Top Choice Magazine - Vol. 01 No. 01 - Spring 2011

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Photo: Sam Santos/JC PIMENTEL PHOTOGRAPHY

description

Top Choice Magazine - Vol. 01 No. 01 - Spring 2011

Transcript of Top Choice Magazine - Vol. 01 No. 01 - Spring 2011

Page 1: Top Choice Magazine - Vol. 01 No. 01 - Spring 2011

Photo: Sam Santos/JC PIMENTEL PHOTOGRAPHY

Page 2: Top Choice Magazine - Vol. 01 No. 01 - Spring 2011
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Featured

Table of ContentsOn the Cover

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Businesses & Professionals09 Big Al’s { Aquarium Services }

13 David Sklar { Bankruptcy Trustee }

17 401 Dixie Kia { Car Dealer - Kia }

23 Westowne Mazda { Car Dealer Mazda }

29 Action Chem Dry { Carpet and Rug Cleaning }

36 IBX Services { Cleaning Company }

39 Dance Studio One { Dance Studio }

45 Exposystems { Display Designer }

49 Michaelangelo’s { Fruits & Vegetables }

50 Pizza Pizza { Pizza Delivery }

53 Bochner { Laser Vision Correction }

57 Flare { Magazine }

61 Toronto Sun { Newspaper }

65 ABCO Business Interiors { Office Equipment }

67 Pride Week { Outdoor Event }

69 John Derringer { Radio Announcer }

73 Scott Fox & The z103.5 Morning Show { Radio Program }

77 Canadian Uniform { Uniform Supplier }

81 Academy of Learning { Vocational College }

89 Vitor Almeida { Community Activist }

“These shots will keep you in the fight!”

10 easy steps

Your new business plan

Top Choice Magazine :: Questions or concerns? Contact us! www.TopChoiceAwards.com • (416) 662-2123 • 75 Four Winds Dr, Ste 103 Toronto, On M3J 1K7

Page 7: Top Choice Magazine - Vol. 01 No. 01 - Spring 2011

IndiaACCOUNTANT

CERTIFIED ACCOUNTANTAUTO RENTAL BUSINESS

AUTOMOBILE DEALERSHIPBANQUET / CONVENTION CENTRE

DENTIST & ORTHODONTISTDOCTOR - FAMILY PHYSICIANDOCTOR - OPTHOMOLOGISTEYE WEAR / OPTICAL STORE

FASHION RETAILERS/BOUTIQUEFINANCIAL ADVISOR

FURNITURE MANUFACTURERS / RETAILERHOTELIER

IMMIGRATION CONSULTANTINTERIOR DÉCOR COMPANY (CARPETING, LIGHTS)

JEWELLERLAWYER - CORPORATE AND IMMIGRATION

LAWYER - REAL ESTATEMORTGAGE BROKER

PHOTOGRAPHER & VIDEOGRAPHERREALTOR - COMMERCIALREALTOR - RESIDENTIAL

RESTAURANTTRAVEL & TOUR AGENCY

EVENT MANAGER/ WEDDING PLANNER

For Further Information Contact Us:

[email protected]

Your Community,Your Choice!

Nominations Now OpenVisit www.TopChoiceAwards.comTo Nominate your “Top Choice” in the following categories:

Your Community,Your Choice!

Your Community,Your Choice!

Your Community,It is time to recognize Businesses and Professionls of the South Asian community

in the Greater Toronto Area

Featured

Table of Contents

Page 8: Top Choice Magazine - Vol. 01 No. 01 - Spring 2011
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Welcome to the first issue of Top Choice Magazine, a publication in which you will find ways of inspiring yourself, enriching your life and, most importantly, Top Busi-nesses and Professionals!!! The leaders within have strived enormously to domi-nate their field of work and now you can read the stories behind their true success.

Top Choice Magazine is the culmination our involvement with so many of the differ-ent cultures within the Metropolitan Area surrounding, “the meeting Place”, Toronto.From South to North, West to East, Toronto is the most multicultural city in the world and I am proud to see our society liv ing closely as one immense family.A l l o w u s t o i n t r o d u c e a n e x t e n s i o n o f t h i s f a m i l y, t h e To p C h o i c e f a m -i l y . T h i s i s t h e f a m i l y o f a w a r d - w i n n i n g b u s i n e s s e s a n d p r o f e s s i o n -a l s t h a t h a v e b e e n c h o s e n b y YO U a s y o u r “ To p C h o i c e” f o r e x c e l l e n c e .

Our organization realizes the necessity for consumers to have access to top prod-ucts and service and we work endlessly informing the public and encouraging them to make a “Top Choice” for all of their needs. As I like to say “keep it in the family!”

One proverb we have built our foundation upon is “the voice of the people is the voice of God”. So, if you see our logo on a business-front window or door, com-pany vehicle or adver tisement, you know you can trust the voice of the people.

Top Choice Awards conduct our surveys on community at a time, ensuring the most ac-curate results. Our call centre dedicates its energy on surveying business manag-er/owners, while our website collects results from all demographics. Finally, our staff takes the survey to the streets, surveying respondents at community events.

W h a t d o w e a l l d o w h e n w e n e e d a p r o d u c t o r s e r v i c e ?

There are many choices: call a friend, f lip through a business directory or go online and use your favourite search engine. The truth is, we all take a gamble on an unfamil-iar source – more often than one would like to admit - and in the end we have all felt the sting of poor quality, awful service and “rip off ” pricing. Well now all that has changed. Top Choice Awards has done all of the leg work for you. We have identified the top busi-nesses and professionals, put them together in one place for easy access and put this re-source in YOUR hands. All you have to do is use it. From now on, let your reference be the Top Choice Magazine, you will not be disappointed and you can always thank us later!

D o n’ t f o r g e t ! T h e r e a r e t h r e e t y p e s o f p e o p l e : t h o s e w h o m a k e t h i n g s h a p p e n , t h o s e w h o w a t c h t h i n g s h a p p e n a n d t h o s e w h o w o n d e r w h a t h a p p e n e d .

I p re fe r t o “m ak e t hi ng s h ap p e n” … w h at ab o ut y o u ?

Top Regards,

Monica CoutoMonica CoutoPresident

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I N T E R E ST I N G FAC T S A B OU T B IG A L’ S AQUA R I U M SU PE RC E N T R E

- Big Al’s sells approximately 15,000,000 fish per year and growing!- Big Al’s serves over 20,000 customers per week.- Big Al’s has more sharks on display than any other Aquarium Store, aside from Sea-Aquariums.- Presently Big Al’s has over 400,000 VIP Customers and growing.

Big Al’s Aquarium Serviceswww.BigAlsCanada.com(905) 851-1858

Top Aquarium Store Supplier

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Top Aquarium Store Supplier

Big Al’s is pleased to announce t h a t i t h a s r e c e i v e d t h e To p’ Choice Award by it’s customers.

Big Al’s has for over 31 years has brought to its patrons’ the largest se-lection of aquariums, aquarium furni-ture and aquarium supplies, as well as an extensive variety of marine fish, live corals, goldfish and tropical fish. Big Al’s superstores are designed to bring technical services, plus a vast variety

of equipment, to the first time hobbyist and ulti-

mate marine specialist. Big Al’s is continuously

growing with 21 loca-tions across North

America. Known as “ The Pond

and Aquarium Hobby Spe-

c i a l i s t s ”.

Big Al’s unique livestock showrooms (“ENTER THE DEEP”) offers, the largest selection of fish and aquat-ic plants (“25,000 to 50,000 gallons of water displays.”) in a retail ware-house store. Big Al’s Shark Tank and Shark Feeding Frenzy is one of the weekly highlights of the fish-rooms.

Big Al’s takes great pride in the train-ing of its technical service staff, so that they can offer helpful advise on the extensive variety of equipment, livestock, through its retail stores. Big Al’s buying power through the Direct Buy division headed by Tally Saul, “Big Al’s offers a best price guaran-tee, and there is no formula stronger, at present, in the aquatic industry.”

P l u s , w w w. B i g A l s O n l i n e . c o m which is the e-commerce website with over 11 million hits a month.

Who Let The Fish Out?

