Exchoct07–pgs40-48 9/10/07 10:35 AM Page 40 · PDF fileBILL SMITH,...

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GALLERY ON THE GRAND is growing into its name. After six years in a location on King StreetNorth in Waterloo, Alison and David Burkett are building a new home for theirgallery on the Grand River. The new gallery is on a property with wide-angle views of a

scenic stretch of the Grand River and the local landmark, the arched Bridgeport bridge.Alison Burkett notes that “Gallery on the Grand is the first significant re-vitalization in

Bridgeport for a long time. The neigbourhood is ripe for creative new developments, espe-cially since the City of Kitchener has designated Lancaster Street for mixed uses. “

The Gallery on the Grand property is located on two acres in the heart of historic Bridge-port, situated beside Golf’s Steak House. Architect Rick Reichard from SRM Architects isdesigning a 4,500 square foot gallery.

Gallery on the Grand will re-locate to the Bridgeport location in January, 2008.Joining Gallery on the Grand at 580 Lancaster is Enermodal Engineering. Designs are

underway for a 15,000 square foot office building situated between the gallery and the GrandRiver. Enermodal is one of Canada’s premier designers of “green buildings,” and the newoffice is targeted to attain a prestigious LEED Platinum designation as one of Canada’s mostenvironmentally appropriate buildings.

President Stephen Carpenter believes that the new office is a “wonderful opportunity forus to really practice what we preach as a company and as a community member.”

Enermodal Engineering is a consulting firm committed to buildings and urban develop-ments that are energy and resource efficient and has a professional staff of 60 in Kitchener,Calgary, Denver and Phoenix. Local green projects include the Waterloo Green Home, Greenon the Grand office building, and the Waterloo Region Emergency Services Building.

LEGENDARY WATERLOO REGION JOURNALIST SandyBaird died Sept. 3 at the age of 82. Baird –whose given name was Keith AlexanderBaird – was publisher of the Record from1975 to 1990. After retiring from that post,he continued to write his popular weeklycolumn – until he abruptly quit, in a disputeover how it was being edited. He carriedhis complaint to the letters to the editorpage of the newspaper, famously explain-ing that “just about everyone but theweekend security man had been tinkering”with his copy.

Baird then began to write for the region-al publication, Today’s Seniors, nowknown as Forever Young. At that time theeditor and publisher of Today’s Seniors wasPaul Knowles, today editor of Exchange.Knowles remembers, “We were thrilled to

The Gallery on the Grand ground breaking ceremony, with Jane Mitchell, Regional Councillor, David Burkett, Alison Burkett, MayorCarl Zehr and Regional Chair Ken Seiling. Conceptual rendering (inset) of the new gallery building.

40 | w w w . e x c h a n g e m a g a z i n e . c o m

have someone with Sandy’s reputation andpopularity writing a regular column for us.The readers loved him! I handled the trickyissue of how to edit Sandy by almost nevertouching his copy.”

BILL SMITH, Managing Director of Knights-bridge Human Capital Solutions, isretiring in October after a long career withthe firm in Kitchener Waterloo and South-western Ontario. Catherine Copp hasbeen appointed as his successor to lead thegrowth of the company in the Southwest-ern Ontario market. To meet increasedclient needs Knightsbridge has appointedTrish McKegg-Vandermey as a SeniorConsultant in the Organization Solutionspractice. Trish facilitates strategic initia-tives, builds effective teams, coaches lead-ership for best performance and buildsleadership capability.

Knightsbridge is Canada’s fastest grow-ing Human Capital Solutions organizationcreating innovative solutions to complexhuman capital challenges. They haverecently partnered with the Canadian Busi-ness Hall of fame to build leadership capa-bilities and engage the next generation ofleaders in Canadian Business.

Catherine has extensive expertise withKnightsbridge working with both privateand public companies at all points of theemployment cycle. “Knightsbridge bringsnew insights and perspective to the land-scape of talent decisions – finding the bestpeople, keeping them engaged and effec-tive, and at times helping them to leavewith dignity and respect. Our clients tell usthese are critical issues in a region experi-encing tremendous growth and change,”she says.

