When you grow up hearing advice to 鈥渆stablish and maintain a good credit rating,鈥� many people think that their credit score and employment are really all that matters when applying for a mortgage. We also grow up thinking loyalty gets rewarded. The truth be told, however, that is not the case in the world of bank mortgages.

Dan Wilson of Courtenay was recently named a vice-president on the executive board of the Appraisal Institute of Canada.

Local residents can now visit Courtenay鈥檚 only coffee lounge and gaming centre, Games and Grounds Coffee House, to enjoy a variety of fresh and healthy foods and gaming options.

The B.C. government has started engineering work to widen sections of the main route from Alberta into northeast B.C., the first step to a four-lane industrial route from the provincial border to Fort St. John.

Black Press, British Columbia's largest publisher of community newspapers and websites, has announced the purchase of the Cranbrook Daily Townsman and the Kimberley Daily Bulletin from Don Kendall.

Silent Mountain Bike Courier Services has extended its operation with a lunch delivery component.

The Government of Canada is once again accepting applications from local businesses to help kick-start their innovative ideas by moving their products and services from the lab to the marketplace.

Medical exercise specialist and The Core Exercise Studio owner Mia Sutherland has been chosen as an ambassador for Montreal clothing company Lole Athletic Wear.

Millie Miller is the first graduate from Del Rio Academy of Hair and Esthetics' Courtenay location.

Whenever a big box store moves into town, conversations within the business community inevitably revolve around the need to set yourself apart. It is relatively easy to say be unique, be different, but how do you go about doing that in a market that seems saturated with similar products or services.