which wasn’t what she wanted. Then, Motyka’s proposal came along. “I realized that with this company, I could work in the industry and still give back by making a positive difference in the world. I didn’t think I could do both,” says Mascarenhas.

Now, as Questor’s president and CEO, Mascarenhas is ded-icating her professional life to improving air quality and reducing emissions worldwide with the company’s innova-tive technology.

The Passion Behind the PeopleThe desire to work in the industry and make a difference

at the same time is also what drives the other dynamic pro-fessionals at Questor. “This is a big inspiration around here,” says Ritchie Stagg, Questor’s director of sales and marketing, referring to an image on his computer screen. It’s a picture of a woman and her children in a remote village, surrounded by open gas flares. Conventional flaring can emit particu-late, hydrocarbons, methane, sulfur dioxide and other sulfur compounds that may be carcinogenic and are known to trig-ger asthma and other respiratory problems. The image on Stagg’s screen needs no further explanation.

Having grown up in a small town in Kenya, Mascarenhas can relate to the image. “One of the reasons why I love what I do is that a lot of flaring is done in areas where people are exposed to health risks and don’t necessarily have utility infrastructure,” she says. “Our technology not only improves

air quality, it also can provide some of the heat or power that these remote areas need.”

Kim Hubick, the company’s CFO and corporate secretary, and John Sutherland, Questor’s COO, emit the same enthu-siasm as Stagg and Mascarenhas. “We have such a creative team of engineers, and we have one of the best solutions around,” says Hubick. “Now it’s about getting our story out, to change how people think and to raise awareness of how flaring can be done differently.”

“This has been an opportunity to work at something that interests me more than anything else has in my career,” says Sutherland, who previously worked with Mascarenhas at Gulf Canada. “We have a versatile technology that serves all industries and is a proven global solution.”

The Journey ContinuesAs Questor celebrates its 20th anniversary, the company

has more than achieved its quest to become a successful for-profit provider of clean technologies. But the journey, thankfully, is far from over. Recently, Questor acquired US-based ClearPower Systems Inc., a company that has developed an efficient system to convert waste heat to power. The tech-nology has now been integrated into Questor’s offerings to open up global opportunities in other industries.

Questor has an impressive and growing list of clients, including AltaGas, Dominion Exploration, Nexen, Williams and Husky. The company’s U.S. operations are particularly successful, thanks in part to strict regulations in the Envi-ronmental Protection Agency’s Clean Air Act. “The year 2013 was a big year for us; we saw substantial growth in our revenue and profitability,” says Mascarenhas. “Clients are starting to choose our technology as a best practice to dem-onstrate they’re in compliance with increasingly tougher rules on emissions.”

But helping companies comply with regulations is only one part of Questor’s journey. “There is still so much gas flared internationally. Daily, over 14 billion cubic feet of gas is flared or vented globally, the energy equivalent of 2.5 million bar-rels of oil per day. It’s an enormous waste of energy, it isn’t being combusted cleanly, it creates greenhouse gases and it’s a hazard for global health,” Mascarenhas concludes. “Making a positive difference around the world is our ultimate goal.” •

For more information, please visit www.questortech.com or call 403.571.1530

Standard | Grand Opening | 1

Written by Shannon Stucky | Photographed by Melissa Arthur

T here’s a new Standard in Calgary’s nightlife. A new type of venue for those looking for an upscale and sophisticated place to drink, dress up and dance in the heart of downtown Calgary. Situated on 7th Avenue and 1st Street, right across from the 1st

Street SW LRT Station, this new nightspot hides in plain sight under an unassuming parking lot. The “New York-style Manhattan-meat-packing district” ultra-lounge is only accessible from the alleyway for those who know where to look. The space is surrounded by Calgary’s finer hotels like the Hyatt Regency Calgary, the Marriott Calgary Downtown and boutique Hôtel Le Germain to name a few. It is also neighbours with some of Calgary’s most prominent corporate buildings like The Bow, the Suncor Energy Centre and soon, the new Telus Sky building and Brookfield Place. With Calgary’s growth and build up of the downtown and the East Village, Standard is set to be in exactly the right place at exactly the right time. “Location is crucial,” owner Ramsey Haymour says, “and we’re here to stay.”