DALSA CORPORATION has received approval fromthe Toronto Stock Exchange to acquirefor cancellation, by way of normal courseissuer bid up to 951,334 Common Shares ofthe Company, which, as of August 20, 2007,represent approximately 5% of the issuedand outstanding shares. The Bid will com-mence on August 23, 2007 and expire onAugust 22, 2008.

THE ANNUAL BUSINESS AS ACALLING conventionof MennoniteEconomic Devel-opment Associ-ates is set forNov.1-4, 2007.MEDA is calling

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c o n v e n t i o nattendees totrust in a worldof uncertaintyand to act onthat trust byinvesting in thepoor around theworld. The dele-gates are comingto hear a slate ofhigh-profile plenary speakers, including:

Eric Pillmore, hired by Tyco to restoreintegrity and values to the company afterone of the largest corporate fraud scandalsin the history of American commerce;

Rotman School of Management DeanRoger Martin, who will address the essen-tial role of trust in building an organization’ssense of community;

Graham Snyder, father of NHL playerDan Snyder, who has found grace throughforgiveness in the face of the heartbreakingloss of his son in a car crash;

Debbie Sauder David, a member of thethird generation of leadership of the SauderFurniture legacy, speaking on PreservingValues and Trust through the Generations.

JOHN KEATING has resumed his duties of CEO ofCOM DEV International Ltd. Keatingcompleted hisperiod of recu-peration from amedical proce-dure thatrequired a tem-porary leavebeginning inMarch, 2007.

“On behalf ofthe Board, it is

my pleasure to welcome John back and tothank Mike Pley for taking on extra dutiesin recent months,” said Keith Ainsworth,Chairman of the Board of Directors. “Welook forward to continuing to capitalize onthe considerable opportunities available inour industry."

A BLIND TASTE TEST at the 1st Annual CanadianInternational Beer Championships hasvoted three Wellington Brewery productsworthy of medals in two separate categories.

Wellington Brewery’s flagship brand Coun-ty Ale received a Gold medal in the EnglishBrown Ale, Porter & Stout category, a Silvermedal for Arkell Best Bitter and a bronzefor Guelph’sfavorite SpecialPale Ale (S.P.A.)in the Bitter &English Pale Alecategory.

The competi-tion had over 30brands includ-ing numerousentries from thelarge manufac-turers and imports.

“We are thrilled to consistently add moreawards to our trophy case,” says WellingtonPresident Mike Stirrup. “It is a tribute to allour employees who work so hard behind thescenes to produce fresh high quality products,and deliver unmatched customer service.”

Located in Guelph,Wellington Brewery isCanada’s oldest independently ownedmicro-brewery.

DAVID CORKS has been named DowntownEconomic Development Manager in

Guelph. Corks comes to Guelph with over 25years of experience in planning and eco-nomic development at the municipal level inOntario with his most recent municipal posi-tion as Manager of Downtown and MarketResearch for Kitchener. His last four yearshve been as the President of DowntownDynamics Incorporated.

LIVEHIVE SYSTEMS, a company that is taking apioneering role in interactive TV, has signedan agreement with Turner Sports for 17televised races of the NASCAR racing sea-son. Live Race Trivia presented by Shell,powered by LiveHive’s NanoGaming prod-uct, launched on NASCAR.COM forNASCAR NEXTEL Cup Series races withthe Allstate 400 at the Brickyard at Indi-anapolis Motor Speedway on Sunday,July 29, 2007.

“NASCAR is one of the top-rated tele-vised sports in the US, with an estimated 75million fans,” said Dave Bullock, Presidentand Co-Founder of LiveHive Systems. “Sign-ing with Turner Sports will bring NanoGam-ing to millions of people and show themjust how exciting sports can be with inter-active technology.”

SMALL BUSINESS WEEK, a nationwide event organ-ized by Business Development Bank ofCanada, will be held from October 14 to 20,2007. Small Business Week pays tribute tothe important contribution small businessesmake to the Canadian economy.

FAFTER 15 YEARS OF SERVICE in their original Prestonlocation, Total World Travel has moved tothe historic “Cottage on King” at 465 KingStreet East, to offer customers a one-of-a-

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kind travel planning experience. The Cot-tage on King, a Heritage landmark, original-ly built for the notary public of Cambridge in1861, is a perfect fit for the staff of TotalWorld Travel and Cruises, says KimMcDonnell, owner.

