DALE SHUTT
LOCAL JOURNALISM INITIATIVE
QUYON – The Pontiac Community Futures Development Corporation (SADC) held its annual general meeting on June 12 at the Quyon Community Centre. The year 2025 marks a milestone for SADC Pontiac, which has supported local entrepreneurs and fostered economic development in the region for 40 years.
After being acknowledged for receiving the King Charles III medal in recognition of her significant impact on the community, Director General Rhonda Perry expressed gratitude to the entrepreneurs, partners, employees and board members who have helped build a strong and dynamic Pontiac. She also introduced the Pontiac Communities Tour, a new initiative the SADC will undertake in 2025–2026. The team will visit each of the 18 municipalities in MRC Pontiac, plus the Municipality of Pontiac, to meet with entrepreneurs, business and community leaders, hear their stories, and better understand the realities they face on the ground. The meeting continued with the 2024 financial report, which highlighted $915,000 in business loans issued for social, tourism, agriculture and trades initiatives—75% for expansion and modernization projects, and 25% for business start-ups.
After a short refreshment break, the highlight of the evening was a talk by Canada Snowboard CEO Dustin Heise. Over his 20-year career as an entrepreneur, Heise has led major corporate and elite sport organizations, as well as real estate development projects. He is known for articulating a values-based strategic vision and for his ability to inspire, motivate, mentor and measure team success.
Heise spoke about achieving excellence in any enterprise, saying success starts with a choice: “Do you choose to be a top business—or do you choose to be the top business?” For Heise, that business is snowboarding. His goal was to make Canada the top snowboarding nation in the world. As CEO, he led the Canadian Olympic Snowboard Team to world-leading medal results at the 2022 Winter Games.
He shared the three pillars of excellence on which his work is based: vision, execution and culture. He also presented a framework he uses called S.C.A.L.E.: S for Start—decide what you want to be; C for Compound—do more of it; A for Augment—do it better; L for Leverage—learn how to do it consistently; and E for Expand—replicate it by seeking new opportunities. Equally important, he said, is the impact you have along the way. “Is the culture of your organization inspiring? Are you setting an example? Are you building resilience in your team?” The bottom line, he said: if you choose to be the best, are willing to do the work, build the right team, and treat every failure as a learning experience, you can develop systems that create a scenario for success.
Photo – SADC 2025 board members at the AGM, June 12 L/R: Paul Boivert, Trefor Munn-Venn, Donald Gagnon, Christine Amyotte, Rita Paine, Ellen Bouchet, Rhonda Perry, Terry LaFleur, and Ken Pack.