CALABOGIE
& AREA BUSINESS ASSOCIATION INC. ACCOMPLISHMENTS, 2007-08
1.0 ASSOCIATION
STATUS
CABA, after growing leaps and bounds, is maintaining a membership of over 100 ending the year with 103 members.
General meetings were reduced to three this year plus the
annual meeting with a change to the by bylaws. Meetings were held
Topics covered at meetings included:
1) Panel conducted by Gary Reed of CABA business members
– Tim Elder (Calabogie Family Grocery), Chris Fleming (Calabogie Motor Sport Park) and Betty Oattes
(Murphy’s Landing Restaurant) along with
Bruce Parker, Chair of Township Economic Development Committee. Each panel
member answered questions from the chair and shared their experiences doing
business in the Township. Members asked questions from the floor. It was such
an informative and Stimulating discussion that the
meeting was not adjourned until
2) First Impressions Program - At a joint meeting, Bruce Parker provided the Township Economic Development Committee and CABA members with an audio/visual presentation of the Ministry’s program “First Impressions”, followed by a general Q & A session. Members should visit both the www.omafra.gov.on.ca website and click Community Exchange as well as www.reddi.gov.on.ca/firstimpressions.htm for a copy of the presentation.
3) Presentation of CABA Awards (See below)
4) Evaluation of Township Council (See below)
Minutes of the previous general meeting and the agenda for the next meeting were distributed by email or paper copy before each meeting.
Annual fees remained at $30.00 for the year beginning
The annual corporation report was submitted to the
2.0 FUND RAISING
CABA's t-shirt sale, on
$440.00. Of this money, $94.88
was donated to the Township’s Canada Day Fund. There is enough stock to sell
more buttons, caps and shirts at the
Over the period 2003 to 2008, a total of $19,298.48 was
raised through fund raising activities and direct donations to CABA for local
community improvements. In the fall of 2007 CABA built a gazebo for
CABA’s current strategy is to conduct only one annual
CABA fund raising activity in the community each year, on Canada Day, and to
focus on the successful obtainment of government grants to support community
and economic development.
In addition, CABA raised $503.00 at its November general
membership meeting through a live auction to raise funds for the banners for
the hydro poles. Businesses provided the items.
3.0 GRANTS
3.1 The 2,041 previously raised by CABA for trail
development was included in a successful township grant for work to be done in
summer 2008 to create two trails in the township through the Economic
Development Committee of the township.
3.2 The township's economic development committee
proposed a project to launch a special event to attract more visitors to the
area and stimulate the local economy. The event is called the Festival of the
Senses. The grant proposal for government funding was not successful; CABA is
planning a small version of the project for October, 2008.
4.0 ECONOMIC
DEVELOPMENT
4.1 Three CABA members served on
the Greater Madawaska
Township Economic Development Committee: Debora Giffin, Carolyn Jakes
and David Lester.
Carolyn resigned and Darrin Ullerick (Calabogie Peaks Resort) joined the committee.
Issues addressed included:
Completion of cell phone tower on
businesses and a map of the
township. The township web site "www.somuchmore.ca was
updated. The committee approved the use of the new township logo on CABA
sponsored banners on hydro poles in Calabogie which were installed in May 2008.
New fingerboard signs have been added to the bottom of
the Township Welcome (Loon) signs as well as the Events Board at Highways 508
and 511, showing
the tourism website address:
www.somuchmore.ca. Costs were paid from the Township’s Economic Development
Committee budget. Members are encouraged to visit the updated tourism website
www.somuchmore.ca.
CABA continues to liaise with the Economic Development
Committee, looking for partnering initiatives.
4.2 Communication continues with other community groups
to focus resources/effort to achieve common goals. For example, CABA updates
the township's "Welcome to Calabogie" events board for the promotion
of local events. CABA calls local organizations and posts events on the board
on Highway 508 at 511.
4.3 CABA member, Debora Giffin, continued to serve on the
and to select projects to
benefit both the rural and urban economic sectors of
Another project, Customer Service Training, was a success
and CABA members from approximately six businesses attended the course.
The Renfrew County Buy Local Program allowed CABA to increase
its focus on Trades and Services as well as increase communication amongst all
the
Chambers of Commerce including CABA.
4.4 CABA continues to be a member of the County's Ottawa
Valley Economic Development Committee allowing CABA and the Township’s Economic
Development
Committee to have up to date information on grants and
county projects and to network with government economic development officials
at the local, county
and provincial level. Carolyn Jakes is the CABA
representative.
4.5 Following a recommendation of the Ontario Chambers of
Commerce that special attention be paid by business organizations to their
local municipal
budgets, CABA member Brian Hunt (Jocko’s Beach Resort)
who is on the Township’s Finance Committee met with the executive and board
where it was decided to study the budget of the Township's Economic Development
Committee (EDC). A meeting with the chair of the EDC followed where the EDC
budget was reviewed and EDC activities were discussed.
5.0 GENERAL
PROJECTS AND ACTIVITIES
5.1 CABA purchased and installed twenty-three banners in May
2008, on hydro poles in the Calabogie area, depicting the township logo.
