True North embodies Spirit of Winnipeg

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This article was published 01/06/2023 (1220 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

One of the city’s highest-profile companies is being recognized for having what the business community believes is the Spirit of Winnipeg.

“We’re humbled to be acknowledged,” True North Sports + Entertainment president John Olfert said Thursday.

The honour doesn’t come in the form of a celestial being. Instead, the company that owns the Winnipeg Jets, the Manitoba Moose and Canada Life Centre will receive the title award during the Winnipeg Chamber of Commerce’s Spirit of Winnipeg awards gala June 16.

Eight Manitoba organizations will join True North as winners, having been identified for excelling in categories such as diversity initiatives and workplace culture.

“We are in that immediate post-pandemic environment. It’s important that we gather, to remind ourselves that we came through it and we were resilient,” said chamber president Loren Remillard.

The chamber’s website explains that its board decides the title Spirit of Winnipeg winner, searching for a business with an “outstanding effort and commitment” to improving the city.

The company has a notable track record, said Remillard, who isn’t on the board. He listed the Jets, True North Square, the True North Youth Foundation and the ambitious, recently unveiled proposal to redesign Portage Place.

“When you take a look at everything that organization is doing, beyond just their business interests, the impact they’re having in the community is incredible,” he said.

Olfert takes the Spirit of Winnipeg win as industry validation of True North’s work.

Currently, the entity books 150 shows per year at the Canada Life Centre and up to 90 at the Burton Cummings Theatre downtown. Approximately 700,000 people have filtered through the Hockey for All Centre near the west Perimeter Highway, and hundreds of youths attend Camp Manitou and the Winnipeg Jets Hockey Academy each year.

Through the True North Youth Foundation, roughly 60,000 people have had access to Project 11 curriculum, which spotlights mental health, Olfert said.

The company partners with Toba Centre for Children and Youth and CancerCare Manitoba, among other non-profits, he added.

“We’re in the business of public assembly,” he said. “The role that we try and serve within our community is one of trying to gather together, cheer for the same team, enjoy the same type of music.”

Private and public sector both play a role in developing community, he said, adding he couldn’t provide more details about the Portage Place proposal — that’s the development arm of the company’s territory — but said “when they announce and commit to something, if it’s within their control, then they will get it done.”

PegCityLovely blogger and Winnipeg Chamber board member Natalie Bell will among the award gala’s hosts.

“We have so much to offer here,” Bell said. “There is so much good happening, and I think we really need to focus on that.”

The business community is feeling cautious optimism, Remillard said. Inflation is higher than the Bank of Canada’s target, but it’s not rapidly increasing as it was only months ago. Companies are able to plan with more confidence, he said.

“There are many companies… that have dusted themselves off and have resumed their growth,” he said. “I think it’s really important this year that we acknowledge that.”

June 16 will mark the 14th annual Spirit of Winnipeg awards gala.

Winners will be announced for the categories rising star (start-ups), technology, environment and energy, workplace culture, non-profit and social enterprise, trade, design and building, diversity and equity and Spirit of Winnipeg.

The event begins at 5 p.m. at the Club Regent Event Centre. The $255 tickets are available online, with registration closing at 1 p.m. on June 9.

gabrielle.piche@winnipegfreepress.com