Page 12: Top Choice Magazine - Vol. 01 No. 01 - Spring 2011

Born in Petrópolis, Rio de Janeiro, Bra-zil, Cintia De Souza is proud to be a part of her culture, people and traditions.

In 1990, Sônia Quintela (mother and entrepreneur) unglued herself from Bra-zil to Canada for a life of better quality, to further provide better education for her children in this nurturing land.

In February of 1997, Cintia partici-pated in a school program called “Co-op Education, then deciding to partake in the real estate market. Later she was invited to take part in the board of secretaries in the same company.Seeing a promising future ahead of her, Cintia grew a deeper interest in the real estate market with a focus on the Brazilian community.

In 2005, she received her real estate license for buying and selling, putting her knowledge and abilities at work and through all the hard work not only did she conquer her original community

but also various other communities. Dedicated, determined and profes-sional, doing what she loves is an inner satisfaction to Cintia making it not only a job but also a hobby. However this young lady finds it very gratifying being able to make others dreams of owning their own house come true.

With fit characteristics for the real estate market, Cintia day after day concludes that her biggest satisfac-tion is the “satisfaction of her clients”. This way she distinguishes a tireless battle from the beginning to the end of her client’s real estate process.

Even though Cintia has a profession-ally compromised life she also makes her self available to her family in which

she is really thankful to, especially Rodrigo De Souza , her husband, Sô-nia Quintela, her mother, Gilmar and Sônia De Souza, in-laws. Cintia also greatly thanks God for all that He has helped her achieve. She would also like to thank all of the friends that have believed in her and motivated her throughout her career. She would also like to extend her gratitude to all of the Brazilian community for the trust and credibility they have demonstrated to her, in which she feels proud to be working along side throughout the up-coming years.

Cintia makes herself available to all those who are looking forward to continue realizing their dreams of o wning their o wn home, by en -closing them with “the golden key.”

“ N a d a é i m p o s s í v e l , b a s t a a c r e d i t a r ! ”

Nascida em Petrópolis, Rio de Janeiro, Brasil, Cíntia de Souza sente-se orgulho de sua cultura, povo e tradições. Em 1990, Sônia Q uintela, “mãe e empresária” d e s l o c o u - s e a o C a n a d á e m b u s ca s i m u l t â n e a de qualidade de vida, para além de proporcionar bons estudos aos filhos nesta terra acolhedora. Em fevereiro de 1997, Cíntia participou no “programa da escola nomeadamente Co-op Education, decidindo portanto, difundir o mercado imobiliário. Posterior-mente foi convidada a fazer parte do quadro de fun-cionários na função de secretariado na mesma empresa. Avistando um futuro promissor, Cíntia desper-tou interesse em aprofundar-se no mercado imo-b i l i á r i o co m o fo co n a co m u n i d a d e b ra s i l e i ra . Em 2005, adquiriu à licença de compra e venda, c o l o ca n d o s e u s c o n h e c i m e n to s e h a b i l i d a d e s em prática, entretanto desempenhando o mer -cado imobiliário e conquistando não so a comu-nidade de origem, mas varias outras comunidades. Dedicada, determinada e profissional, Cíntia procura ev-idenciar a muitos que ama o que faz, tornando-se satis-fação interior. Entretanto a jovem considera demasi-adamente gratificante poder ajudar o próximo na realização do sonho de adquirir uma casa própria. Com características próprias no ramo imobiliário, Cíntia dia após dia conclui que sua maior satisfa-ção é a “satisfação de seus clientes”, desta for-ma, destaca-se a luta incansável de acompanhar a transação imobiliária desde o princípio ao fim. Embora uma vida comprometida profission-

almente, Cíntia dispõe muito de si à sua família os quais ela muito agradece, especialmente Rodrigo de Souza, esposo, Sônia Quintela, mãe, Gilmar e Sônia de Souza, sogros. A jo-vem Cintia agradece imensamente a Deus por todos as suas conquistas, e também a todos os amigos que acreditaram e impul-sionaram sua carreira. Seus agradecimen-tos abrangem também a toda comunidade brasileira pela credibilidade e confiança, as quais a jovem sente-se total orgulho em poder está cooperando ao longo dos anos. Cíntia coloca-se a disposição de todos e espera para o ano de 2007 con-tinuar realizando sonhos de mui-tos com chave de ouro, como também fechar com a chave d e s u a p r ó p r i a c a s a .

416 629 3903www.CintiaDeSouza.com

Sincerely,Cintia De Souza

“...her biggest satisfaction is the satisfaction of her

clients”

Cintia De Souza is a Broker for Re/Max Central in Toronto. Each Realtor is independently owned and operated.

Page 13: Top Choice Magazine - Vol. 01 No. 01 - Spring 2011

Born in Petrópolis, Rio de Janeiro, Bra-zil, Cintia De Souza is proud to be a part of her culture, people and traditions.

In 1990, Sônia Quintela (mother and entrepreneur) unglued herself from Bra-zil to Canada for a life of better quality, to further provide better education for her children in this nurturing land.

In February of 1997, Cintia partici-pated in a school program called “Co-op Education, then deciding to partake in the real estate market. Later she was invited to take part in the board of secretaries in the same company.Seeing a promising future ahead of her, Cintia grew a deeper interest in the real estate market with a focus on the Brazilian community.

In 2005, she received her real estate license for buying and selling, putting her knowledge and abilities at work and through all the hard work not only did she conquer her original community

but also various other communities. Dedicated, determined and profes-sional, doing what she loves is an inner satisfaction to Cintia making it not only a job but also a hobby. However this young lady finds it very gratifying being able to make others dreams of owning their own house come true.

With fit characteristics for the real estate market, Cintia day after day concludes that her biggest satisfac-tion is the “satisfaction of her clients”. This way she distinguishes a tireless battle from the beginning to the end of her client’s real estate process.

Even though Cintia has a profession-ally compromised life she also makes her self available to her family in which

she is really thankful to, especially Rodrigo De Souza , her husband, Sô-nia Quintela, her mother, Gilmar and Sônia De Souza, in-laws. Cintia also greatly thanks God for all that He has helped her achieve. She would also like to thank all of the friends that have believed in her and motivated her throughout her career. She would also like to extend her gratitude to all of the Brazilian community for the trust and credibility they have demonstrated to her, in which she feels proud to be working along side throughout the up-coming years.

Cintia makes herself available to all those who are looking forward to continue realizing their dreams of o wning their o wn home, by en -closing them with “the golden key.”

“ N a d a é i m p o s s í v e l , b a s t a a c r e d i t a r ! ”

Nascida em Petrópolis, Rio de Janeiro, Brasil, Cíntia de Souza sente-se orgulho de sua cultura, povo e tradições. Em 1990, Sônia Quintela, “mãe e empresária” d e s l o c o u - s e a o C a n a d á e m b u s ca s i m u l t â n e a de qualidade de vida, para além de proporcionar bons estudos aos filhos nesta terra acolhedora. Em fevereiro de 1997, Cíntia participou no “programa da escola nomeadamente Co-op Education, decidindo portanto, difundir o mercado imobiliário. Posterior-mente foi convidada a fazer parte do quadro de fun-cionários na função de secretariado na mesma empresa. Avistando um futuro promissor, Cíntia desper-tou interesse em aprofundar-se no mercado imo-b i l i á r i o co m o fo co n a co m u n i d a d e b ra s i l e i ra . Em 2005, adquiriu à licença de compra e venda, co l o ca n d o s e u s co n h e c i m e n to s e h a b i l i d a d e s em prática, entretanto desempenhando o mer -cado imobiliário e conquistando não so a comu-nidade de origem, mas varias outras comunidades. Dedicada, determinada e profissional, Cíntia procura ev-idenciar a muitos que ama o que faz, tornando-se satis-fação interior. Entretanto a jovem considera demasi-adamente gratificante poder ajudar o próximo na realização do sonho de adquirir uma casa própria. Com características próprias no ramo imobiliário, Cíntia dia após dia conclui que sua maior satisfa-ção é a “satisfação de seus clientes”, desta for-ma, destaca-se a luta incansável de acompanhar a transação imobiliária desde o princípio ao fim. Embora uma vida comprometida profission-

almente, Cíntia dispõe muito de si à sua família os quais ela muito agradece, especialmente Rodrigo de Souza, esposo, Sônia Quintela, mãe, Gilmar e Sônia de Souza, sogros. A jo-vem Cintia agradece imensamente a Deus por todos as suas conquistas, e também a todos os amigos que acreditaram e impul-sionaram sua carreira. Seus agradecimen-tos abrangem também a toda comunidade brasileira pela credibilidade e confiança, as quais a jovem sente-se total orgulho em poder está cooperando ao longo dos anos. Cíntia coloca-se a disposição de todos e espera para o ano de 2007 con-tinuar realizando sonhos de mui-tos com chave de ouro, como também fechar com a chave d e s u a p r ó p r i a c a s a .

