MP Reports
Meet your Board of Directors
Roberta Reports
Upcoming Chamber Events
Business After Hours
Annual General Meeting
Monthly Wink
Ribbon Cutting
Member Milestones
Pub Night
New Chamber Members
Chamber website goes mobile!
Father's Day is coming...

MEET YOUR 2012-2013 BOARD OF DIRECTORS

Lynne Bard - Beyond Rewards Inc., Terry Godreau - Planet CPU, Garth Green - HJM Insurance & Financial Services, Janet Harrop - Harrcroft Acres, Aileen Hawkins - M&M Meat Shops, Peter Mohr - Shoetopia, Joal Suraci - RLB LLP, Allan Teal - Al-Do-It, Barney Tracy - Tracy Group Benefits & Financial Services, Paul Walker - Elora LCBO, Michael Weinstein - The Weinstein Group.  (Bold indicates new for the 2012-14 term.)

The Board will elect their Executive at the June Board meeting.  We would also like thank our Directors who are retiring this year Nardo Kuitert (U-C WEBS) who led our Communication Committee for 4 years as well as on the Executive.  Thank you to Don Cubbidge (Don Cubbidge Consultant) who assisted with the Golf Tournament and provided input to the discussions around the table.

Michael Weinstein - our outgoing President.  He signed on for a one year term as President that has lasted 3 years!  Thank you for all of your hard work and guidance!  We aren't letting go of you totally yet though - as he now becomes a Past President for one year.

UPCOMING CHAMBER EVENTS

*Dates & Venues subject to change

RIBBON CUTTING
SLEEP RITE INC. is hosting their Grand Opening at 9-100 McQueen Blvd, Fergus on Saturday June 2nd, at 10:00am. Ribbon Cutting Ceremony at 10:15am. Join owners Syed Ali & Marlene Bosse for free draws and refreshments! Grand Opening Specials throughout the store. Everyone Welcome!

CHAMBER PUB NIGHT
We will be at The Goofie Newfie Inc. (105 Queen Street West, Fergus) on June 5, 5:30pm. Drop by for some networking and samples of the Newf menu! No registration required.

BUSINESS TOWN HALL
The CWCC is hosting this forum with presenters from the  Township. The municipal budget has been approved and summer construction season is starting. The intent of the evening is to update businesses about initiatives within the municipality that will impact their businesses and traffic/people flow in a positive or negative manner. Drop in to Fergus Grand Theatre - 244 St. Andrew St. W., Fergus on Thursday, June 7th 7:00pm - 9:00pm to weigh in!

WRAP UP CHARITY BBQ
On June 13 starting at 5:30pm, bring Family and Friends to this awesome fundraising event, and close another great year with the Chamber! 400 Tower Street South, M&M Meat Shop will be cooking up a delicious meal for everyone who attends. All proceeds are going to the C.W. Food Bank!

RIBBON CUTTING
Join Angela and Jody as they officially open their new business, Quarry Optometry Centre! Friday, June 15th at 294 Mill Street East - Unit 116, Elora. Gather at 11:45am, Ribbon Cutting Ceremony at 12:00pm with refreshments.

14th ANNUAL GOLF DAY
Being held Thurs. June 21 at Ariss Valley Golf & Country Club (5700 County Road 86, Ariss)
Registration at 12 Noon - Shotgun start at 1 pm. Register as a team, or yourself individually!

NETWORKING BREAKFAST
Join us June 27, 7:30am for breakfast at the Gorge Country Kitchen (82 Wellington Rd.7, Elora). We will be hearing from both the Elora & Fergus Business Improvement Areas. Meet and network with fellow local business owners!

TRIP TO CHINA!
Yes, that's right! Due to a large number of interest, the Chamber and Citslinc International, in partner with Noecker Travel, are hosting another China Trip! We will be departing from Toronto on Wednesday, September 12th to and returning Saturday, September 22nd. Travel Beijing, Shanghai, Suzhou, and Hangzhou with an optional tour to visit the Xi’an Terra Cotta Warriors! Reserve your space today! View Itinerary
For more Information - contact:
Centre Wellington Chamber of Commerce
400 Tower Street South, Fergus ON N1M 2P7
519-843-5140, rscarrow@cwchamber.ca or
Noecker Travel
123 Metcalfe Street, Elora, ON N0B 1S0
519-846-5307, debbie@noeckertravel.com

WINE TOUR
Join us in Niagara for a great day! Bus departs 9:00 am sharp in the Chamber parking (Also pick up available at the Guelph YMCA 9:30 am sharp) - Wineries, dinner and coach bus transportation are included. $80 per person, including HST | Invite a friend - Give as a gift. There will be a lunch break in Niagara on the Lake where you will be on your own to dine or shop. Bus returns to Guelph/Fergus around 8:00-8:30 pm approx. Please contact us to reserve your seat on the bus - spots are limited!

