Across theColumbia Basin, local businesses play an important role in supporting communities, creating jobs and delivering essential services. Whether launching a new venture, expanding operations or transitioning ownership, access to financing from Columbia Basin Trust can help entrepreneurs take the next step.
The following stories highlight three businesses at different stages of that journey and the people working to build strong futures for their companies and communities.
Built for the Long Haul
As owners of Nelson’s JY Contracting, Brady Wright and Alex Cherry manage projects ranging from landscaping and septic systems to roadbuilding and subdivision development.
“We’re busy,” Wright says. “And that’s a good thing.”
Since acquiring the company in 2022, the pair have grown the operation into a 10-person business with a full roster of projects across the region.
“We take it right from the beginning, through to digging basements and landscaping the finished homes,” Cherry says. “You’re on those projects for years. You get to see the whole thing come to life.”
The company is also helping build a six-unit affordable rental housing project in Nakusp that will eventually be operated by a local non-profit.
For Wright and Cherry, ownership is a balancing act. “You’ve got to be in here getting the jobs and doing the paperwork,” Wright says, “but you also have to be out there making sure the work is done right.”
For now, the focus is simple: keep the machines running, maintain high-quality work and keep building projects that shape the region.
A Foundation of Friendship
Iron Creek Excavation, based in Revelstoke, was built on a partnership that began in Grade 3.
Co-owners Mike Boglitch and Greg Martinello grew up together and brought their shared experience into the excavation industry, eventually launching their business.
“We decided we were ready to do it, but to make it happen we needed help,” Martinello says.
Today, the company operates a fleet of trucks and excavators supporting forestry, residential and large-scale site preparation projects across the region, employing seven full-time staff and two part-time employees.
“Being able to work with your best friend—it doesn’t get much better than that,” says Boglitch.
Passing the Torch
In Revelstoke, TJ Developments & Roofing is carrying on a long-standing local reputation under new ownership.
“People aren’t just hiring us for the work; they’re hiring us for the name, the warranty and the fact that we’re right here,” says co-owner Riley MacLeod.
MacLeod and her husband, Brinley Blayney, took over the business through a phased succession.
“We started small,” Blayney says. “By the time we took over fully in 2025, we were already doing most of the work.”
With steady demand and a growing community, the business now employs six to eight people during peak season.
“We wouldn’t be here without the Trust,” MacLeod says. “They helped us take a chance on our future. Now we get to build something lasting for Revelstoke.”