416 629 3903www.CintiaDeSouza.com

Sincerely,Cintia De Souza

“...her biggest satisfaction is the satisfaction of her

clients”

Cintia De Souza is a Broker for Re/Max Central in Toronto. Each Realtor is independently owned and operated.

Page 14: Top Choice Magazine - Vol. 01 No. 01 - Spring 2011

* HEAD OFFICE | NORTH YORK - SCARBOROUGH (Don Mills & Sheppard) Suite 720, 245 Fairview Mall Drive, North York (416) 498-9200

* ETOBICOKE - MISSISSAUGA (427 & Burnamthorpe) Suite 133, 21 Four Seasons Place, Etobicoke (416)621-7448

* NORTH YORK - WEST (Finch & Keele) Suite 406, 1280 Finch Avenue West, Downsview (416)667-1507

* TORONTO - MIDTOWN WEST (On St. Clair between Bathurst & Dufferin) Main Floor, 845 St. Clair Avenue West, Toronto (416)652-0800

David Sklar & Associates Inc.www.DavidSklar.com4 Locations To Serve You

Top Bankruptcy Trustee

Page 15: Top Choice Magazine - Vol. 01 No. 01 - Spring 2011

Top Bankruptcy Trustee

David Sklar & Associates Inc. ( DSAI ) has grown dra-matically and is considered one of the larger filers of

proposals and bankruptcy for con-sumers and small businesses in the GTA. The cornerstone of the business has been a commitment to Integrity, high morals and to finding creative solutions in dealing with financial problems. Success is evidence by the numerous client and professional re-ferrals coming back to the company. The personal satisfaction involved in financial restructuring led David into the world of Insolvency. The challeng-es of emigration and adaptation to his new home had also identified a need in the ethnic communities for both teachers and role models in insolven-cy and problematic financial matters.

The company has taken on a small family business flavor, not surpris-ing given David’s adherence to strong family values and beliefs. The first consultation is always at no charge

and people are left with a a much clearer picture as to what options or alternatives are available . The most common comments made are: “ I should have done this years ago “ , or “ I feel I can make a rational and practical decision, after acquiring the necessary information from DSAI “.

David immigrated to Canada from South Africa in 1979. He had received his Chartered Accountant designa-tion in South Africa and obtained his Canadian designation in 1981. He has been interviewed on the televi-sion program, “Report on Business”. He is a member of the Canadian In-stitute of Chartered Accountants, The Institute of of Chartered Accountants of Ontario and he he holds the desig-nation CIRP ((Chartered Insolvency and Restructuring Professional) and is a general member of of the On-tario Association of Insolvency and Restructuring professionals . He is also a licensed Credit Counsellor. ■

David’s philosophy is to add value to all those stakeholders in the Insolvency Profession. More specifically:• arm debtors and bankrupt’s with the necessary information and tools to avoid

a recurrence of financial problems and in it’s place, to teach the accumulation of wealth and financial independence.

• to creditors: the provision of accurate and timely information so as to maximize potential dividend returns

• to the Superintendent of Bankruptcy and the Bankruptcy Court: the timely and accurate administration of all estates in accordance with the applicable statutes.

Page 16: Top Choice Magazine - Vol. 01 No. 01 - Spring 2011

CUSTOMMADE

casas por encomenda

Construtor decasas novas.

Empreiteiro decarpintaria(framing)

Casas porencomenda

Carlos Botelhot: 905.792.3600f: 905.838.4205

14202 Hurontario StCaledon, ON L7C 2C1

Uma divisão deCaplelas Homes Ltd.

desde 1979Recipient of the Top Choice Award™ for Home Builder of the Year

Page 17: Top Choice Magazine - Vol. 01 No. 01 - Spring 2011

1452 Dundas St. W., Toronto416.537.0123

Recipient of the Top Choice Award™ for

Travel Agency of the Year

15

Page 18: Top Choice Magazine - Vol. 01 No. 01 - Spring 2011

The Dixie Auto Group is moving forward with innovation and re-markable people. That is our mission statement. It is a goal we

hold very near to our hearts, and we work on it everyday. With effort, patience and persistence, we get closer to this ideal with each passing year. The best thing about the car business, are the people. Our leader and mentor, Rick Paletta, is our best ex-ample. Most business courses will tell you that an organization is only as good as the people within, and that is something we learn about, over and over, from Mr. Pal-etta. His humble and generous nature has made it possible for us to gather some of the best talent in order to create this orga-nization. It is the spirit of our people that make us great, and drive us to be better.

The president of our Auto Group, and of 401 Dixie Kia, has been buying and selling cars, mostly pre-owned vehicles, for his entire ca-reer. Mr. Paletta started out in the East End of Hamilton, Ontario, buying and selling odds and ends from the newspaper. First it was snow tires, then it grew to lawn mow-ers, and eventually to cars. At the young age of 15 years old, he showed an entrepreneur-ial spirit. He was eager to hit the streets, at a younger age, with a paper route. When a greater challenge was needed, he moved to the classified section of the newspaper, on the advice of his uncle. It was then that he learned of the opportunities in supplying the local demand. And it was other local Hamiltonians that were his best suppliers. I think it was before he was licensed to drive that he took his first risk in the vehicle re-

TOP C

ar Dealership - K

ia

Winner Profiles Available Online

P e r f o r m a n c e + P a s s i o n + P e o p l e = K I A

Page 19: Top Choice Magazine - Vol. 01 No. 01 - Spring 2011

s a l e m a r -

k e t . B e i n g raised in a traditional,

and large, Italian household, tak-ing risks was a way to fit in, and get noticed. He definitely ac-complished that, and with style!

In the early years, Rick kept busy working for used car dealers in town, and went through the school of hard knocks. With the support of his mother and family, he was able to buy and sell the odd vehi-cle here and there. That gave him enough of a taste to know that one day, he would own his very own car lot. That dream presented itself at a very young age. Probably around the time he sold his first vehicle, which was purchased on borrowed money from his dear old mom. He was fortunate to work with some good people that taught him quite

a bit a b o u t

t h e c a r b u s i n e s s .

One man stands out, a person who be-

came a respected mentor to Rick for many years, Eric

Benson. Eric was a long time car dealer in the Hamilton area and took Rick under his wing. I know Rick has always appreciated the impact Eric had on his life.

As the years went by, Rick con-tinued to work hard and grow his car sales enterprise. Cars were, and remain, his passion.

We are the flagship location for Kia Canada. Our dealership at the 401 Dixie Auto Mall has been one of the only Kia corporately rec-ognized facilities for many years. Because we have a state of the art facility, with large Kia signage, and the property is large enough to hold several hundred cars, we are con-sidered to be the best representa-tive of Kia’s image. Kia is our most important partner in business, and we are very proud to sell their vehi-cles. Kia Canada has changed and evolved, as have their vehicles, over the past number of years. It has

been a won-derful experience

working with Kia Canada and we really enjoy their vehi-

cles. They have made many, many product improvements over the years. They continue to earn the respect of their dealers, and of our consumers. There is no question that they make a high quality ve-hicle and you cannot compete with the value. Their presence in our market has changed the car busi-ness in Canada. They have shown everyone that you don’t have to spend a fortune to get a great car. This has also opened the doors to make it possible for all peo-ple to drive new, or more reliable used cars, at much better prices.

Today, there are over 300 wonder-ful people on our team throughout all of our locations. It has been through the support in these com-munities that we have been lucky enough to get so many great people to come and work with us. It is re-ally because of the people in our dealerships that we have been able to grow. Most importantly, we must give thanks to our team at 401 Dixie Kia that do such a great job helping our clients so that we are able to gain this recognition with the Top Choice Awards. Thank you to our team, and to everyone that chose our dealership. We look forward to seeing you in our showroom soon!

