NEWS

Discover the latest news from SOMA, our clients, relevant industries and beyond.

SOMA Event - Amplifying Impact
SOMA News Bridget Irwin SOMA News Bridget Irwin

SOMA Event - Amplifying Impact

In today’s world, effectively creating and communicating purpose is vital to building brand integrity and driving long-term value. This event will equip you with actionable insights to amplify your purpose actions & story in a way that resonates with stakeholders, fosters trust, and enhances your organization's impact.

Reserve Your Spot Today – This exclusive event is free to attend, but space is limited. Light appetizers and beverages will be served.

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Google bought his smart glasses company. Will anyone buy Stephen Lake’s heat pumps?
Bridget Irwin Bridget Irwin

Google bought his smart glasses company. Will anyone buy Stephen Lake’s heat pumps?

Stephen Lake was pegged for greatness early on. In 2011, the self-assured Scarborough, Ont., native was named one of the Next 36 – a group of entrepreneurial undergraduates selected by Next Canada for their potential to build big companies – while he was studying mechatronics engineering at the University of Waterloo. The wearable technology startup he and two classmates founded, Thalmic Labs (later renamed North Inc.) was Waterloo’s most hyped and heavily funded company after BlackBerry Ltd.

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Lottery offers $3M Kelowna and Vernon dream home packages
Bridget Irwin Bridget Irwin

Lottery offers $3M Kelowna and Vernon dream home packages

Two $3 million plus Kelowna and Vernon prize packages are one of several that can be won in the 2024 VGH Millionaire Lottery.

The grand prize winner can choose from one of 10 grand-prize packages including $2.8 million tax-free cash. The Kelowna prize home, located at Trailhead at the Ponds (1062 Emslie Street), is worth over $3 million. 

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Vancouver Island builders can work together to reduce construction waste
Bridget Irwin Bridget Irwin

Vancouver Island builders can work together to reduce construction waste

Gil Yaron, managing director of circular innovation at Light House, a Vancouver-based organization dedicated to advancing circular and regenerative practices, outlined a new building material exchange program on the Island. BMEx, headed by Yaron, connects construction sector companies that have excess or unwanted building materials with other companies that can use those materials in their operations.

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A Tantalizing Childhood Cancer Discovery
Bridget Irwin Bridget Irwin

A Tantalizing Childhood Cancer Discovery

BC Children’s Hospital Research Institute has found a way that kids’ immune systems might be able to be used to help fight off the most common type of childhood cancer.

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New accessible playground opens in Vernon
Bridget Irwin Bridget Irwin

New accessible playground opens in Vernon

Recycled rubber has gone the distance to build a new accessible playground in Vernon. The playground, at Maven Lane, was constructed with 1,009 scrap recycled tires from the Tire Stewardship B.C. (TSBC). 

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SOMA Public Relations Announces B Corp Certification
SOMA News Bridget Irwin SOMA News Bridget Irwin

SOMA Public Relations Announces B Corp Certification

SOMA Public Relations (“SOMA”), a full-service, boutique PR agency that provides strategic communications services to purpose-driven businesses, announced today its official certification as a B Corporation (“B Corp”). This certification recognizes SOMA’s ongoing commitment to balancing purpose and profit by meeting the highest standards of verified social and environmental performance, legal accountability, and public transparency. There are over 500 B Corps in Canada, nearly 200 are based out of the Western provinces. 

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Get your tickets for the BMEx Challenge!
Bridget Irwin Bridget Irwin

Get your tickets for the BMEx Challenge!

It's time to get your tickets for the BMEx Challenge, a high-energy business pitch event in Victoria and Nanaimo.

Discover the future of building material reuse at the BMEx Challenge! The construction sector's most innovative organizations will present ideas, products, and technologies driving the industry toward a circular economy.

Think Dragon’s Den or Shark Tank, but with a focus on reimagining how building materials are sourced, reused, and repurposed. This is your chance to discover Vancouver Island’s untapped opportunities in sustainable building materials. Pitches will be seeking solutions in logistics optimization, recycling and waste reduction, supply chain management, procurement, funding, and more.

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AI and the Electric Grid: Friends or Foes?
Bridget Irwin Bridget Irwin

AI and the Electric Grid: Friends or Foes?

The electrical grid is under historic pressure as the energy transition calls for the massive transformation and modernization of the critical infrastructure. Electrification, decarbonization, decentralization, and digitalization represent the megatrends driving the vast transformation of our critical infrastructure, costing many trillions of dollars. To decarbonize, we must electrify. To electrify, we need the grid. The grid is complex, and for that, we need better grid intelligence.

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CTV Morning Live: Emerson Shares Story in Support of BC Children’s Hospital Foundation’s Dream Lottery
Bridget Irwin Bridget Irwin

CTV Morning Live: Emerson Shares Story in Support of BC Children’s Hospital Foundation’s Dream Lottery

Nine-year-old Emerson from North Vancouver is now free from the constant fear of anaphylactic shock thanks to the Food Allergy Immunotherapy (FAIT) program at BC Children’s Hospital. After living with severe walnut and pecan allergies, Emerson can now safely eat both without fear, an incredible transformation for him and his family.

Emerson and his mother, Anita—a nurse at BC Children’s Hospital for over 15 years—are eager to share their story to raise awareness for the life-changing work at BC Children’s Hospital and to support the BC Children’s Hospital Foundation’s Dream Lottery.

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DQ Miracle Treat Day 2024
Bridget Irwin Bridget Irwin

DQ Miracle Treat Day 2024

Here is some of the great coverage we have gotten so far for Dairy Queen’s Miracle Treat Day 2024! Make sure you treat yourself to a Blizzard today as proceeds are going to BC Children’s Hospital Foundation.

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