By Laura Churchill Duke (’98)

You might know him for his Wolfville and area publication, The Grapevine. Perhaps you’ve seen him as Jerome the Gatekeeper on the Valley’s Gravely Ghost Walks, or maybe you recognize him because of his distinctive blond dreadlocks.  Whatever it is, there’s no doubt that Jeremy Novak (’08) is a well-known personality in and around Wolfville.

Novak arrived at Acadia in 2006, having transferred from the business program at the Nova Scotia Community College (NSCC). He was one of the first students to benefit from the agreement between the NSCC and Acadia designed to facilitate the transfer of credits.

As a student in the School of Business with a keen interest in entrepreneurship, Novak got involved with the Acadia Centre for Small Business and Entrepreneurship (ACSBE). He joined the Advancing Canadian Entrepreneurship (ACE) program, a national charitable organization whose mandate focuses on teaching and igniting the passion of young Canadians to create brighter futures for themselves and their communities. ACE delivers a team-based Students in Free Enterprise (SIFE) program and Novak quickly became president. 

While involved with these programs at ACSBE, he took a course in designing and implementing small business plans. Little did he know then how successful his own plan would be!

Having been on historic walks in other towns, Novak loved what he saw and thought that if others could have them, why couldn’t Wolfville?  “From my involvement in SIFE,” he says, “I learned that the campus is a canvas. You can do what you want in entrepreneurship with all those resources. Likewise, the community is a canvas and people can do whatever they want.”

Wanted to stay connected

After graduation, Jeremy was looking for an excuse to stay connected to the Wolfville community, socialize downtown, and make some money. With this in mind and a small business plan in his back pocket, he applied for a Students in Business Loan and used it to do research, scriptwriting and buy signs and props for the inaugural season of Wolfville’s Gravely Ghost Walks. Growing from five shows a year to over 20 in 2012, the program's fifth year, Jeremy has plans to expand into other communities this fall. To reflect this expanded vision, the tours are now called the Valley Ghost Walks.

People in Wolfville for the summer or maybe home for a reunion can join the tour and learn about or experience a fresh perspective on a lot of Acadia’s history, including poetry by Watson Kirkconnell, the story of “Seven Brave Men and a Man From Gaspereau” and a visit from Billy Oliver, caretaker of Seminary House.

Besides the Valley Ghost Walks, Novak is also co-owner of The Grapevine, which carries news, events and stories from Wolfville and area. Included is a section dedicated to work and research being done on campus.

Started by former Acadia student Adam Barnett (‘04), who went around with a clipboard copying down event information from posters, it has grown into a bi-weekly publication with a distribution of 1,500 and has doubled in size, from eight to 16 pages. “The biggest challenge is not having enough space to include everything,” Novak says, “but we plan on growing more, so watch for changes.”

“As a former Acadia student and now alumnus, Jeremy Novak is a community-focused serial entrepreneur,” says Lisa Lowthers, Coordinator for Business and Non-Profit Development at ACSBE.  “His passion for business is equaled by his zest for life. Jeremy is the type of guy who always has another innovative idea, and he is focused on developing ideas that benefit both himself and his community.”

Links:

http://grapevine.wolfville.org/

http://www.wolfvillewalkingtours.com/home.cfm