To learn more or register for events, call 519-843-5140 or e-mail membership@cwchamber.ca

Please take note of our Event Cancellation Policy

MONTHLY WINK

Did you know... you can receive a special discount for being a chamber member when you sign up for Constant Contact, even if you are already a current user?? Staying in touch with your customers has never been easier! Check out www.constantcontact.com.

RIBBON CUTTING

Curves

We gathered on May 17th at Curves in Fergus Fergus for their Grand Re-Opening. New owner Marlene Morris welcomes you to stop in and give their facility a try! Curves offers a complete fitness and nutrition solution, and your membership is good at any location worldwide!

PUB NIGHT

We would like to thank the Elora Legion for hosting May's Pub Night. The appetizers and cool beverages were great, and we always love the sound of chatter!

NEW CHAMBER MEMBERS

CHERYL VONZUBEN RMT
Cheryl VonZuben, Owner/Registered Massage Therapist
Fergus ON N1M 3S3
226-979-2251

DREAMLAND PET & EQUINE
Oscar Meier
6484 Wellington Rd 7
Elora ON N0B 1S0
oscar.m@sympatico.ca
www.dreamlandpet.com

Find us on Facebook!

www.facebook.com/cwchamber

DINE BY DONATION

  All proceeds go to Habitat For Humanity - Centre Wellington Build 2012
June 5 | BIG BARRY’S BUFFET | 5:00pm – 9:00 pm
Minimum Donation per person $4.00. Minimum Donation for a Family of Four or More $15.00
*Beverages and Gratuities not included
100 McQueen Blvd – Fergus 519.843.4300

MICHAEL CHONG, MP REPORTS

Last month, the federal government delivered Budget 2012, which advances our plan for jobs and growth in Canada. To date, our Economic Action Plan has helped navigate Canada through the worst of the global recession, and bolstered a national economy that has consistently expanded for the last two and half years. Since 2006, we have supported the prosperity and security of Canadian individuals and businesses, and positioned Canada as a desirable place to invest and do business.

However, the global recovery remains fragile, and many Canadians are still looking for work. That is why we developed a budget that assists us in meeting our two main objectives of creating jobs and economic growth, while reducing the federal deficit.

Budget 2012 delivers on our government’s commitment to support business innovation by focusing on private sector needs. In order to continue supporting small business job creation, we are extending the Hiring Credit for Small Business to encourage new employee hiring, while defraying the associated costs. This temporary credit will benefit about 536,000 employers and reduce 2012 payroll costs by about $205 million. We are also reducing red tape by implementing the ‘one-for-one’ rule, and developing a Red Tape Reduction action plan to reduce unnecessary regulations and allow small businesses to focus on growth.

Our budget will also introduce a number of targeted, common-sense changes to Employment Insurance (EI) to make it a more efficient program that promotes job creation, removes disincentives to work, and quickly connects Canadians to jobs. We will continue supporting small- and medium-sized businesses and their employees by making EI premiums more stable and predictable, with annual increases limited to five cents.

Trade is a cornerstone of our country and has long been the driving force behind our national economy. Canadian businesses need to access export markets in order to take advantage of new opportunities, and over the past six years, Canada has concluded trade agreements with nine countries. We have also developed foreign investment promotion and protection agreements with ten countries. Budget 2012 will build upon these successes by establishing and strengthening trade relations with dynamic and fast-growing economies.

We will also implement the Action Plan on Perimeter Security and Economic Competitiveness, as well as the Action Plan in Regulatory Cooperation, in order to facilitate trade and investment flows between Canada and the United States. In addition, Budget 2012 will provide support to Canadian exporters by extending the provision of domestic financing by Export Development Canada. Some of our other initiatives include investing $400 million to help increase private sector investments in early-stage risk capital, as well as supporting the creation of large-scale venture capital funds led by the private sector.

For full details on Budget 2012, please visit www.budget.gc.ca. You can also contact me by phone at (866) 878-5556 or by email at michael.chong@parl.gc.ca.

ROBERTA REPORTS

We are staring another summer in the face and there is sure to be lots of great things happening! Just check out the Chamber events to get an idea of June activities. Soon the festivals will begin, camping will start in earnest and that means tourists! We hope that these opportunities translate into sales for many of you.

The Chamber Town Hall on June 7th is a way to provide businesses with an update from the municipality departments that can have a direct impact on your business. Come and find out what road works are happening this summer around town. A County focused Town Hall is in the planning stages for the fall too.

Thank you to those who came out to our Annual General Meeting and heard Perrin Beatty speak about the Top 10 Barriers to Competitiveness.  If you missed it click on the Top 10 link and see how the Canadian Chamber is working for business across Canada.

