yet! But that’s what got me intrigued because this isn’t about death at all. It’s about encouraging conversation to soften the edges, to inspire deeper connection and encourage a safe space for everyone to ask for what they need. I can write songs about that all day long.”

The single ‘Say’ is streaming on  iTunes, Amazon, Deezer, Google Play, and Spotify. 

5 STEPS TO CARE PLANNING

Advance Care Planning community created a YouTube video to help direct questions users have about the program and where to start in an easy 5 step tutorial.

The 5 Steps Include
1. Think about what’s right for you. What are my values, beliefs and understanding about end of life care and specific medical procedures? What’s important to me?
2. Learn about medical procedures. There are many medical procedures that can be offered at the end of life. Some may improve your quality of life, others may only prolong life. Different people have different thoughts about these procedures.
3. Decide who will be your substitute decision maker? Choose someone who would honour and follow your wishes, and is able to speak for you if you can’t speak for yourself.
4. Talk about your wishes. Talk with your substitute decision maker, family members and friends who are important to you. Tell your health care team – and if you have a written plan, share it with them.
5. Record your wishes. It’s a good idea to write down your wishes or make a recording or video. There are also forms available in most provinces and territories.

The Canadian Hospice Palliative Care Association in conjunction with Advance Care Planning have created national workbooks around advance palliative care support. The workbook includes information about advance care planning and will guide users through the steps of making a plan and a way to share your wishes for future healthcare, and to name a loved one who can speak for someone, if they can’t speak for themselves.

Visit advancecareplanning.ca to use the free online interactive workbook or print a copy to work through the questions with your loved ones.

TARA SHANNON SPEAKS WITH THE OGM

Tara Shannon a songwriter, an artist, an entrepreneur, a mom of seven (5 boys and 2 girls), a lover of music, business, golf, and travel. She’s passionate about working in the music business in particular helping other artists/writers develop their careers. Here’s what she had to say about her life in the music business:

1. What got you into music and song writing?

I started learning piano at around seven years old and remembering loving every minute. I have always had a feeling of being at home when I sit at a piano. It was my safe place. I continued to study the Royal Conservatory and then went on to study jazz as a saxophone player at McGill University. I originally wanted to train in Music Therapy and work with autistic children. But my life took a different path and I started my family very young. I also feel in love with songwriting after writing my first song for my cousin’s wedding. Once I wrote that song and performed it, there was no going back. I wanted to be a songwriter and performing artist and hopefully help others in that way instead.

2. What are the key messages you like to get out in your music?

As a professional songwriter I write from and for all kinds of perspectives. Especially if I’m writing for another artist, I try to take on their voice and their story. When I write a song that feels like a Tara Shannon cut, it’s usually because the song has a message of positivity, empowerment or healing in some way. My own lyrics lean toward inspiration but are always still country in some way because if it tells a great story, then it feels country to me. That’s what country music is really about…a great story that points to the heart of something.

3. I see that you enjoy co-writing music. How does that process work?

Co-writing is a really valuable experience. I didn’t come around to co-writing until a few years ago. As a Canadian Indie singer-songwriter, co-writing was never really encouraged or modelled to me. It wasn’t until I started spending time in Nashville that I learned about co-writing and it changed me as a music creator. It was really nerve racking at first, I was very shy and insecure about my writing ability. But I had amazing mentors and guides to help me develop that part of my craft. So now at times I still write alone for more of a cathartic experience to process something I am going through, but mostly I co-write. When you have a network of co-writers that you connect with it’s really special. It’s kind of a sacred thing to bring something brand new into the world with someone else. It’s pretty special.

4. What is your vision for your music career?

To survive! Lol the road as an Indie artist is a challenging one. But very fulfilling at the same time. My vision remains the same….maintain a financially sustainable career that allows me to continue doing what I am doing because I can’t imagine doing anything else. 

I have shifted what success means to me…it’s no longer about what my career looks like to others from the outside. It’s about what I fill my days with, how much joy it brings me and how I maintain an overall sense of balance and connectedness with myself and the source of creative energy.

5. Where are you from?  

I was born and raised mostly in Montreal, Quebec until my family moved to Glengarry County, Ontario for a few years where I graduated from highschool in Alexandria. Right after graduation I was married and we settled in Russell, Ontario just outside of Ottawa where we raised seven children – we have lived here for almost 27 years. We love it here, it’s a wonderful little village. Although we just got a Tim Horton’s so I’m not sure we are technically little anymore lol.

6. What’s a day in the life of Tara like, musically speaking.

I usually start the day with tasks running my label Willow Sound Records and working on projects with our artists and writers. Then I do a bunch of Tara Shannon admin stuff or prep for live shows (which is all live streaming these days), work some promotion or have meetings. I always fit in some creative outlet, either a creative writing blog post or songwriting session. I like to do something creative to help balance out the business brain. And I try to get my walk in or some kind of exercise. 

7. What is the hope and dream for this song?

When I’m hired by a client to write a song like this one, the hope is always that the client is happy with what we created for them. In this case they were over the moon. Which is why it led to a full release and promotion as a single. My new hope for this song is that it will encourage conversation among Canadians about end of life care. A topic we tend to shy away from but is so important and so helpful to your loved ones and health care providers when the time comes. Mostly though, as a songwriter, the best feeling is knowing someone connected with the song and that it moved them. That is the ultimate hope.

8. What’s the song writing process look like for you?

My process is different depending on the scenario. If I’m in a room with other pro writers and we are writing the “song in the room” or aiming for a major label cut, I tend to lean toward the lyric but if others are strong at lyric too, I kind of fill in on the melody side. Co-writing is about making the combination of creators in the room work really well in order to write the best song possible. If I am hired by a client, such as the case with the song “SAY” to bring their message to life in song form, I spend time getting to know the organization and really absorbing what they are all about and what they are trying to communicate. And then I reach out to co-writers that I feel will compliment that effort. From there, the producer becomes very important as far as wrapping that song in the right combination of sounds.

9. Where do you see yourself in 10 years from now.

I hope in 10 years from now I am doing exactly what I’m doing now! But actually allowed to do live shows again. With humans in the room and lots of after show hugs.

10. Learning music is a life-long process. What can you say to others about practice, discipline and commitment to making music.

Learning music is certainly a process. Learning the music business even more so. I’d say follow what you love doing…discipline is important but if you’re aligned with what brings you the most joy, you won’t need to focus on discipline so much. The drive will be there naturally. Developing a career as an artist is a long game, you really need to love what you are doing to stay in it for the long haul. I’d also say the best place to focus is you. In North America everyone is using the same 12 notes, the same chord colours, the same instruments, the same 26 letters of the English alphabet, the only unique piece of the equation is you, the artist. How YOU hear those 12 notes, how YOU put those letters togethers and how YOU colour that melody. The journey is about remembering who you are and where you come from and allowing that to be expressed through your music without the static of your ego. When you’ve dialed that in, there is no greater experience or feeling of fulfillment. 

12. What’s your take on Newfoundland?

Oh my, I have a love affair with Newfoundland and the East Coast in general. We took the kids camping in Cape Breton for many, many years. Sadly, that’s as close to Newfoundland as I’ve been – if you don’t count the times I have seen Come From Away (I’ve cried every time). I have dreamt of being screeched in (even practiced) and playing the George Street Festival…camping in Gros Morne….I have daydreamed my visits there in such detail that I’m afraid my eventual real trip might fall short lol. Oh and I of course had Alan Doyle as my personal tour guide in all of these visions. I am so looking forward to having the chance to visit. I am drawn to the culture, I love how music is woven into everyday life and is the thread that ties the people together. Every Newfoundlander I have met exudes a spirit of warmth and welcome. I will savour every moment when I get the chance to visit!

Both authors are deeply involved in trying to solve global environmental problems. Chichilnisky, who worked extensively on the Kyoto Protocol for lowering greenhouse gas emissions, is a professor at Columbia University and the co-founder and CEO of Global Thermostat, a company whose technology removes carbon from the atmosphere. Bal is a business leader who focuses on projects to improve the world’s ecosystems such as reforestation and natural plant absorption of carbon dioxide.

In REVERSING CLIMATE CHANGE, the authors discuss the science of climate change, the complex international negotiations needed to reach a compromise between developing and developed nations, the need for clean energy, the benefits of the carbon market, and the urgency of finding a way to extract carbon dioxide from the atmosphere and utilize it profitably. The book predicts the advent of the carbon revolution, a new economic era in which CO2 removed from the air will not only reverse climate change, but will become the main feedstock of economic growth, replacing petroleum.

Chichilnisky also presents a personal view of the negotiations that led to the Kyoto Protocol and later the Paris Accords, key international agreements to avert catastrophic climate change. She explains how she developed the concept of a carbon market which is part of the Kyoto Protocol; how it has been successfully implemented in many countries already; and how it will be expanded in the future. Other topics that the authors discuss include:

• Why climate policy has advanced in the United States at regional, state, and local levels even though the U.S. abandoned the Kyoto Protocol and the Paris Accords
  
• How to reconcile the disparity between industrialized and developing nations when it comes to capping greenhouse gas emissions and investing in renewable energy
  
• Why reducing current greenhouse gas emissions alone will no longer avert the risk of catastrophic climate change
  
• How climate change and global warming went from being a scientific debate to an economic and political debate
  
• Why the financial crisis and the environmental crisis are two sides of the same coin
  
• The importance of Green Capitalism and how it can stop a major climate disaster
  
• The pros and cons of a carbon tax versus a carbon market
  
• Steps for weaning the world’s energy systems off fossil fuels

In the final chapter of the book, Chichilnisky and Bal discuss the technology developed by Global Thermostat for capturing carbon dioxide and enabling its profitable re-use across industries, reducing harmful emissions and helping to close the global carbon cycle.

