Paris Chamber News Chamber Chatter UPCOMING EVENTS – MARK YOUR CALENDARS! We ask that you mark your calendars and participate in some of these upcoming activities as they will not only benefit you and your business but also give you some opportunities to have a great day/evening out! Watch for email notices or check out our website under ‘Events’ at www.pariscoc.ca for more information on these events. 7 Tuesday, April 7, 2015 – 12:00 pm: Paris Chamber Monthly Meeting – Paris Library Meeting Room – Lunch Provided at $10.00/person (you must rsvp for lunch) 8 Wednesday, April 8, 2015 -5:30-7:00pm: Paris Chamber April Business to Business After Five - The Hampton Inn and Suites by Hilton - 20 Fen Ridge Crt., Brantford 5 Tuesday, May 5, 2015 - 12:00pm: Paris Chamber Monthly Meeting - Paris Library Meeting Room Lunch Provided at $10.00/person (you must rsvp for lunch) SPRING 2015 Paris and District Chamber of Commerce PO Box 130, Paris, Ontario N3L 3E7 226-208-1159 | www.pariscoc.ca WELCOME! MESSAGE FROM THE PRESIDENT: Wednesday, May 20, 2015 - 5:30 - 7:00pm: Paris Chamber May Business to Business After Five - Best Western Plus Brant Park Inn - 19 Holiday Drive, Brantford 20 If you require any further information on any of the above, please do not hesitate to contact Sue Swinton at 226-208-1159 or email [email protected]. Winter is over and spring has finally arrived! There are lots of amazing events and activities happening in Paris and our surrounding communities. We would like to extend a warm welcome to our newest members: • A & R Heating & Cooling • Tradebank Brant • CAF Real Estate Holdings • The Raw Carrot Soup Enterprise If you have been to a business after hours lately you will notice that we have made some exciting changes. We now offer an attendance incentive program. Anyone who attends a • Advertising in the Paris & District Chamber of Commerce Chamber Chatter business after hours event has their name entered into a draw to win a free membership The Paris Chamber newsletter is distributed for free via email to all Chamber members, distributed at Chamber events, County offices, etc. We offer newsletter advertising, flyer insert advertising (you supply flyers) and web banner ads. Chamber Chatter and web advertising are an inexpensive yet effective way to advertise your business. You are encouraged to consider either or both of these advertising mediums to help promote your business. If you have any questions, please contact Sue Swinton at 226-208-1159 email [email protected]. receive an additional ballot for that evening. So come on out to one of these events to You are encouraged to join the Paris and District Chamber of Commerce. We believe that the Paris Chamber plays a significant role in the community. The Paris Chamber can help you to promote your business to other businesses in the area. Your membership in the Paris and District Chamber of Commerce adds your voice to help improve the quality of life in our community. Join us! Together we can make business stronger in Paris and the County of Brant! Web Banner Ads Size $/2months Available spots Small 250 x 80pt 50.00 3 Medium 500 x 80pt 85.00 1 Large 250 x 225pt 110.00 1 1/3 Page articles may be submitted for a cost of $100.00 and will include a business card size ad. Not for profit registered charities will receive a 50% discount off the above rates. All advertisements will be in full colour. Print artwork must be supplied digitally in Adobe Illustrator or high resolution PDF. All linked (image) files and fonts must be embedded in submitted file. All inserts must be flat and may not exceed 8.5” x 11” and may not weigh more than 15 grams each. All pricing is subject to change without notice. for the upcoming year. If you bring a guest, not only are they entered to win, but you also meet your fellow Chamber members and learn more about local businesses. We are very excited that our membership is continuing to grow and I want to give a special thanks to our membership committee who have been working very hard to seek out new members. A big thank you goes out to our current members as well because without you, we wouldn’t be where we are today. Our golf tournament is fast approaching. Registration and more information will be available very soon. This event is scheduled for Thursday, July 30th so mark your calendars and save the date! I’m really hoping to see more new faces out at the tournament this year. Paris Chamber Chatter Rate Card 2015 Size Single Issue Yearly (4 issues) Business Card Ad 3.5” x 1.75” 50.00 40.00 per (160) 1/6 Page Ad 2.5” x 4.75” 85.00 70.00 per (280) ¼ Page Ad 7.5” x 2.35” 3.6” x 4.75” 125.00 105.00 per (420) 1/3 page Ad 2.5” x 9.5” 160.00 140.00 per (560) ½ Page Ad 7.5” x 4.75” 225.00 200.00 per (800) Full Page 7.5” x 9.5” 400.00 350.00 per (1400) Insert (You provide) 8.5” x 11” 200.00 N/A Are you getting a group discount on your Home & Auto Insurance? You should be. As a member of the Paris & District Chamber of Commerce, you and your colleagues have access to exclusive discounted group insurance rates. Put Cowan Insurance Group to work for you. Find out how much money we can save you. Let us know when your insurance renews and we will provide you with a free no obligation quote. Start Saving Today. Contact our office at 519-442-6337. Cowan Insurance Group 3 Elm Street, Unit 5, Paris, ON N3L 2L6 Wishing you all the best this spring and please continue to check out our website for upcoming events! Cheers, Leigha Oakes President Brantford Flight Centre NEXT NEWSLETTER Watch for our next newsletter coming to you in June 2015! Share news such as your company’s involvement in community service and charities as well as address changes, facility updates and staff changes with other Chamber members! If you have any questions or contributions, please contact Sue Swinton at 226-208-1159 email: [email protected] Anyone wishing to receive hard copies of the Chamber Chatter newsletter can contact Sue Swinton at [email protected] or 226-208-1159 for delivery setup. Paris Chamber News BUSINESS Paris Chamber News 2 BUSINESS After Five DON’T FORGET OUR NEW EVENT ATTENDANCE INCENTIVE! STILLWATERS PLATE AND POUR Stillwaters Plate and Pour were the hosts of the January Business to Business After Five event. Many people attended this event and they were treated to a delicious variety of food and great networking opportunities. Owners Matt Cummings and Chef Will Thompson let everyone know about upcoming menu changes as well as the different ways their restaurant can be utilized (ie. weddings, gatherings). This event was also the kick start to the Paris Chamber Business After Five event attendance incentive. All those members and guests who attended have been entered into a bi-annual draw for free membership to the Paris Chamber! Thank you to Matt, Will and their staff for a terrific evening! For each Business After Hours event your company attends, you will be entered into our bi-annual membership giveaway draw! Not a member? We will be drawing at our AGM for a non member membership as well! So bring a guest and come on out! Attendance is free. PARIS DENTAL CENTRE Paris Dental Centre hosted the February Business to Business After Five event. Unfortunately the weather did not cooperate on this evening but a good number of members braved the elements and attended. David Mahn spoke about the numerous changes to their state of the art facility as well as the many services Paris Dental Centre provides to people of all ages. This was a very informative and interesting evening. There was great food and a nice prize for a lucky attendee! To all the staff at Paris Dental Centre - thank you for a great evening! BUSINESS 2 BUSINESS Business to Business After Five is a free to attend monthly networking event for Chamber members. We encourage you to come out to our next Business to Business After Five event and take advantage of this valuable membership benefit. Reminders will be sent out to members via email or you can check our website at www.pariscoc.ca for event details. After Five Meet your fellow Chamber members and help grow your business in a casual, social atmosphere. Non members are welcome to come out and see what we’re all about! If you have any questions about these events, please contact Sue Swinton at 226-208-1159 email [email protected]. THE ARLINGTON HOTEL The wine cellar at the Arlington Hotel provided a cozy and comfortable location for the March Business to Business After Five event. Those who attended were treated to a tour of the facility as well as tasty food and a prize giveaway. The Arlington has a very interesting history and also has some new and exciting facility changes coming up in the near future. That evening the entire hotel was extremely busy as it was host to Pubstumpers Trivia in the Spoke and Paddle Bar, a paint club in the Forks Restaurant and our Chamber business after hours! It was great to see many new faces in attendance at this event. The Paris Chamber appreciates the hospitality of the Arlington and would like to thank Kate Wight and the entire staff for being such great hosts! • branding • creative design • web development & seo • database solutions • printing • promotional products • fulfillment • app development 519.442.1242 blueprintagencies.com Member News Member News “IT’S ONLY WATER” - AN UPDATE FROM MATT CUMMINGS OF STILLWATERS PLATE AND POUR It’s amazing how sometimes our bodies and minds can sense that something is wrong. In the early morning of Friday, February 20, 2015 at about 1:30am, I woke out of a dead sleep and for whatever reason I had an urge to check my cell phone. 