News & Miscellaneous Items

AGM & Business Awards | 2008 Year in Review | For Sale at the Chamber

Annual General Meeting

The Brighton & District Chamber of Commerce, 2009/10 Annual General Meeting took place on February 25th 2010 at the The Masonic Hall and was attended by 63 members & guests

Our panel of speaker consisting of Mayor Chris Herrington, Mayor Marc Coombs, Ron Waddling of the Brighton Arts Council, Tom Mates of Presquile Provincial Park and Doug Birch Vice Principal of ENSS.

The following received business awards for the year 2009:

Best new Business | General Business of the Year | Business person of the Year

The Todd Tornado... Just one of the famous catch phrases that have come out of Lolas.  At the young age of 16 his first job was working at Mcdonalds on the 401 mopping and cleaning. 
He followed that excting job up with ENSS high school co-op at the Holiday Inn peeling lbs of potatoes and baking bread for hundreds of people.  Little did he know that this blistering pain would help him later on with his new business Lolas.  Todd bought Lolas Coffee House two yrs ago not knowing what he was getting himself into.  He has transformed this quiet little shop into a meeting place for all the locals.  It has become a hang-out for freinds to meet and a destination for newcomers to brighton, a place many of them call there second home. 
If you have meet Todd you know he's a bit of a wheeler & deeler and can sell almost anything to anyone. Bluebery scone with that coffee? You might as well buy six theres not tax! All that charm!
Although growing his new business comes with stress and headache, the good far out weighs the bad.  Seeing customers laugh over a cap or a latte and leaving with a full belly is what makes him come to work everyday with a smile and sense of humor.

General Business of the Year - Mrs B's Country Candy- Lori Boychuk

Lorie, who was born and raised in Peterborough, joined the Canadian Armed Forces in ’77 as one of Canada’s first female Radar Tech’s. She married Saskatchewan born Wesley Boychuk in February of 1979 and they continued their careers together in the Forces until she retired in 1985. Lorie and her husband moved to Brighton from Montgomery Alabama in August of 1997. Inthe spring of 1999 Mrs. B’s Country Candy was established. Lorie traveled with her peanut and pecan brittles as well as chocolate and vanilla Chews to craft shows and fairs across Ontario. In 2004 she opened her first storefront totalling about 250 sq ft at 28 Main St. By this time she had expanded to the line of 4 brittles, 4 nuts, hard candies and lollipops that soon became a destination stop during evening walks downtown. After 2 successful years she moved Mrs B’s to a 750 sq ft store at 7 Prince Edward St. She then added her own handmade Gelato and another brittle to her list of specialties. In 2007 after a flood from a third story apartment destroyed the entire store; she rebuilt the store to its current décor and continued expanding her products. From 2007-2009 Lorie held the title of President of Brighton’s DBIA.  In January 2009, when Lorie discovered that the Chocolatier which supplied her stores truffles since it first opened its doors was now retiring, Lorie purchased Carruther’s Chocolates from Bloomfield. This didn’t slow her down as she hired and trained a second Chocolatier and expanded her company to include a brand new custom built commercial kitchen totalling over 1000 sq ft in Brighton’s Industrial Park.

Business Person of the Year - Roger Cheer -- Cheer Homes

Roger Cheer was born and raised in Brighton. His parents are Doug and Gracelynn Cheer.
Roger has lived the majority of his life in Brighton with the exception of a few years when he lived in Mississauga where he attended school and trained at the Mississauga canoe club.
 
Roger moved back to Brighton in 1990. He was unsure as to do for a career, however he had in some way always been involved in the construction industry. His grandfather was in construction and his Dad taught woodshop at ENSS for many years, so it seemed only natural that he would eventually follow in that direction.
 
In the beginning Roger worked for other companies in the local area learning the construction industry. Gord Tobey developments, Cornerstone and eventually as Construction Manager at Brighto By the Bay.
 
In 2000 Roger decided to branch out on his own. He formed Cheer Homes.  He started out small building only a few homes a year.  Over the years and with lots of hard work Roger has built his business to what it is today.  In the past several years Roger has been involved in developing property for his housing business and has built appx 70 new homes in the local area. Always striving to maintain the quality and personal touch that his customer have come to expect in a new home.
 
