News & Miscellaneous Items

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

Annual General Meeting

The Brighton & District Chamber of Commerce, 2008/09 Annual General Meeting took place on February 25th 2009 at the Timber House Country Inn and was attended by 61 members & guests

Our speaker was Jon Pole, President of "My Broadcasting Corporation"
My Broadcasting Corporation specializes in small market FM radio stations and is currently applying to the CRTC to establish a station in Brighton with a coverage area from Colborne to Trenton and north to Campbellford. Download copy of his speech

The following received business awards for the year 2008:

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

Dragonfly, the newest shopping experience on Main Street in Brighton, opened its doors on Saturday, Oct. 11, 2008, carrying unique ladies jewellery, hats, scarves and purses. Organic and fair trade clothing and products. Gifts for Mom, Dad, baby, wedding, graduation and much more.

When Judy Morgan decided to retire and close the doors on Judy's, a popular accessory and gift boutique, Sandy Pasko and Carole Pare saw an opportunity. The business partners teamed up in June at Main Street Marketplace and wanted to expand their prospects. They had already established selling jewelry as part of the Marketplace. Carole Pare, an active member of the Brighton Downtown Business Improvement Association, didn't want to see another service business on Main Street.  They both agreed that Main Street Brighton needed a more boutique kind of atmosphere to bring people downtown

They sensed that people wanted more unique items, not necessarily antiques.  They’ve brought the new and old together and people love it.

They have also established a website to go with their grand opening. Internet purchasing is a big part of the retail sector now and they anticipate that that going forward will be even bigger.

From the time they took possession of the building to the time they opened their doors took only 10 days.

The name of the store came as an almost simultaneous revelation to all of the principals involved in getting the new enterprise off the ground. When Sandy told her business partner she had the perfect name, both said 'dragonfly' at the same time. 

At the Main Street Marketplace, a steady supply of dragonfly pins and accessories have always been available for sale and bags containing their merchandise are routinely stamped with a dragonfly.
An amazing success story despite these economic times! 

General Business of the Year - Gordon Tobey Developments Ltd. - Gordon & Stephen Tobey
Gordon Tobey Developments Ltd. is a family owned and operated business established in Brighton in 1976.  A 'father-son' building team, Gordon and Stephen Tobey are award winning builders having received many Design and Technical awards of merit.  Gordon Tobey Developments Ltd. was one of the first builders in Canada to build exclusively to the R-2000 Standard and one of the few that are exclusively R-2000 at the present time.

Every “Tobey home” is custom designed by Stephen Tobey to meet individual needs.  Popular features include screened in porches, gourmet kitchens, graceful arched entries, and spectacular windows.  Wheelchair accessible and no-basement options make these homes accommodating for today and tomorrow.  To provide assurance that the final design will meet expectations all plans are generated in 3-D so that customers may see how their home will look both inside and out.

Mill Pond Woods is the newest Tobey development.  This community of 74 all-brick homes is superbly located within minutes of down town Brighton.  Homes ranging from 1500 to 2600 square feet are situated on executive sized lots bounded by conservation lands.  Mill Pond Woods residents enjoy all the comforts and conveniences that town amenities provide coupled with a natural wooded setting.

Providing long-term value to homeowners continues to be the foundation upon which Gordon Tobey Developments was established.   By incorporating R-2000 construction techniques with enduring design and outstanding craftsmanship Gordon Tobey Developments builds homes of exceptional quality.  In addition, they conduct their business in a manner that gives customers confidence and peace of mind in making their dream home a reality.

The size of company, and close relationship it has developed with current and established clients, allows it to react quickly in incorporating new technologies and design features in an organic, evolving process.  Whilst leading the design process, Stephen Tobey fully involves the clients, many of whom have moved home a number of times and like to incorporate what they enjoyed in previous houses. 

Business Person of the Year - Cindy Lewis -- Rock, Paper Scissors
Cindy was originally born in Campbellford and grew up in Carrying Place.  Her entire family moved out to Alberta but she eventually returned to the Brighton Area with hopes of having her own business.  She is the proud mother of two children and is actively involved in the community.  Having run Rock Paper Scissors for approximately five years, she has become a staple (no pun intended) in the business community. Her original location was not ideal, and she moved to her main street location approximately 2 years ago. She has enjoyed the success of more exposure and represents her community very well. 