The New Standard in Calgary’s Nightlife

“There are those who seek comfort in the ordinary, and then

there are those who thirst for so much more. The night is yours …

the new Standard in Calgary’s nightlife!”

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Standard | Grand Opening | 2

Owners Ramsey Haymour and Zubin Kothawala, longtime friends and business partners, recognized Calgary’s need for a high-end corporate nightspot, the likes of which hasn’t been seen since Mynt Ultra Lounge shut down in 2007. Stan-dard sets itself apart from the beer halls and the pubs that are prevalent in Calgary. “We designed it more for women … [they] don’t really have a place they can dress up and dance …we have that lounge feeling with a dance floor,” Haymour says. The collective years of hospitality experience was instrumental to the design, look and feel of Standard. These experiences include being involved with some of Calgary’s most high-profile nightspots like The Palace (now Flames Central), Lucky Lounge, The Drink and Mynt Ultra Lounge. The owners created a unique space where every detail has been taken into consideration and all decisions have been made with the customer in mind. “Owning a nightclub is like being a rock star, everyone wants to be one or know one,” Kothawala says as he explains why at least one of the owners would always be in attendance. “If you’re not there, you’re not there. And if you’re there, everyone wants to see you and be recognized.”

It was no small undertaking to bring Standard to life. It took almost four years from its conception until the day it opened its doors for its exclusive, invite-only opening night. Once the space had been located and a long-term deal was negotiated, Haymour and Kothawala got to work turning their vision into a reality. Over the next four years, Standard was magically transformed from a dilapidated underground parkade used to store cast-off ’60s furniture into a sexy, ultra-modern and spacious ultra-lounge. With the help of

designer Peter Hribar of Hribar Design Group, they knocked out walls, repaired leaks, resealed the floor, cleaned up the ceiling, created a rooftop patio and doubled the width of the staircases. These improvements were essential to maxi-mize the safety, functionality and flow of the venue. Like many businesses in Calgary, Standard was also caught by June 2013’s flood which ended up delaying the grand open-ing until early 2014. Standard is open Wednesday through Saturday evenings and can be booked for small, large, cor-porate, specialty and fundraising parties and events.

Standard’s mystique is everywhere; from the hidden entranceway in the alley to the venue opening up as you go down the stairs. A wall of mirrors greets you, while giant subtle yet sexy murals adorn the walls. The lush furniture and high-end decor are flanked by exposed concrete floors and ceilings. The venue is a perfect blend of nouveau chic and industrial design; refined and wild at the same time. The bars are smooth and streamlined while the footrests are rough and functional. There are also a few short free-standing pillars that are unobtrusive and yet compelling to the patrons who gravitate around them. No detail was over-looked in the design,

“Everything is designed for flow,” Haymour says, “Form must follow function … and if it doesn’t it’s not going to work here.” Standard’s spacious design allows groups to mingle at one of the four bars, along the wall ledges, on the dance floor and in the VIP areas while still being able to move and circulate around the rooms. Tall ceilings and wide-open spaces make it easy to forget where you are. “You could be in the basement or the 50th floor of [an office] tower; that’s how this room was

Owners Ramsey Haymour and Zubin Kothawala

Standard | Grand Opening | 3

designed,” says Haymour. The mystique and elegance of Stan-dard is only furthered by its black, white and gold colours and its bold, modern lion logo.

Standard boasts four private VIP bottle service areas. Each area can hold up to 25 people comfortably and must be booked to be used. “It’s so hard to take a large group of people out [these days],” Kothawala says, “and a lot of people don’t plan in advance.” Standard has made this easy by allowing patrons to book VIP areas when they arrive, or pre-book before they come. To maintain the exclusivity of these VIP areas, if they aren’t booked, they remain empty and roped off – even on the busiest of nights. All VIP areas offer a view of the dance floor and two of these areas even include access to private washrooms.

