I have never been more optimistic about the future of Whitewater Region.
We have a terrific council, a strong local newspaper with 2,626 subscribers, agriculture, industry and tourism.
Wilderness Tours hosted the World Kayak Championships last September for an unprecedented two times. Because of athlete demand, the ICF asked Wilderness Tours to host the event. I have been to every World Championships since 2005 and this was “the best ever”. It was also a first as the championships were “live streamed” in real time all over the world. Beachburg and Foresters Falls are known world wide.
In Whitewater Region, this is our time. The stars and the planets are aligned for dramatic growth here and we want to “jump start it”.
The key to growth is employees, the life blood of any organization. Whether it’s supplies or staff, Wilderness Tours starts locally. However, we can’t find enough local staff to fill all our positions. We want to change that and have started a bold new program to “grow our own staff” from the Ottawa Valley. We call it Local Keeners, short for “keen and enthusiastic”.
Local Keeners would be a stepping stone to summer employment at Wilderness Tours, River Run, Ottawa Kayak School and the many paddle-sport companies on the Ottawa River. Not only is working on the river a great summer job, it also builds character and leadership skills, valuable skills no matter what your career holds.
The full Local Keener program will be rolled out in 2017 but we are pre-launching with parts this summer. We are starting with a Teen Kayak Camp special – two weeks for the price of one. Choose the Resident Camp where the teens stay here for the two weeks (but go home on weekends) or the two-week Day Camp Program where teens are dropped off at Wilderness Tours at 8:30 am and picked up at 5 p.m. This program is only available to Ottawa Valley residents.
This is your opportunity to get your favourite local teen working and playing on the world famous Ottawa River. Check out www.wildernesstours.com/local-keeners or call 613-646-2291 for more information.