KITCHENER AND WATERLOO and the Region ofWaterloo have embarked on a new jointinitiative, an online auction site to disposeof surplus goods. “Now, everyone can haveaccess to government surplus goods bypublic online auction,” says the City ofKitchener’s Purchasing Supervisor, LaurieStecho. “We’ve seen the success enjoyedby other municipalities, including Cam-bridge and Milton, and we’ve decided that itwill work for us as well.” Items advertisedon the site will run from the commonplace– used office furniture and equipment – tothe exciting and unusual, like paddle boatsand canoes. The website is www.kitchen-er.ca/auction.

WILFRID LAURIER UNIVERSITY’S Community Safe-ty & Security department is the owner ofa new 2007 Toyota Highlander Hybrid,thanks to a donation from Toyota MotorManufacturing Canada in Cambridge.“TMMC is proud to be able to support Wil-frid Laurier University and its community,”said TMMC president Ray Tanguay.

GUELPH HYDRO ELECTRIC SYSTEMS INC. and HorizonUtilities Corporation, two electricity dis-tribution companies, have signed a Memo-randum of Understanding to develop abusiness case for a strategic partnership.The business case will establish the termsand conditions that could result in a formal

strategic partnership agreement betweenthe two companies. The proposed agree-ment will then undergo an evaluation andapproval process by the respective share-holders and Municipal Councils.If agreement is reached by all parties, a

single Electricity Distribution Company willbe formed to provide service to approxi-mately 280,000 business and residentialcustomers in Hamilton, Guelph and St.Catharines. “Consumers are well aware thatthey will be impacted by any future energydecisions that are made regarding electrici-ty in Ontario,” said Paul Truex, Chair ofGuelph Hydro Electric Systems Inc. “Webelieve this kind of partnership is the bestway to reduce these impacts for our cus-tomers and shareholder. We need to con-tinue to add value to our communities bycreating a stronger, better resourced utilitythat provides leadership in energy conser-vation.”

ARISE TECHNOLOGIES CORPORATION has started con-struction of its photovoltaic cell manufac-turing plant in Bischofswerda, Germany.The company expects to have the buildingweather tight before the end of this yearand to be producing PV cells early in the2nd quarter of2008. The com-pany has a tar-get of eightlines at the site,with a total pro-duction capaci-ty of 360MWper year by theend of 2012.Ian MacLel-lan, Presidentand CEO stated, “We are very pleased with

our progress and the fact we are still on ouroriginal schedule defined at the beginningof this project in December 2006. WithARISE Germany fully funded, all the keypartners selected and construction started,we are confident that we will continue tomeet our project schedule in Germany.”

OPEN TEXT CORPORATION, a provider of EnterpriseContent Management (ECM) software, hasannounced unaudited financial results forits fourth quarter and fiscal year ended June30, 2007. Total revenue for the fourth quar-ter was $175.2 million, compared to $105.2million for the same period in the prior fis-cal year.License rev-enue in thefourth quarterwas $59.2 mil-lion, comparedto $32.0 mil-lion in thefourth quarterof the prior fis-cal year.License rev-enues grew38% from $43.0million in the previous quarter ended March31, 2007.Total revenue for fiscal year 2007 was

$595.7 million, compared to $409.6 millionfor the previous fiscal year. License revenuefor fiscal year 2007 was $182.5 million,compared to $122.5 million in the previousfiscal year. “I am very pleased with our per-formance in the quarter and for the full fis-cal year. The integration of Hummingbirdhas gone well and investments in our part-ner strategy are paying off,” said JohnShackleton, President and CEO.

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GTEC 2007, a leadingconference for tech-nology decisionmakers in federal,provincial, munici-pal, and regionalgovernments, hasannounced that TomJenkins, ExecutiveChairman & ChiefStrategy Officer of

Open Text Corporation, has been con-firmed as a keynote speaker for the 2007conference. Jenkins’ keynote address isscheduled for Tuesday, October 16. GTECwill be held October 15-17 in Ottawa.