18 missed calls. After seeing that I knew that something was wrong. Normally my ringer would still be on but I had just picked up a new phone that night and because I couldn’t figure it out the ringer hadn’t been turned on. That is why 18 calls went unnoticed. When I checked to see who the callers were, Bill Kennedy was 15 of the 18 and I quickly put two and two together. When I got to Stillwaters it looked like something out of a movie. The water was literally coming down the stairs in the main area like a waterfall. It was so cold that night that the water was freezing to the door and even on the stairs, so getting up to the restaurant was obviously a challenge. I’m sure you can envision what everything looked like when I got up to the restaurant – just picture the old Stillwaters under a couple inches of water. The bar area was torn apart from the sheer force of the water coming out of a broken 2 inch pipe. My business partner Will and I foolishly decided to go get the shop vac and start trying to clean up some of the water. We actually thought we could actually make a dent in the mess! I knew it would be like draining a swimming pool with a straw, but I guess in our heads we felt like we had no choice but to do something. By this time, Eric from Strone Restoration had arrived to assess the damage and I could tell by the look on his face that I might as well put the shop vac away, so I did. I think at one point Will made an attempt to clean his kitchen again but realized it was pointless. I hadn’t seen building owner Bill Kennedy since I had arrived. When he came up to the restaurant, we just kind of looked at each other and exchanged a quick smirk. I don’t think either of us knew what to say to each other. To preface this, Bill and I have worked extremely closely for the last 2 years since Stillwaters has opened. We have spent hours and hours at his office talking about everything you can imagine based around our mutual love for business, Paris and Stillwaters. Bill really enjoys the mentoring process at this stage of his career. I think it is easy to see how a seasoned “retired” businessman and someone like myself who is just learning the ropes, could easily get caught up in hours of conversation. As stressful as the situation was, I quickly started to focus on the positive. As much as Will and I loved Stillwaters it never really felt like ours. We were always handcuffed by the former restaurant in that location. The kitchen equipment couldn’t showcase Will’s menu like he wanted it to and the look was gorgeous but it wasn’t “us”. We quickly realized that now was the time to overhaul Stillwaters and make it our own. We repainted the entire restaurant (which had to be done due to water damage) in a more comfortable darker color scheme. We also added a new divider wall to cozy up the space a little bit. A new lounge area in the bar, 2 new fireplaces, darker hardwood floors for comfort and most importantly a full kitchen overhaul have also been completed. All of the old equipment was taken out and brand new state of the art equipment was put in. The main focus of the new equipment was to be able to cook the food for the rooftop patio from the main kitchen. This now eliminates the need to have 2 separate menus in the summer. We also added pizza (the best I have ever had no less) and other menu items that we never could have prepared in the old kitchen. We reopened on Wednesday March 25th after 6 long weeks of closure with a new menu, a new look and a new feel. I must say it feels amazing! It actually feels better now than it did when we first opened! New Members TRADEBANK Tradebank is Canada’s oldest, largest and fastest growing barter exchange. We help over 3000 businesses across Canada, buy the things they need without having to use cash. Tradebank Brant is locally owned and operated by Stephen & Cori Porter. Feel free to contact us and learn how to THINK TRADE FIRST! THE RAW CARROT SOUP ENTERPRISE The Raw Carrot is a not-for-profit social enterprise that provides meaningful employment for people on social assistance in Paris, Ontario. We cook healthy, homemade preservative-free soups and breadsticks for catered lunches and for sale to individuals. Our homemade gourmet soup is enabling change in our community. We want to entice you with every yummy bite! 519-304-3314 | @tradebankbrant www.therawcarrot.com | www.facebook.com/therawcarrot 1 7.5x3 YAI 4colour Chamber#1 # 2/7/07 11:11 AM Page 1 CANADA’S LEADING