JEA is proud to sponsor the event because developing in the Greater Victoria region tends to be a long and complex task making developer collaboration extremely important. The event provided a unique opportunity for members to see and discuss those challenges with their colleagues.

The Urban Development Institute is a national association that works with developers and local governments to provide news, policy, research and a forum for discussion. “Events like the Development Tour in Victoria strengthen communication among its local members and make it easier for them to come together to address common problems or obstacles,” says senior engineer Ross Tuck, who is also a representative on the UDI Victoria board of directors.

For the sold out crowd it was a chance to discuss or walk through a number of interesting local projects. For the featured companies, it was a chance to showcase their best efforts in ground-breaking layout, design and technologies.

Truckloads of oranges and grapefruits have been arriving from California and are available for sale and donation. Buy some for yourself or have the club deliver the fruit to a local charity of your choice. The Rotary Club of Nanaimo North reaches out to charities all over the world, says the club’s fundraising director Ian Thompson. “We’re happy to deliver your fruit to whichever local charity you choose to support,” he adds.

Beneficiaries of the Citrus for Charity Program in Nanaimo include The Salvation Army, Haven House and local food banks. The club is half way to their Christmas goal of raising $10,000. from the program and are taking orders until December 9. “JEA is a terrific supporter of The Rotary Club of Nanaimo North all year round,” says Thompson. “Indeed, next year Jeff will become our president,” he added.

“We were bulging at the seams” said owner Gary Anderson.  “We’d been working full-tilt solving other people’s problems while our own space was becoming jammed up.   It was time.”  Gary didn’t have to look far for a creative lead on the project.  Jeff Smith, of the multi-award winning Smith Designs was happy to be given the task of creating a beautiful yet functional space. www.smithdesigns.ca. The new addition expanding the space from 3,000 to 4,650 square feet began to take place.

A good contractor makes all the difference in how a job goes and Gary couldn’t have been happier with Story Construction. www.storyconstruction.ca.  “They were fantastic.  They were right on budget, right on time and even found ways to save here and there.”  Danny Carrier shouldered the responsibility of ensuring the goals of JEA were achieved by both Story and Smith.  Under his guidance communication was excellent and the inevitable small problems solved quickly and amiably.

Outside, the problem of an expanded driveway called for a sustainable solution.  JEA Partner Peter Gericke designed a “rain garden” that efficiently filters out the pollutants from driveway and roof run-off water directed to the area to be soaked back into the aquifer.

JEA was well represented by the fleet-footed Ryan Hourston, BCLS, Colin “Speedy” Grover, BCLS and “Stamina Man” Chad Marier (Party Chief). Minda Riley, BCLS Michael McIlvaney Land Surveying, was instrumental in getting the team together along with Bronwyn Denton, BCLS, Focus Corporation.

Meet Ryan Hourston – The latest member of the J.E. Anderson team to be commissioned as a B.C. Land Surveyor.

Ryan joined JEA in 2003, honing his skills completing a wide variety of projects including building certificates, road design layouts, right of way surveys and many other legal survey assignments (including the Uptown Shopping Centre) from Victoria to the Cowichan Valley.  A graduate of the University of Victoria in Geography he credits JEA’s commitment to mentorship as a major reason for his success.

Mike Manson was assigned to help him get to the level of a certified B.C. Land Surveyor. “Mike put in many hours helping me prepare for the exams and supporting me, for which I am grateful” he said.  “So many of my co-workers also took an interest in my progress. There are not many places where you truly feel you are part of a family”.

When he is not out in the field, he can be seen on the soccer pitch, playing three times a week for the Cordova Bay Bobcats.  A father of two, he enjoys time with his wife and children playing at the beach and exploring the local parks.

“Summertime, and the livin’ is easy! Fish are jumpin’…” goes the old Gershwin tune, and at the 6th annual Consultants’ Invitational Fishing Derby on August 20th the J.E. Anderson team made the most of the sunny weather, while raising money for charity. 

This year, the derby enjoyed both excellent weather and record attendance – our late summer gave us warm sunshine and still waters. 260 participants took part this year, so the Prestige Oceanfront Resort was chosen to accommodate us all. 

