You park your car, walk into the beautifulMagnus Theatre, the lights go down andyou are suddenly completely immersed inthe lives of 4 characters who begin to telltheir stories. There is something specialabout live theatre and we are very lucky tohave the opportunity to easily experience itat a high level right here in Thunder Bay.

Wynn and Max Trueman, played by Jo-Ann Waytowich and Scott Maudsley arehosting their long time friends, Abby AndRoger Nash, played by Liz Gilroy andDanny Johnson in their newly designedcottage or as we call it in Thunder Baycamp! These couples carry lots of baggagewith them and their interactions presentmany true-life depictions of how life canreally be like for human beings who haveknown each other for much of their lives.

The play opens with Wynn, a psycholo-gist and Max a trial lawyer getting readyfor the arrival of their guests. Max is a neat

freak who likes order right down to theway the coasters are placed on their 100year old coffee table. Wynn has trouble

leaving her job at the office and likes toanalyze everyone especially her husband.Their true feelings for their upcomingweekend guests are made know beforethey arrive and it sets up an interesting setof interactions for the weekend.

When Abby, a retail design store ownerand Roger a math tech turned screenplaywriter arrive the real nature of their friend-ships start to flesh out and the audience isready for some laughs and insights intomarried relationships.

Local residents Jo-Ann Waytowich andDanny Johnson were both excellent in theplay and made for a natural experience.

For me the theatre provides you the abili-ty to become part of the activities of thecast and unlike television or movies offersa more intimate experience that allows youto become involved in their lives. Sittingin Magnus provides a close setting fromwhich to view and for this play it was funto be in the middle front row where youreally get the theatre experience.

The Long Weekend is the last regularproduction of Magnus Theatre now in its40th season or Ruby Anniversary InThunder Bay. Magnus has certainly come along way for their days in the east endchurch theatre where they began to the

beautiful current setting. Be sure to checkout a Magnus production as soon as youcan and be prepared for a very unique livetheatre experience, which will have you

coming back again and again.See www.magnus.on.ca

The Long Weekend by Norm Foster atMagnus Theatre

Publisher’sNoteScott

Sumner

THUNDER BAY BUSINESS MAY 2012 PAGE 3

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Top: Wynn and Max Trueman played by Jo-Ann Waytowich and Scott Maudsley arehosting their long time friends Abby And Roger Nash, played by Liz Gilroy and Danny

Johnson PHOTOGRAPHER: BARRY WOJCIECHOWSKI

April 12th, 2012 was an important dayfor the private sector developers of PrinceArthur’s Landing as they became the legalowners of the land they require to build a 4star hotel and 2 condominium buildings.

“ We are very excited to be here today.it has been a process of 4 years and we arevery excited to have the land transfertoday. The land transfer means we can startto deal with it on a residential, commercialand hotel basis. We have enough land todo 2 condominium projects and a hotel.We have the flexibility to do either firstbut our choice would be to build both thehotel and condominium project at the sametime. The market will determine the proj-ect timing,” said Gisele MacDonald.President of Resolve Group Inc.

“ On the condominium side there is apent up demand for about 80 and we arebuilding 51. We can’t market the condosuntil we finalize the final condo plans withthe government agency. There is room for2 or 3 developers to build condominiumprojects in Thunder Bay . Our location onthe waterfront will make our project standout. If you want the lifestyle of havingsome synergy and living around people onthe waterfront you will prefer there.” saidMacDonald.

“ I can assure you the hotel project iscoming just like I can assure you the con-dos are coming. I hate to give time linesbut our goal is to have an announcementon both the condo and hotel by the end ofJune 2012. The reason for our hold up iswe had some contamination on the site andit took longer for the city to have that workcompleted and then there was the certifycation of getting that work done. That isnormal development process and the prob-lem when giving out a time line. If every-thing goes well you can meet that time linebut if something comes up it it difficult toreach the timeline.” said MacDonald.

“ From the day we start construction we are looking at 16 to 18 months to comple-tion depending on the dates we go in theground. I just signed about 92 documentsand there are many restrictions but nonethat are too onerous that we can abide by.This is our business and we have done itfor years.” said MacDonald who indicatedher company has a two year period fromtoday in which to start construction on theproject. she noted the project is financedthrough their company and the bank.

“ I am really excited that his day hasfinally come. I think we have a real com-

mitted group working on the project andwe have millions of dollars into the proj-ect. Our team is staying all over the citybecause we couldn’t get rooms in the samehotel as they are booked. We have engagedCBRE out of Toronto to do a hotel feasi-bility study here in Thunder Bay and thestudy came back very positive. That’s whywe have been able to work with the hotelchains. We hope sometime in June to beable to announce the hotel. We are work-ing with more than one hotel group but arefurther along with one group.: saidMacDonald.” Our first step is to go backto Winnipeg and put our package togetherfor the Ontario Condominium body andthey must approve it. That is the finalstage before we can begin to market theproject.”

“ Everyone has made us very welcomehere. Today we were at the waterfront siteand I am proud to say Thunder Bay will bemy second home. My partners believe inthe project and I would like to thank themfor their support. We believe we have thebest development at the best price point inThunder Bay. In the next 4 to 5 weeks wehope to open the presentation centre andgo to market with the condominiums.Today I am giving my commitment wewill contact the existing clients who haveexpressed interest first. The Sleeping GiantAwakens today!” smiles GiseleMacDonald.

“ It is an exciting day today welcomingour partners from the Resolve Group. I

would like to thank everyone for theirefforts especially Tim Commisso whomade many trips to Winnipeg. This projectis helping to build our community and willcontribute to the downtown revitalizationof our north core.” said Mayor KeithHobbs.