Most importantly, REVERSING CLIMATE CHANGE reveals unequivocally that the world is at a crisis point. It is clear that future generations will inherit a world that is very different from our own. Either they will inherit a planet with a severely diminished capacity to support human life or they will inherit a global economic system fueled by cleaner, renewable energy that respects ecological limits and is capable of meeting everyone’s basic needs. “Which path we set them on is entirely dependent on our response to this crisis,” write Chichilnisky and Bal. “Everything hinges on the choices we make today.”

ABOUT THE AUTHORS

Dr. Graciela Chichilnisky, co-author of REVERSING CLIMATE CHANGE, is a Professor of Economics and Mathematical Statistics at Columbia University, and Director of the Columbia Consortium for Risk Management. She is also co-founder and CEO of Global Thermostat, and co-creator of a carbon removal technology that the National Academy of Sciences has said is the only one that can reverse climate change. The technology was chosen by MIT Technology Review as one of the Ten Breakthrough Technologies of 2019, curated by Bill Gates. In addition, Global Thermostat was named one of the top ten most innovative companies in energy by Fast Company and Dr. Chichilnisky was selected by International Alternative Investment Review as the 2015 CEO of the Year in Sustainability. In 2019, Global Thermostat and ExxonMobil signed a joint development agreement to advance breakthrough technology to scale up to the removal of 1 gigaton of CO2.

Chichilnisky worked extensively on the Kyoto Protocol, creating and designing the carbon market that became international law in 2005. In 2017, she was selected by the Carnegie Foundation for their prestigious Great Immigrant, Great American award and in 2018, she was awarded the Albert Nelson Marquis Lifetime Achievement Award.

Chichilnisky holds Ph.D. degrees in mathematics and economics from MIT and the University of California, Berkeley. She is the author of more than 300 scientific articles and 13 books, including Saving Kyoto which won the American Library Association’s 2010 Outstanding Academic Title of the Year and the American Geographical Society’s Book of the Month Award in October 2009. She acted as the lead author on the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change which received the 2007 Nobel Prize for its work in deciding world policy with respect to climate change.

Peter Bal, co-author of REVERSING CLIMATE CHANGE, is a businessman and ecological restoration practitioner. He sees carbon dioxide as an asset to be mined, focusing on natural plant absorption as well as industrial solutions to retrieve carbon dioxide from the atmosphere. He is currently working on a containerized carbon dioxide absorbing unit with Global Thermostat and also involved in setting up ecological research and training centers.

A panel of industry leaders shared their vision of the bright future for nuclear at a session titled A new dawn for nuclear energy. Mohamed Al Hammadi, CEO of Emirates Nuclear Energy Corporation said that nuclear technologies are ‘proven, economically viable, safe and clean’.

Discussions at the Congress follow the publication of key reports from leading expert institutions, all highlighting the crucial need for nuclear to grow if the world is serious about climate change and decarbonising the economy. In its ‘Nuclear Energy in a Clean Energy System’ report released earlier this year, the International Energy Agency concluded that without an expanded contribution from nuclear energy, “the already huge challenge of achieving emissions reductions will become drastically harder and more costly.”

At the Congress, the World Energy Council launched a report on ‘The future of nuclear’ as part of its World Energy Scenarios 2019. The report recognises the “increasing and widespread recognition that nuclear energy will feature in the future global energy mix and make its contribution to sustainable development”, and shows an increase of nuclear energy in all scenarios.

The nuclear industry, led by World Nuclear Association, has set the Harmony goal for nuclear energy to provide at least 25% of global electricity before 2050. This will require trebling nuclear generation from its present level, with some 1000 GWe of new nuclear generating capacity needing to be constructed to achieve this goal.

World Nuclear Association released today a white paper, titled ‘The Silent Giant: The need for nuclear in a clean energy system’, noting that the use of nuclear energy “is the fast track to a high-powered and clean energy system, which not only delivers a healthier environment and an affordable supply of electricity, but also strengthens energy security and helps mitigate climate change.”

At the launch of the white paper, Agneta Rising, Director-General, World Nuclear Association said:

“Nuclear reactors are the low-carbon backbone of electricity systems, operating in the background, day in and day out, often out of sight and out of mind. Capable of generating immense amounts of clean power, they are the silent giants upon which we rely daily.”

“We are confident that policymakers will reflect on the latest landmark reports and messages and put in place the right policies to transition to a clean electricity system to which nuclear energy contributes fully”.

Achieving sustainable energy, designed to provide present and future generations with clean energy without harming the environment, is real, but its formation requires a decisive transformation of the global energy system, which implies the development of an appropriate technological base, the unified political will of different states and stable international cooperation. The ways to achieve a sustainable future along with challenges to overcome, were considered today by the participants of the session: ‘Mission possible: the Global Energy Prize as a driver for sustainable energy for all’ at the 24th World Energy Congress (Abu Dhabi, UAE).

In 2018 the volume of greenhouse gas emissions into the atmosphere reached a historic maximum. According to the World Resources Institute (WRI), China with 9.4 billion tons / year (28% of global emissions) opens the top three among the main emitters of harmful substances into the atmosphere, followed by the United States – 5.1 billion tons / year (15%) and India – 2.5 billion tons / year (7.3%). An analysis of the amount of energy generated in 2018 shows that only 36% came from low-carbon technologies. The growth in this indicator compared to a year earlier is less than 1%, which cannot be considered as a satisfactory result. Moreover, in 2018, the volume of electricity generated from coal increased and for the first time crossed a record level of 10 PWh. Session experts see the reason for this in the global fragmentation of the environmental policies of countries, despite the commitment of world powers to counteract the rise in global temperature. According to the report on sustainable development for 2019 provided by the Sustainable Development Solutions Network (SDSN), developed countries are showing good results in achieving the UN Sustainable Development Goals on economic growth and health, but they are not concerned about the issue of environmentally friendly consumption of resources.

We set sail toward beautiful Bell Island. On a perfect hot summers day, the ocean was as clear as glass. The fresh ocean breeze was the perfect setting for a sunset cocktail over the bay.

A number of brave souls decided to take a dip in the atlantic ocean. While the waters were cold, the heat of the summer day motivated an adventurous swim.

We saw whales, porpoises, puffins, ducks, eagles, seagulls and other types of amazing wildlife along the way.

All in all it was the highlight of the summer with one of the hottest days of the season. What better place to be then on a boat with friends, music, and the most spectacular scenery in the world.

____________________________________________________________________________

The OGM specializes in corporate events. If you would like to have a creative and memorable experience give us a shout!!
Email: tinaolivero@theogm.com
Phone: 709-770-0677

Just imagine a 1200 lb ice sculpture, artistically designed as a replica of the ‘THRONE” in Game of Thrones.  That’s what was delivered to the guests of Fire and Ice.

Our guests had a chance to sit in the throne and have their picture taken by a professional photographer with many Game Of Throne theme props available for use! The photo was then given to the people as a take home keepsake.

We had many amazing sponsors that came to cater our event.We want to thank Club One, Quidi Vidi Brewery, Spirits and Wines, Boca Tapas Bar, Affordable Limos, Fireball Whiskey, Hickman Group, Lavender Lucy Flowers, Molson Coors, Piatto Pizzeria, Universal Corporate Wear, On a Roll Catering, Volcano Bakery, Aqua Sol, Ice Block – Ice Sculptures, and Western Brewery for doing such an amazing job! We even had a Game of Thrones themed cake, cupcakes, and cookies. It was something out of this world!

The OGM, Fire and Ice Party 2019 took place at Club One in downtown St. John’s Newfoundland. The Game of Thrones theme was a big hit with lots of breathtaking and creative costumes.  The best costume was awarded to Julie Greene of Homeport Hotel – While we had many great Game Of Thrones costumes her’s was the most creative. She came as “The Infamous Starbucks Cup” that was left onset in one of the final season’s episodes. Very funny!

We would like to give a big shout out to Club One for helping us to make our party spectacular! The night was filled with lots of laughs, dancing, fun and amazing memories!

The OGM is proud to leave you with a video of some of the memories of this event.  You can also go into our events tab here to take a look at ALL of the pictures of that night. You can download any and all you’d like.  Share them with friends on social media. TAG US to win a prize! Hashtag: #TheOGM

If you’d like to partner with us and create your own event.  We would love to talk to you about that! Reach out to us:  Tina Olivero   tinaolivero@theogm.com

“Our government is supportive of the Town of Holyrood for its proactive approach to economic development in multiple sectors, including making it a priority to develop the region’s assets. These enhancements will increase access and usage that could assist with expanded programming and improved visitor experience in the region,” said Honourable Christopher Mitchelmore, Minister of Tourism, Culture, Industry and Innovation.

