Huron-Kinloss Business Banner WINTER 2013 INSIDE THIS ISSUE: The Huron-Kinloss Ice Cream Trail Wins Ontario Tourism Award! 2014 Huron-Kinloss Discovery Guide The Holiday Shopping Pass is Back! Youth Employment Fund Upcoming Workshops & Courses Secrets of the Back Forty Summer Company 4 Foodlink Grey Bruce 5 Daytripping Packages 5 Township E-mail Subscriptions Ripley Revitalization Committee Strategic and Sustainability Plan Hurontel Business Christmas Messages 2 2 3 3 4 5 6 6 6 The Township of Huron-Kinloss is pleased to announce that we won the award for Best Tourism Marketing Initiative Under $25,000 for our Ice Cream Trail on Thursday, November 14th at the Ontario Tourism Summit! The award was presented by the Ontario Tourism Marketing Partnership Corporation. This award category applies to any marketing activity, combination of activities or campaigns (printed collateral, various advertising, promotions and/or web) featuring Ontario tourism product (destinations, attractions, tour operators and hospitality suppliers). This year, 197 people completed the Ice Cream Trail. Congratulations to Brittany Stein of Tavistock who won the grand prize of 250 Huron-Kinloss Dollars. Brittany has participated in all three of the Ice Cream Trail contests and was part of the largest group photo last year. We received very positive feedback from participants and the majority of those who completed the participant survey, stated that they visited businesses in Huron-Kinloss that they had not been to previously and would or would likely revisit. Participants spent at minimum $3,657.00 in our community.
PAGE 2 2014 Huron-Kinloss Discovery Guide As we prepare next year s publication, we ask that all business owners check their business s information on our online Business Directory. You will find the directory at: http://www.huronkinloss.com/ business-directory.cfm It is very important that you check to ensure the information is correct because this is the contact information listed in the Discovery Guide Business Directory. If you would like to make any changes to your listing, please contact Taralyn. Changes must be made by March 1, 2014 to appear in the Guide. Also, please let us know of any community events that you would like to see listed in the Guide. Your invitation to advertise in the Guide is attached to this newsletter. The Holiday Shopping Pass is Back! With the success of last year s Holiday Shopping Pass Promotion, the Township decided to offer this promotion again. Beginning November 1st, each time a customer makes a retail/food purchase at one of the participating businesses prior to December 25th, the amount is punched on a card in $10 increments. Once a customer has spent $150 and filled their Pass, they can submit them to the Township for a chance to win one of three $150 shopping sprees. This promotion is a great way to reward residents for shopping locally and market the products and services that Huron-Kinloss has to offer. Shopping Sprees are awarded in Huron- Kinloss Dollars. Authentic Huron- Kinloss Dollars have the Township s seal on them and are to be accepted at equal value to Canadian Dollars. If a customer redeems Huron- Kinloss Dollars at your business, please contact the Township to be reimbursed. If your business is participating in this promotion and you need more Holiday Shopping Passes or a new punch, please contact Taralyn. Please note that although they are not listed on the Pass, Ripley Variety is participating in this initiative.
PAGE 3 Youth Employment Funding The Youth Employment Fund is a financial hiring incentive available through Employment Ontario. It matches unemployed youth who are not in school full-time and are between the ages of15 and 29 with employers who can provide a job placement of four to six months. To be eligible for hiring incentive funding, you must: Be licensed to operate in Ontario Be compliant with legislation (health and safety, employment standards, etc.) Provide job placements of four to six months in Ontario, and be covered by safety insurance Provide job placements that do not displace current or laid-off employees. For more information about the Youth Employment Fund, or to apply online visit: http:// www.tcu.gov.on.ca/eng/ employmentontario/ youthfund/#display Vpi inc offers no-charge hiring assistance services as an Employment Ontario Service Provider. Vpi inc has hundreds of skilled and qualified jobseekers that they can refer to you and can also assist with training incentives of up to $6800 that can help offset some of the costs associated with hiring and training a new employee. They can also support your new hires with covering the costs of items they may need for work including transportation, work clothes, tools, and training courses they may need to get the job done more efficiently. For more information on vpi inc please contact Chris Wilson, Outreach Coordinator, at 1-855-260-4900 or ChrisWilson@vpiinc.com or visit www.vpi-inc.com Upcoming Workshops & Courses Does Your Website Deliver Value? - February 20th 2014 in Kincardine This session is for you if you are a business owner and you have a website, or are planning to create one, and you're wondering if it can really help you achieve your business goals. Cost is $35. For more information about this workshop, visit: www.saugeenshores.ca/ business or call 519-832- 2082 The Lake Huron Learning Centre is offering the following courses this fall: Courses in Principles of Accounting and Business Microcomputer Applications (Word, Excel, Powerpoint) Registration is now open for these Fanshawe College Courses. They are being offered in Kincardine in 2014 starting in January and running through to March. Certificate Programs in Bookkeeping Principles of Accounting II, Human Resources, Small Business Management and Personal Support Worker. Thee programs are offered between April and October 2014 in Kincardine. For more info on the College Courses, please call Lynn at 519-396-4146 or lakehuronlearn@bruceteleco m.com Additional courses are being offered at the Centre in Goderich.