The Chamber is a member-driven organization and we need your ideas and brain power too! If you would like to write (or have access to) an article for one of our publications that would be great! You are the expert in your field and we want you to help educate our other members. Just remember - to keep the tone non-advetorial... you will be given a credit line though, so members will know who to contact. We also get requests from The Wellington Advertiser and Fergus Elora News Express for business related articles. This is a great way to share your knowledge also.

Another way is to be a breakfast speaker at the Networking Breakfasts. What would you like to hear about? Can you dazzle a crowd for about 20 minutes and have a topic that would be informative for our members? If so, please let Roberta know before the end of June as the Member Services committee will be developing the upcoming schedule at their July meeting.

If you (or one of your employees) is interested in joining a Chamber Committee - we would love to hear from you!! The Committees we have are:

Awards of Excellence - focus on event planning and execution of our annual, themed gala event in April. Also includes the Nomination process, obtaining sponsors and selling tickets. This is our largest fundraiser.

Communications - this group is responsible for providing input into the look and feel of the website and coming up with brilliant ideas (such as the mobile recognition...see below). This group also works with staff on The FOCUS quarterly magazine, developing poll questions or surveys (with an idea of what we need the info for).

Business & Government Affairs - this is our advocacy group who work with municipal, county, provincial and federal levels as appropriate to promote local issues.

Member Services Committee - they plan the Networking Breakfasts, Business After Hours, Business Showcase as well as develop plans to increase membership. They have also provided various Education sessions that are relevant to you.

Christmas Party - the Member Services Committee NEEDS a leader and a few volunteers to make this event memorable. So if you would like to take charge and work with the Chamber to carry this task - give Roberta a call to discuss.

Golf Tournament - annual, fun event (2nd largest fundraiser for the Chamber)

Of course there are a couple of vacancies on the Board of Directors if someone is interested in participating at that level - we welcome you to express an interest!

BUSINESS AFTER HOURS

AGM BREAKFAST

We held our Annual General Meeting on May 30, 2012. Guest speaker, the Honourable Perrin Beatty, President & CEO of the Canadian Chamber of Commerce (born and bred in Fergus) made some great comments. The comment that hit home was "How much better would our overall economy be (jobs, take home pay, government revenue for programs, etc) if Canadian business could boost it's productivity by 20% to match that of our global competitors? Makes you think! Mr. Beatty's presence and comments were greatly appreciated. A copy of the report is available in hard copy here at the office, or by e-mailing Roberta. Pictured left to right: Speaker Perrin Beatty, GM Roberta Scarrow, Director Janet Harrop, and Chamber President Michael Weinstein.

MEMBER MILESTONES

Dar's Country Market in Elora celebrated their 1st year annivarsary! Congratulations! Darlene would like to thank all of her customers for their support, friends for helping make it happen, and her amazing girls and family. She is looking forward to another exciting year!

Laycon Signs in Fergus has recently made it into the Graphic Arts Magazine for their Channel Letter technology. Well done! View the article here.

Congratulations to Minuteman Press of Fergus on their award at the 22nd Annual Guelph Wellington Employer Recognition Event. The event honours local employers who have demonstrated a willingness to go above and beyond in helping individuals who require work experience to gain placements and skills training.

Fraberts Fresh Food turns 4! On May 26 & 27, Chef Derek & Co-owner Jackie celebrated with food samples, and live talks with suppliers and local farmers about their delicious products. A LOT has changed since they opened in 2008. Why not drop by and try one of their new pizzas, or visit their full service deli counter with sandwiches and salads to go.

Groves Hospital Foundation has recently won 1st place for their Get Real TV poster campaign. It featured real physicians, nurses, staff and patients. The Hygeia awards are presented annually to recognize excellence in heath care communications. Way to go!

miniCAB goes GREEN! Zoltan (Miki) Szinegh, Owner/Operator of miniCAB would like to announce their amalgamation with Green Taxi, to commence on Monday June 4, 2012. Green Taxi serves Fergus, Elora, Centre Wellington and all of Wellington County, Ontario. They operate 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. For additional information about Green Taxi call 519-820-4343 or visit them on the web at www.greentaxifergus.com. Don't worry if you accidentally dial the miniCAB phone number, it will forward to Green Taxi after June 4th.

CHAMBER WEBSITE GOES MOBILE

There is now a version of the Chamber website available for mobile devices. Just access using the normal address (cwchamber.ca) and it will automatically recognize your hand held device and adjust to the small screen size. The site content contains the business directory, coming events and our contact information. If there is other site information that you think should be included, please contact Roberta at the office!

FATHER'S DAY IS COMING...

Here is a great gift idea! These gift cheques can be used at over 125 local stores here in Centre Wellington.  They are as good as cash and as safe as a Traveler’s Cheque! Purchase them in denominations of $10 and $25 as a convenient and simple gift giving solution that gives back to the community. Visit www.giftofchoicecw.ca for more information.