PLAN in Group Benefits For Firms with We would really like to thank the community for their unwavering support. It has been incredibly touching to talk to everyone and get the blessings of an entire town. Also, the team at Stillwaters, who had 6 long weeks off of work but were there to help out to get the restaurant back up and running. After being off work for that long the staff of Stillwaters could have very easily jumped ship and went to work somewhere else. I’m proud to say that not one single employee left us and I cannot thank them enough for their loyalty. The most important thing to remember is at the end of the day it was just a flood and thankfully no one was hurt. Unfortunately, many homes and businesses go through things like this all the time. Those 18 missed calls that night could have been the police telling me a loved one was in trouble or sick. It’s just water. I hope to see everyone soon! Matt Cummings, Owner For details call Sue: [email protected] 519-756-4269 1-50 People ( Your Advantage Insurance Ph: 519.752.0911 [email protected] ) Paris Chamber News Member News 2015 Hampton Inn & Suites Brantford Honoured with Another Award Golf Tournament The Hampton Inn & Suites by Hilton Brantford has been honoured with Booking.com’s 2014 Award of Excellence. This award is in recognition of the Hampton’s dedication and care in meeting and exceeding guests’ expectations based on achievement of an overall guest review score of 8.6/10. “Being recognized for our commitment to our guests is wonderful and it means even more when it is based on our guests’ actual reviews. We are so proud of our staff for all of their hard work in welcoming our guests and ensuring a comfortable and enjoyable stay while they are visiting Brantford,” Kieran Wells, Sales & Marketing Manager. This is the Hampton’s fourth award received within the last year. The hotel also received the prestigious TripAdvisor Certificate of Excellence Award, earned a space on Expedia’s Insiders Select list and in the fall, the Housekeeping Manager, won Hilton Worldwide’s ‘Spirit of Hampton’ Award. Featuring 84 Guest Rooms including Kitchenette & Jacuzzi Suites Great Location for Weddings & Meetings! Plans are currently underway for the 2015 Paris Chamber Annual Golf Tournament. Watch for details as they become available on this exciting networking event. If you are interested in donating a golfer prize or helping out with the planning of the tournament, please let us know. As always, we appreciate the tremendous support we receive from the membership for this annual event. Free hot breakfast, Wi-Fi Modern Meeting & Banquet Space Indoor Heated Saltwater Pool & Whirlpool, Fitness Centre, 24/7 Business Centre Heritage Designation with Ruth Lefler and Mike O’Byrne 20 Fen Ridge, Brantford at Hwy 403 & Oak Park Rd Call 519-720-0084 www.brantfordhamptoninn.com Updating Electrical with Rob Groves Heritage Paint Colours with Michelle Mahoney MONTHLY MEETINGS PARIS AND DISTRICT CHAMBER OF COMMERCE NEXT MEETING – TUESDAY, APRIL 7, 2015 12:00 pm | Paris Library | Meeting Room The Paris Chamber of Commerce holds its monthly meetings on the first Tuesday of each month at 12:00pm at the Paris Library – Meeting Room. All members are welcome to attend. As well as discussing regular Chamber business, there are occasionally guest speakers as well as networking opportunities for those who attend. A light lunch is always provided at a fee of $10.00 per person (you must order lunch in advance – no-shows will be invoiced). If you would like to attend one of our monthly meetings, please contact Sue Swinton at 226-208-1159 email [email protected] to RSVP. Historic Gardening; Lessons from Dundurn Castle with Victoria Bick Paris Chamber Community Involvement The Paris and District Chamber of Commerce is pleased to support the Spring Heritage Home Workshop as hosted by the Society for the Preservation of Architectural Heritage (SPPAH). Please see their poster in this newsletter for more information on this event. SATURDAY APRIL 18TH FIRST ANNUAL SPRING HERITAGE HOME WORKSHOP A priceless learning experience for heritage property owners. Register Now! Join us for an informative day at St. James Anglican Church, Paris, with the experts in all things ‘old home’. Registration forms available in Paris at County of Brant Office, Green Heron Books and the Paris Museum and Historical Society. Anatomy of a Wood Window with Ron Rose Lunch Included Pre-Registration Required $40 per person $45 after April 4th HOSTED BY SOCIETY FOR THE PRESERVATION OF PARIS ARCHITECTURAL HERITAGE For more information contact Janet Snaith at 519 442 2477 or [email protected]
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