This initiative will increase tourism and economic development opportunities for the Town of Holyrood and its surrounding area and will improve amenities for residents and visitors to the region.

Pam Parsons, Parliamentary Secretary for Transportation and Works and MHA for the district of Harbour Grace-Port de Grave, on behalf of the Honourable Christopher Mitchelmore, Minister of Tourism, Culture, Industry and Innovation, and Ken McDonald, Member of Parliament for Avalon, on behalf of the Honourable Navdeep Bains, Minister of Innovation, Science and Economic Development and Minister responsible for ACOA, made the announcement today.

These investments build on commitments made by the Government of Canada and the four Atlantic Provinces to drive economic growth in the region through the Atlantic Growth Strategy by helping the region’s tourism industry attract more visitors and create new jobs. This bold new approach is in line with Canada’s Tourism Vision, which seeks to make Canada a top-ten global tourism destination by 2025.

“The Town Council of Holyrood is committed to providing recreational opportunities for residents and visitors. The Main Beach Boardwalk is an iconic feature of our town which allows residents and visitors to be up-close with nature. The announcement of funding by both the Atlantic Canada Opportunities Agency and the Department of Tourism, Culture, Industry and Innovation is welcome news. It will enable us to enhance the waterfront area and provide residents and visitors with quality recreational infrastructure. These improvements will assist us in promoting Holyrood as a tourism destination creating meaningful economic activity in Holyrood,” said Gary Goobie, Mayor, Town of Holyrood.

The tourism industry in Newfoundland and Labrador generates over $1.1 billion in visitor spending each year, and is responsible for over 20,000 jobs, representing 2,600 businesses. As committed in The Way Forward, the Provincial Government is aiming to double resident and non-resident visitor spending to $1.6 billion by 2020. The Way Forward outlines all actions the Provincial Government is taking to achieve a strong, diversified province with a high standard of living, and can be viewed at thewayforward.gov.nl.ca.

AND YOU QUALIFY
for our draw for $5,500 value marketing spend with The OGM.

[contact-form-7]

Congratulations! You have now entered the OGM Network and have a chance to win! Marketing Spend with The OGM –  Value $5,500 – Fingers crossed!

As a police officer, Kelsey had to juggle two commitments. Creating a non-profit that would help animals in their senior years and her chosen career. No easy task. It took some years of foresight, leadership, planning and executing but finally, things merged and came to fruition. Today, FurEver Young and Kelsey’s career are both thriving. Now that’s leadership!

FurEver Young is a Senior’s Animal Rescue located in St.John’s, Newfoundland. The mission began when Kelsey realized how important it was to take care of our dogs in their senior years. Having adopted Daisy, her Golden Retriever at age 7, Kelsey knew that everyone, no matter the age, needs a good home.

The mission of FurEver young is to rescue, adopt, re-home dogs and cats of animals over the age of 12 years. It takes a tribe to make FurEver Young succeed: Everything from public awareness (for all you bloggers, volunteering for dog care, walks and feedings, and donations for vet bills and food. Would you like to help?

Senior dogs want to be loved, nurtured, taken care of and have a good home to live in. They want to give love, play and protect. Would you like to adopt one?

FurEver Young, is a heart-felt noble cause and has been the greatest self-expression of Kelsey’s life. Today the organization is in full swing!

You can get the word out there, share this story, write a blog, adopt a senior dog, volunteer or donate right here: www.FureverYoungRescue.org

St. John’s is home to a really great harmonica player. A natural genius, Dave Mundy plays the harmonica the same as he breathes, effortlessly. Mystified by Dave’s performances and going through a 50 something mid-life crisis, it was something I had to do. Learn it.

Mastered by performers like Bob Dylan, Alan Wilson, Little Walter, John Popper, Sonny Boy Williamson and so many others, the Harmonica holds a really special place for us. It speaks to your mind, it reaches into your heart and then it goes deeper and steals your soul.

The harmonica is a little instrument with a mighty voice. It’s practical and affordable as far as musical instruments go. It can be played to sound like a mouth organ or a Mississippi saxophone. It can have a very clean, orchestral sound or a growly, slightly off-pitch (bent) sound. The harmonica is played with the breath and the tones of a harmonica are as unique as the individual playing it.

Dave Mundy is my harmonica teacher. Being completely hypnotized by his level of mastery with this instrument, I wanted to learn from a genius. It’s been an incredible experience so far. Blowing and drawing on the same note can seem like you are in two separate worlds yet you are on the same note. You can bend a note to a higher or lower pitch and make music that I’m sure only the whales can understand. In our lessons we learn about the blues minor scale and other times we just sit there in free flow, having fun doing the “Harmonica Boogie”.

Things are progressing. While I’m still a novice, I’m proud to say that I’m healing of my own heart writing songs with acoustic guitar and harmonica. It’s a trip!

Dave Mundy And The Best Kind

Dave has a long history in the music scene, He says, “I studied orchestral percussion at Depauw University as a performance major. Then I moved to Athens, GA and drummed for rock, jam, jazz and pop bands. After 3 years of carrying my drum kit around downtown Athens and setting up in places so small that I was afraid the neck of the bass guitar would whack me in the head, I started playing the harmonica. It fits in my pocket and I found myself playing it anytime, anywhere. 20 years ago you would have heard me playing on porches, in my car, even in the line at the bank. Yep, I cared not.”

Dave’s performances focus on soul music. Music that resonates with his spirit and has healing intentions. Blues, folk, funk, R&B are all deep genres of expression and Dave finds his home mostly in the blues category. He explains, “Blues comes from a deep desire to want to feel better and make sense out of the pain and suffering we see around us. I relate to that.”

Dave says, “I use my ukulele and harmonica to write songs and I think this creates a different sound. I create a relatable sound that has room for expression. I rely on rhythm, dynamics and phrasing to express emotion. The end result is familiar to the ears and hopefully inviting. When we are participating in music our brain activity lights up like a Christmas tree. We are music. Our heartbeat, our breathing, our vocal inflexions are all an invitation to be musical.”

Dave is has established himself as a recognized original songwriter. With two CD’s in the world, he’s creating music that blows your mind. Seeing him in concert is liking walking into the House of Blues in New Orleans.

Dave says, “The new CD features 15 different St. John’s musicians. I called this album, A Delta Dawn, meaning Change is on the horizon. There’s an underlying acoustic delta blues tone to the record. I like to mix the selections to reset the ears and tell a story of the human experience. As a society, we are waking up to the unseen forces at play in our world. Music is one of these unseen forces that affect us in many ways.”

Acoustically, Dave plays with the phenomenal guitar player, Callum Latta. Sometimes he plays with John Clarke, who is an amazing slide guitar player. As a full band, he plays with Rock Harley on drums, Dave Hill on bass, and Callum Latta on electric guitar. He says, “I am so blessed to be able to work with these folks. Our sound is mature, tight and high energy.”

Dave has been playing at events like the Wreckhouse Jazz and Blues festival and in venues like The Black Sheep, The Fat Cat, The Ship, The Fifth Ticket and the Peter Easton Pub. Dave Mundy and his band, The Best Kind are an astounding compliment to the raw talent of the St. John’s music scene. We are so fortunate to have them among us.

If you haven’t seen Dave Mundy & The Best Kind yet, do it!

When creative minds in the business industry unite, amazing things happen. Things like Hot Soup, Cool Jaz, which is a truly unique event that will support those facing challenges with mental health, homelessness and poverty. Happening this Tuesday, May 1^st at the Delta Hotel St. John’s 5-9 PM  we would love to see you there!

Some of the most prestigious restaurants in St. John’s, such as Raymonds, The Gypsy Tea Room, Tavola and Portobello’s  will be competing in a gourmet soup competition. Hot Soup Cool Jazz is more than a fundraiser, it’s a collaboration of like-minded organizations that work every day to improve the lives. With the active involvement of TD Bank Group, participating restaurants, other sponsors and donors, volunteers and attendees; this fun evening has become an integral event for the Canadian Mental Health Association of NL, The Jimmy Pratt Outreach Centre, Wreckhouse Jazz & Blues and Choices for Youth.

HOW TO GET INVOLVED

There are several ways your company can get involved – attending the event, becoming a sponsor and donating to the silent auction. Come mingle with friends, stakeholders and celebrity servers while enjoying gourmet soups, live jazz music, a silent auction, raffles and some fun new games you won’t want to miss! Tickets are $100 each and corporate tables of 10 will feature your company name in the printed program, on your table, and will also be displayed on the seating chart. Charitable tax receipts are provided for 50% of each ticket price.

SPONSOR THIS EVENT

Aside from attending, you can further your brand’s exposure by choosing one of our available sponsorship levels, which range from $250 to $5,000. The complete sponsorship package is attached for you to determine which level suits your company.

DONATE

Finally, we are also accepting donations for the silent auction, which allows you the opportunity to place pamphlets and business cards next to your donated item; exposing your brand to 500 potential attentive buyers. A charitable receipt for the item’s “fair market” value is also issued.