P e r f o r m a n c e + P a s s i o n + P e o p l e = K I A

401 Dixie Kiawww.401dixieKIA.com

1-888-854-43405505 Ambler DrMississauga

Top Choice Magazine • Summer 2007

www.TopChoiceAwards.com17

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Sam Santos/JC

Pim

entel Photography

Top Portuguese Building Materials RetailerNew Canadians Lumber416 531 2401 • www.NewCanadiansLumber.com

New Canadians Lumber Home Building Centre has been serving the lumber and building material needs in the downtown Toronto area since 1974. It has always been fam-ily-owned and operated, by Jose Gabriel and Rogerio Henriques, currently em-ploying over 65 employees.

Sam Santos/JC

Pim

entel Photography

18

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880 Chapleau Dr, Pickering905 839 2209 • www.BrazilCanada.com

OBrazil-Canadá Guide é um destaque que faz parte in-teg ra l nas comunid ades brasileira e portuguêsa, ex-

pondo à vista uma “ferramenta” im-portante como complemento de apoio, em todos os aspectos na vida do imi-grante recém-chegado no Canadá.

Por todos esses anos temos apresen-tado um “produto” distinto de alta qualidade, cuja preocupação é ofer-ecer uma resposta eficiente ao con-sumidor com um diferencial no aten-dimento às necessidades do público.

O Guia, há 11 anos, tem procurado di-fundir os princípios básicos para uma comunidade em desenvolvimento, cujo objetivo é a integração em uma nova cultura e ambiente social, para uma conscientização das pessoas em mel-hor desfrutarem, de forma harmoniosa e responsável dos serviços oferecidos, permitindo assim, trabalharem e desen-volverem suas atividades profissionais em uma sociedade estruturada e sadia…

O valor imediato do Guia tem sido a maneira responsável dos objetivos apre-sentados perante nossos patrocinadores e usuários e, cada vez mais, aperfeiçoar, criar padrões e laços de fidelidade, ofer-ecendo algo mais que alcance resultados positivos e soluções inteligentes que aux-iliem no desenvolvimento dos negócios,

imprimindo mais eficácia e percepção num cenário totalmente competitivo e estranho ao recém-chegado.

Para o imigrante, o Guia é sinônimo de uma cartilha de satisfação que explica, ori-entando para os problemas inibidores e básicos do proces-so migratório. A sua difusão atravessa fronteiras com en-foque dirigidos às necssidades dos leitores, refletindo no com-portamento das pessoas e in-formando como se ajustar rapi-damente dia-a-dia na estrutura da vida canadense. Temos tido o cuidado de dosar o consumi-dor com um produto e serviço vitais para um melhor aproveita-mento dos recursos humanos disponíveis.

Trabalhamos de parceria, crescemos jun-tos, continuaremos neste caminho com-provando as tendências de melhorias no desempenho de cada ano e contabi-lizando os resultados positivos para o êxito dos anunciantes e consumidores.

Horácio SilvaDiretor

vitais para um melhor aproveita

imprimindo mais eficácia e percepção num cenário totalmente competitivo e estranho ao recém-chegado.

Para o imigrante, o Guia é sinônimo de uma cartilha de satisfação que explica, ori-entando para os problemas inibidores e básicos do processo migratório. A sua difusão atravessa fronteiras com enfoque dirigidos às necssidades dos leitores, refletindo no comportamento das pessoas e informando como se ajustar rapidamente dia-a-dia na estrutura da vida canadense. Temos tido o cuidado de dosar o consumidor com um produto e serviço

-entando para os problemas inibidores e básicos do proces-so migratório. A sua difusão atravessa fronteiras com en-foque dirigidos às necssidades dos leitores, refletindo no com-portamento das pessoas e in-formando como se ajustar rapi-damente dia-a-dia na estrutura da vida canadense. Temos tido o cuidado de dosar o consumi-dor com um produto e serviço

20

Top Business Directory

20

Brazil-Canada Guide

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EXPERIENCE EMOTION IN MOTION AT WESTOWNE MAZDASince 1983, Westowne Mazda has been proud to call itself your Mazda superstore. As one of Toronto’s largest Mazda dealerships, our family-owned business caters to families, businesses and professionals with different Mazda vehicles, including Maz-da 3, Mazda 6, Mazda 5, MX-5, CX-7, CX-9, RX-8, Tribute, B-Series trucks and MAZ-DASPEED performance products. Westowne Mazda has a 23,000 square foot basement full of new and used cars and trucks, allowing customers to shop in comfort all year around.

Dominic Fig l iano, owner of Westowne Mazda, str ives for the utmost in cus-tomer satisfaction on a daily basis. This is seen with the staff at Westowne Maz-da; each staff member goes out of their way to make your experience a great one.

Westowne Mazdawww.WestowneMazda.com5511 Dundas Street West, Toronto416-232-2011

Top Car Dealer - Mazda

Winner Profiles Available Online

Page 25: Top Choice Magazine - Vol. 01 No. 01 - Spring 2011

Top Car Dealer - Mazda

Sales Department | At Westowne Mazda, the showroom is our pride and joy. With over 4,000 square feet of floor space, all the latest Mazda cars and trucks are on dis-play. Our friendly, expert sales team will be happy to answer any questions you have.

Westowne Mazda’s 23,000 square foot basement full of new and used cars and trucks means that we will have almost any Mazda model you are interested in. This garage also protects our cars from the harsh To-ronto weather, which helps us to give you a car in top condition!

Our sales department services include:• Road tests • Vehicles in inventory • Personalized presentations

• Price quotes • Integrated accessories • Finance & Insurance department

Service Department | Westowne Mazda’s parts and service department is made-up of a trained staff of experts. Not only are they familiar with Mazda

cars, they also have extensive experience and training with all other brands. Thus Westowne Mazda’s service depart-

ment has the capability of servicing any car you have!

Our service department services include: • Factory trained and Ministry certified technicians

• CAA-recommended garage • Shuttle service

• Original parts / accessories • Early bird / late-comer vehicle and key deposit

• Rental vehicles available throughlocal rental agencies at discounted rates • 24-hour towing

If your vehicle needs extensive work, Westowne Mazda will be happy to drop you

off and pick you up from the nearest subway station. If you are planning a vacation, why not

have your car serviced while you are away? Not only will Westowne Mazda service your car, we

will store it in our underground garage until you return, and we will drop you off at the airport after

you bring the car in to us!

Parts Department | With our huge selection of parts, we can usually fill your order immediately. However, if we don’t have it in stock, we can usually still fill it quickly due to our state of the art Parts Locator and Delivery System. Plus, we can Ship Your Genuine Mazda Part Order to anywhere in Canada.

No matter what your needs are, we will have a Mazda model for you!

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Street, City, PostalTelephone • Web site1785 St. Clair Ave. W416) 656-1200 ext. 702 • www.WestYorkChev.com

Ma r c u s V i n i -c i u s , u m

vendedor que en-t r o u n o r a m o d e a u t o m ó v e i s d e s d e 1 9 9 4 e que de lá prá cá f o i c a m p e ã o d e v e n d a s d o a n o por quatro vezes.

E le tem a lém de m u i t o s c o n h e -c i m e n t o s , u m a grande ligação com a comunidade de língua portuguesa. Ele é real-m e n t e u m a p e s s o a m u i -t o p o p u l a r e c a r i s m át i c a .

Para Marcus Vinicius, o cliente tem que ser tratado com seriedade e respeito dentro de uma cer-t a f l e x i b i l i d a d e . E l e e s t á s e m p r e t e n t a n d o f a z e r o m e l h o r p e l o s s e u s c l i -e n t e s , o f e r e c e n d o q u a l i -dade e o mel hor pre ço do m e r c a d o c o m p e t i v i v o . E devido a toda essa sua dedi-cação e prof iss iona l ismo é que muitos de seus clientes, hoje em dia, se tornaram seus amigos.Marcus Vinic ius é um dos poucos vendedores de l ín-

gu a p or tugues a que tem a h a b i l i d a d e d e a p r o v a r o crédito de seus clientes, mes-m o q u e e l e s n ã o t e n h a m u m b o m c r é d i t o .Esse sucesso todo que Mar-c us Vin ic ius vem at ing in-d o é a p e n a s c o m o s e u h o r á r i o p a r t t i m e , i m a -gina se ele trabalhasse ful l t ime…os concorrentes que s e c u i d a s s e m !

