Tawich Development Corporation hosted the first ever in the history of the company an Expo called “Tawich Expo, 2017-Creating an Entrepreneurial Community” The one day and half event was held on March 23 and 24 at the community hall. We welcomed approximately 200 registered participants that included local community residents, local youth from the school and local businesses under Tawich Business Development Corporation, that included; Sibi Gas, Community Store, Laundromat Inc., Maquatua Inn and Creenet.

The companies under the umbrella of TDC included:

• Tawich Construction Inc.
• Wemindji Paving Inc.
• Wolf Camp Corporation
• Synee Drilling
• WEMEX-Wemindji Exploration Inc.
• VCC-Vieux Comptoir Construction Inc.
• Tawich Distribution Inc.
• KEPA Transport

Other invited companies/organizations that set up their booths/kiosks were CHRD and Goldcorp.

We also had the Cree Nation of Wemindji- Career Development Program, TDC’s Administration, TDC’s IT Dept. and Tourism Department with their own booths/kiosks.

The one– and half day agenda of events provided our participants with welcoming remarks and guest speakers and small informal presentations by each company/business to inform the participants on their goods and services and any employment opportunities they may have in the future for the youth. Our Master of Ceremonies, Mr. Joshua Iserhoff, who is always a pleasure to have in Wemindji. He provided us with his raw humor and engaged the participants with his wit and charisma.

Deputy Chief Frank Atsynia conducted the opening remarks and Tony Gull, President of TDC, delivered the welcoming address. Our featured guest speakers were Youth Chief, Justin Otter. Former member of the group CerAmony, Matthew A. Iserhoff, spoke about the importance of family when pursuing your dreams. His presentation was inspiring and I am sure resonated with many in attendance, we had a packed house during his presentation, which was great timing as the students from the high school took one of their periods to join us that first afternoon.

The participants also had the opportunity to gather various promotional items from the booths/kiosks to take home with them such items included pens, water bottles and many, many more! Awesome door prizes and gifts were given out throughout the event that were donated by all participating businesses and companies. The Expo also involved an evening dinner and entertainment that included Howie Miller a renowned Aboriginal Comedian who hails from Edmonton, Alberta. In addition, performances by Matthew A. Iserhoff and Pakesso Mukash and his traditional dancers. The spectacle lasted a couple of hours, which provided some real great entertainment for the audience.

Our speakers for the last day included TDC Vice-President, Danny Tomatuk who delivered the opening remarks. The special presentation by Tawich Distribution on the last day included a display of their line of products by using local models who all did a great job! TDI and their products are a smashing success and have recently displayed their products at an international event held in Montreal last month.

In closing the Expo 2017, Christina Gilpin, TDC CEO provided a speech to thank and recognize all who had a part in making our very first ever Expo a success by providing everyone with small tokens of appreciation. Mr. Tony Gull-TDC President provided closing remarks and mentioned that TDC will deliver this type of event on an annual basis to display our successes and opportunities to our local community members.

Holly Danyluk

Corporate Strategy Manager, TDC