In this month's issue
- Mark Hanley, Regional Enterprise Facilitation Project Manager
- Hundreds of Eastern Ontario leaders to congregate for municipal conference
- Cornwall truck centre expands network to Greater Toronto Area
- Millier Dickinson Blais helps secure $10 million for Eastern Ontario steel plant
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Local soccer star Christina Julien is Cornwall Living magazine's cover girl
Mark Hanley, Regional Enterprise Facilitation Project Manager, Kingston Economic Development Corporation
Lessons learned from the Ontario East co-sponsored Creative Rural Economy: From Theory to Practice Conference
Communities and entrepreneurs in Ontario East can benefit from Asset Based Community Development
Mark Hanley is putting the theories he learned at the Creative Rural Economy conference into practice. The Regional Enterprise Facilitation Project Manager with the Kingston Economic Development Corporation took in Peter Kenyon’s presentation on the first day of the conference. Kenyon is Director of Bank of IDEAS (Initiatives for the Development of Enterprising Action and Strategies) in Perth, Australia. As noted on its web site, The Bank of I.D.E.A.S. is motivated by two passions:
- the development of healthy, inclusive, sustainable and enterprising communities and local economies; and
- the active participation and leadership by young men and women in the creation of such communities and economies.
After hearing Kenyon on the first day of the conference, Hanley signed up for his workshop on Asset Based Community Development (ABCD) the next day in Picton. The next step was meeting Kenyon during a vacation in Australia. What he learned there, he is putting into practice today.
The ABCD approach looks for connections and where collaboration in a community can start. Although every community has things that need to change, most of the negative things can be described in a very short period of time. It often takes longer to describe the positive aspects of a community, but these aspects should be identified because they are the starting points in building a healthy community.
Hanley says communities can be found in both rural and urban settings, and they are not restricted to geography. There are also communities of interest. The key, he says, is to concentrate on the positive.
A visit to an isolated town in Australia gave him inspiration. Wave Rock in Hyden is one of Australia's most famous landforms. It is a giant surf wave of multicoloured granite that looks like it is about crash onto the bush below. Hanley says local farmers decided to leverage this, and after a photograph appeared in National Geographic magazine, throngs of tourist inquires started to pour in. Now there is a resort complete with an artificial lake and cottages. “This town was developed from a field with a giant rock,” says Hanley. “Farmers even used a bulldozer to plow 100 kilometres of road through nowhere to try and connect to a town, until the government said ‘you can’t do that.’ “
Wave Rock is Hyden’s “vein of gold”. He thinks Ontario East can learn from this. “We should take a look and find out what assets there are in a community, be they human assets or physical assets and how to we leverage these and build an economy around them.” Co-operation among communities is important. They can use individual assets to help each other. Kingston and Prince Edward County is an example.
“What does Kingston have? It has the hotel rooms. What does Prince Edward County have? It has the vineyards and wineries? Maybe Kingston can use their vineyards and wineries and Sandbanks and attractions, but when they don’t have the capacity in hotel rooms, people can come to Kingston, stay the night and see what Kingston has to offer. The question is, how do we partner to use those different resources?”
Hanley says the ABCD method also applies to supporting entrepreneurs.
“When people come in with an idea but may be over their heads, we don’t say, ‘This isn’t going to work, we say what’s the value in it?’ ” In other words, what assets are the entrepreneurs bringing to the business? Then, using the ABCD strategy, along with methods developed by the Sirolli Institute, he looks for others who have their own assets to grow the idea.
Hanley says there are three main aspects of running a business; marketing, finance and operations. Traditionally, business management has taught that entrepreneurs must be able to do all three. However, the Sirolli method advocates getting others involved. Hanley agrees. “I meet those who are not great financial people, but they do something very well.“ Now when he meets people, he looks at what they do very well, and tries to find others who have the skills in other areas that the business requires.
He admits it is a bit of a tough sell for a new entrepreneur who is trying to do everything on a shoestring budget. However, there are ways of bringing others in, such as equity in the businesses, bartering services, or a fee for service.
For those who have been in business for awhile, Hanley says it’s not as difficult to convince them of the benefits of the combined ABCD Sirolli method. “It’s a very easy sell. They say, ‘Why didn’t someone tell me about this when I started!’ “
Links
- Kingston Economic Development Corporation
- Creative Rural Economy Conference: From Theory to Practice
- Peter Kenyon’s ABCD presentation
- Bank of IDEAS
- Wave Rock
Hundreds of Eastern Ontario leaders to congregate for municipal conference
Hundreds of municipal politicians, planners, and economic developers will gather at Eastern Ontario’s largest annual regional conference in September to learn from one another and to work together to promote the region.
As many as 700 people could attend this year’s Ontario East Municipal Conference (OEMC), which takes place in Kingston on September 12, 13 and 14.
The conference, held since 1988, is a key event for the commission’s 200-plus member communities and represents their powerful cooperative spirit to work together to promote Eastern Ontario.
“We’re much better off to evolve and work together as a region and we have so much to learn from each other at this one opportunity,” said Craig Kelley, OEMC liaison for the Ontario East Economic Development Commission.
Co-hosted by the Commission and the Ontario Ministry of Municipal Affairs and Housing, the event is a tradeshow and conference that features 28 workshops on economic development and municipal governance and planning issues.
