2022 has been a year of much learning and exciting new ventures for our company. As a real estate owner and property management company focusing on expanding our property development division, there always seems to be lots to learn. Take moving a house, literally! At the end of 2021, we were in the midst of “picking up” the little pink house at 430 Nicola Street in downtown Kamloops, B.C. with the team from Nickel Bros. to move it down the highway to the rural community of McLure. Just months later, we relocated another home – this time a two-storey Edwardian-style home built in 1910, which would move, inch by inch, in the middle of the night, just a few blocks away. All this moving was to prepare for our City Gardens development. We know that these projects happened so smoothly because of the expertise of our team working alongside Nickel Bros. and their people. We also built and opened new apartment buildings in Prince George, B.C. Because of our team of expert builders and property managers, we can do more further away from our head office in Kamloops because we have a team we trust to do the job well. We also just finished rebuilding Delair Court in Abbotsford, B.C., after a devastating fire destroyed one of the buildings in February 2020 – displacing 57 families. Not only did our team immediately rally around these families, but the community did as well, ensuring these people felt a sense of hope and the spirit of community care. “I was taught that the way of progress was neither swift nor easy.” This quote from physicist Marie Curie about progress resonates with me. Progress isn’t just about achievement but is the forward momentum toward a goal. I think people often look at companies like ours and just see what we’re doing today. Yes, we have multiple apartment buildings in 10 cities throughout B.C. and Alberta and employ about 115 people. But to get a true sense of where we are today and how we have progressed, it is important to look back at what Ron Fawcett, our company’s founder, and my father, did in 1974 when he purchased the first apartment building for our family company. Through steady progress, Ron laid the foundation for Kelson Group, and we continue today to thoughtfully build upon what he started nearly 50 years ago. As we move into 2023, I would encourage you to walk your own pathway of progress. Think of what you can do daily that will help move you toward your goal. And to help you progress, surround yourself with a team of people who have the same core values and passion for progress you do. Although it will neither be swift nor easy, every step forward to your collective goals is cause for celebration. We wish our team, our residents, and those in communities throughout B.C. and Alberta, where we operate, a 2023 of great progress toward good and positive things. – Jason Fawcett, President, Kelson Group
