Articles By Stephanie Porter
Join the Club
A couple of Atlantic Canada’s private business clubs are shaking off the stuffy image and opening their doors In 1862, word came from Queen Victoria herself: there was no Gentleman’s Club in Halifax, and it was high time one was put in place. When the queen speaks, people listen. A dozen high-profile Halifax businessmen promptly got together and purchased land …Continue Reading
Giving gifts
As one firm found out, the right corporate Christmas event can do wonders for the community within the office walls and beyond. This time last year, I shared the story of a Christmas Pageant – Target Margeting’s tale of cross-dressing, beer-swilling, mad-dancing mummers taking on the town for their unconventional seasonal office bash. For this year’s Christmas story, I bring …Continue Reading
Big night in
Instead of hitting up the same restaurants, why not invite visiting colleagues or guest (even the boss!) over for dinner? There are those who look at food as little more than fuel. For the rest of us, food can be a great source of joy, discussion, debate, even collaboration. What’s better than breaking bread with friends? Trying new flavours while …Continue Reading
Tee Time
Does the idea of being trapped on a golf course for hours with someone you’re trying to impress terrify you? Maybe it’s not so bad if you love the sport. But for me, someone who’s barely stepped beyond the driving range, lighting up the links and “relationship building” at the same time is mighty intimidating. Not that invitations come by …Continue Reading
Two if by sea
What is the thing to do when you’re entertaining visitors from out of province, or better, from outside of Atlantic Canada? I’ve been asked this a few times lately and I say the answer is this: take them to see the sea. Weather permitting of course. Sure, this end of the country can now hold its own when it comes …Continue Reading
Where there’s smoke …
It may not be politically correct to start a business meeting with the proffering of an open cigar box, but the cigar culture is still here. You just have to know where to find it. How times have changed. At the turn of the century, Sieverts Tobacco had a factory by Halifax harbour where employees would hand-roll cigars to be …Continue Reading
Relax and say… Spaaaah
Are you up for an apple blossom facial in the Annapolis Valley? How about a hot stone massage with stones smoothed by the tides of the Bay of Fundy? Or a waterfall massage under crystal clean east coast water? Canadian rosehip scrub? Seaweed wrap? How about a little something called the Stress-Less Express? I’m sure most of us could use …Continue Reading
A Christmas Pageant
How one business elevated the dreaded corporate Christmas ‘do into an evening of hilarity, creativity, and a celebration of local traditions.
Follow the carrot
Whether it’s a kayaking trip or the chance to be a soldier for a day, employee incentive programs are growing in popularity in a competitive marketplace
Big Feet
They are service hubs, centres of research and innovation, cultural goldmines, homes to industry and bedroom communities. However you define them, Newfoundland and Labrador’s five largest municipalities make one heck of an economic footprint. Though it is still often defined by the traditional (romanticised) cultural mosaic of the rural fishing village, Newfoundland and Labrador is an increasingly urban and urbane …Continue Reading
