No power, no cell service, and 6 books later…

Dear Reader,

I just spent 10 days totally off the grid in the BC wilderness—perched on the edge of Tyee Lake up near Williams Lake.

No power. Barely a bar of cell service. Absolutely zero endless digital noise—just dead silence broken only by the call of loons, the rustle of the trees, and the constant threat of nearby wildfires keeping everyone on their toes.

When you strip away the daily clutter and force yourself into radio silence, two things happen fast: your head clears, and your focus gets razor-sharp.

I didn't just recharge my batteries; I tore through six books uninterrupted, tore up my old assumptions, and mapped out my hard-hitting vision for the next 12 months on real paper.

Here’s exactly what that means for you—and why I need your direct involvement immediately:

This newsletter isn’t a vanity project. It’s a growing community, and I intend to scale it fast. But I can't—and won't—do it alone. I am appointing you as my eyes, ears, and local sales force.

If you get value from what I put out, I expect you to pass this along to your friends, family, and colleagues. Simple as that.

More importantly: What am I missing? What’s really happening on the ground in our community that isn't getting reported? I want your raw, unedited input. Send it straight to my desk at [email protected].

While away, I finalized the blueprints for my new lead gen operation. If you run a local service business—HVAC, Plumbing, Electrical, Junk Removal, or similar trades—listen up:

Most agency marketing is a bloated, overpriced scam. My model is brutally simple: I set up the hyper-targeted advertising infrastructure, and I hand-deliver high-converting, exclusive leads directly to you for a simple, agreed-upon fee. No smoke, no mirrors, no complex jargon.

The software infrastructure is rolling out as we speak. If you want first crack at these lead pipelines before your competitors lock them up, let me know now.

I am keeping my Computer Repair operations active, but strictly cap-limited to a select handful of jobs per month. Priority goes to my inner circle and loyal readers. First come, first served.

The Bottom Line: My overarching philosophy hasn't changed—it’s just gotten stronger. Exceptional service, rock-solid integrity, direct communication, and radical transparency.

We’ve got big moves to make this year. Let’s get to work.

Having said all of that on with the Newsletter.

The biggest weekend of the summer has arrived! Grab your sunblock and hold onto your hat—the BC Day long weekend is stacked with action across the valley.

Must-See Highlights:

The Agrifair wraps up on Sunday night, leaving BC Day Monday wide open for a lower-key holiday:

Peak August harvest season is officially underway! Stop by your favorite local market for fresh Fraser Valley blueberries, sweet corn, and local peaches to toss on the grill.

⛳ Local Recreational Sports

Long before the Sumas Prairie was Canada’s agricultural powerhouse—packed with dairy farms, berry fields, and tractor engines—it didn’t exist.

Instead, right between Abbotsford and Chilliwack lay Sumas Lake (Semá:th Lake).

It was a massive, 10,000-acre shallow lake that swelled up to 36,000 acres every spring during snowmelt. For thousands of years, the Stó:lō people navigated it by canoe, harvesting sturgeon and waterfowl.

But to the early European settlers moving into Abbotsford in the late 1800s, the lake was a total nightmare for one very specific reason: Mosquitoes.

The shallow, warm waters created a breeding ground for trillions of mosquitoes. We aren’t talking about "bring some Bug Spray to the patio" mosquitoes.

Historical records show that during the summer months:

Farmers knew the soil beneath the lake was rich, black, gold-tier silt. But as long as the lake was there, the land was unusable, and the bugs ruled the valley.

Enter the engineers with an insane proposal: What if we completely erase the lake from the map?

People called it impossible. Moving that much water using 1920s technology sounded like a fever dream. But in 1920, the BC Government authorized the Sumas Drainage Project.

They brought in heavy machinery, built miles of massive dikes, redirected the Vedder River, and built the Barrowtown Pump Station—which, at the time, housed some of the largest electric water pumps on the planet.

For three straight years, day and night, the pumps roared. They sucked billions of gallons of water out of the lake basin and shoved it into the Fraser River.

By 1924, the lake was officially gone.

Over 30,000 acres of prime agricultural land emerged from the mud, giving birth to the modern Sumas Prairie and transforming Abbotsford into a farming titan overnight.

It stands as one of the boldest, most dramatic engineering feats in British Columbia's history—a reminder of the sheer grit required to build the community we drive through every single day.

🛒 The Abbotsford Deal Digest (July 29 – Aug 4)

We combed through local flyers and shelves across town so you don't have to. Here are the top savings worth chasing down today.

If you've got summer maintenance or job-site work on the calendar, these two local hardware deals hit the sweet spot:

Well that is it for me for this week. hope this gives you lots of ideas for the upcoming week. Hope I saved you some money. Let me know how we are doing.

Cheers

Jim Wright
[email protected]

text 604-996-5887