ATTEND

To purchase tickets online now, where you will automatically receive your tax receipt, please CLICK HERE.

It takes a community of like minded, hard working individuals to elevate each other and ensure nobody is left behind. Sharing, uniting and caring is what it’s all about. Thank you very much in advance for your support. It is very much appreciated by all participating organizations. See you on May 1st – It’s going to be fun!

Publisher and CEO, Tina Olivero says, “Creating a globa publication that bridges to readers and buyers around the globe is what we do.  Perhaps our client wants to attract investors or garnish new hires from around the world, we pride ourselves in finding creative ways to make that happen. We love the challenge of using new programmatic technology and algorithms to bridge the gap between the seeker and the solution. It’s a creative process that bridges the business development gap for our clients. I’m hoping in the not too distant future there won’t be any such thing as marketing, just ‘direct to sale’. That would make life alot easier for everyone. We have the solution that’s the closest thing to it!”

The OGM network spans over .5 million viewers online and has special print distribution for exhibitions and subscribers. It’s world class presentation puts it in a league unto itself. It’s credible, positive and always focused on connecting and uniting the industry.  The game of business takes a tribe of committed and dedicated people and The OGM has the privilege of working with those people every day.

Take a video adventure through some of The OGM’s great brands and realize just how many companies entrust their message with The OGM.

Ask us about programmatic solutions where we can reach people who searched for your product or services by broadcasting out to over 2000 other magazines, thereby reaching 1-2 MILLION viewers in a month! The results are simply the most cost effective in comparison to any other medium on earth. Programmatic solutions are the future folks, so learn everything you can about it.

LEARN ABOUT PROGRAMMATIC NATIVE CONTENT
Find out more on programmatic native content right here:

SEE PROGRAMMATIC IN ACTION
See how our clients used programmatic native content to fill up their CAD training program with strategic content, a multi-media mix, and a lead generator.

HERE’S WHAT OUR CLIENT HAD TO SAY:
“Rounding up students for our CAD training was a real challenge and to be hones, we were getting nowhere. After several months of spending huge sums on traditional advertising, in came Tina Olivero from The OGM who completely revamped our marketing approach. It felt a bit like Gordon Ramsey Boot Camp. But coming out the other side, we began to see real results. The problem flipped to being overwhelmed by responses!  The winning formula Tina developed combined targetted social media with sponsored content. In simple terms, our internal team managed the social media messaging which included a link to the OGM article with a call to action. The key her was the combined effects of targeted social media messaging reinforced by the OGM article which was effectively a third-party recommendation. Three months on and we’re still up there on google with a constant stream of inquiries from around the globe. The world is suddenly much smaller!”  Gareth Owen – Partner and General Manager, Metroworth & North Atlantic Technical.

Enjoy the ride!

Tina Olivero

GREAT BRANDS IN THE OGM

YES! I WOULD LIKE TO ACHIEVE MY BUSINESS GOALS WITH THE OGM. Please contact me.

Attracting attention from around the world, icebergs are followed by tour companies, videographers, tourists, social media moguls, TV shows and talented photographers.

The iceberg craze is founded in the magnetism of experience that happens when you see them.

Alongside a mammoth iceberg you are left speechless and in awe. You get the understanding of nature…it’s balance and wisdom as you approach them. They steal your breath and command your eyes. These beauty beasts are rare and treasured and sharing them with the world has become a pursuit of thousands each year.

Icebergs have been the source of demise with the Titanic but we’ve since learned to harness their beauty. These days if icebergs are in the way of oil and gas operations offshore, we tow them away.  If they are rolling and tipping we move out of harm’s way.  If they are in the path of our boats we can now navigate around them. So most iceberg hazards seem to be a thing of the past.

Icebergs are the sensation of drone lovers, they are the passion of daredevils who actually scale them like walls and icebergs are even big enough that helicopters have landed on them.

Icebergs have become a passion and expression of not only sports, tourism, art and music enthusiasts but they are the very essence of what Newfoundland is all about – astounding rugged beauty.

Photographer Sheldon Hicks

Sheldon wakes up when the world sleeps and ventures out into the wilderness to capture the perfect light for his photographs. His love of hiking, nature, and photography meld together in a pursuit of pure outdoor passion. A humble and warm man, Sheldon, talks about photography like it was the best thing that ever happened to him.  He says, “I worked in finance for over 20 years and then one day stopped.  I closed out all my business accounts and unleashed my heart with the breathtaking scenery of Newfoundland.”

Through the lens of local photographer Sheldon Hicks, featured here are some of his photos from last spring.  Each one has a character, a name and a distinct home in the eye of his camera.

Blown up to wall size hangings these iceberg photos command the attention of a room, like no other.

The berg with many faces

Sunset on the berg

Illuminated

Over the Top

Attention Seeker

_________________________________________________________________

*Advertisement

THE ULTIMATE GIFT OF APPRECIATION
FOR HOME OR OFFICE – For loved ones or colleagues

Would you like to have a Sheldon Hicks Iceberg Wall Hanging for your home or office?  How about as a Christmas gift?

 SEE IT in CUSTOMIZED FRAMED (contact for quote)

Yes! I’m very interested in pricing and options.

[contact-form-7]

Grant: “I grew up in Riverhead, St. Mary’s Bay. Some of my earliest memories have been of drawing or watching my father draw or paint. And because of my father’s interest in art (he was also an art teacher in school), there were always art history reference books and art materials around. There were also three working and successful artists with studios not far from me: Mary Pratt, Christopher Pratt and Scott Goudie. This was all proof to me as a child, that such artistic pursuits weren’t frivolous, and the thing I loved most was something I could build a life around. I love to work in all genres. My preference is to use unfinished narratives. This is where I leave the viewer with enough questions that they must complete the story in their own way.”

Grant: “My preference is to use unfinished narratives. This is where I leave the viewer with enough questions that they must complete the story in their own way. I’ve been painting almost my whole life, and its only within the last few years that I began to look at what I do as a business. This is partially because I enjoy what I do and it doesn’t feel like work to me. But it’s also because I left art school lacking the tools needed to begin my career on a solid footing. It’s interesting to see that business and engineering schools have begun to introduce the arts into their curriculum to make a more well-rounded school experience. Art schools need to start introducing business perspectives. If you look at any successful artist, it is clear that they both love what they do, and that they treat what they do as a business. An artist must take their passion and talents and use them to stand out and become financially solvent. No one else will do it for you.”

Would you like to speak with Grant about his paintings?

Yes! I’m very interested in speaking with Grant.
[contact-form-7]

Sonia Snelgrove and Bob Olivero – Married at Gower Street, United Church in St. John’s, Newfoundland

NYC

In my late teens, I moved to New York State because my father was offered a position with the United Nations. I remember thinking that the  schools in the states were great, but truly the best education I ever had was seeing the world.

My father’s global assignments usually lasted from one to three years and in between those assignments my family always returned home, back to Newfoundland. My mother, a Newfoundlander, was a true redhead with freckles who had all the character and spirit of a beautiful Newfoundland woman. Sonia Charlotte Snelgrove’s family was originally from the tiny coastline village of Grates Cove, Newfoundland. Eventually, they moved to St. John’s. 

Eventually, my mothers family moved to St. John’s and my father was attending MUN there at the time. My Mother was studying to become a Nurse.  At the age of 16, they met at one of those MUN 1950’s dances. That’s how it happened. Those two cultural discourses culminated and collided into who I am and my view of the world.  The quest for development and global advancement I inherited from my father. It was in my DNA. And at the same time, I also had a heart full of Newfoundland. The two came together in my personality and I then invented a product that would promote our resources, profile our resilience and determination to support the building an offshore industry. That is how The Oil and Gas Magazine (TheOGM) was born.

Publishing World Inc.

At the age of 27, I had no idea how to start a business or how to make it all work. But the declaration that I was going to do it was strong and determination was high. I lived on Signal Hill, in the heart of St. John’s Newfoundland and that’s where I started my company. From my home, I looked over the harbour and watched the ships move in and out of the fevered hidden cove.  I knew in my bones there was oil out there. And a lot of it.

Back in 1990, when I started the conceptual framework for the magazine, times were tough, and the economic outlook was dismal. The primary economic driver of the province was the fishery and it was collapsing. Cod was the main staple of the industry and the fish stocks dropped to unforgivable numbers. This forced the hand of the government to enforce a moratorium on fishing. This moratorium left us as dry as the salt fish that hung out on the Flakes.

From my Signal Hill window, I looked out over the harbour to where Steers Fish Plant used to be. My Grandfather Hedley Snelgrove was part of the leadership team at Steers. And when I looked west I could see the top of the Masonic Temple, where he spent many hours as a Grand Mason, contributing to the community. I marvelled at how it’s all linked together. The fishing industry’s greatest fishing grounds were at the heart of where our oil lay.  One fishing industry gave way to the oil and my family lived through all of it – just like most families in Newfoundland and Labrador at the time.

If not now, when? If not us, who?

With fear and scepticism in the province, the eyes of the future were forced to see the only hope on the horizon: the oil and gas industry. The early exploration of offshore Newfoundland had shown signs of significant oil. Now was the time to make it happen.