“ The details involved were emmense andeveryone who touched this project need tobe thanked. We wanted commercial, resi-dential and recreation on the development.Last December we reopened the park to

the public and today is an equally impor-tant milestone with the transfer of thelands. They can commence the privatecomponent of the project and investupwards of $60 million in our communitywhich is a good thing for our community.”said Councilor Mark Bentz of WaterfrontCommittee. “ We found our private sectorpartners in 2008 and in 2011 we had oursubstantial completion. We needed our pri-vate sector partner from the beginning orwe wouldn’t have got the infrastructurefunding.”

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PAGE 4 THUNDER BAY BUSINESS APRIL 2012

BY SCOTT A. SUMNERThunder Bay BUSINESS

Above: The signing of documents occurred with John Hannam, City Clerk Thunder Bay, Mark Smith General ManagerDevelopment Services Thunder Bay, Mayor Keith Hobbs Thunder Bay, Gisele MacDonald. President of Resolve Group Inc. and

Peter Belluz. President of Manshield(NWO) Construction Inc.

THUNDER BAY BUSINESS MAY 2012 PAGE 9

If you are a long time resident of ThunderBay you will remember what the Intercityarea looked like in the late 70’s - mostlyopen land with few buildings. One of thefirst buildings in the area, at what is nowthe corner of Balmoral and 10th Ave, wasWayne Toyota. The car dealership startedin 1978, expanded in 1987 and now iscompleted their third expansion always onthis site.

“ When we started there wasn’t muchhere just the Wheelies Roller Rink nextdoor, which is now Smith’s RV Centre.The area was mostly open swampland andnow it is unbelievable. We added land toour site starting with two small lots, andthen buying a piece to give us access to10th Ave. We also bought some land infront of us. Today we have about 3 acres.Our building started as 7000 square feetand is now 20,000 square feet in size.,”said Wayne Marostica, founder and nowGeneral Manager of Wayne Toyota.

Michael Marostica, the son of Wayne, isnow the Dealer Principal at Wayne Toyota.The 32 year old was born in 1980 after thestart of the business by his father! Michaelstarted out at Wayne Toyota washing carsand cutting grass at the age of 12 years oldand in his early 20’s began selling cars.Michael went to Lakehead Universitygraduating from the commerce programwith a major in marketing and then wentaway to school at Washington, DC takingbasically a Masters Degree in AutomotiveManagement to give him a wider under-standing of the industry. Michael slowlymoved up in responsibility and became thedealer principal in 2008 some 4 years ago,taking over from his dad.

Another important member of the team atWayne Toyota is Jodie Krupa who is relat-ed to the Marostica’s and has been at thecompany for 10 years. Previously Jodiewho is a chartered accountant, was in pub-lic accounting, a controller at the ValhallaInn and even worked for Revenue Canadaso brought some different skills to WayneToyota. “ We all have different strengthsand can jump in when needed. Wayne hada long history in the car business so it is agood dynamic to help to know what toexpect.” said Jodie Krupa.

Today Wayne Toyota has about 30employees. “ You are running a multitudeof businesses in one- new vehicle, used

vehicle, parts, service, finance and leasingareas all of which are independent andprofit centers,” said Wayne Marostica. “ Itis quite complex. The automotive businessis a big part of the economy. In ThunderBay we have the highest concentration ofauto dealers in the country. By that I meanwe have all the brands, which isn't so in allcities. That is a reflection of the strength ofThunder Bay and it also makes it verycompetitive because there are so many out

there. The consumer can go any where toother dealers in the province or even inthe US especially when the currency was

low.”

Continued Next Page

Wayne Toyota Dealership Expands To Serve Customers Better

BY SCOTT A. SUMNERThunder Bay BUSINESS

Continued From Previous Page

“ We did the expansion to service ourcustomer better as customer satisfaction isreally important to us. A bigger facilitymeans we can get you in and out quickerand people when they walk in will have awhole feel of customer friendly. Thisexpansion has redefined the way we dothings. In the past we were more of asmaller dealer and you go through growingpains to get to become a bigger dealer. Allthis is for our customers to help servicethem better.,” said Michael Marostica.Wayne Toyota now has a complete newshow room and waiting area, a new partsdepartment and a service drive through.

“ The combination of Toyota and usdetermined the best way to set up. Toyotahas been number one worldwide. It hasbeen a challenge when you are numberone as everyone comes after you butToyota has been a great company to work

with. They see the customers first, thedealer second and Toyota third. They havebeen very helpful in all issues, say with therecalls in the past and the earthquake andproblems in Japan and Thailand that setthem back. They have come a long wayrecently after the destruction when someof their plants were destroyed. Toyota ishuge. They like the US and Canada mar-kets. Canada is the 3rd or 4th market in theworld for them.,” said Wayne Marostica.

The renovation has been ongoing atWayne Toyota for several years. The com-pany even had to move hydro lines, whichtook a year, to expand their service area. “ I appreciate what our customers have

gone through with our expansion. Rightnow my sales department is working out-side in a trailer and I know that is not easyto buy cars. The community has supportedus as we have moved areas around in thedealership and continued to use us, ” saidMichael Marostica. “ The customers are

excited about the improvements. We havecustomers now still with us from 1978, ithas been wonderful. This expansion wouldnever have happened without our cus-

tomers.”

There are some exciting new cars comingout for Toyota in 2012. The Prius C is ahybrid just newly released. It is a nice little

small car and in terms of mileage you getup to 80 miles per gallon with city driving.Toyota has leading technology in hybridtechnology and Wayne Toyota have sold

the first two Prius C cars on their lot rightaway.

Continued Next Page

PAGE 10 THUNDER BAY BUSINESS MAY 2012

Wayne Toyota Dealership Expands To Serve Customers Better