A We s t Yo r k , e m p r e s a onde Marcus Vinic ius t ra-b a l h a é u m a e m p r e s a j á e s t r u t u r a d a h á b a s t a n -t e t e mp o a q u i e m To r o n -to. A l é m d e ofe re c e r u m a v a r i e d a d e e n o r m e d e a u -

tomóveis para os s eus c l i -e n t e s , e l e s t a m b é m d ã o prioridade aos clientes e um atendimento d i ferenc iado.Cada cl iente da West York é s e m p r e c o n s i d e r a d o o m a i s i m p o r t a n t e . A We s t Y o r kf ica lo ca l izada no número 1785 da St .Clair Ave.West .

O seu carro é como se fosse parte de sua família, por isso saiba onde comprá-lo e com quem comprá-lo.Marcus Vinicius é o homem i d e a l p a r a v e n d e r o a u -tomóvel que você quer com a p r e f e r ê n c i a q u e v o c ê e s -pera e por um preço justo.

Brazilian Canadian Guide

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Marcus Vinicius

Top Car Sales Representative

Page 27: Top Choice Magazine - Vol. 01 No. 01 - Spring 2011

Sam Santos/JC

Pim

entel Photography

Top Portuguese RestaurantBairrada Churrasqueira

4 Locations Across The GTA • 416 539 8239 • WWW.BAIRRADA.CA

Sam Santos/JC

Pim

entel Photography

Bairrada was founded in 1989 and offers a casual family ambiance, to savour authentic Portuguese

cuisine in a relaxed and comfortable environment.

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Your Products and Services

The Top Choice Awards Group connects all Top Choice Award™ Recipeints, allowing businesses and professionals to share information efficiently and effectively.

Information goes into the group and is immediately spread to all members. The foundation on which all information is shared is called the social graph and it is changing the way we share information.

The following graph demonstrates the power of the Social Graph. The Top Choice Awards Group is the centre of this network and gives each member access to all Top Choice Award™ Recipients and THEIR connections. These connections [friends, clients and business connections] provide access to their connections and this trend continues endlessly, creating the most powerful vehicle of communication ever.

Your profile is your identity, and allows you to make connections with real people whether they are current clients, future clients or business connections.

All members benefit from this new connection and their connections.

All members benefit from this new connection and their connections.

Facebook Yourself: The social network business plan

Friends and

Do you want to begin marketing your products and services on the fastest growing marketing platform? Here’s how:

Legend

Create A Profile Top Choice Awards

Identify Your Business Join our group

Share Information

!

Recipients join the group to share their products and services.

Consumers join the group to get the top products and services.

1) How many active users does Facebook have?a) 10 millionb) 24 millionc) 32 million

2) Over 50% of facebook users are:a) In Collegeb) In Highschoolc) Out of school

3) What % of Facebook users visit the site daily?a) 50%b) 65%c) 80%

What is the largest Network on Facebook?a) Toronto, On 600,000+ - 10% of the populationb) Los Angelas, CAc) New York, NY

How fast is Facebook Growing?a) 10,000 users per dayb) 65,000 users per dayc) 100,000 users per day

Considering the current growth rates, what will be the estimatedusers by the end of 2007?

50,000,000

Facebook Knowledge TestYou must be wondering “How can I make money by using Facebook?” Well, the truth is, whether you are new to Facebook or have been a member since the site launched in 2004, you will be surprised how Top Choice Awards is us-ing this site to make you money.

About Facebook

Facebook is a social utility that helps peo-ple understand the world around them. Thecompany develops technologies that facili-tate the spread of information through socialnetworks, allowing people to share informa-tion online the same way they do in the realworld. The site has more than 24 million active users in over 47,000 geographic, work related,col legiate, and high school networks.

The purpose of the site

On the surface, Facebook seems like any other social networking site, but once you scratch the surface you will soon realize how effectively the site accomplishes its goal to share information.

Facebook allows you to share information with your friends and receive information from your friends. The site accomplishes this through NEWS FEED. News Feed highlights what’s happening in your social circles on Facebook. It updates a personalized list of news stories throughout the day, so you’ll know when your connections create events or groups, make new friends or put items for sale in the marketplace; at the same time your friends will be aware of your actions, which are published in their news feed. On Facebook you can use real connections to route information and receive more value from your relationships.

Make money!

The social graph (fig.1) is changing the way the world works! It is making the cost of communication between people so low that information can be shared more quickly and efficiently than ever before.

We are at a time in history where more information is available and more people are connect-ed than any time in the past, the social graph is at the centre of this and Top Choice Awards is utiliz-ing it to connect all Top Choice Award™ Recipients. The goal is to make you money, by utiliz-ing the social network (fig. 1) to sell your products and services. The Top Choice Awards group will provide members access to sales, events, promotions and grand openings related to TCA recipients, which will be spread through the social graph and reach more potential buyers than you ever imagined.

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Your Products and Services

The Top Choice Awards Group connects all Top Choice Award™ Recipeints, allowing businesses and professionals to share information efficiently and effectively.

Information goes into the group and is immediately spread to all members. The foundation on which all information is shared is called the social graph and it is changing the way we share information.

The following graph demonstrates the power of the Social Graph. The Top Choice Awards Group is the centre of this network and gives each member access to all Top Choice Award™ Recipients and THEIR connections. These connections [friends, clients and business connections] provide access to their connections and this trend continues endlessly, creating the most powerful vehicle of communication ever.

Your profile is your identity, and allows you to make connections with real people whether they are current clients, future clients or business connections.

All members benefit from this new connection and their connections.

All members benefit from this new connection and their connections.

Facebook Yourself: The social network business plan

Friends and

Do you want to begin marketing your products and services on the fastest growing marketing platform? Here’s how:

Legend

Create A Profile Top Choice Awards

Identify Your Business Join our group

Share Information

!

Recipients join the group to share their products and services.

Consumers join the group to get the top products and services.

Page 30: Top Choice Magazine - Vol. 01 No. 01 - Spring 2011

Action ChemDry, the finest in carpet cleaning, established in 1995, with over a decade of satis-fied customers. We are an award-winning business in our field for 12 years, including the Con-sumers Choice Award 3 years in a row and the Entrepreneurial Spirit Award 2 years in a row. We are the proud recipient of the Top Choice Award™, “Mark of Excellence™” for 2007.

We thank our customers not only for their trust in us, but also for their loyalty and for informing us how we can help them in their needs. Each of our services uses the finest technological developments to deliver outstanding quality. Our friendly and professional staff are trained in each area, so that you not only know our company, but you feel comfortable with our team.

Action Chem Drywww.ActionChemDry.com

Toronto: 416.675.1153 Oakville & Mississauga: 905.469.1927Burlinton: 905.335.4394 Hamilton: 905.527.3975Toll Free: 1.888.399.9555

Top Carpet & Rug Cleaning Service

Winner Profiles Available Online

Page 31: Top Choice Magazine - Vol. 01 No. 01 - Spring 2011

Top Carpet & Rug Cleaning Service

Avoid using wet, soapy solu-tions to “clean” your carpets. Soaking wet carpets may look clean for a short while, but the residue soap scum dries to become a sticky mold and dirt attractor. This in turn may smell musty and cause allergic reactions. The pile will flatten, mat and soil much faster than before. We at Action Chem-Dry, welcome you to discover our totally safe, unique and environmentally friendly top quality process to clean carpets and upholstery fab-rics. This patented process is approved by the leading manufactures for most car-pet and fabrics including oriental rugs. We are part of a world-wide network. To-

gether we serve every style of home, including famous royal palaces. We use natu-ral, safe, low allergenic, non-polluting products. These unique qualities delivered by our team of friendly, po-lite professionals also have helped us to achieve a 99% customer satisfaction rating. We guarantee most carpets will dry in one hour, and most stubborn stains, pet stains and black edges will be removed. We are the first in Canada to achieve the in-ternational quality standard ISO 9000:2000. We are not cheap – good quality never is. Being cheap is easy: just cut out quality process steps and use cheap chemicals – but doing that only makes matters worse and the cus-tomer only pays more in the end. If you are interested in healthy long lasting re-sults, demand outstand-ing quality and the finest guaranteed and warranted services in carpet and up-holstery cleaning, please call us for further infor-mation. We are your safest choice and your best value.