Roger makes his home in Brighton with his wife Jeannine and children Natalie and Thomas.  Both Roger and his family are looking forward to the next couple of years, with the continued growth of Cheer Homes and its involvement is some exciting  new up and coming projects.Roger Cheer was born and raised in Brighton. His parents are Doug and Gracelynn Cheer.
Roger has lived the majority of his life in Brighton with the exception of a few years when he lived in Mississauga where he attended school and trained at the Mississauga canoe club.
 
Roger moved back to Brighton in 1990. He was unsure as to do for a career, however he had in some way always been involved in the construction industry. His grandfather was in construction and his Dad taught woodshop at ENSS for many years, so it seemed only natural that he would eventually follow in that direction.
 
In the beginning Roger worked for other companies in the local area learning the construction industry. Gord Tobey developments, Cornerstone and eventually as Construction Manager at Brighto By the Bay.
 
In 2000 Roger decided to branch out on his own. He formed Cheer Homes.  He started out small building only a few homes a year.  Over the years and with lots of hard work Roger has built his business to what it is today.  In the past several years Roger has been involved in developing property for his housing business and has built appx 70 new homes in the local area. Always striving to maintain the quality and personal touch that his customer have come to expect in a new home.
 
Roger makes his home in Brighton with his wife Jeannine and children Natalie and Thomas.  Both Roger and his family are looking forward to the next couple of years, with the continued growth of Cheer Homes and its involvement is some exciting  new up and coming projects.

2008 Year End Overview
2009 was a positive year for the Chamber.  With Mary Robertson working as president she and the board helped to bring the chamber to a new level. The 2009 Board was a great board and consisted of. We are looking forward to 2010 and working with a new board. 

Executive:
Mary Robertson - President
John Ostapuk- Vice-President
Theo Georgatos- Treasurer/Secretary

Directors:
Gina Cowan - Director
Cynthia Lecours- Director
Ken Prue- Director
Don Parks- Director
Ralph Villman- Director
Casey Haig- Director
Cindy Lewis - DBIA Representative
Emily Rowley - Municipal Council
Malcolm Schofield / Catherine Stutt- Brighton Arts Council
Jessica Kuipers - Youth / ENNS

Administration:
George Lucas / Gina Cowan- Administrator
Staff: Erica Calhoun / Lee Ostapuk
Pat Smart - Membership

If you are an executive or a business owner and are looking for a way to get involved, join the Chamber of Commerce as a Director. We’d be happy to meet with you to share our ideas with you and hear your thoughts on how you can work with us to help the community and your organization thrive.

Apple Route Tourism
The Apple Route is working hard to increase membership and knowledge of the area.  Highway 2 signage will be up soon as well we have Apple Route Signs available for members to purchase for only $30.00. 

Community Access Program
This program has proved to be very sucessful.  We have 2 computers available for residents or tourists to use for checking email, searching jobs and creating or updating resumes. 

Breakfast Meetings
Breakfast meetings continue in 2010 starting in April. Come and check out the diverse speakers while enjoying a hearty breakfast with fellow members.

Country Living Show
Plan now to promote your business or organization to the community of Brighton and our surrounding neighbours by participating in the Brighton and District Chamber of Commerce “Country Living Show”. This years show will be April 24th and 25th and is going to be bigger and better then ever. 

The 2010 Country Living Show will once again take place at the Brighton Municipal Arena.

Save the Dates … April 24th, 25th . Stay tuned for more information!

After Hours Networking - New for 2009

Sponsor an after hours networking event! Meet and network with other Chamber members and visitors. See a brief presentation by a different sponsor each month. Give a one minute self introduction to promote your business, display your business cards and brochures at our Members’ table. All attendees receive a contact information sheet featuring all attendees. Reservations are required in advance.

Get your business noticed! Are you interested in hosting an after hours networking event at your business? If so contact George Lucas at 613-475-2775 or e-mail info@brightonchamber.ca

For Sale at the Chamber office

Brighton Shopping Bags $2:00 each

Copy Service

Available at the Chamber office to members and the public.