We founded our company on these core values and they remain our guiding principles:

• We will advance the cause of the local community

The roots of GG&A go deep into the hard-won belief that the local community matters and is an important partner for business, government and non-profit projects. Grant Galpin has exercised a local community advocacy since 1992, when he re-started a local community church in Richmond, BC that had a long struggling history. The church re-organized under a new vision and mandate, upgraded its facility, re-established its congregation, and later merged with another local church to provide strong community development activities in the area.

• Start-up management coaching is essential for new organizations

Many non-profit organizations lack guidance in their early and formative years. This brings key start-up experience that can help them be successful. Grant Galpin has initiated or participated in the start-up of multiple organizations, some of which have been successful and some of which have not. But the lessons learned are vital for new organizations and would ensure a greater level of success such as NECCS has enjoyed.

• True vision provides guidance for everything else that really matters.

An ancient proverb states, “Without vision, people are unrestrained.” True vision provides a guiding framework for organizational success. GG&A has demonstrated a strong ability to seize vision opportunities and turn them into reality. In our work with NECCS, GG&A provided vision development research that demonstrated a new “groups orientation” to the recreation facility business. This approach allowed NECCS to move from building a hall for local Community Associations to being a “recreational service provider with a community development mission.” This in-turn opened the door to government funding, corporate sponsorships, non-profit partnerships, and a $120 million innovative multi-services recreational facility.

• Consultation is best conducted in a win-win approach

True consultation is a shared experience with each party contributing to a successful outcome. As a key team member on the community engagement projects for Encana Corp, Conoco Phillips Canada Ltd, Altalink, and NaturEner Energy Canada, GG&A exercised a win-win consultation approach that received very positive reviews. On one occasion where a community advocacy group had organized against Altalink, GG&A facilitated a community meeting that enabled the company to honestly engage the citizens, hear their concerns, and respond in a fashion that reduced the confrontation. Altalink’s project was later approved and the impact on these residents was avoided completely.

• Collaborative partnerships are the new future for industry & community

GG&A believes strongly that collaborative partnerships are the growth curve for many infrastructure and community projects. For NECCS, one of the partners that GG&A brought on board was the Calgary Soccer Federation with a $1 million contribution. Included in this accomplishment was a process of working with the Calgary Soccer Federation to unify their internal membership around the Genesis Centre project.

• Turn the “impossible into reality” is our mentality

Rooted in Grant Galpin’s early experiences, is the understanding that “nothing is impossible with God.” Consequently, the challenge of pursuing the “impossible” has been infused into GG&A’s DNA. NECCS is a good example of this –and going forward, GG&A would look for new signature projects that would allow us to demonstrate this truth in the public realm.