AIDERSS’S innovative RSS filtering solution ispublicly available for the first time. A releasefrom the Waterloo firm says, “Already wellreceived in beta testing, AideRSS feed man-agement tools fill a dire need to help man-age the overwhelming numbers of posts andnews stories generated every day on theinternet. Today, people spend significantamounts of time in their feed readers suchas Google Reader and Bloglines trying to siftthrough the stories to find the good stuff andread what really matters. AideRSS addresses

this by filtering incoming feeds based onsocial engagement metrics such as com-ments, bookmarks, trackbacks, and more.Like a newspaper editor, who picks relevantstories off the newswire services, AideRSSanalyzes all of the posts in an RSS stream,assigns a PostRank score, and delivers onlythe most relevant stories into your inboxbased on the chosen filtering level.”“Our goal is to make RSS manageable

and relevant for every reader,” states IlyaGrigorik, AideRSS co-founder and ChiefArchitect.“With the number of blogs growing by

millions each month and an ever increasingnumber of posts each day we figure AideR-SS can save hours of reading each month,”says Kevin Thomason, co-founder andChief Marketer at AideRSS.There is no cost for the AideRSS service

and a free version will always be available.Founded by three partners in January, 2007,AideRSS is based in Waterloo.

SYMBILITY SOLUTIONS INC. of Waterloo and Montre-al, a wholly owned subsidiary of Automat-ed Benefits Corp., has announced a newmilestone in the adoption of its mobileclaims processing solution, as it exceeded

7,000 registered users.“It took us four years to get to 3,500

users, and we have now doubled that num-ber to 7,000 registered users in less then 11months,” notes James Swayze, CEO, Auto-mated Benefits Corp. “We are extremelyexcited about our future growth curve, aswe have some significant pilots within ourpipeline, that ensure we continue to growwell beyond our current install base.”The user base is comprised of now more

than 700 independent companies acrossCanada and the US, including insurers,restoration contractors and independentadjusting firms across North America.

WESTJET introduced its new electronic board-ing pass check-in service to the Region ofWaterloo International Airport August24. WestJet is the first airline in North Ameri-ca to use this innovative paperless format tocheck in and board guests.“We are excitedthat WestJet is making electronic boardingpass technology available to guests travel-ling through the Region of Waterloo Interna-tional Airport,” said Jeff Schelling, Manag-er of Airport Development for the Region ofWaterloo International Airport. “Being locat-ed in the heart of Canada’s Technology Tri-

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angle, I am confident that BlackBerrycheck-in will be a popular addition.”

During the WestJet web check-inprocess, guests will now be presentedboarding pass options. They can chooseto print their boarding pass immediatelyor at the airport, or select the electronicboarding pass option and have an e-mailsent to their mobile device. They will thenshow the boarding pass displayed on theirmobile device to proceed through securityand board their flight.

LINDA FEGAN is leaving her post as marketingand communications director for Cana-da’s Technology Triangle to becomecorporate communications and marketingdirector for the City of Cambridge.Fegan, with CTT since 2002, begins hernew position Oct. 29.

ARISE TECHNOLOGIES CORPORATION has hiredRichard Lu as Vice President, BusinessDevelopment effective September 1, 2007.Richard will be responsible for Asian busi-ness development as well as PV Systemssales in the Greater Toronto Area (GTA).Lu was previously Chief Conservation

Officer and Vice President of TorontoHydro Corporation. He holds an MBAfrom the University of Toronto, and aDoctorate of Medicine, Tongji Universityin China.

NEWTIRE INDUSTRIES, a newly established tirerecycling operation, has opened its firstplant in Kitchener. The firm is expected tocreate about 15-20 jobs at the 27,000 sqfoot facility. Kitchener Mayor Carl Zehrsaid, “This new firm is a great fit for theGrand River West Business Park. It willoperate along side the light industrial andengineering firms already located there.”Zehr adds that there are about 60 addi-tional acres available in the park fordevelopment.

Company CEO Viktor Besenscheksays that Kitchener was the naturalchoice for the innovative recycling opera-tion. “The area is central to large businesscentres and has the talented labour forceto support the automated processes I willbe utilizing at the new plant..”

