1. HxBIA 2012 AGM
Executive Director’s Report

2. First year 2010-2011
• Develop brand (brand alignment survey with local
businesses, shoppers, residents, RFP process etc.)
• Grow and develop our board and internal governance
• Foster good working relationships in the community
• Build legitimacy with funders, government, and
business community
• Begin identifying partnerships and other funding to
create major program streams
• Create awareness of our initial work and the fact that
we exist!

3. Second year
• Social Capital building: connecting local businesses and non-
profits/social enterprises together through speaking and
networking events
• Foster trust with neighbourhood organizations who are still learning
about us
• Influence discourse on DTES local economy, business, gentrification
and improve dialogue between poverty activists and businesses and
framing of DTES in the media
• Demonstrate value to local businesses and property owners by
rolling out important initial program streams – safety and security,
crime prevention, management of public spaces, advocacy on
behalf of business community on issues of policy, taxation, zoning
and permitting, approved uses, crime etc.
• Role out major program streams, including crime prevention, safety
and health of public spaces

4. Media as of late… (good media)
• BC Business Magazine
• Georgia Straight
• The Courier
• News 1130
• The Vancouver Observer
• Tweets from numerous council members, the
mayor, local foundations and non-profits, VEC
• Open File

5. Grants and Sponsorship received
• Great beginnings $15k for marketing and web
development
• $10k from COV and $5k from Real Estate
Foundation for hosting of first Vancouver
Urban Farming Forum (land use, policy,
regulations)
• $40k capital grant (split with SBIA) for more
urban trees and foliage along Pender and
Hastings – held up due to bureaucracy…

6. New website and Business Directory –
hot damn!
• http://thesum.ca/client/hxbia/website/
• http://www.sfu.ca/~clc7/hxbia_map/#
• Website Launching Friday
• Map and directory next week

7. Major Program Streams:
MP Neighbours – Safety and Crime Prevention,
Cleaning and Maintenance

9. Marketing the service for 6 months

10. Events we sponsored or organized
Taste Of Hastings (above) a networking event and
tasting tour of several local restaurants in partnership
with loco BC
Lunch Meet (Left) – funded by Viva Vancouver
HxBIA and The Vancouver Public Spaces Network

11. Battle of Hastings….
Immersive game played by over 300 people, brought them through several
businesses and public spaces looking for clues, including the Sun Tower (shown above)

12. More events we sponsored, supported
or helped organized…
• Fair in the Square (Central City Foundation)
• Victory Square Block Party (Megaphone)
• Word on the Street
• The Takeaway
• Local Area Planning Committee business
outreach and input workshop
• DNC Street Market
• Fashion Art Design Week (Potentially November)
• Victory Bootcamp (September - October)

13. Behind the scenes advocacy
• Connecting issues that small businesses face on
the ground with the City’s economic
development policy (Vancouver Economic
Commission)
• Local Area Planning Committee (Fought to keep
Victory Square and Chinatown Revitalization
Strategies from being vetoed by interim rezoning
policy)
• Inner-City NeighbourhoodCoalition 30 + orgs
• Inner-City Safety Society
• BIA Partnership

14. Program streams in development
• BIA Banner Program
• Continue building comprehensive safety, crime
prevention and environmental health initiative
• Local Area Plan
• Advocacy for improved permit facilitation, more
flexibility of approve uses, taxation and
zoning/assessment issues
• Friends of the Park Stewardship Committee
• COME TO ME WITH SUGGESTIONS

15. THANK YOU
Wes Regan
Executive Director, Hastings Crossing BIA
604-805-3591
wes.regan@hxbia.com
LinkedIn
http://www.linkedin.com/in/wesleyregan