CHAMBER BUSINESS AWARDS
Moore's magic more than a house of cards
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NEWS PHOTO EMMA BENNETT Local magician Trevor Moore performs at corporate events, street festivals, and community events. Trevor has been performing since 2005.
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NEWS PHOTO EMMA BENNETT Ted Rodych, the manager of the Medicine Hat Co-op, stands in the prodoce department.
Andrea Klassen Medicine Hat News
Trevor Moore’s magic career started with a book of card tricks, and a lot of long bus rides. At the time, the professional magician and comedian was a junior high student, playing recreational hockey.
"When you're on the hockey bus, you settle into one of a few criteria. You're either a card player, a reader, or a video game player,” Moore explains. “And I didn’t really fit into any of those, so my sister one year for Christmas got me a basic card trick book and said I could read it on the bus."
It wasn’t long before Moore was learning new card tricks to wow his teammates, and magic became a permanent part of his life.
These days, Moore is more often seen performing at corporate events or street festivals than on moving vehicles, but his approach has stayed the same: up close, intimate and with plenty of audience participation.
“My roots are in close-up magic, so I've always wanted my stage shows to be very interactive," Moore says.
When you have an audience member on stage, it takes away some of that notion that there's more than what you're seeing. And when you're doing corporate shows... it brings in a whole comedy component, because you can have some fun with the person on stage."
Since turning professional in 2005, Moore has seen the entertainment industry heat up in Medicine Hat.
“There's tons of great musicians, a comedian or two, even simple things like DJs and dances and those mock casinos people do,” he says. “So there's a lot more competition for the entertainment dollar."
He says his strength is in the flexibility his act offers - the show is part magic, part comedy, with the amount of each changing to fit the audience - and, in a year of economic uncertainty, his willingness to tailor his show to the needs and budget of an event.
“There’s the stereotype some entertainers get, that they’ll only perform one way,” he says. “And it's necessary to perform and keep you style, but it's also necessary to listen to what the customer wants, and what their needs are.”
Diversity pays off handsomely for Co-op
Andrea Klassen Medicine Hat News
Medicine Hat Co-Op has long prided itself on its diverse hiring policies, and this year other organizations are taking notice.
The business has already received two awards from the local Chamber of Commerce for its commitment to hiring youth and disabled individuals. It was also nominated for this year's Alberta Chamber of Commerce Business Award of Distinction for Employers of Persons with Disabilities.
Ted Rodych, Co-Op's general manager, says the businesses hiring policies are “win-win” for those involved.
“It's great to be able to offer these young kids an opportunity to get into the work force,” he says. “It certainly gives us help, and it gives them the opportunity to learn about the big world.”
He's also quick to praise the work of the store's disabled employees, calling them excellent workers he's proud to offer opportunities to.
"We've got one individual who's been with us for over 12 years,” Rodych says. “We call him our cart manager now, and he knows a lot of our
customers. I think it's certainly a feel good story that we can employ an individual and he comes to work, and does a good job for us."
Rodych adds that the store's commitment to customer service from all employees is part of the reason for its fifty-plus years of success in Medicine Hat.
There's also the Co-Op's policy of continuous improvement. In 2009, the business did a massive renovation of its Eagle Butte Gas Bar in Dunmore and installed a robotic prescription dispenser at its 13th Avenue location.
More changes are on the way again in 2010, and though Rodych says he can't speak to specifics, he will say the company is planning more
enhancements, expansions and upgrades of its services.
And the final reason for the business's success? Rodych points to the Co-Op's policy of returning cash to its more than 32,000 local members each year. Co-Op members receive a portion of their purchases back in cash, and also own shares in the company itself.
“The more they support us,” Rodych explains, “the more we're able to give back to them.”
REPORT ON SOUTHEAST ALBERTA 2010 ■ Celebrating our Community — 53
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