Yellowknife (Mar 17/04) - The Black Knight Pub has been named by the managing director of the Vancouver Board of Trade as one of the Top 10 best places in Canada to do business networking.

Black Knight Pub manager James Hodgson and owner/partner Bogus Zdib toast to their company's newest award. The Black Knight was named one of the Top 10 places in Canada for business networking. - Stephan Burnett/NNSL photo

Black Knight pub owner/partner Gordon Wray is delighted with the award.

Others mentioned on the list include the Air Canada Lounge Pearson Airport and the Parliamentary Dining Room in Ottawa.

"I'm surprised and delighted. But you know, when you think of it, it does make sense because we do get a lot of the business people in here and the diamond trade people here, as well as people from the territorial and federal government," said Wray.

When Wray was a territorial cabinet minister he had an opportunity to frequent at least five of the top 10 spots. He said he's proud to be recognized among the likes of the Parliamentary Dining Room and Ben's Delicatessen in Montreal.

Darcy Rezac, managing director of the Vancouver Board of Trade who chose the winners, moonlights as the author of The Frog and Prince, Secrets of Positive Networking. The top 10 networking list was made public by Rezac in January.

Rezac's organization regularly organizes 500 networking events per year, selling 35,000 seats to networking participants. At these events, it's estimated that 250,000 business cards are exchanged annually.

Having grown up in Goose Bay, Labrador, Rezac has developed a "terrific affection" for the North.

"When we were developing the 10 Best Places in Canada to Network list, I said to my co-authors, 'We have to have a business from the North,' said Rezac.

Rezac is well acquainted with Yellowknife. He is one of 10 honourary captains in the Canadian Fleet Pacific Arctic patrols. These sovereignty patrols utilize Yellowknife as a staging area, he said.

"Yellowknife is a booming mini-metropolis. I was just blown away. This isn't the North I grew up in," he said.

Last fall, when Rezac was attending the World Chambers Conference in Quebec City, he met a few delegates from Yellowknife and the Black Knight Pub kept coming up in the conversation.

"Did I get it right?" asks Rezac.

Yellowknife Chamber of Commerce executive director, Dale Thomson, tends to think so.

Thomson recently mentioned the Black Knight Pub for an article being penned by the Edmonton Chamber of Commerce.