Spotlight on Fortis Tap Your Potential

Achievers from the province profiled in Fortis Tap Your Potential attended the official launch of the initiative at The Rooms last fall. From left to right: Boyd Merrill, Commander of Holyrood RCMP Detachment; Morgan MacDonald, Sculptor and Owner, Newfoundland Bronze Foundry; Julia Halfyard, Musical Performer and Teacher; Kellie Walsh, Artistic Director, Shallaway Youth Choir and Lady Cove Choir; Dr. Mohamed Ravalia, Family Physician and Dean of Rural Medical Education Network, Memorial University of Newfoundland; Vern Petten, Boat Builder and Fisherman; Paula Kelly, Champion Swimmer and Registered Nurse; and Lisa Browne, CEO, Stella’s Circle.

Even though you may come from a small place, you can accomplish big things.

That’s the idea behind Fortis Inc.’s innovative community initiative, "Tap Your Potential." Here in Newfoundland and Labrador, there’s no shortage of creative, resilient and hard-working people. Tap Your Potential aims to bring some of their inspiring stories and insights together, while helping shine a light on how Newfoundland and Labrador has helped shape their success.

The Tap Your Potential website highlights homegrown talent in a variety of fields, including business, arts, health and wellness, science, and social. Whether it’s sculptor Morgan MacDonald discussing balancing business and art, or John Norman of Bonavista Living talking about the importance of a creative economy, the goal is to celebrate inspiring and accomplished Newfoundlanders and Labradorians, while helping show the potential that lies within each of us.

Brianna Gosse

We recently chatted with Karen McCarthy, Director of Communications and Corporate Affairs with Fortis Inc., about the initiative.

Business & Arts NL: Can you tell me how Fortis’ Tap Your Potential initiative came about and why Fortis decided to do this?

Karen McCarthy: The idea of Tap Your Potential really started for us when Fortis Inc. listed on the New York Stock Exchange just over a year ago. Seeing the Newfoundland and Labrador flag hanging outside the stock exchange on Wall Street was a real point of pride for Fortis. It got us thinking about how proud we are of our home province, and ways we could share that pride with the rest of Newfoundland and Labrador.

Fortis has grown from a local business to a leader in the North American electric and gas utility industry. We've achieved many things while remaining rooted in Newfoundland and Labrador. One of the sayings we use when we talk about Tap Your Potential is that “people from the smallest places can do the biggest things.” This is so true for Newfoundland and Labrador - we're proud of where we come from and we have created Tap Your Potential to share the many success stories of Newfoundlanders and Labradorians, and in doing so, inspire others to achieve great things.

Business & Arts NL: How did Fortis go about choosing who to feature on the Tap Your Potential website?

Morgan MacDonald

KM: Great question - there are so many incredibly talented people in our province! We didn’t do it on our own – we reached out to our community to help identify people that we should profile. We wanted to capture a broad range of people with different backgrounds, interests and areas of expertise – but all with inspiring stories to tell. And we didn't have to look far. Some have made their mark internationally, others are doing amazing things in their small communities, from all ages and walks of life.

Business & Arts NL: Speaking of the artists featured — why is it important for Fortis to shine the spotlight on these folks?

KM: Our arts community is incredibly rich, and we have so many artists that have made their mark nationally and internationally, we knew that arts had to be showcased as part of Fortis Tap Your Potential. Romano Di Nillo, Brianna Gosse, Julia Halfyard, Morgan MacDonald and Kellie Walsh are all featured as part of Fortis Tap Your Potential. These artists are all very accomplished and share with us their thoughts on how being from Newfoundland and Labrador gives them an artistic advantage. They also tell us how being from here helps them learn how to embrace changes and challenges to hone your craft. Whether you’re an up-and-coming artist or you’re well established, I encourage you to check out their profiles – you’ll be inspired.

Business & Arts NL: Is Fortis looking for more people to feature on the website? How can interested parties get in touch?

KM: We have 19 people featured on the Fortis Tap Your Potential website. We also have a Tap Into Fortis section of the site that features six Fortis employees who are making waves of their own in the North American electric and gas utility industry.

Julia Halfyard

We’re actually working on our next round of interviews now. If you have someone in mind you think we should talk to, share it with us on one of our social media channels. We'd love to hear from you.

Business & Arts NL: What does Fortis hope to achieve with Tap Your Potential?

KM: At its core, Tap Your Potential is a community initiative focused on inspiration and positivity. We see the talent and ability that lives in Newfoundland and Labrador when we conduct our business and operations across North America. Our hope is that Fortis Tap Your Potential encourages and inspires Newfoundlanders and Labradorians to aim higher, reach further and make a bigger difference in their own world and to the world at large.

We have one request of everyone – take a few minutes to check out the stories featured on Tap Your Potential.

We want every Newfoundlander and Labradorian to take some time, watch the videos, and feel that sense of pride and inspiration when you learn more about what is happening and possible here at home. The chronicles, reflections and observations will draw you in – they are simply amazing. We promise … you’ll be inspired.