Thunder Bay

Sandi Boucher knows she has a pretty good gig. The general manager of the fledgling Thunder Bay Centre of Change gets a daily dose of inspiration from the 30 entrepreneurs under her roof. “It's the most positive place to work.

Sandy Smith has a humourous kind of fatal optimism that accompanies any survivor in the sawmilling industry.

Thunder Bay is digging deep into the mining supply and services game.

Neil Pettigrew has witnessed the decline and rebirth of Thunder Bay's mineral exploration sector. A decade ago, the vice-president of Fladgate Exploration Consulting Corp.

Thunder Bay was making its best sales pitch in November to convince Cliffs Natural Resources to build its ferrochrome processing plant on the shore of this northwestern Ontario port city.

Barb Courte knows all about the rigours of the diamond drilling business from both ends of the stick. “I was the wife of a driller and I know what the guys go through,” said the president of Thunder Bay's Cobra Drilling and Northstar Drilling.

Old school thinking in Thunder Bay is making way for a new wave of planning. For Eric Zakrewski, president of True Grit Consulting, finding a suitable space to expand was turning out to be a real headache.

The PARO Centre for Women's Enterprise is extending its reach into northeastern Ontario.

Call it one of those inventions that was hiding in plain sight. When Dan Cheal of Thunder Bay plopped his infant daughter into a restaurant high chair, the cleanliness of the serving tray left something to be desired.

The debate has raged for years in Thunder Bay on whether to build a new events centre. But now the wheels are in motion toward making it happen.