"Everything comes down to personality," says North Bay Mayor Vic Fedeli.
If one has a chance to meet, or even chat with Fedeli on the phone one quickly understand why he is a successful businessman, politician and leader of his community.
Fedeli was born and raised in North Bay. As a young man, he was interested in law and architecture, and somehow advertising covered both those interests, he says.
"You have to plead your case, make presentations and create graphics."
After graduating from Conestoga College, he began working at a successful London, Ontario advertising firm, but his heart, and his business savvy, called him back to North Bay.
With no ad agencies north of Toronto, Fedeli made a pitch coupled with a great business pan to his boss. Fact was, it was such a viable opportunity that if his boss didn't take advantage of it, he would move home and do it himself. And so it happened. He founded Fedeli Advertising in 1978 and sold the business in 1992.
The experiences, skills and knowledge gained during a successful advertising career set him up to succeed in public service, Fedeli says.
"Everything really comes down to personality," he says. "You're always selling ... marketing is just glorified sales so that really helps prepare you for diplomatic work."
And being mayor "is the ultimate sales job. First, you have to sell the policies you develop, you have to sell the city on economic development. It's a constant sales job."
Fedeli says, he's a salesman selling the perfect product.
"North Bay is so beautiful," he says, explaining when he meets with doctor recruits he points out the window at the lake and says, 'this is the incentive. You get to live in North Bay. It is idyllic here. It's an important business community ... it has everything you need," he says, making the pitch.
One sales job, Fedeli says, stands out as his ultimate success is bringing Bombardier Aerospace to North Bay as the final assembly location for the Canadair 415 firefighting aircraft.
"There was a great opportunity with the vacated air base, and a customer in Bombardier looking for a place to relocate when the ice storm crushed it's hangar in Montreal.”
Fedeli makes opportunities where there are challenges.
Getting involved in the community is extremely important to the mayor.
"My expertise, marketing, happens to be an area every board, commission or agency really needs. I have a good reputation for being able to deliver," Fedeli says, explaining it's not about sitting on boards attending meetings and eating free sandwiches.
"It's also great personal growth as well, huge personal growth," he says.
"You can look out the window and see the changes you have made in the city, and the changes you have made in people's lives."
The former air base is another great example of meeting challenge with opportunity.
Put in a blurb about the aribase.
"There were no jobs there, no companies, no people," he says. "Today there are hundreds upon hundreds."
Voyageur Airways has 350 employees on the former base and Bombardier has 65. There is also a $15 million school of aviation with 240 students to meet the demands of the employers.
"They all live somewhere, buy cars, go the show, all the spin offs. You really go home with a huge sense of satisfaction," Fedeli says.
This successful mad man turned mayor is also the giving type. For one, Fedeli doesn't take a mayoral salary, but donates it to charity.
"It's important to give what you can give, and in this case, my service as mayor I view as a service," he says.
"It isn't money I was expecting in my life, so it's money that can be put to better use."