Besenschek is no stranger to entrepre-neurship as he has been a principal in anumber of start-ups over the years. He sawan opportunity to offer a quality supply of

steel-free crumb, a bi-product that can beused in making other rubber based prod-ucts. “Industry sources estimate that thereare some 10 million excess tires generatedper year in Ontario alone, and over 8 mil-lion stockpiled in landfill sites and otherstorage facilities. This will supply plenty oftires to recycle for various industrial andautomotive parts production,” he added.

HOMEWOOD SUITES BY HILTON, the internationalbrand of upscale, all-suite, residential-style hotels, has opened the 108-suiteHomewood Suites by Hilton hotel Cam-bridge-Waterloo, at 800 Jamieson Park-way, Cambridge. The hotel is owned byGolden Triangle Partnership HoldingsLimited and managed by AlnoorGulamani.

RDM CORPORATION has appointed Michael J.Murphy Vice President, Marketing. Mur-phy replaces outgoing VP of MarketingTom Kettell.

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changes over the years. According toWebb, “Wyndham House has decided tofocus its fundraising efforts in differentareas this year. Luckily one of our com-munity partners, Lakeside Church, hasexpressed a desire to take over organizingthe event, which means that people inGuelph will still be able to enjoy thistremendous experience.”

It also means Wyndham House willcontinue to receive the roughly $4,500raised each year. Webb notes that allproceeds go “directly to supporting ourprograms.” And she adds, “Because of thewonderful support we receive from oursponsors, and great volunteers, we havealmost no overhead costs.”

Webb mentions a number of local busi-nesses that assist the program, and Wyn-dham House; she mentions MailboxesEtc, Macmillan Marketing, InvestorsGroup, and Ignatius Farms.

Waterloo’s “Christmas Carol” is pro-duced by the Waterloo EntertainmentCentre, with all proceeds going to theFood Bank of Waterloo Region. Marketingmanager Genny Demerchant says thisyear’s production will take place o theWaterloo stage on Nov. 30; admission is$15.

This year will see the fourth annualDickens’ Christmas Carol in New Ham-burg, Dec. 9. The event is co-sponsoredby two local churches – Zion United, andSt. George’s Anglican – but all proceedsgo to local charities; in recent years, tothe Wilmot Family Resource Centre andFood Bank. Approximately $3,000 israised each year, and all costs are coveredby a donation from a local business, Han-son Chevrolet-Pontiac-Buick-GMC.

Nancy Ripley, who is associate pastorat Zion, is co-chair of the New Hamburgevent. She says that the Christmas Carolreading accomplishes “two wonderfulobjectives at once – we raise money forimportant community causes, and wepresent excellent, literate entertainmentto the people of our community.”

Ripley notes that New Hamburg hasbenefited from its proximity to Stratford –each year, stars from the Stratford Festi-val volunteer as readers. These haveincluded Lucy Peacock, Peter Donaldson,Keith Dinicol, Thom Marriott, Barry Mac-Gregor and Diane D’Aquila. “And, ofcourse,” she added, “the great Brian Tree,who has volunteered to read every yearsince we began the program.”

In Kitchener, the Kitchener PublicLibrary Foundation has been the organiz-er of the Christmas Carol reading for fouryears, with proceeds going to that cause.

This year, there are changes, as a Kitch-ener Anglican church, St. George’s ForestHill, has stepped in to partner with KPL,according to Leslie Zawadzki, of Kitchen-er Public Library. Proceeds will be dividedbetween the church and the Foundation.

The Kitchener event will feature read-

ers including local radio newsman GlennPelletier, Canadian Opera Company bari-tone Thomas Gertz, and Maddren.

Maddren – a well-known CBC Radiojournalist – developed the idea for thecommunity readings in 1989, when shesimply read Dickens’ tale of Scrooge, theGhosts of Christmas, and Tiny Tim’s fami-

ly, to her children. From that experience,an idea was born that has raised hun-dreds of thousands of dollars for localcharities. In 1990, she and some CBC col-leagues staged the first public reading of“A Christmas Carol” to a Toronto audi-ence, with all proceeds going to a localcharity. Within six years, the idea spreadacross the country, and today, there aremore than than 100 readings that are partof the CBC Radio series.

