Northern Resiliency - BuzzMasters

A series of mini documentaries showing the importance of community in the face of hardship and uncertainty.

Season 1

Northern Resiliency | Episode 1: New Ontario Brewing Thumbnail Cover Photo

Episode 1: New Ontario Brewing

With local bars and restaurants closing as COVID-19 arrives in North Bay, New Ontario Brewing had no choice but to quickly pivot its entire production line to survive the global pandemic and make a difference in the fight against COVID.

In this episode of Northern Resiliency, see the effects COVID had on our local brewery and get a glimpse into its impact on North Bay’s food and beverage industry. See the dedicated people who worked hard together to push through the pandemic in our first Northern Resiliency success story.

Episode Trailer

Episode 2: Capitol Centre

The life of an artist is never easy and neither is the work behind our local performing arts centre. When everything shut down, the arts community was slammed by restrictions and left to figure out what to do.

North Bay’s Capitol Centre (http://capitolcentre.org/) and the Kennedy Gallery (http://kennedygallery.org/) fought hard during the endless months of the global pandemic to provide an escape for the community, as well as an anchor for local artists to continue to do what they do best.

Their story has so many perspectives, from administrative to technical, with so many working hard behind the curtain, but each of them shares something in common: Resiliency.

Episode Trailer

Episode 3: Orchards

When everything locked down at the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, businesses were split between essential and non-essential. For those the government deemed essential, strict rules and regulations were put in place to make sure they could operate safely.

Orchards Fresh Food Market (https://orchardsfreshfoodmarket.com/) is a staple of our community while they could stay open, it wasn’t easy and the whole team had to come together to make it work. Orchards then looked at how they could make the lives of their customers easier with their offerings, knowing the closures of other services would cause a cascading effect. A good meal can make the difference, but a good meal made easy can turn the tide in the minds of people who just need a break from the stress.

Episode Trailer

Episode 4: Cheapskates

When the lockdown initially hit, we expected to spend two weeks at home and then get back to our everyday lives. But as the doors stayed shut and we all had to stay put at home longer and longer, it got tough to keep going for many people.

Getting outside, especially in the summer months, was an escape for most people looking to get out of the house and do something. For Cheapskates (https://cheapskatesports.com/), the lockdown should have been devastating, but people wanting to get outdoors was a lifeline.

Follow us as we look into the challenges faced by Cheapskates throughout the pandemic and what effect the lockdown had on business and the community, especially when it came to cycling.

Episode Trailer

Episode 5: KJCO

When closures for non-essential businesses hit during the initial lockdown, it was hard for tight-knit teams to split up and take on their strenuous workloads in a time of uncertainty. For Karen Jones Consulting, this meant continuing to work with businesses across their portfolios and helping many of them navigate the tumultuous waters of business during a pandemic.

For some members of the KJCO team, it meant pivoting from a role not yet settled into and working in the dark trying to change how they did things to be able to achieve the same outstanding results.

Life during the pandemic wasn’t easy for anybody, but working from home alone, day in, day out, had its toll. But it takes hard work and perseverance to overcome those challenges.

Episode Trailer

Episode 6: Horsability

When the lockdown first hit, it wasn’t just people who were out of work. Lori works closely with her stable of horses to provide Equine-Assisted Activities and Therapies (EAAT), including Equine-Assisted Growth and Learning Association (EAGALA) activities and Equine-Assisted Learning (EAL) programs, that offer positive benefits for people of all ages and abilities.

And while it was hard on the horses, having worked with people so often, it was also challenging for those who needed the services most.

See how Lori worked throughout the pandemic to keep her horses active and happy while also trying to pivot the ever-changing landscape of lockdown after lockdown.

Episode Trailer

Episode 7: MooseFM

During the first weeks, everyone was alone. People were locked down at home, away from family and friends, working in isolation, not sure what was going to happen. For a lot of these people, it was the familiar voices throughout the day of their local radio hosts keeping their lives from being waking up, working, sleeping, repeating - for weeks.

For a lot of people, the on-air personalities are what made the difference and help them stay motivated - resilient.

And while a lot of businesses scaled back, this was not the story for Vista Radio, which saw the opportunity to bring back something lost in North Bay. Watch this episode to see what your truly local station got up to during the hardest of times during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Episode Trailer

Episode 8: SafeSight Exploration

Working underground can already be isolating enough, but when you’re on the road with your support team at home, running underground drone operations can be a challenge over time.

SafeSight never stopped innovating during the lockdown and worked apart to get things done. From the strategic level, to in the mines, everyone on the team found ways to keep moving forward despite the challenges.

Episode 9: MetricAid

The work lives in hospitals are already busy and stressful enough, but when COVID hit, nobody really knew what would happen. MetricAid has been working closely with hospitals for the last ten years to transform physician scheduling to help hospitals and departments improve their patient care. Through their work, clients experience notable improvement in both physician recruitment and retention.

And with their close-knit team, MetricAid, like any other organization, had to adapt to working from home away from their collaborative environment. Their workload didn’t stop and they had to quickly respond to the changing environment brought about by the global pandemic while still maintaining their team spirit. It wasn’t an easy journey, but MetricAid was up for the challenge.

Episode 10: Laframboise Team

When the Pandemic hit, so much of what we knew was thrown into the air. Closures, restrictions, and uncertainty were rampant. The housing market took a huge turn and the everyday life of realtors was shaken up.

For the Laframboise Team, it became a matter of helping their clients navigate the new waters of a COVID market, especially in ensuring impacted deals didn’t result in people becoming homeless, while also working through the regulatory changes in their personal and professional lives.

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Credits

Produced By

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Episode Partners

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Featured Businesses

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Special Thanks

Barry Klus

Denise Sherritt

Norm St. Amour

Jennifer Nickerson

Josh Willard

Shawn Chorney

Rob Deline

Steve Dreany

Matt & Natasha Laframboise

Peter Hobbs

Larry Fuld

Stacie Fiddler

And to the great many people who supported this project and helped it come to life.

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