“We are not cheap – good quality never is. Being cheap is easy: just cut out quality process steps and use cheap chemicals – but doing that only makes matters worse and the customer only pays more in the end.”

ACTION CHEM-DRY CARES FOR THE GTA’S CARPETS

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Sam Santos/JC

Pim

entel Photography

Top Alarm SystemsAim Security Alarm Systems416 255 8888 • WWW.AIMSECURITY.CA

Aim Security was estab-lished in 1993, servicing The Greater Toronto Area.

The Company quickly became known for their professional installation techniques, honesty, timely completions and devotion to the customer’s protection.

Sam Santos/JC

Pim

entel Photography

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(416)830-3265www.RioSambaDivas.com

Jana Mor-i c , B o r n in Rio de J a n e i r o ,

Brazi l , began d a n c i n g a t the young age

of three years old Jana started to learn the art of dancing Samba. The traditional dance of samba is picked up by many Brazilians but few have the talents to perform on a professional level. At the age of 21 Jana Moric Moved to Los Angeles, Cal-ifornia it is here that she started to use her danc-ing talents to being a professional career in dance. After 4 years of dancing in Los Angeles, Jana moved here career to Toronto, Canada. It was in 2002 that the Rio Samba Divas were created.

The Rio Samba Divas established In 2002, was originally a small dance troop of only 4 dancers. Jana Moric had the vision and the drive to bring the exciting Brazilian culture on the GTA. She saw the need for an authentic brazilian dance troop and with hard work and discipline the Rio Samba Divas were born.

Now in 2007 The Rio Samba Divas are the original and biggest brazilian style dance troop in Canada. With over 15 Dancers and a wide variety of dance styles the newly formed RSD Entertain-ment (formally the Rio Samba Divas), provides entertainment all across Canada in the most re-spected and professional means that have set a new standard for entertainment.

31

Top Dance Group

of three years old Jana started to learn the art of

31

Rio Samba Divas

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Sam Santos/JC

Pim

entel Photography

Top FloristPrecious Flowers N’ Things416 537 3444, TORONTO • 905 884 6333 :: RICHMOND HILL

Precious Flowers N’Things is built on a foundation of traditional family values, hard work and dedication. Wedding Specialist Grace Goncelves is passionate about her work, finding no greater reward than mak-ing each and every event memorable for her clients

Sam Santos/JC

Pim

entel Photography

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[email protected]

Top Female Music Artist

Cibelle Iglesias, mineira criada em Sao Paulo teve seu contato com a musica muito cedo em sua vida, pois seu pai tocava contrabaixo em uma banda em

Minas Gerais. Quando adolescente, fez aula de violao, flauta e bateria, mas o talento nato, era mesmo para cantar. A principio cantava por di-versao, so para amigos, mas o talento fez com que a brincadeira tomasse proporcoes maiores levando-a a profissionalizacao e a estar a frente da Banda Sambacana pelos ultimos tres anos. Cibelle tem o repertorio bastante variado que vai da MPB ao axe, com a mesma energia e performance marcante, cantando e encantando nao so os brasileiros, mas tambem o publico canadense. Ja se apresentou no Kingston Jazz Festival, Haborfront, Montreal, e var-ias outras cidades por este Canada afora. Tambem participou da gravacao do CD do cantor Marcelo Neves. Quem nunca viu uma performance de Ci-belle Iglesias, nao sabe o que esta perdendo.......

Cibelle Iglesias

Page 36: Top Choice Magazine - Vol. 01 No. 01 - Spring 2011

IBX Services are proud and honored to accept the Top Choice Award, Mark of Excellence in the GTA for 2007, as a result of their great customer service, many years

of experience and excellent work performance.

IBX Serviceswww.IBX.ca944 A St. Clair Ave W, Toronto416-252-5959 • 1-800-962-7814

Top Cleaning Company

Winner Profiles Available Online

Page 37: Top Choice Magazine - Vol. 01 No. 01 - Spring 2011

Top Cleaning Company

IBX Services was founded by the Xhelili family in 1980 in Tirana, the capital city of Albania. Their goal was to have a genuine fam-ily business which would pro-vide 100% satisfaction and reach as many customers, who desire great customer service, as pos-sible. The business gained a very good reputation as a carpet, up-holstery and air duct cleaning company all over the country.

The family relocated to To-ronto, Canada in 1999. The dream of becoming successful entrepreneurs in Canada final-ly came true, but as every new beginning, they had to prove to the world once again that they could be one of the best cleaning companies out there.

The competition in this type of business has become enormous, but they have managed to suc-ceed and reach their dreams and goals with the help of their staff, family, friends and espe-cially their valued customers

who have gained their trust and respect throughout the years.

Currently IBX Services ranks as one of the best Residential, Commercial and Industrial carpet, upholstery and air duct cleaning companies all over the GTA and the surrounding areas. The company also pro-vides Fire & Water Damage, 24 hour Emergency Services, as well as painting & renovations.

The company has trained, tested, experienced & certified techni-cians on board from the Institute of Cleaning Inspection & Res-toration Certification who love their job and are committed to their work and customers. The customer service staff provides professional and friendly service the customers can rely on. IBX is always searching for the newest technology, equipment & natu-ral based products to perform the highest job quality and 100% Satisfaction Guarantee service.

GTA Invites World-Class ServiceIBX Services Answers The Call

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Top Portuguese NewspaperPost Milénio

www.OmilenioStadium.com

It was the objective of Post Milénio (Post Millenium)

Director Alexandre Franco to develop a publication

that encompasses what the Portuguese community truly is. This publication is Post Milénio [the result of a successful merge

of five previous Portuguese publications] and since its inception the publication has taken the community

by storm, being chosen two years in succession as the Top Choice Newspaper .

Sam Santos/JC

Pim

entel Photography

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With over 25 years of teaching experience in Ballroom Dancing, Dance Studio One

puts you in touch with today’s most popular dances to today’s most popular songs. Our directors, An-gela and Vadim Mostovoy are Six time Canadian representatives to the world championships held in Holland, France, Germany, Japan, Hong-Kong, and England. In 2002 they were runners up in the Asian Pacific Dance Sport Champion-ship, Latin American division and

Showdance. Angela and Vadim are recognized as high quality instruc-tors and are key figures in Toron-to’s Ballroom dance community. Dance Studio One caters to every students dance goals from beginner to champions and from social to competitive dancing. Some of the popular dances offered at Dance Studio One are Foxtrot, Rumba, Argentinean Tango, Waltz, Cha-cha-cha, Salsa/Mambo, Tango, Samba, Hustle, V.Waltz, Jive, Swing, Paso Doble, Quick Step, Merengue & Bolero to name a few.

Top Dance Studio

winner profiles online

Foxtrot, Rumba, Argentinean Tango, Waltz, Cha-cha-cha, Salsa/Mambo

Tango, Samba, Hustle, V.Waltz, Jive, Swing, Paso Doble, Quick Step, Merengue, BoleroSoSoxSxtStrSroSotSt,S,

SSStSteSepSp,S,p,pSp,p hmhmbhbaha

ehenhnghg

Page 41: Top Choice Magazine - Vol. 01 No. 01 - Spring 2011

Conveniently located uptown Toronto, our studio

is easily accessible by public transportation and is

located by Finch subway station. Whether you’re

interested in private ballroom lessons, latin group lessons or social

practice lessons, you will find that Dance Studio

One provides a fun and comfortable learning

atmosphere for everyone! ■

Dance Studio Onedancestudio1.ca

5801 Yonge St, Suite 1Toronto416 226 4442

Top Choice Magazine • Summer 2007

www.topchoiceawards.com39

Foxtrot, Rumba, Argentinean Tango, Waltz, Cha-cha-cha, Salsa/Mambo

Tango, Samba, Hustle, V.Waltz, Jive, Swing, Paso Doble, Quick Step, Merengue, Bolerohaha,h, AhA

ghguhuehe alaleaeraroao lTlTalaTaTlTaT nln lWlWa

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Page 42: Top Choice Magazine - Vol. 01 No. 01 - Spring 2011

1306 Dundas St W, Toronto416-828-411040

Nascido e criado em Belo Hori-zonte – Minas G erai s . For-

mado em Contabilidade, mudei para o Canada em 1987, trabalhei de gar-con, na area atacadista e varejo de ferramentas de construcao e oficina de automoveis. Corre-tor de imoveis por 7 anos e nos ult imos 3 anos na area de finan-ciamento e aconselha-mento de credito pessoal.

