Jaeger Mah, the man who's spending 80 days and nights living at YVR, caught up with the YVR School Tour Program last week.

Watch his video here.

This week, Vancouver International Airport (YVR) is officially launching its 2011 School Tour Program, The Future Lands Here. Over the next two months, thousands of Grade Five students from Metro Vancouver will visit YVR for a tour full of activities, information, and fun. Elettra Communications' Marcus Tan, Wyanne Wong, and Annalisa Pareja are the YVR School Tour Guides. Our Tour Guides hail from SFU's Communications Co-op Program and we're delighted to have them on board. Read their bios on the YVR Connections blog.

Congratulations to the JOEY Restaurant Group on their recent International Prism Award win. The award recognizes organizations that have profited through their commitment to coaching as a leadership strategy. From the news release: The Canadian-based Joey Restaurant Group began a coaching initiative with the strategic selection of the most senior leaders in their organization, so they could be coached and be trained as internal coaches while running their restaurant regions. In the last 30 months, they experienced more than 30 percent revenue growth, reduced turnover, and made the Top 100 employers list for the first time. JOEY calculates a 682 percent return on investment from their coaching initiative.

Past winners of the ICF International Prism Award include: Genetch, TINE Group, Solaglas Windowcare, ibm.com North America, SYSCO, the BBC, MCI, University of Texas at Dallas, Verizon Business, IBM, and NASA.

Read the full news release from The International Coach Federation here.

Honestly, why fumble about with a cookbook when you can learn directly from the very best in the city?

The Arts Club Theatre Company has just announced the line up for the fall edition of its successful Celebrity Chef Cooking Class Series.

JOEY Restaurants' Executive Chef, Chris Mills, is one of the renowned chefs in the lineup this season. He'll be teaching his class on November 17, 2011.

If we know anything about Chef Mills (...and we think we do...), you're in for a treat if you take his class. His menu is guaranteed to be highly inventive and mouth watering, and his class is sure to be a lot of fun.

Plus, funds raised through ticket sales go to support the Arts Club Theatre Company, so it really is a win-win.

Tickets are limited and going fast. Find out more about the cooking classes and how to get tickets by visiting the Arts Club blog.

Read Marketing's story here.

Read the story in The Province about the Lifesaving Society's message on preventing drowning.

Global BC visited the "graveyard" at English Bay for a story on National Drowning Prevention Week.

View the whole story here.

Somber safety reminder marks National Drowning Prevention Week To mark National Drowning Prevention Week (July 16 – 23), the Lifesaving Society left a poignant reminder at English Bay beach that too many B.C. residents drown each year. Sixty-seven swimming kickboards (a floatation aid for learner-swimmers) were placed in rows, upright in the sand at English Bay to create ‘gravestones’. Each gravestone represents a life that was tragically lost in B.C. waters last year.

The words on the kickboard gravestones prompt people to ‘Learn how to swim. Swim to survive’, and directs them to lifesaving.bc.ca to find out more.

“Each summer we see a spike in the number of drowning deaths as families and groups head for the beach, lakes and swimming pools,” says Dale Miller, branch executive director of the Lifesaving Society. “As the first part of the gravestone message states, it’s vital everyone knows how to swim, that means swimming lessons for toddlers, kids, and adult non-swimmers.”

But people who can swim also make up a large percentage of the death toll. “Nobody’s immune to drowning,’ Miller continues. “Even strong swimmers can drown which is why the tombstone also states ‘Swim to survive’. Swim to Survive® teaches swimmers the essentials needed to survive an unexpected fall into deep water - an important first step to being safe around water.” The Lifesaving Society partnered with advertising agency TAXI Vancouver who developed and executed the idea.

Photo credit: Ryan Semeniuk

...because the sun is shining and today Nimby Burger officially opened for the summer at Kits Beach. Go to Nimby for your summertime fix of a classic beach burger, fries, and a shake.

Corner of Cornwall & Yew at Kits Beach

Looking for the perfect beer to pair with your bbq? The Globe & Mail's Beppi Crosariol has some tasty suggestions, including Great Western Brewing Company's Original 16 Canadian Pale Ale.

Media attending the Banff Rocky Mountain Wine & Food Festival over the weekend were treated luncheon at Saltlik Banff, where JOEY Restaurant Group Executive Chef, Chris Mills, unveiled the steakhouse's latest menu. Saltlik (with locations in Calgary and Banff) just recently joined the JOEY Restaurant Group Family. Check out this post from Calgary's City Style & Living magazine for the scoop on the new menu items.

Read the whole story here.

Read beer expert Jordan St. John's article about Original 16, which ran over the weekend in the Edmonton, Calgary, Winnipeg and Toronto Sun newspapers.