School photography company moving its HQ to North Bay

A company called Everest Solutions will establish its operations and new headquarters in North Bay says Dan Boudreau, President and founder.

Its business is capturing images through school portraits, classes and groups, and graduation photography, to providing yearbooks services and spirit and team apparel.

"Everest Solutions provides full-range services and products to meet the needs of school communities across Canada," says a news release.

School photography is as relevant as ever, despite proud parents wielding cellphones and taking a combination of good and bad photos that never get printed.

"What has changed is the integration of technology in our systems," states Boudreau. who has over 25 years of industry experience. “We employ advanced technical solutions and leading-edge security to ensure we surpass requirements to safeguard the privacy of our schools and clients.

"It's still relevant to buy photos. People still want photos on the wall. You go into people's homes and see photos on the fridge.You see key fobs and a lot of people still carry photos in their wallets. What we know is people still want to buy photos."

The opportunity to establish partnerships with local organizations such as Canadore College and iCamp, are some of the factors leading to the company’s decision to set its roots in North Bay from Ottawa. These partnerships contribute to the local economy and allow the company to leverage northern Ontario skill, talent and resources.

“Although we offer our services across Canada,” says Boudreau, “North Bay represented the best option for building the base of our organization.”

Another factor is the pull of a hometown.

Boudreau went to Algonquin High School and his mother and sister still live here. His father helped build Canadore College.

"My daughters were born in North Bay," Boudreau tells BayToday. "Because of my career path it was too hard to fly out of North Bay so I had to move to Ottawa but I wanted the headquarters there, maybe because we have roots there,. I know a lot of people and it's a great community. North Bay is where I want to be."

According to Arley Mackinnon, VP of Operations, the company’s goals are straightforward. “We want to capture portraits that showcase individuality and make people feel good about themselves. We want to make it easy and affordable for everyone, all the while ensuring our school partners have the care and attention they deserve to meet their changing needs. Add in the latest technologies surrounding photography, data security and production, we are on the path to propelling the industry forward," says Mackinnon.

Everest Solutions services are now available in northern Ontario, parts of southern Ontario (GTA & Ottawa), as well as Montreal, PEI, Nova Scotia and New Brunswick.