Reflecting on what her inspiration hadbrought to pass, Maddren recently wrote,“Hearing Charles Dickens’ wonderfulstory, letting our minds create the picturesas Ebenezer Scrooge undergoes his trans-formation, and then feeling hope for him,for ourselves, and the world. Music to cel-ebrate the season. Family and friends. It isall wrapped up in this magical entertain-ment.” She added that every ticket pur-chased helps “to make your community abetter place to live.”

For more information on all 2007 Dickens’“A Christmas Carol” performances, includ-ing those in this area, visitwww.cbc.ca/christmascarol/locations.

X

O C T O B E R 2 0 0 7 | 45

MAKING A DIFFERENCEcontinued from page 46

“We have 14 beds forat risk youth between the

ages of 16 and 21 who areeither homeless or at risk of

becoming homeless.”

Exchoct07–pgs40-48 9/12/07 2:39 PM Page 45

MAKING A DIFFERENCE

One suspects Charles Dickens would be proud. Afterall, the prolific Victorian era novelist wrote “A

Christmas Carol” in response to the notorious povertyof England’s industrial cities. This most famous of mod-ern Christmas stories was written in 1843; ten yearslater, Dickens had edited it for public readings, and wasusing his own performances to raise money for chari-ties such as education or hospitals.So surely Dickens would be pleased that the same

thing happens each year, right across Canada, for thesame kinds of causes.The modern, Canadian Christmas Carol fundraiser

was the brainchild of CBC Radio Journalist Judy Mad-dren. Since the first public reading, in 1990, thefundraiser has spread across the country – including thecommunities served by Exchange Magazine.This November and December, Charles Dickens’ “A

Christmas Carol” will be presented in several areacommunities, including Guelph, Kitchener, Waterlooand New Hamburg. All of these presentations areunder the banner of the CBC Radio promotion, and allraise funds for local charitable causes. Most of thereadings are sponsored by or assisted by donationsfrom local businesses – a touch that might have been apleasant surprise to Dickens, who lived in and protest-ed against the heartless era of the industrial revolution.The concept is simple – since Dickens wrote the

story in five “staves” for readings, organizers generallyinvite five guest readers to read a stage each. Often,one of those readers is a CBC Radio representative. In2006, New Hamburg welcomed Barbara Smith; thisyear, Kitchener will feature the founder of the feast,

Judy Maddren. Special, seasonal music is often part ofthe program. Admission is usually in the $10 to $15range.The events can draw a crowd – New Hamburg annu-

ally sells out a 250-seat venue; Kitchener has normallydrawn about 100, but a change in organization couldmultiply that this year; Guelph hosts about 375, Water-loo, about 200.Vivian Webb is Senior Communications Advisor with

the Ontario Ministry of Agriculture, Food and RuralAffairs, based in Guelph. Webb is also the volunteerwho first brought the Dickens event to Guelph. She toldExchange, “I am a devoted CBC listener and sevenyears ago I was listening to the promotions about thereadings and decided that Guelph should have one.Wyndham House was one of the first organizations Icontacted about helping me put this event on inGuelph and they were gratifyingly enthusiastic. Sincethen I have become more involved with WyndhamHouse and am now on the Board of Directors. It hasbeen a wonderful experience for me in many ways.”Debbie Bentley-Lauson is Executive Director of

Wyndham House. She describes the work of WyndhamHouse – which actually operates one residence foryoung men and one for young women. “We have 14beds for at risk youth between the ages of 16 and 21who are either homeless or at risk of becoming home-less.” The young people live at the facility while theyfinish high school.The overall operating budget for Wyndham House,

she says, is about $450,000, of which “we raise of 23%”thought fundraising, including the Christmas Carolpresentation.Wyndham House has been in operation since 1974.The Dickens’ Christmas Carol programs are always a

volunteer-run operation, and as such, are subject to

Most of the readings are assistedby donations from local businesses– a touch that might have been apleasant surprise to Dickens.

by PAUL KNOWLES

Wyndham House Executive Director Debbie Bentley-Lauson, left, and BoardMember Vivian Webb.

continued on page 4546 | w w w . e x c h a n g e m a g a z i n e . c o m

DICKENS WOULD BE PROUDLocal volunteers and supportive businesses presenta Christmas classic to raise charitable cash

PHOTO:

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Exchoct07–pgs40-48 9/12/07 2:36 PM Page 46

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