Erin Haluschak
Record Staff
Acting as a gateway into the Comox Valley, Tia Otter sees downtown Comox full of endless possibilities.
Otter is the president of Comox Business in Action, an organization dedicated to the promotion of trade, business, signage and infrastructure of the town’s downtown core.
She said her goal, along with that of her new board, is to create a more viable downtown while developing partnerships with other local organizations including the Comox Valley Chamber or Commerce, the Comox Valley Economic Development Society and even the Downtown Courtenay Business Improvement Association.
“We want to create a more business-friendly downtown,” she explained, and added the organization has a variety of plans for the coming year.
“We are currently in the process of revamping our website. We want to create a stronger web presence and make it more user-friendly.”
The BIA recently added Kathy Penner as the new co-ordinator, who brings years of experience and ideas to the organization.
Otter said a new board has already begun seeing their ideas come to life, as the Comox Christmas event/Celebration of Lights was an overwhelming success.
This year, another new feature is associate memberships into the BIA, which are organizations or businesses that fall outside the organization’s boundaries, but play an important role in the development of downtown, such as Filberg Lodge.
Otter added a new project for the year will be a banner promotion, where local artists will be invited to design a new banner for the downtown area.
“The BIA is also planning a series of events, including going forward with the Comox Cup, the Shellfish Festival, Nautical Days, working with the Filberg Festival, Originals Only and our Christmas event,” she noted. “We’ve had great feedback with our events in Comox.
“Though our air and water connections, Comox is truly the gateway to the Valley,” she added.
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