Appointed by Premier Clyde Wells, my father had left his post at the United Nations and come home to take on the role of Chairman of the Public Service Commission. Always and forever in my court, he would often say, “T, you can do anything.” Those words were the foundation of my idea to start a magazine in the oil and gas industry. I had no previous experience in the oil and gas sector. I had no journalism training. I didn’t know how to make a magazine. I had no clear understanding of business. But I did it anyway. In the heart of a recession, six years before we would have any oil produced by this province, The Oil and Gas Magazine was born.

It was a massive undertaking that only could have happened with sheer stubbornness. Luckily that trait is at the heart of Newfoundlanders, and I could use it to hold me back or I could use it to catapult me forward.

The Oil and Gas Magazine – The OGM

Founded in a small room in the back of that Signal Hill home, The OGM was locally produced but globally grown. The official name of my company is Publishing World Inc. The products we produced over the years included The Mining Magazine, City Spirit Magazine for tourism and The Oil and Gas Magazine. The one that stood the test of time was The Oil and Gas Magazine.

Intrinsically, The OGM, was the answer to my burning questions. I wasn’t driven by the dream to get married, settle down with kids and have a house with a white-picket fence. Rather I was tormented by great big questions that I was compelled to answer. I found myself researching and inquiring into questions like: As a remote island, how can we connect and globalize and become a much bigger part of the world market? How can the world sell here, faster, better, easier? How can we unite as people, bring down walls, bring in business and ultimately act as one? How can we be so invested in each other’s success that we don’t succumb to poverty, wars, and demise?

More than what you know, it’s about who you “are.”

It’s funny because in most business schools they don’t teach the things that I needed to succeed. I’ve yet to find a Ph.D. in Creativity, yet it was the defining factor for me as it is for most entrepreneurs. Think of Steve Jobs without creativity. Where would our iPhone be? I’ve yet to see a Master’s in Resilience or Determination and yet it was the foundation of starting something from nothing here in Newfoundland. Think of Jack Ma’s world leading enterprise, which ultimately became the world’s largest online selling platform and fetched the largest IPO offering in history – Alibaba.

It just goes to show that it’s not what you know that counts the most. It’s who you are.

The Offshore Oil Industry

As I developed the magazine and wrote about the projects and the people, I learned about the oil and gas industry in all its various levels– and it fascinated me. This industry was global, transient and had accomplished the things that I felt were truly important – uniting and serving the world. It was evident that when we travelled to Aberdeen, Stavanger, Abu Dhabi, Calgary, Houston and other energy cities, the same companies worked unilaterally with a global vision. It was incredible to watch the greatest minds on the planet harness the resource that literally energized the world. Oil and gas are the number one commodities on the planet. Without petroleum, virtually nothing moves. To get it we had the greatest challenges to overcome. Yet we did it. The Oil and Gas Magazine (now The OGM) and I grew up together. We danced for 25 years celebrating the business opportunities, companies and accomplishments of each milestone along the way. I can only be grateful for the range of experiences that this entrepreneurial adventure brought to me.

Our great minds of the energy industry!

Hibernia

The first oil development to succeed offshore Newfoundland was Hibernia. Hibernia oil field is approximately 315 kilometres east-southeast of our capital city, St. John’s, Newfoundland, Canada. It lives in 80m of water, and by weight, it is touted as the world’s largest oil platform. The mammoth Gravity Base Structure was designed to act as an iceberg deflector given it was located in iceberg alley. Hibernia is an island in the ocean withstanding our harsh weather. Think about the brilliant minds, the engineering feats, the products and services it took to build Hibernia. Companies came from all over the world with their experience and a vast transfer of technology happened.

Our oil and gas industry is built with the support of companies in the USA, Norway, UK and Scotland primarily. At networking events, there was an eclectic mix of accents and interests that you couldn’t find anywhere else. It was an unprecedented learning opportunity as well as a chance to become globally connected. And that’s exactly what we did.

Before long, The Oil and Gas Magazine grew from a thin 18-page brochure to a bustling magazine that became the industry’s favoured journal. Breaking the mould of dense, technical industry content the OGM came alive with colour, experience, creativity, passion, and attitude. We married the industry with the culture which had never been done before. The OGM stood for our people, our province, our projects and a sustainable industry. It connected people and companies and supported joint ventures. It educated, enlightened and elevated the energy conversation to include who we are as people. And because of all of those things, I felt that dedicating my life to The OGM was worthwhile and a privilege.

Our great minds of the energy industry!

Terra Nova, White Rose, Hebron & The Flemish Pass Basin

Once Hibernia was successfully producing oil, the game got a little easier. We were no longer starting an industry – we were building one. The Hibernia project educated thousands of people, supported companies, and created infrastructure, and a foundation of confidence grew to proceed with other endeavours. That’s exactly what we did.

Travelling to hundreds of trade shows, exhibitions and conferences the world over, we learned about the technology and innovation that could be implemented in our region. And even more exciting, we could start to sell in the global markets. It was a time of expansion and possibility. Our global curiosity could finally become a reality. Notably obvious to the global oil companies, the Jeanne D’Arc basin, which housed the Hibernia project held much promise and was worthy of investment. Land sales proved successful and oil companies joined together to bring on other mega projects. The next two were Terra Nova and White Rose. With different production systems, these two projects opted for Floating Production Storage Offshore loading ships (FPSO’s) to delineate resources. This became another area of competence offshore furthering our repertoire of options, suppliers, and production possibilities.

With every new project, The Oil and Gas Magazine covered the progress and milestones. Being prepared meant not only reporting on what was happening but also on what could happen. Thousands of interviews and articles over the years told the story of our journey and success.

Things that require zero talent

It wasn’t always easy building a business and supporting an offshore oil and gas industry. I was a single mom, doing it all on my own, without much in terms of resources or financing. People often ask how did you do it? There was always the odd nay-sayer and critical judge, and there were times when other publications were vying to take our place. But in the end, that just made me even more feisty, and it fine-tuned the processes we created in making a world class magazine. I believe there’s no greater experience than actually “doing it.”

It wasn’t the big things that made the difference. It was the little things. The things that require zero talent but make 100% the difference. Things like being on time, integrity, a strong work ethic, positive attitude, curious energy, coach-ability, acceptance of feedback, constant improvement, preparation, doing more than expected, pushing the envelope, harnessing technology, fostering creativity, brainstorming (a lot of brainstorming) and powerful intention. Those seem like the “so-called soft skills” of business but nothing could be further from the truth. Without those traits we would not have made it – there was nothing soft about them. They made us hard as nails.

Competence in business can be learned. Attitude has to be engrained into every action. So if you are thinking of starting a business, then ask yourself, “Am I willing to be on time, have a strong work ethic, give it 200%, crush it, have a positive attitude, be powerful and energetic, go the extra mile and take advantage of every single opportunity?” All the answers are there.

Our great minds of the energy industry!

The Flemish Pass Basin

Recent record-breaking land sales reveal that we have so much more to look forward to offshore Newfoundland. Beyond the Jean D’ Arc Basin, there are new basins showing a world of promise. With the right leadership, vision, talent, and attitude, our offshore industry can be the next North Sea – and then some. We have incredible resources to harness; now it’s a matter of aligning technology, opportunity, people, products, and possibilities to make it all happen. When it comes to the Flemish Pass, I believe that the Bay du Nord discovery is the tip of the iceberg and there is so much more to come. As I write this article they are discovering more oil in the Flemish Pass Basin. That’s exciting because The OGM will be there every step of the way highlighting the business opportunities that will build the foundation of our business sector for years to come.

Alberta

Ten years ago we expanded The OGM into Alberta. Uniting the east with the west, we felt the need to bridge the gap between regions and find our similarities and joint opportunities. It’s been lucrative and eye opening. 95% of Canada’s energy comes from Western Canada. The industry has been fracking for decades. It’s because of Alberta that Canada takes the global stage and is number 3 in the world of oil resources, next only to that of Saudi Arabia and Venezuela. Since the on-land oil production of Alberta and the offshore oil industry of Atlantic Canada are two completely different methods of oil production, you would think that they would have nothing in common. However, with the right insight, you start to put together all of that which binds us. We discovered the overlap in products, services, technologies and applications that would have us work together. People who read our publication in Alberta would learn more about opportunities in Atlantic Canada through The OGM – more than any other industry medium and vice versa. This set the foundation for partnerships, strategic alliances, joint ventures, acquisitions, and of course business development.

We see energy as ever-evolving, from oil and gas in all its various forms, to new energy and the advancement of renewables. TheOGM is designed to facilitate that advancement of non-renewables to renewables. We are the bridge, believing that the smartest thing we could do with our oil and gas today is using it to create renewable energy for tomorrow.

Abu Dhabi

Over the years, The OGM has expanded into other energy centres including Houston and Abu Dhabi. All it took was one trade show in Abu Dhabi for me to say, yes, we are expanding there. A single mom, I dragged my kids halfway around the world and moved to Abu Dhabi for three years. We developed content on Arabian operations and new energy initiatives like Masdar, which is the first zero free carbon city in the world. We built an Arab readership that remains today as one of our strongest readership sectors worldwide.