Meu trabalho na comuni-dade tem sido apreciado e bem vindo por muitos. Hoje em dia, quando se fala de dinheiro, finciamento, emprestimos, etc, o ser humano em geral, principal-mente quem tem o ingles como segunda lingua, mui-tas decisoes erradas sao tomadas. Um simples con-selho de alguem que nao tenha conhecimento da area pode tornar a vida de uma pessoa em um pesadelo.

Por ser um exemplo do passado, erros e decisoes cometidas, resolve me entregar a uma profissao que poderia me dar as respostas a perguntas que muitos, nem instituicoes financeiras souberam responder.

Agora com certeza posso dizer, que meu tra-balho e profissionalismo tem ajudado e fei-to a di ferenca na vida de muitas pessoas .

Armando de Lima

Born and raised in Belo Horizonte – Minas Gerais, Armando Graduated in Account-ing, moved to Canada in 1987. Worked as a waiter, wholesale and retail establishments

selling tools to construction crews and garages. Real

Estate agent for 7 years and a Mortgage Broker for the past 3 years, counseling and arranging financing.

My work in the community has been appreciated and welcomed. Nowadays, when money is the talk among people regarding financing, loans, etc, any-one in general, especially the ones whose second language is English, usually make wrong decisions. Advice by someone who doesn’t have knowledge on the subject could turn one’s life into a nightmare.

Based on this, I decided to engage in a profession where I could have more control, help people and at the same time have fun doing it. In the past I had ques-tions that not even an institution knew how to handle.

Today I can certainly say that, my work, ded-i c a t i o n a n d p r o f e s s i o n a l i s m h a s h e l p e d make a big difference in many peoples life.

Thanks to the community for its support.

Armando de Lima.

Top Loan Services

Armando De Lima

Page 43: Top Choice Magazine - Vol. 01 No. 01 - Spring 2011

David Brill, B.Sc., D.D.S.Implant, Family & Aesthetic Dentistry

(416) 534-49511017 Bloor Street West, Toronto

Recipient of the Top Choice Award™

for Dentist of the Year

Portuguese Community

Page 44: Top Choice Magazine - Vol. 01 No. 01 - Spring 2011

Awaken the Leader Within You: Ten easy steps to developing your leadership skills

“The miracle power that elevates the few is to be found in their industry, applica-tion, and perseverance, under the prompt-ings of a brave determined spirit.” Mark Twain

Many motivational experts like to say that leaders are made, not born. I would argue the exact opposite. I believe we are all natural born leaders, but have been deprogrammed along the way. As children, we were nat-ural leaders - curious and humble, always hungry and thirsty for knowledge, with an incredibly vivid imagina-tion; we knew exactly what we wanted, were persistent and determined in getting what we wanted, and had the ability to motivate, inspire, and influence everyone around us to help us in accomplishing our mission. So why is this so difficult to do as adults? What happened?

As children, over time, we got used to hearing, No, Don’t, and Can’t. No! Don’t do this. Don’t do that. You can’t do this. You can’t do that. No! Many of our par-ents told us to keep quiet and not disturb the adults by asking silly questions. This pattern continued into high school with our teachers telling us what we could do and couldn’t do and what was possible. Then many of us got hit with the big one institutionalized formal education known as college or university. Un-fortunately, the traditional educational system doesn’t teach students how to become leaders; it teaches stu-dents how to become polite order takers for the cor-porate world. Instead of learning to become creative, independent, self-reliant, and think for themselves, most people learn how to obey and intelligently fol-low rules to keep the corporate machine humming.

Developing the Leader in you to live your highest life, then, requires a process of unlearning by self-remem-bering and self-honoring. Being an effective leader again will require you to be brave and unlock the door to your inner attic, where your childhood dreams lie, going inside to the heart. Based on my over ten years research in the area of human development and leader-

ship, here are ten easy steps you can take to awaken the Leader in you and rekindle your passion for greatness.

1. Humility. Leadership starts with humility. To be a highly successful leader, you must first humble yourself like a little child and be willing to serve others. Nobody wants to follow someone who is arrogant. Be humble as a child, always curious, always hungry and thirsty for knowledge. For what is excellence but knowl-edge plus knowledge plus knowledge - always wanting to better yourself, always improving, always growing.

When you are humble, you become genuine-ly interested in people because you want to learn from them. And because you want to learn and grow, you will be a far more effective listener, which is the #1 leadership communication tool. When people sense you are genuinely interested in them, and listening to them, they will naturally be in-terested in you and listen to what you have to say.

2. SWOT Yourself. SWOT is an acronym for Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities, and Threats. Although it’s a strategic management tool taught at Stanford and Harvard Business Schools and used by large multinationals, it can just as effectively be used in your own professional development as a leader. This is a useful key to gain access to self-knowledge, self-remembering, and self-honoring.

Start by listing all your Strengths including your ac-complishments. Then write down all your Weaknesses and what needs to be improved. Make sure to include any doubts, anxieties, fears, and worries that you may have. These are the demons and dragons guarding the door to your inner attic. By bringing them to conscious awareness you can begin to slay them. Then proceed by listing all the Opportunities you see available to you for using your strengths. Finally, write down all the Threats or obstacles that are currently blocking you or that you think you will encounter along the way to achiev-i n g y o u r d r e a m s .

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3. Follow Your Bliss. Regardless of how busy you are, always take time to do what you love doing. Be-ing an alive and vital person vitalizes others. When you are pursuing your passions, people around you can-not help but feel impassioned by your presence. This will make you a charismatic leader. Whatever it is that you enjoy doing, be it writing, acting, painting, draw-ing, photography, sports, reading, dancing, network-ing, or working on entrepreneurial ventures, set aside time every week, ideally two or three hours a day, to pursue these activities. Believe me, you’ll find the time. If you were to video tape yourself for a day, you would be shocked to see how much time goes to waste!

4. Dream Big. If you want to be larger than life, you need a dream that’s larger than life. Small dreams won’t serve you or anyone else. It takes the same amount of time to dream small than it does to dream big. So be Big and be Bold! Write down your One Biggest Dream. The one that excites you the most. Remember, don’t be small and realistic; be bold and unrealistic! Go for the Gold, the Pulitzer, the Nobel, the Oscar, the highest you can possi-bly achieve in your field. After you’ve written down your dream, list every single reason why you CAN achieve your dream instead of worrying about why you can’t.

5. Vision. Without a vision, we perish. If you can’t see yourself winning that award and feel the tears of triumph streaming down your face, it’s unlikely you will be able to lead yourself or others to victory. Visual-ize what it would be like accomplishing your dream. See it, smell it, taste it, hear it, feel it in your gut.

6. Perseverance. Victory belongs to those who want it the most and stay in it the longest. Now that you have a dream, make sure you take consistent ac-tion every day. I recommend doing at least 5 things every day that will move you closer to your dream.

7. Honor Your Word. Every time you break your word, you lose power. Successful leaders keep their word and their promises. You can accumulate all the toys and riches in the world, but you only have one reputation in life. Your word is gold. Honor it.

8. Get a Mentor. Find your-self a mentor. Preferably some-one who has already achieved a high degree of success in your field.

Don’t be afraid to ask. You’ve got nothing to lose. Men-tors.ca is an excellent mentoring website and a great re-source for finding local mentoring programs. They even have a free personal profile you can fill out in order to potentially find you a suitable mentor. In addition to mentors, take time to study autobiographies of great leaders that you admire. Learn everything you can from their lives and model some of their successful behaviors.