Music is essential to all nightspots and Standard is no exception. A professional sound engineer was brought in to ensure that the music in various rooms did not compete or interfere with each other. Standard has a mainstream top 40 dance floor, a room for “vocal, sexy house-style music” and a cognac bar near the entrance. These spaces are managed by many of Calgary’s most well-known DJs. In the summer these areas expand to include a rooftop patio and a large rock ’n’ roll and country music Stampede tent dubbed “The Standard Saloon.” Add it all up and Standard has enough room to cater up to a 1,000-person Stampede party with three different musical options for patrons to choose from.

Within the house-style music room, there is an elevated glass box that was designed as a featured performance space

Congratulations to Standard on their Grand Opening!

INFO@BBSSYSTEMS.COM

Standard | Grand Opening | 2

Owners Ramsey Haymour and Zubin Kothawala, longtime friends and business partners, recognized Calgary’s need for a high-end corporate nightspot, the likes of which hasn’t been seen since Mynt Ultra Lounge shut down in 2007. Stan-dard sets itself apart from the beer halls and the pubs that are prevalent in Calgary. “We designed it more for women … [they] don’t really have a place they can dress up and dance …we have that lounge feeling with a dance floor,” Haymour says. The collective years of hospitality experience was instrumental to the design, look and feel of Standard. These experiences include being involved with some of Calgary’s most high-profile nightspots like The Palace (now Flames Central), Lucky Lounge, The Drink and Mynt Ultra Lounge. The owners created a unique space where every detail has been taken into consideration and all decisions have been made with the customer in mind. “Owning a nightclub is like being a rock star, everyone wants to be one or know one,” Kothawala says as he explains why at least one of the owners would always be in attendance. “If you’re not there, you’re not there. And if you’re there, everyone wants to see you and be recognized.”

It was no small undertaking to bring Standard to life. It took almost four years from its conception until the day it opened its doors for its exclusive, invite-only opening night. Once the space had been located and a long-term deal was negotiated, Haymour and Kothawala got to work turning their vision into a reality. Over the next four years, Standard was magically transformed from a dilapidated underground parkade used to store cast-off ’60s furniture into a sexy, ultra-modern and spacious ultra-lounge. With the help of

designer Peter Hribar of Hribar Design Group, they knocked out walls, repaired leaks, resealed the floor, cleaned up the ceiling, created a rooftop patio and doubled the width of the staircases. These improvements were essential to maxi-mize the safety, functionality and flow of the venue. Like many businesses in Calgary, Standard was also caught by June 2013’s flood which ended up delaying the grand open-ing until early 2014. Standard is open Wednesday through Saturday evenings and can be booked for small, large, cor-porate, specialty and fundraising parties and events.

Standard’s mystique is everywhere; from the hidden entranceway in the alley to the venue opening up as you go down the stairs. A wall of mirrors greets you, while giant subtle yet sexy murals adorn the walls. The lush furniture and high-end decor are flanked by exposed concrete floors and ceilings. The venue is a perfect blend of nouveau chic and industrial design; refined and wild at the same time. The bars are smooth and streamlined while the footrests are rough and functional. There are also a few short free-standing pillars that are unobtrusive and yet compelling to the patrons who gravitate around them. No detail was over-looked in the design,

“Everything is designed for flow,” Haymour says, “Form must follow function … and if it doesn’t it’s not going to work here.” Standard’s spacious design allows groups to mingle at one of the four bars, along the wall ledges, on the dance floor and in the VIP areas while still being able to move and circulate around the rooms. Tall ceilings and wide-open spaces make it easy to forget where you are. “You could be in the basement or the 50th floor of [an office] tower; that’s how this room was

Owners Ramsey Haymour and Zubin Kothawala

Standard | Grand Opening | 3

designed,” says Haymour. The mystique and elegance of Stan-dard is only furthered by its black, white and gold colours and its bold, modern lion logo.