My Children – Angelina and Ben Olivero (twins) and Meaghan Shortall

Today because of our global digital circulation, Arabia is currently the number one region that avails itself of The OGM content online. Interesting! I can’t think of anything better than having Arabian companies invest offshore Newfoundland and in the Alberta oil sands. It would open up the world in unprecedented ways. It is the possibility of new global partnerships in Canada.

Technology

Just before the digital revolution happened, people kept asking me, what’s going to happen to the print magazine? Will the oil and gas magazine disappear and be taken over by online content? I remember responding to the industry downturn with layoffs, and the rumours rippling through the city in an undercurrent said, “She’s gone bye, she’s gone”. Many believed that the new digital world meant the death of print publications. In some cases that happened, but for the tech savvy, that was proven incredibly wrong.

Fundamentally, I believe that every breakdown happens because a breakthrough is on the way in. It’s always better, more efficient and has a higher purpose. It was this belief that had us harness the digital revolution and it has enhanced every single thing about the communications industry. It expanded publishing. It elevated content. It opened up the world to a global readership. It was exponential and unprecedented. Those who embraced the digital era from day one excelled. Those who didn’t struggled to survive. Stories in The OGM used to be limited by the number of copies of magazines we could produce on a printing press. Now because of the digital revolution we have increased our readership and circulation 500 times its previous maximum. And we have just begun.

In the last edition of The OGM, we produced “ONE STORY” on the possibility of Canada’s energy independence, which was read all over the world and had 3 million impressions online. This would have been economically impossible in the past. We live in amazing times – the level of communication power we have at our fingertips today, is unprecedented in history. Those technological game changers are right around the corner for the energy industry as well. It’s our job to harness them and to utilize them for their highest good. As all of our new projects come on stream in Atlantic Canada, this region now has the opportunity to play on the world’s stage like never before. And we will.

Our great minds of the energy industry!

The People

Over the course of 26 years in the industry, my base of friends has expanded across the globe. I can sit here today and honestly say that “the world is my home.” But it’s not the places or the projects that really touched my heart. It’s the people. People like Dave Rudofsky, who, in my early days, traded me a photocopier for an ad in my first magazine when I didn’t have the money to buy one. Mentors like Dave Keating, who showed me the way through the industry when I was clueless. People like Pat Laracy, who said you should do that magazine, Tina. People like Steve Millan, who was part of the discovery process of our great projects and became a contributor and mentor. People like Fraser Edison, who was behind my every move, knowing it would support our industry. People like Moya Cahill, who was my sister in the oil patch! People like Cabot Martin, who helped me put the advertisement together for the Globe and Mail when we had to lobby for a new partner for the Hibernia project because Gulf had pulled out. People like Ruth Graham who was the Executive Director of NOIA our industry association, shaping the path forward. People like Federal Energy Minister Jake Epp, who stepped in and supported our province at our most crucial time as an equity stakeholder in Hibernia. People like John Crosbie, who was the grandfather of possibility for our offshore and supported its growth at every turn. People like Hank Williams of Cougar Helicopters who’s supported the vision of The OGM since day one. People like Bruce Dyke who was a family friend and generous supporter.

People like our major contractors and suppliers, who worked tirelessly every day to build this industry. With over 3000 clients we couldn’t possibly mention everyone but we are so very thankful for your purpose in the building of an industry. Working with you has been a privilege.

While the industry remains a challenge today with the price of oil, we can only remember our tenacity and resilience to support us in this time of adjustment.  Challenges become our greatest opportunities. What there is to do is harness them and turn them into our next big opportunity. Because the truth is, when we truly want to succeed, there ain’t no mountain high enough, that could stop us!

_____________________________________________________________________

Tina Olivero

Would you appreciate knowing more about how strategic content can vastly support your marketing and sales?

Fill out this request and we will be in touch.

[contact-form-7]

Much like the island they come from, their songs have a solitary resonance that seems to take you away, heal you, have you work it out, or provide you with insight and hope.  Incredible to hear and even better to watch in concert, Fortunate Ones are a must see.

How did the name of the band come to be? Andrew says, “We consider ourselves fortunate to pursue our dreams. Fortunate Ones reflects shared experiences with audiences. It is about connecting people of all kinds, to make strangers friends, to elicit feelings of joy, hope, sadness, and contemplation – and the spirit that we are all in this together.”

Interviewing Catherine and Andrew, it’s easy to see how connected and in tune they are with each other. Catherine says, “I feel grateful that Andrew saw so much in me, so long ago. I wouldn’t be in this life without Andrew.”

Andrew says, “Catherine works tirelessly to make the band work, seek out new opportunities and develop the business.  She has such a desire to build, test limits, work on new material and keep growing. She’s also good at seeing when I’m running low on creativity and desire, and she kicks me in the butt, and then I can keep working. She also cooks great Curry!”

When East meets West: How They Met

On a rainy August day in 2009, Andrew introduced himself to Catherine at a music festival called East Meets West. Perhaps that serendipity thing was happening again because as the name would suggest, Catherine Allan, is from Cornerbrook on the west coast of Newfoundland and Andrew O’ Brien is from the east coast of Newfoundland in Mt. Pearl.

How did they meet? They sang together at a party at Andrew’s apartment and then Andrew invited Catherine to sing a few tunes with him at the Ship Inn. Jokingly Andrew said, “If we learn a few songs you won’t have to pay cover.”  And that was it, their life of singing was born that day.

Catherine Allan says, “Being a Newfoundlander means everything to us.  All our special moments started here.  We are from here, and it’s a big part of our music and who we are.”

Andrew says, “Everyone knows about the work ethic required to be successful in Newfoundland. Our challenges and economic adversities are an opportunity to put your head down, get working and create great things. We’ve always been told that we could do whatever we wanted, but we always knew that it came with hard work.”

Career and Travel

“One of the greatest gifts this career has given me, is that we’ve met so many artists that we were fans of, who have now become our peers. People who we admired and it’s now reciprocated.  People like Peter Yarrow from Peter, Paul and Mary, Rebecca Cohen, Jill and Mathew Barber, Allan Doyle, Buffy Sainte-Marie, were all our heroes. Now they are friends.  Validation is not the end goal, but it is rewarding, says Andrew.

Speaking to Catherine and Andrew, you are acutely aware that they barely recognize how talented they truly are. Fortunate Ones have developed songs that reach into your heart and speak to the essence of who we are as people.  Songs reflect the passage and effect of time.  They are deep feeling songs that resonate with the challenges and sadness we go through in life and the balance we strive for in overcoming them.  The lyrics resonate with what we know to be true about the duality of our nature and the fight for the ever-evolving constant state of improvement. Reflective, deep and emotionally stirring, the song’s colour our palate for life.

The word I would use to describe Fortunate One’s music is inspirational.  IN-SPIRIT-IONAL clearly means to be “IN SPIRIT, and without getting into a religious connotation, this music reflects the heart and feelings we all have.

Andrew says, “A lot of my songs come from turmoil, and trying to find a balance in life when obstacles come into play.  Think about going to bed and how the anxieties of the day cause you to lose sleep and you try to grapple with those things. I write about the things that cause us to lose sleep. To tell you the truth, I just don’t find happy songs that interesting.  In fact, I don’t know many people with ambition who are completely satisfied.”

Catherine says, “Sometimes the hard stuff is the most inspirational and one of the most rewarding things we do is affect people in incredible ways. Sometimes there’s comfort, healing or solace in the songs and we feel grateful that people relate to that.”

Far reaching and successful, the album “The Bliss” is becoming a household CD in Canada.  Hit songs from the album include; Lay Me Down, Carry On, The Bliss, and more.  With the success of this album, they are now excited to say they are working on the next one. Can’t wait!

The Light Will Come, is one of my favourite songs on the album.  You only need to read the lyrics to understand the poetic justice of this compilation.  Their lyrics are almost too powerful for paper to hold but thankfully the music they have composed carries it from the mind to the heart and then asks for your soul.

Check them out: Fortunateones.ca

Lyrics – A Light Will Come

Show me the way to get through to you

I’m running out of ideas; it’s all I can do

I’m trying to prove that my aim is still true

But my words like old arrows are broken and used

I’ve spent near half my life mining for gold

And now I’m up to my neck; I’m still digging that hole

I’m too deep to hear what you’re trying to say

I’m scared to lose what I got if I got out of your way

And all through the day

We dream of the words we could say

And before too long

A light will come

You can’t live for yourself on the far side of good

And try to use what you got like you said that you would

Step back from a forest, all you have is the trees

And seeds of doubt that you plant float away with the breeze

Chorus

So hold on if you can

Cause I’d give my whole heart for the touch of your hand

A cold silhouette reaching out for the sun

A light will come

So what’s there to do when you see what you got

And then your mind knocks you out with all the things you have not

Succumb to the light, and it’s easy to choose

When you learn that the things that you love you can lose

Chorus

As I stand at the top of the hill looking out over the land I am reminded that this place is pristine, it is free of pollutants, it is the promise of fun and adventure, and it is the playground for those who love the outdoors.

Only an hour from my home in Blaketown, Newfoundland, Ski White Hills Resort, is a perfect winter getaway. With 55 acres of ski and snowboarding terrain, the resort offers an exciting range of downhill trails for beginners all the way up to experts. As well, at Ski White Hills you can avail of 40 kilometres of immaculately groomed trails for cross-country skiing and snowshoeing. Wow!