CABA will create a strategy to replace the banners when
these wear out.
5.2 CABA members Shelley Monaghan and Karen Warren wrote
"CABA Corner" articles for several editions of the Madawaska
Highlander newspaper which
were distributed to all
residences and businesses in the Greater Madawaska Township and the Burnstown
and Denbigh areas at no cost to CABA. New and existing businesses are highlighted
in support of the "Buy Local" initiative. (Distribution of the Highlander
is twenty-eight hundred copies.)
5.3 In June 2008, a four-page directory
insert was included in the Madawaska Highlander at a cost of $650 with
CABA businesses listed under
categories similar to the directory
available on the CABA web site.
Twelve hundred extra copies of the directory are available for distribution through businesses in
the township as of June, 2008.
5.4 The
The CABA web-site, www.calabogie.org, was updated by web
master David Lester and includes minutes of meetings, CABA's Strategic Plan,
the annual report
and a business directory. The
web master forwards enquires which tourists send to info@calabogie.org to the appropriate CABA
member for action.
David has developed a method whereby businesses have
access to a link into the “Google” network for posting specials and promos, by using the
monthly
“events” calendar link on our calabogie.org website. Passwords are provided to members to access, change, post and refresh their monthly in-house events.
All changes are tracked. CABA members contact David
Lester (info@calabogie.org) directly for detailed information. This calendar of
events can be accessed through the CABA and two township web sites as well.
Catherine Reynolds is coordinating the process for
providing “current” photos for the township's tourism website. Photos and
captions should be sent to
somuchmorepix@gmail.com to post your
tourism-related photos of business events on the township’s tourism web site www.somuchmore.ca.
with a link to your own web site.
5.5 Gary and Georgette Reed represented CABA at the
Remembrance Day ceremony in Calabogie and presented a wreath. CABA purchased a tree for the Calabogie
Seniors' Bogie Lights Christmas tree
display at Heritage Point. Carolyn Jakes and Catherine Reynolds carried
the CABA banner in the Calabogie and Area
Lion’s Club Santa Claus parade.
5.6 The 2007 CABA award winners were librarian Mary-Joan
Hale for Excellence in Community Service and Jim and Ruth Weatherall for
Excellence in Customer
Service and Calabogie Lodge for
Excellence in Ambiance ((commercial category) with Laura Bevington of Journey
of the Spirit for Excellence in Ambiance (home-based category).
5.7 CABA continued for a third year in the County's
Adopt-a-Road Program covering the stretch of 1.2 km of Highway 511 from Highway
508 to the bridge
in the
5.8 CABA again applied to Services Canada and received
funding for a summer student for 2007 (Calabogie resident, Leesa Fleury), who
worked five days a
week at the Calabogie
Information Centre at Heritage Point. The township summer student covered the
other two days a week. For the summer of 2008, Leesa has already been rehired.
5.9 The issue of team building continued to be addressed
resulting in a better and more effective distribution of activities to CABA
members,
thereby spreading committee
workload. This initiative will continue.
5.10 CABA has again requested from The Renfrew County
Health Unit, the results of the annual water tests at local public beaches for
2006 and 2007
which follows up on the testing
CABA had done previously.
5.11 Catherine Reynolds coordinated the second annual Scarecrow
Contest on the grounds of Murphy's Landing Restaurant and Pub. The event was
covered by the Renfrew Mercury.
5.12 CABA members have increased their participation in
township committees and attendance at township committee/council meetings to
contribute to the
community as a whole and to keep up to date with current issues.
In addition to CABA members noted previously in this
report, Ross Richards is the CABA representative on the Township's new Strategic
Plan Implementation Committee. Debora Giffin and Al Harris serve on the
township's Committee of Adjustments. Gary Reed serves on the Barnet Park
Committee. Gilles Aucoin serves on the Emergency Planning Committee and is
Captain of Communications and Suppression for the Fire Dept. Betty Oattes is
the CABA representative on the Township's new Noise Committee. Following a
motion passed in September, a letter was sent to GM Township Council showing
support for
In the Burnstown area, Heather Miller-Wolff is president
of the Burnstown Merchants' Association and Moira Hutchison is the chair of the
new McNabb-Braeside Business Association.
5.13 CABA members are actively encouraging township
council to work towards a more vibrant and vital business community which leads
to more services for
the residential community. CABA
members provided their feedback on GM Township issues at the May meeting which
the executive will share with council later in 2008 linking the feedback to the
GM Township's Strategic Plan.
6.0 Major Issues
for 2008-09
6.1 In the winter of 2006, the executive and board of
directors produced a two-year strategic plan for CABA. Section one of the
strategies applies to
CABA and the second section contains
strategies for partnering with the Township's Economic Development Committee. A
motion to extend this plan to 2010 was approved in May 2008.
During the 2008-09 fiscal year,
it is the responsibility of the Executive and the Board of Directors of CABA to
ensure that the actions identified in
CABA’s Strategic Plan are prioritized and implemented to
the extent possible while both fostering respect for the ecosystem’s integrity
and producing economic gains.