Actively involved in the DBIA since 2005, Cindy has shown that being involved in your community and running your own business is both possible and desirable. 

She also is the DBIA’s representative on the Chamber of Commerce and is always willing to help whenever she can.  She is actively engaged in organizing and overseeing initiatives such as the annual Pirate invasion along with the Country Living Show.

In the choosing of the recipient for this award Cindy Lewis was particularly  recognized by the business community for all her hard work and dedication. Her great personality and ability to run a successful business, along with her participation in the community has made her very deserving of business person of the year. She is always connecting people together and is a great ambassador for the Brighton community. 

2008 Year End Overview (download PDF file)
2008 was a challenging year for the Brighton & District Chamber of Commerce. Our President Robert Crosmas decided to resign due to the time constraints of his new business and Mary Robertson, VP, took over the Presidency. During the year, 4 other directors had to step down due to a variety of reasons. However, they were quickly replaced by new volunteers and the board now consists of the following members:

Executive:
Mary Robertson - President
Chris Foreman - Vice-President
John Ostapuk - Treasurer/Secretary

Directors:
Gina Cowan - Director
Saoirse Graham - Director
Kim Tasse - Director
Ralph Villman - Director
Cindy Lewis - DBIA Representative
Emily Rowley - Municipal Council
Malcolm Schofield - Brighton Arts Council
Jessica Kuipers - Youth / ENNS

Administration:
George Lucas - Administrator
Staff: Erica Calhoun
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.

Early in the new year we decided to organize the “Country Living Show” & thanks to the efforts of Mary Robertson and her committee we managed to organize a successful event within a couple of months. Over 1,200 people attended the one day show and plans are already underway for a two day show in 2009.

Cassondra Paletta, Miss Teen Canada International and the Ambassador for The Teddy Bears of Hope Campaign for 2008 and Sylvia Stark the Founder of The Teddy Bears of Hope, arrived in Brighton on April 23rd and was the VIP Guest of the Brighton and District Chamber of Commerce until Sunday April 27th. During this time we broke the record for collecting Teddy Bears for Miss Teen Canada’s Teddy Bear of Hope Campaign. The record was 1,488 and we exceeded 3,100.

The most challenging part of the year was when the Municipality of Brighton cut the amount paid to the Chamber for tourism services from $25,000 to $10,000 in 2008. By carefully managing our budget and by reducing tourism services we were able to continue the year financially viable.

In addition to the Municipality’s reduction, the HRDC Student program cut back the number of weeks and hours that they would fund. However, we were able to cover the peak summer tourist months with creative scheduling.

Apple Route Tourism
On June 30th the Chamber agreed to take over the administration of Apple Route Tourism Inc. The directors of this tourism organization were finding it difficult to continue the administration of The Apple Route and approached the Chamber to take it over. The Apple Route will be a completely separate organization with its own board of directors and accounts.

Community Access Program
This November we took over the running of the CAP site which provides public access to computers for job searches, emails, resume preparation etc. This site is very popular with tourists during the summer months. The Chamber has provided space as a public service for the CAP site for over 7 years at no cost to the operators of the site. New computer desks and 2 new computers have been installed from the funds provided for the operation of the site

Membership Survey
Your opinions are important to the Chamber Board of Directors. Please take time to complete the enclosed survey.

Breakfast Meetings
Although we felt that we offered good quality speakers for the 2008 Breakfast Meetings the attendance has been disappointing so we are especially interested on what days and hours are best to offer networking events. Please let us know.

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”. Last year’s show proved to be successful beyond our expectations.

The 2009 Country Living Show will once again take place at the Brighton Municipal Arena. Last year vendors suggested that the show be expanded to a two day event. We listened and it is now being held on April 25th & 26th. The arena will be open all day Friday for set up.

New this year will be a wine and cheese get together for the exhibitors… meet and greet…. another great networking opportunity. We are anticipating that this will be held on the Friday evening between 5 and 7 p.m.

Save the Dates … April 24th, 25th and April 26th, 2009. 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.