We’re particularly proud of our team member Ashley Lloyd, who caught the largest bottomfish, a 6.7 lb. lingcod, pictured here. No it’s not as pretty as a salmon, but the taste is still great! And the J.E.A. team was extra lucky since farther out on the water, one of our competitors, Dave Brewer of Team Robar, pulled in a whopping 57 lb. halibut. However, he didn’t make it in to the weigh scales on time, so the victory is ours. 

Of course, the real winners at this invitational derby are the charities that we raise money for: the Sooke Salmon Enhancement Society and the Goldstream Volunteer Salmonid Enhancement Association. Particularly after the devastating fuel truck accident in Goldstream Park last winter, the salmon need all the help they can get. Together with the other participants, we raised $10,000 for Sooke, and $5000 for Goldstream. What a great accomplishment! 

Fellow engineers, we hope you can join us next year for another great event!

Boom times in the construction industry can be a mixed blessing:  everybody is busy and we hire staff to meet the demand, but work space can get cramped, and there’s no time to work on a solution to the space problem.  Finally, with the work load back to normal, we have been able to plan the expansion to our Glanford office that we’ve needed for years.

Jeff Tomlinson, Manager of Engineering at the Nanaimo office, says about the Victoria expansion, ” [It] will create desperately needed office space which will allow for better work spaces and additional space for increasing our technical staff. The office was never meant to have as many people as it has over the past 7 years due to the increase in business.”

We started the expansion in March, and it is due for completion this summer.

We put the word out amongst the J.E. Anderson staff and before long we started collecting a large amount of sports equipment.  Soccer balls, baseball gloves, bats and balls, and more equipment came together, for Lori and her husband to put in a container with their own household items. They made it to Belize safely last November, and the sports equipment has found its way into the hands and homes of the people in their new town.

Lori’s talents will be missed, but we’re glad to send her to her new home with a spirit of generosity and community!

Ross Tuck, P.Eng., began working with us December 7th, and brings both professional expertise and local knowledge to J.E. Anderson.  Another “Island boy”, Ross attended Glenlyon-Norfolk School, and left Victoria to attend Ohio State University, where he obtained his Bachelor of Science in Civil Engineering (BSCE) in 1996.  Following his education, he returned to Victoria, and 14 years later, he has excellent experience in civil engineering projects around the region, and a desire to start mentoring junior staff at JEA.

Ross is looking forward to continuing work on municipal engineering projects, and to representing JEA at local industry association meetings, which he finds important both for networking and for continuing professional development.  He says that he gets a sense of satisfaction any time he can bring about a solution to a problem, whether it’s for a client or for one of the junior staff.

In addition to working on municipal projects and mentoring at work, Ross is a devoted father, and loves to spend as much time with family and his two children as he can.

We are glad to have you on the team, Ross!

Kyler is with JE Anderson & Associates, a surveying and engineering firm with offices in Victoria, Nanaimo and Parksville, British Columbia.  They won the contract from Natural Resources Canada to head to Vancouver Island’s remote north-west coast to undertake the legal survey of 23 existing Indian Reserves that will be deeded to the Kyuquot Checkleset First Nation (KCFN) as part of the first land claim to be settled on Vancouver Island.

His survey team included Party Chiefs Holland Vieaux & Rob Leiper, survey assistants Dan Meutzner & Jake Augustine and a young apprentice from Kyuquot, James (J.R.) Short.

Jeff Tomlinson & Ken Kyler came up with the idea of involving the whole Village of Kyuquot in placing a ceremonial survey post to replace an old Dominion Land Survey post explained Kyler.

The distinctive new brass cap boasts the engraved KCFN logos and the works “KCFN LEGAL SURVEY” where the Crown and provincial name are usually found.

September 15, 2010 representatives from Indian and Northern Affairs Canada and the Ministry of Aboriginal Relations and Reconciliation negotiations teams flew in for the ceremony to meet many of the individuals they had worked with on this historic agreement in their home territory.

Kyler and his crew feel very privileged to have walked these traditional lands with village elders.

“We heard many bits of their history and culture, and of their younger days when they lived on some of the more remote reserves.  We surveyed in areas of spectacular scenery, and during our many trips in the water taxis, operators Leo Jack and Peter Hanson entertained us with their knowledge of the area.  A special moment was during the survey of the remote Hub-Toul Reserve where young J.R., for the first time, was able to visit his father’s grave site”.