HURON-KINLOSS PAGE 4 Secrets of the Back Forty A Farm Gate Experience We have received positive feedback from farm gate operators, residents and visitors regarding the Secrets of the Back Forty publication. A local Bed and Breakfast owner said that she had a family stay with her who brought a copy of the brochure with them and spent their twoday stay travelling from farm gate to farm gate. We will be distributing the brochures to tourism information centres across Ontario and to Bruce County businesses in the spring (10,000 copies printed!). Several local businesses already have copies of the brochure in their stores and it is available for download online. Please let us know if you would like additional copies of the brochure at your business/farm gate. Next summer, we will be reaching out to farm gate operators to see if they have seen an increase in traffic to their businesses since the release of the brochure. We would love to hear about the impact this farm gate listing has had on your business and any comments you hear from customers. If you have any changes to your farm gate listing to report, please contact Taralyn. If we decide to reprint the brochure in the future, these changes will be included. Also, please let us know if you have any suggestions on how to improve the brochure or any additional information you would like to see included. Summer Company Do you know any students who would be interested in running their own summer business in 2014? The province is increasing the number of Summer Company Program spaces available to youth entrepreneurs to provide 850 young people with mentorship, training and grants of up to $3,000. Several Huron-Kinloss students have run successful businesses through Summer Company in the past. Please share this information with anyone who may be interested. They can apply now! Applications must be received by May 23, 2014, but interested youth are encouraged to apply early as there is a cap on the number of people accepted into the program. For more information or to apply, visit: http:// www.ontario.ca/business-andeconomy/start-summerbusiness-students
PAGE 5 Foodlink Grey-Bruce & Grey Bruce Agriculture and Culinary Association Grey and Bruce Counties partnered back in 2007 to establish Foodlink, which is an online local food directory. The website highlights farmers markets, farm gates, restaurants,and food retailers. Foodlink has grown from 120 listings to over 400 listings. If you sell local produce, you are welcome to list your business/farm gate on Foodlink for free! If you own a restaurant, you must use at least three local products on a regular basis and meet other criteria in order to have your restaurant listed on Foodlink. Foodlink is also a great resource for assistance with regulations and accessing educational, training and funding opportunities. For more information or to list your farm or local food business on Foodlink, you may contact Bruce County s Local Food Development Coordinator Maria Weijs at: 578 Brown Street Box 129 Wiarton, Ontario N0H 2T0 1-800-268-3838 Ext. 126 FAX 519-534-2442 bruce@foodlinkgreybruce.co m www.foodlinkgreybruce.com Bruce County supports the Grey Bruce Agriculture and Culinary Association which is a non-profit association dedicated to the promotion and increased public awareness of fresh, local food in the community. This organization publishes the popular Grey-Bruce Agriculture and Culinary Map. If you are interested in becoming a member of this association you must complete an application form (available online) and pay a yearly fee of $50. For more information, contact them at: P.O. Box 1265, Southampton, ON N0H 2L0 1-888-396-4591 info@greybruceaca.com www.greybruceaca.com Daytripping Packages Would your business be interested in partnering with other Huron-Kinloss businesses to offer visitors a daytripping package? A daytripping package is an itinerary of pre-planned activities that visitors would purchase for one price. For example, a daytrip package could include a tour, a sitdown lunch and an afternoon activity. We are just at the stage of seeing if this would be of interest to any businesses in the Township. Please contact Taralyn if this is something that you may want to participate in. A reminder to subscribe to the Township s e-mail notifications. Stay informed about community events, Huron-Kinloss news, committee meetings, parks and recreation, emergency notices and more! Sign-up to receive a notification when Council agendas and minutes are posted. To subscribe simply visit www.huronkinloss.com and click on subscribe at the top of the page. Fill in your contact information and don t forget to check off the notifications you want to receive.
PAGE 6 Ripley Revitalization Committee The Ripley Revitalization Committee would like to thank everyone who contributed their ideas to the chalkboard on the former Courtney Grain and Seed building. Here is a list of the top 10 businesses residents/visitors would like to see at this location on Queen St. in Ripley: Cafe Restaurant & Pub Country store & restaurant (like Cracker Barrel) Indoor market Outdoor Apparel Store (like Bass Pro Shop) Arts & Culture Centre Child Care Facility/Play Centre Toy Store Fitness Centre The Township s Strategic and Sustainability Plan was adopted by Council at the November 18th Council Meeting. The Strategic Plan is focused on five goals that will guide the action plan for our community over the next 10 years. Our Goals: We are a prosperous community that continues to grow in a sustainable manner We are a vibrant community that values our uniqueness and creativity We are a spirited community that takes pride in calling Huron-Kinloss home and welcoming others We are an accessible community that offers opportunities for everyone We are an environmentally conscious community that are good stewards of our natural environment If you would like to read the Plan, you may access it here starting in December: http:// www.huronkinloss.com/sustainability-strategic-p.cfm Contact Information: Hurontel Business Christmas Message Taralyn Martin Business & Economic Officer Township of Huron-Kinloss 21 Queen St., P.O. Box 130 Ripley, ON N0G 2R0 Telephone: 519-395-3735 E-mail: tmartin@huronkinloss.com Website: http://www.huronkinloss.com Contact me to receive this newsletter by e-mail if you do not already. This quarterly newsletter is also available on our website under Business Centre and Business News and Services Over the next 2 weeks, HuronTel will be taping short Christmas messages for businesses who wish to thank the community for their patronage over the past year. They will be airing the messages on HuronTel Channel One up to January 1 st. This is a FREE service offered to all businesses in the region. If you are interested, please call Hurontel asap at 519-395-3800 and ask for Devan.