Family adventure

The morning we arrived it was -6, and the sun was blaring across the land. Blinded by the snow reflected light, my yellow goggles offered a yellow-cast protection that saved the day.

Not such an attractive sight, I had a big blue snowsuit on that made me look like a big blueberry coming down the snow hill. But hey, who’s watching giant blueberries anyway?

We’d had a lot of rain, but that didn’t matter. The machines at Ski White Hills Resort had not only made snow but turned any ice that had accumulated into a well-groomed pathway that any skier would love.

Newbies, get a lesson

Starting out, my 14-year old twins who had never skied before, got lessons from an amazing teacher who took them step by step through the basics of pizza stops, using the edged of your ski to manoeuvre and mastering their equipment in the snow. Thank God for ski teachers!

While twins, Angelina and Ben were getting lessons, myself and my eldest daughter Meaghan and her boyfriend Tristen went straight up to the top of the ski hill.

Up there everything looks surreal. You are the king of the land and the passive observer all at the same time. As you look out over the endless trees, frozen waters and the skyline, you realise just how special this place is.

 It grounds you like an anchor and a boat. It whispers, “Enjoy it, and feed your adventurous spirit.”

We began the downhill ski runs on a green downhill run called Easy Street. Easy Street is a wide downhill ski trail that allows you to get your footing, gain your confidence and it is the foundation for more challenging runs to come.

Open and inviting Easy Street beacons you downward for a thrill to start the day. As your senses wake up, you become sharp and reactive to the hill. You remember those quads and how they support your hill turns. Your centre of gravity adjusts to the terrain. Your heart beats faster; your blood starts pumping, and you have never felt more here and now or alive.

Once you’ve mastered the green runs, then it’s onto blues and blacks. Will it be the Newfie Bullet? The Rattler? or maybe try a jump? If tricks are your thing, you can spend your time on groomed hits or avail of the four 20-foot rails in the Terrain Park. You can also get time in the air in the newly dug half-pipe.

Cross Country and Snowshoeing

Downhill was my choice for the day, but my Fiancé Tony is a cross-country enthusiast. So next time we might just head out to the White Hill’s Nordic ski trails where you can circle through marked and interconnected pathways, go around Dark Hole Pond, and take in the tall evergreens and incredible wildlife.

For those who love to snowshoe, the resort could not be more welcoming. You can explore and enjoy the wilderness of Newfoundland and Labrador in all its grandeur. You will see local birds, rabbits, and if you are lucky, you may catch a glimpse of a moose or even a fox. They won’t harm you, just keep your distance and don’t chase them. You are welcome to be the observer of these incredible animals in their natural environment.

A valuable adventure

We chose to ski downhill on our special day out at Ski White Hills Resort. A family pass that includes equipment and lift passes is very reasonable. A family of four could easily do the day for $200 – and that may include your lunch at the beautiful chalet overlooking the hill.

The chalet includes a restaurant and bar and the beautiful wood lodge is always warm and inviting. It is a perfect place to strip off all that gear and enjoy a halftime lunch as you recuperate and get ready for the second half of the ski day.

It is without a doubt, a valuable family adventure.

How to get there

White Hills Ski Resort is located one kilometer west of the town of Clarenville and is a two-hour drive from the capital city of St. John’s, Newfoundland.

Leave early and get there by opening time at 9 am to get a full day on the slopes or in the woods. 

It’s a perfect Valentines day gift, an Easter retreat, a special occasion or a weekend getaway. And for those lucky enough not to be working during the week, well what can I say, the mountains are yours.

Winters here are harsh and long. They can either take you down or take your breath away. I’d prefer to embrace them and squeeze every bit of adventure and fun out of the Newfoundland winter months. I’d also prefer to stay fit, healthy and happy.

How about you?

Today, marketing and sales are really about riding the digital conversation-wave.  It’s about being open to new methods of communicating far beyond the traditional forms of radio, TV, trade shows and billboards. It’s also about embracing social, value-based online platforms that provide specific solutions for the people who have an interest in what you provide.

5 Must Knows

Today’s digital era allows sales and marketing to be faster, more precise, targeted and more highly effective – if you do it right! Here’s 5 MUST KNOW’s if you are going to succeed in marketing and sales in this new digital era.

1. Have a great website

The front door of your business is no longer a door; it is a domain. Get the right domain name and ensure it is relevant, brief, descriptive, and always go for a .com where ever possible.  

Invest the funds to create and maintain a successful website with every effort to ensure that your website is a sales conversion portal. Every website component should have calls to action that build your list of potential clients and generates leads. 

You might spend $15 – $20 G’s to have it designed properly the first time. But this ensures you have a website that you can update and modify yourself. It will give you control and allow you flexibility to make your changes as your website progresses.

Websites will become outdated in 3-4 years simply because of technological progress. Expect that when you design your website, realize that a part of your budget will be needed to upgrade or build a new website 3 years from now.

2. Provide content with value

Focus on CONTENT and VALUE in your website. Websites are no longer solely about who you are and what you do; they are far more about the VALUE you bring to your clients.

Be an expert in your field.  Ensure you are constantly providing potential clients with valuable information that will enhance their businesses and lives.  Make sure you have a compelling offer that is more efficient, more valuable and incredibly innovative. Show them the “why” of what you are doing.  Be in “their world”, and ensure you are meeting their goals, overcoming their challenges, and supporting their successes.  It’s all about “them”.

Get smart with SEO. This is Search Engine Optimization, or we might say, it’s what happens when you “Google it”.  SEO is probably the most important aspect of your website and its content. 

When you look for something online you simply put in a keyword or key phrase (s).  It is  your responsibility to ensure that your products and services show up in the prime locations when you google that product or service. Potential clients can’t afford the time to look for you; you have to be there on Google search – right on top!

What’s the best way to consistently be on top?  Invest in Google Ad Words, or organically produce content that consistently ranks high on Google.  SEO is the path to being seen and available on Google and other search engines.  It’s like the telephone book of years ago, and it’s your place to be found.  If you’re not on page 1 on Google, you have already lost the game. Get SEO savvy and win the search game!

3. Content really is “king”

Sponsored content is the king of all search engine solutions.  It’s the answer to being found, building credibility and being seen as an expert in your field. Sponsored content combines useful information that aims to engage the reader early in the buying decision process. It’s the background, the confidence builder, the avenue to encouraging and motivating buying decisions.

Yes, you have to pay for sponsored content and it’s well worth it.  It gets you out there on your website, then onto other aggregated web platforms and out there on social media.  What that means, is that for the first time in digital marketing history you can get your message to build millions of impressions online, in a matter of weeks or sooner. 

You can build a sales funnel of specific, relevant buyers like never before.  You pave the way for sales using unprecedented methods.

Sponsored content is advertising for your business that looks and reads like an editorial. It makes perfect sense because nobody wants to be “sold” something, but everyone wants something of value that will enhance their experience at work or in life.

The tone and look of sponsored content blends into a publication’s editorial content and is VALUE focused for the readers.  It’s not advertising based, it is information based. It has the flexibility to include not only text but graphics, charts, info-graphics, video’s, audio clips, webinars and much more.

4. The cost of sponsored content

The cost of sponsored stories varies depending on the publication and the promotional package that you choose.  Choose publications that are established, reputable and have a plan for aggregating (sharing with other publishers to expand your reach).

Sponsored content on a blog may run less than $1,000, while sponsored content for a reputable publication may cost between $12,000 and $25,000 per story.  For example story rates for Forbes’ Brand Voice range from $150,000 for two months (five posts minimum) to $100,000 per month for a package that includes home page placement, special feature opportunities, influence engagement, and more.

5. ROI is trackable

Unlike old forms of advertising  you were not quite sure who saw your advertising or if it was effective. Whereas, with sponsored content you will get an accurate picture of engagement. Sponsored content is trackable by monitoring traffic on your site, reviewing time spent reading the story, the amount of lead generation, and social media engagement and interactions.  As well, sponsored content aggregators support the dissemination of your stories to other publishers, which expands your reach and again is trackable. Ensure you aggregate content in relevant locations and with relevant publishers.

Sponsored content is a science. It is powerful and revealing. You can test-try content to match your buyer’s wants and needs with strong headlines, different lead in pictures, and informative stories.  These strategies can be modified and changed as you build and grow your content. The process is trial and error until you find the most effective strategy.  

When mapping out your marketing budget, consider a broad-spectrum approach that includes stories that have multiple channels of dissemination. The power that one story has is incredible. It can go on your website, to other publishers websites, on social media, as well as e-mail marketing, print advertising, and other channels that your company may use.

With multiple channels delivering your message to the right markets, the mix of multimedia solutions may give your ROI the boost it needs. 

Sponsored content works extremely well for selling products and services, attracting investors, scouting for potential partners, hiring, employee engagement, corporate credibility, contribution and much more. 

The number of ways you can build your business with the digital revolution is as endless as your imagination.  Have fun!

_____________________________________________________________________

Tina Olivero

Would you appreciate knowing more about how strategic content can vastly support your marketing and sales?

