It is a cold and rainy day in early June and we are starting to wonder if the warm weather last week was a figment of our imagination. Surely not! The good news is that the Ludwig SpaethLilacs from the Chamber Tree Campaign are thriving – one of them even had a bloom!
Those who attended the May Mixer at Love That Barr in Pakenham enjoyed a great evening of networking, terrific speakers and delicious munchies.
Shirley Fulton-Deugo, the doyenne of the Lanark County Maple Syrup producers and a driving force in business development for the tourism and travel sector in North Lanark, shared her insights from the industryRendez Vous Canada 2013 conference held in Ottawa in early May. As the only member of Ottawa Tourism from Lanark County, Shirley is an ambassador for the all businesses in the area. From greeting delegates with hugs at the airport to a bus tour featuring live fiddle music from Danny Albert and relaxing maple hand treatments on the way home, Shirley’s team made sure visitors from China, Australia, Japan and a number of Canadian provinces discovered the delights of Lanark County. She invited Marie White from Lanark County Tourism to participate in the event and a number of other businesses were represented at Fulton’s on the familiarization tour including the Textile Museum, the Perth Best Western and the Classic Theatre company. Thanks Shirley for your energy, creativity and setting an example for all of us!
Sharon Lloyd the mum part of the mother-daughter team behind Sweetcheeks Kitchen, shared her story of how she parlayed the challenge of raising two daughters with a host of food sensitivities into a thriving business providing gluten and dairy free delights through the local farmer’s market and beyond. From her commercial kitchen in Tatlock, Sharon is now supplying not only the Equator and Baker Bob’s but also distributing through the Independent Grocer in Carleton Place and into Ottawa through the Natural Food Pantry. With partner/daughter Kristen returned to the U.K. to be with her ‘hot Scot’ husband, Sharon is facing the challenge of growing the business on her own. In response to a question about whether she might hire staff to help with the growth, Sharon says that she wants to take it one step at a time and to maintain the quality of her product. Already being courted by investors, the business is clearly on a path to a solid future with this focused and passionate entrepreneur at the helm. Good luck Sharon!
Chamber Announces New Executive Director
Chamber President, Phil Wood, introduced our new Executive Director, Nicole Guthrie. Many of you will know Nicole from her time as the Community and Cultural Programmer at the Town of Mississippi Mills where she also served as the staff person on the Community [and] Economic Development Committee. We are delighted to welcome Nicole in her new role with the Chamber!
June Mixer
Outgoing Executive Director, David Baril will be one of our guest speaker at the June Mixer which will feature a talk by marketing guru Nathan Rudyk on the topic “The Rural Imperative: Real Hipsters Drive Pick-up Trucks”. Stay tuned for details and registration info next week.
May Mixer Door Prizes
Thanks to our sponsors for the following door prizes:
Sponsor | Winner |
---|---|
Tim Byrne – Flower basket | Scott McLellan |
Mississippi Meadows Honey (Margie & Ritchie Argue) | Art Levi |
Chamber – Profile Ad in the EMC | Mary Rozenberg |
Chamber – Profile Ad the Humm | Michael Pitcher |
Riverwatchers – Life Vest | Trisha Spencer |
Kettle Boys – Maple syrup | Robin Singleton |
Love That Barr – gift basket | Liz Taylor |
Carleton Place Manor – gift basket | John Edwards |