Standard boasts four private VIP bottle service areas. Each area can hold up to 25 people comfortably and must be booked to be used. “It’s so hard to take a large group of people out [these days],” Kothawala says, “and a lot of people don’t plan in advance.” Standard has made this easy by allowing patrons to book VIP areas when they arrive, or pre-book before they come. To maintain the exclusivity of these VIP areas, if they aren’t booked, they remain empty and roped off – even on the busiest of nights. All VIP areas offer a view of the dance floor and two of these areas even include access to private washrooms.

Music is essential to all nightspots and Standard is no exception. A professional sound engineer was brought in to ensure that the music in various rooms did not compete or interfere with each other. Standard has a mainstream top 40 dance floor, a room for “vocal, sexy house-style music” and a cognac bar near the entrance. These spaces are managed by many of Calgary’s most well-known DJs. In the summer these areas expand to include a rooftop patio and a large rock ’n’ roll and country music Stampede tent dubbed “The Standard Saloon.” Add it all up and Standard has enough room to cater up to a 1,000-person Stampede party with three different musical options for patrons to choose from.

Within the house-style music room, there is an elevated glass box that was designed as a featured performance space

Congratulations to Standard on their Grand Opening!

INFO@BBSSYSTEMS.COM

Anderson Vacations | 20 Years

We fulfill bucket lists,” beams the supercharged, upbeat and expert travel industry veteran Corey Marshall, president and CEO of the award-winning, Calgary-based Anderson Vacations. “We put

together dream vacations for our clients.”Of course there’s more, much more, to the Anderson difference than their

superb range of unique and customized vacation products, including the most comprehensive Canada and Alaska program, and the second-to-none Australia/New Zealand and the South Pacific Island products. The company also offers fully escorted deluxe coach tours, the renowned Grand Pacific Tours of New Zealand, and the breathtaking (and usually sold-out) iconic experience that is the Rocky Mountaineer (VIA rail adventure) through The Canadian Rockies.

There’s also the Anderson edge: the tremendous experience, the up-to-date know-how and market savvy of the uncompromisingly client-focused Anderson team of

Fulfilling Bucket Lists for

20 YearsBy John Hardy

for specialty acts. These acts include musicians (percussion-ists, saxophone players, violinists, guitarists, etc.), singers and DJs. All artists chosen to perform in the box go through an audition process. This space doubles as a promotional spot for corporate and fundraising events to showcase people, posters and auction items. Due to its long-standing rela-tionship with Standard owner Zubin Kothawala, the Alberta Children’s Hospital has already scheduled two fundraising events this year.

What really sets Standard apart is that its patrons must be older than 25 and must come “dressed to impress.” This not only allows for discretion at the door, but also maintains Standard’s image. It is a classy place that caters to the tastes of an older and more sophisticated crowd. Young urban professionals can frequent Standard without the worries and risks normally associated with nightspots. All patrons must be cleared at the entrance by Standard’s Servall system which flags potential problems through its connection with the Calgary Police Service. This system ensures safety and comfort for all of Standard’s clientele. The age rule is relaxed on Wednesday nights to give those between the ages of 21 and 25 a chance to experience Standard. Wednesday also happens to be ‘Industry Night’ where members of Calgary’s hospitality industry are invited to come by, hang out and socialize amongst themselves.

Standard also boasts an impressive tapas menu. This is especially useful on Thursday and Friday evenings when the venue opens early for its corporate clientele who are just getting off work. It is an ultra-lounge where professionals go for after-work drinks, parties, after parties and nights out where nightlife savvy patrons can dress up and go dancing at a classy and sexy downtown nightspot. •

For more information, or to book your corporate, Stampede or charity function please visit www.standardyyc.com or call (403) 474-4828