Fill out this request and we will have a product & service expert get in touch with you.
[contact-form-7]

Moans of “oh no”, disappointment and sadness came from the crowd onboard, knowing they wouldn’t see a whale today if they turned around and went back in.  But like all great things in this province of Newfoundland and Labrador, they come with a stubborn determination that opens up the doors to great treasures on the other side.

Bold as brass, everyone affirmed that venturing the great waves and possibly seeing a whale was better than nothing at all.  In fact, it was a welcomed wild adventure.  With all the guts and glory of true seamen, we about-faced and ventured headlong into the waves. Forward she goes, Captain Wayne’s boat bobbed and listed on the water’s surface just like a cork floating in the water. Dips and valleys, splashes and screams of salty surprise, we held on for the ride and crossed the choppy waters to the bird island ahead. 

Captain Wayne & The Humpback Whales

There are 22 species of whales that come to feed, play and frolic here. The types of whales include the minke, sperm, pothead, blue, orca, and the world’s largest population of humpbacks visit us off the coast of Newfoundland.  The whales feed on capelin, krill, and squid from the months of May until September.  July and August are peak whale watching times.  Whale watching can happen from shore but the ultimate whale watching experience happens in small boats that get up close and personal with these peaceful giants.

Now that’s a Whale of a Tale!

Travelling up from the Caribbean Humpback Whales are a sight to behold off the majestic cliffs of Newfoundland. Embarking on a feeding smorgasbord, these whales dance in delight as they move through the waters of the Atlantic, off this coast. When their bellies are full you’ll see the humpbacks breach out of the ocean just like a castle reaching for the sky. Then they will plunge back down into the ocean with a mighty crash, splashing waves at each other and enjoying the bubbly sunny days of summer.  All you have to do is look at them to know that they are happy.

The Puffin – Cutest thing ever!

Home of one of the greatest bird sanctuaries on earth, flooded with migrating whales in the summer months, Bay Bulls and Witless Bay, Newfoundland host the greatest whale watching tours in the world.   Captain Wayne’s Marine Excursions is one of those tours.  A quaint experience that caters to the private gathering for smaller intimate groups.

Mammoth Ice Bergs

You might not see a whale right away. At first, you’re likely to sputter around the coastline seeing eagles, puffins, intricate caves, cliffs and incredible landscapes. It’s just like a scene out of the Game of Thrones.  It’s magical and majestic.  It’s wild and free. Along the way, you’ll also see waterfalls, icebergs, other seabirds, and wildlife that you don’t get to see anywhere else in the world.

A breaching Humpback Whale

Whale Ho

You may be out there for half an hour and not even see a whale at first. But the keen eyes of the crew are peeled to the water’s surface looking for “the blow”. Then all of sudden, off the waters horizon they spot that blow.  Whale ho – they say and a humungous puff of whales breath and water sprays up into the air as your Humpback comes to the surface after a four-minute dive.  Like a little water bomb you hear it first and they you see a powerful spray mushroom up and cascade over the water as it disappears. The people on board stand on their tippy toes just to get closer to see her, for she is the greatest sight on earth.

Strike a pose!

We find our whale travelling along the coastline feeding and diving, feeding, and diving. A single whale, this time, she’s definitely on a mission and food is her top priority.  Up close and personal in the midst of the tug and flow of our great adventure waves she surfaces and then flips us a tail as if to say, “look at me, aren’t I grand”.  And so she is. Each whale has a different tail print and people come from all over the world to study, track and identify whales in this area. As well drones bring an entirely new perspective in which to view and study whales. It’s become a world class attraction and marine study ground.

Well hello handsome. How’s your day?

We see three sitings of her this trip. Enough to feel like everything invigorating and magical has just been handed to you on a silver platter by mother nature.

Captain Wayne is “pleased to have you aboard”.

Captain Wayne and his team take care of your every need from start to finish on this intimate private tour. They equip you with the right jackets, (which have floatation devices in them), give you the best seats in the house and all the while tell you stories and trivia about the local fare.  For those who enjoy the adventure, the up close and personal and the breath of the ocean in your face – this is the trip of a lifetime designed just for you. I can’t think of a better way to create synergy with your team, spend the day having fun and build your company team spirit!  Or alternatively, just grab the misses and spend a day on the bay!

If you’d like to book a tour here’s how you reach Captain Wayne:
captwaynes.com

_____________________________________________________________________

Tina Olivero

Would you appreciate knowing more about how strategic content can vastly support your marketing and sales?

Fill out this request and we will have a product & service expert get in touch with you.
[contact-form-7]

The oil and gas industry is a culmination of the greatest minds on the planet who support the number one commodity in the world – oil and gas. The industry is bustling with advances, technological innovation, exponential progress and fascinating results. All of that adds up to extraordinary accomplishment and acknowledgement for what we have achieved.

While some people thrive on the opportunity to create unique experiences and unprecedented surroundings, others just don’t have that talent. In the oil and gas industry amongst a sea of mathematical, technically inclined engineers, creativity is often not the highest trait on the competence list when it comes to developing ambience.

So how do we best support our people through the milestones and advancements?
How do we ensure they feel appreciated? How do we celebrate along the way?
What makes life incredible?

These were the questions that plagued the team of Event 3Sixty. They just wanted to make people feel incredibly special and appreciated. So that’s exactly what they did. The formed a powerhouse team of detail-oriented experts that deliver “experience” with precision.

Jonathan Conners, President and Lead Designer of Event 3Sixty, says, “Creating trends instead of following them, that’s what we’re about. Event 3Sixty is a full-service audiovisual and event design company offering the most innovative solutions and the highest level of service before, during, and after every event. At Event 3Sixty, we love nothing more than a challenge. You think it’s impossible? Perfect. We will work with you to make it happen. It’s what our strong sense of pride and accomplishment, not to mention our history of success, is based on.”

Derrick Lee

Derrick Lee, Account Manager and Client Liaison for Event 3Sixty, loves working with the oil and gas industry. He says, “The energy industry is exciting to us. It’s ever growing and the people of this industry do something so important. They take great time and care in ensuring their people are appreciated and their events are world class. Even when it’s a corporate meeting, they care for the details.”

Derrick reveals their strategy, “At Event 3Sixty, we forge lifelong relationships with our clients by staying on the cutting edge of technology and design: our team is eager to work with clients to tackle the range of projects. We’re not worried about the magnitude of the project or its complexity. We are equipped to handle the most unique, challenging or explosive events.”

Johnathan Conners

Jonathan Connors says, “We’ve done some really special events over the years. Everything from car launches, to weddings to oil and gas events. And we also take care of the smallest of projects. For example creative and thoughtful projects like we often do for The OGM. One time, The OGM hired us to deliver flowers to their clients. Customised bouquets were designed by Krystina Adamova our lead Designer in Florals. They were like nothing you have ever seen before. Original, creative and seasonal. Most of the oil and gas clients who got the arrangements were men – you can imagine their surprise and delight. We saw a number of blushes.”

Jonathan differentiates Event 3Sixty’s work, “What makes us different is our commitment to “follow the road less travelled” when it comes to all aspects of event concept, planning, design, and execution. We know that each client has different tastes and expectations and, bearing this in mind, do our best to make sure that every event comes to life, from first meeting to after-party.” The Event 3Sixty has a three-tier approach to client support. Their range of services provides a well-rounded solution to “everything ambience and experience.” Their offerings include Event Development and Production, Audio, Visual & Staging, Decor and Flowers. The scope and range of their work allow for clients to be fully supported from one location.

Architecting Experience

Professionally created, the team of Event 3Sixty, starts your project with a 3-D rendering of your event, location and the specifics of a project. Just like an architect, they build your event and experience from the ground up. It’s quite remarkable to watch the details of the play come together and each theme, goal and ambition come to life. Johnathan likes to work with clients who “dare to be different.” He says, “Our goal would be to work with those who want to break the mould, to harness the crazy and the wild, to support the visionaries, stand by the inventors, partner with the dragons, and shake things up with the adventurers. We were wondering…is that you?”

_____________________________________________________________________

Tina Olivero

Would you appreciate knowing more about Event 3Sixty?

Fill out this request and we will have a product expert get in touch with you.
[contact-form-7]

Steps to download Lucky Patcher APk :

• Go to internet browser and type lucky patcher apk, click enter.
•  You will be shown number of versions after entering into the page. Open any of the version, once you enter into any of the website, there a captcha will bedisplayed. You just need to enter the same captcha which was shown above to start downloading the Lucky patcher application.
•  After downloading the app, you just need to open  the app and make sure that the device which you are using is rooted. There, after opening the app a pop-up will be shown saying “Granted lucky patcher to get root permission”.
• Very next, you need to click on the any of the app which is present in your mobile and there some options will be shown. You need to click on open menu of patches. After clicking on it, some files will be shown for modification of the app and you need to click on “support app for InApp and LVL emulation”. After clicking, the modification starts and the App gets modified. Very next all you need to do is go to the home screen and open the app directly and can buy free coins as I said earlier (in Temple run).
• This is all about Lucky patcher application and how to use it.

If you have any more quiers or Problems you can visit : https://luckypatcherapkdownload.org