“We have tried to focus the program broadly enough so that there is something for everyone every day,” said Kelley.
Patti Mitchell, Co-chair for OEMC for the Eastern Municipal Services Office of the Ministry of Municipal Affairs and Housing, said ministry presenters will provide delegates with practical information on government policies and regulations that will interest staff and elected officials from communities of all sizes.
“Delegates will have an opportunity to attend sessions on provincial legislation that will impact municipalities,” said Mitchell. “They can also learn about best practices on many issues affecting the municipal sector, including developing local homelessness plans, human resources, and social media.”
The conference will kick off with a keynote talk by Diana Swain, Senior Investigative Correspondent for CBC News. Swain will provide a presentation called The Big Impact of Quiet Leadership: A Challenge to Lead in Ways you’ve Never Thought of.
If past OEMC events are any indication, this event should attract about 700 delegates, advertisers, sponsors, and exhibitors.
Held at Kingston’s Ambassador Hotel and Conference Centre, the conference has become so successful that a handful of would-be exhibitors are turned away each year due to lack of space.
To register online, visit http://register.oemc.ca/regform.php
Cornwall truck centre expands network to Greater Toronto Area
Cornwall’s Tallman Truck Centre has expanded west by acquiring a Greater Toronto Area International truck dealership that is one of the largest in Canada.
The purchase of Western Toronto International Trucks Inc., which employs 135 people, brings the number of Tallman full-service International truck dealerships in Ontario to nine.
“This acquisition will allow us to further execute our growth strategy of expanding our service network in Ontario,” said Kevin Tallman, president of Tallman Truck Centre Ltd.
Kirk Tallman, general manager of the Tallman operation in Cornwall, said Cornwall is growing rapidly as a supply chain hub for central and eastern Canada, so the acquisition positions the company well.
"This acquisition positions Tallman to provide quality sales, service and support for transportation companies across southern Ontario, from the GTA to Cornwall,” he said.
Family-owed Tallman Truck Centre, which has been selling and servicing the International line of trucks since 1973, employs more than 100 qualified, trained mechanics and a total of 250 staff.
For the past three years, Tallman has been recognized as one of Canada’s 50 Best Managed Companies and has also won Navistar’s Circle of Excellence Award for 18 consecutive years.
Millier Dickinson Blais helps secure $10 million for Eastern Ontario steel plant
An Eastern Ontario manufacturer will receive $10 million from the federal government thanks to some help from an economic development consultancy with roots in the region.
Millier Dickinson Blais reported in its latest e-newsletter that Ivaco Rolling Mills, based in L’Orignal—near Hawkesbury—will receive the $10 million through FedDev’s Ontario Prosperity Now Initiative.
At the request of the Prescott-Russell Community Development Corp., the consultancy completed an economic impact assessment of the plant’s operations and its proposed expansion to make the case for new investment.
“We needed to make a solid business case for this investment,” John Candie, Executive Director of the PRCDC, said in the Millier Dickinson Blais e-newsletter. “Millier Dickinson Blais worked closely with our team—and the management team at Ivaco—to provide accurate, timely and convincing input to help make this project a reality.”
The Ivaco Rolling Mills project will see a total community investment of more than $80 million, creating 200 short-term construction jobs, adding additional hours for more than 170 of the plant’s existing employees, and creating more than 50 new permanent jobs at the plant.
Local soccer star Christina Julien is Cornwall Living magazine's cover girl
Team Canada soccer star Christina Julien is the cover girl for this year’s Cornwall Living magazine.
The magazine chronicles how her passion for soccer and commitment to excellence has secured her spot on Canada’s Women’s National Team as it prepares for the 2012 Olympics in London.
Julien’s story is just one of several in this year’s magazine, which is published by the Seaway News.
“We had a lot of great stories to share, and some wonderful photographs, so we simply expanded the magazine,” said Rick Shaver, Publisher. “This year marks the fifth edition of Cornwall Living, and the 19th straight year that we have produced the premiere magazine showcasing life in Cornwall and the region.”
One of the feature stories in the magazine centres on Cornwall’s white-hot music scene. No less than 12 albums are due to be released by local artists this year. The story profiles several of the musicians that are leading the way and helping to showcase the area’s rich culture.
Other stories in the magazine are on St. Lawrence College, the Cornwall Community Hospital, NAV CENTRE, and the St. Lawrence River Institute of Environmental Sciences. Team Cornwall provides several pages of short business updates, and the benefits of living in Cornwall are featured in a story about Kelly Ruest, the Cornwall mom who won a Nissan in an innovation challenge and donated it to charity.
The magazine also features a number of stories on the townships around Cornwall and for the first time includes a profile of the city’s francophone roots.
“The Cornwall Living magazine offers an excellent glimpse into life in Cornwall and the success that local business people are having,” said Mayor Bob Kilger. “Rick Shaver and his team at Seaway News have done another great job at showcasing our community.”
In addition to being widely distributed in the Cornwall area, Cornwall Living magazine is also sent around the world. Each Canadian Consulate will receive a copy and with the Summer Olympics around the corner, more than a few copies are expected to make their way over to Europe.
“The magazine is one of our most requested items,” says Bob Peters, Senior Development Officer. “We mail it out to over 4,000 people, including anybody looking at information on moving to the city. It is very popular.”
Click on this link to watch a short video on the magazine.