9. Be Yourself. Use your relationships with mentors and your research on great leaders as models or reference points to work from, but never copy or imitate them like a parrot. Everyone has vastly different leadership styles. History books are filled with leaders who are soft-spo-ken, introverted, and quiet, all the way to the other ex-treme of being out- spoken, extroverted, and loud, and everything in between. A quiet and simple Gandhi or a soft-spoken peanut farmer named Jimmy Carter, who became president of the United States and won a Nobel Peace Prize, have been just as effective world leaders as a loud and flamboyant Churchill, or the tough leadership style employed by The Iron Lady, Margaret Thatcher.

Be yourself, your best self, always competing against yourself and bettering yourself, and you will become a first rate YOU instead of a second rate somebody else.

10. Give. Finally, be a giver. Leaders are givers. By giving, you activate a universal law as sound as grav-ity life gives to the giver, and takes from the taker. The more you give, the more you get. If you want more love, respect, support, and compassion, give love, give respect, give support, and give compassion. Be a mentor to others. Give back to your commu-nity. As a leader, the only way to get what you want, is by helping enough people get what they want first. As Sir Winston Churchill once said, “We make a liv-ing by what we get, we make a life by what we give.”

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Nigel Vance-Lousada, Vice President of ExpoSystems CanadaNigel Vance-Lousada, Vice President of ExpoSystems CanadaNigel Vance-Lousada, Vice President of ExpoSystems CanadaNigel Vance-Lousada, Vice President of ExpoSystems CanadaNigel Vance-Lousada, Vice President of ExpoSystems CanadaNigel Vance-Lousada, Vice President of ExpoSystems CanadaNigel Vance-Lousada, Vice President of ExpoSystems CanadaNigel Vance-Lousada, Vice President of ExpoSystems CanadaNigel Vance-Lousada, Vice President of ExpoSystems CanadaNigel Vance-Lousada, Vice President of ExpoSystems CanadaNigel Vance-Lousada, Vice President of ExpoSystems CanadaNigel Vance-Lousada, Vice President of ExpoSystems CanadaNigel Vance-Lousada, Vice President of ExpoSystems CanadaNigel Vance-Lousada, Vice President of ExpoSystems CanadaNigel Vance-Lousada, Vice President of ExpoSystems CanadaNigel Vance-Lousada, Vice President of ExpoSystems CanadaNigel Vance-Lousada, Vice President of ExpoSystems CanadaNigel Vance-Lousada, Vice 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TOP Display and Exhibit Services

“Winning this award is quite unique”, said Nigel Vance-Lousada, Vice President of Ex-poSystems Canada, “because

the winner is decided by the results of a survey taken from a very wide and diverse section of the business community – not a panel of judges. This Award represents the opinion of our customers from our industry.“My thanks go to everybody in our

ExpoSystems team, We are lucky to have a very dedicated group of people, who work hard to make our clients stand out at tradeshows and special events. My thanks also go out to our clients for rating us so highly.”

Based in Scarborough, Ontario, E x poSy stems Canada designs, manufactures, installs, dismantles, manages, stores and ships displays,

exhibits and tradeshow booths for companies around the world.They will assist you in every way possible no matter what type of display you need. From a Table top display, a retractable banner right up to a fully serviced custom modular solution. ExpoSystems Canada will make YOU stand out. ■

Top Choice Magazine • Summer 2007

Winner Profiles Available Online

Page 47: Top Choice Magazine - Vol. 01 No. 01 - Spring 2011

ExpoSystems Canada2161 Midland, Scarborough

416.291.2932

www.ExpoSystems.com TOP Display and Exhibit Services

ExpoSystems Canada desig ns , manufac -tures, installs, dismantles, manages, stores and ships displays, exhibits and tradeshow booths for companies around the world . ExpoSystems Canada has been at the forefront of the Canadian exhibition market since 1965.

It has a wide range of high-quality, versatile display systems from table-top and banner dis-plays to fully customized and serviced trade show booths. ExpoSystems is a leader in the modular display sector and is presently one of the larg-est display systems manufacturers in Canada.

Top Choice Magazine • Summer 2007

www.TopChoiceAwards.com45

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Recipient of the Top Choice Award™ for Brazilian Bakery of the Year

Page 49: Top Choice Magazine - Vol. 01 No. 01 - Spring 2011

Capoeira Camará www.CapoeiraToronto.com

Founder Contra Mestre Bola (Marinaldo DaSilva) was born in Olinda, Pernambuco - a thriving centre of Afro-Brazilian culture with a long-standing Capoeira tradition. He began training with a top Capoeira Master in 1988. Initially, Bola moved to Vancouver in 1995 where he taught Capeoira for some time, but then relocated to Toronto in 2000 to open an academy. In 2005 he found Capoeira Camará, which now includes academies in Toronto, Peterborough, Montreal, and Calgary, Canada, Bermuda and Brazil. Beyond his teaching duties in Toronto, Bola partici-pates in numerous Capoeira events all over the world. He is also an accomplished musician and is responsible for producing five successful Batizado e Troca da Corda annual shows. Overall, Bola has been promoting Brazilian culture and Capoeira for 15 years. His travels have taken him to training sessions and performances in St. Croix and to Capoeira workshops as far away as Russia. Bola’s Capoeira expertise and leadership have also earned him international recognition. And, on numerous occasions, major media both in Canada and Brazil exclusively have interviewed him.

Recipient of the Top Choice Award™ for

Sandwich of the Year

Page 50: Top Choice Magazine - Vol. 01 No. 01 - Spring 2011

For almost a half a centur y, the Pugliese family has been dedi-cated to a simple, but enduring principle – to provide our cus-

tomers with “only the very best” in qual-ity, freshness and variety at reasonable prices.

Since opening his first store in 1967 on the Danforth, Angelo Pugliese knew the importance of pleasing his customers.

Today with two locations and several awards added to their repertoire, Michael-Angelo’s is by far, the most well-stocked and fully equipped retail grocery market in both the Mississauga and Markham areas.

The stores’ menu of products and ser-vices include:

• The widest variety of fresh produce available anywhere, including organically grown fruits and vegetables• A meat department, staffed by professional butchers, that features naturally-aged Certified Angus Beef and pasteurized Northridge Farms meats• A fully stocked deli-section – and fresh baked goods produced by the on-site bakery• Michael-Angelo’s own “Angelico’s” brand of prepared foods and condiments• A team of professional chefs on staff• A host of on-site services to meet their customers needs, including catering and floral services

TOP Fruit &

Vegetable Retailer

Winner Profiles Available Online

Page 51: Top Choice Magazine - Vol. 01 No. 01 - Spring 2011

So what is the key to being the Top Choice Award winner for Best Fruits

and Vegetables? The daily deliveries from the Ontario Food Terminal, unrivalled selection

and a family tradition of excellence in food retail-ing has earned Michael-Angelo’s this prestigious title.

As Michael-Angelo’s continues to grow and change with the times, there is one thing that will never change,

the Pugliese family’s commitment to the values that have served them well for half a century. We will provide our custom-

ers with “only the very best”. That’s the Michael-Angelo’s promise. ■

Michael-Angelo’swww.michaelangelos.ca4099 Erin Mills Parkway 905 820 33008555 Woodbine Ave905 307-8555

Top Choice Magazine • Summer 2007

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Sam Santos/JC

Pim

entel Photography

Top Pizza DeliveryPizza PizzaHUNDREDS OF LOCATIONS TO SERVE YOU • PIZZAPIZZA.CA

Pizza Pizza’s early adoption of the centralized single-num-ber ordering system [967-11-11], and its subsequent use and heavy promotion of its rhyming phone number, helped the chain to grow and soon dominate the south-ern Ontario pizza market. Thank you Toronto for making us your Top Choice for Pizza!

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1116 Dundas St. W - Suite 201, Toronto(416) 538-4298 • www.BrasilNews.ca 51

Top Newspaper

Brasil News

Brasil Newspaper was established 11 years ago in Toronto, aim-ing to serve the local

Brazilian Community. 20 years ago, the publisher, Tania Nuttall, moved from Belim do Para, Bra-sil to Canada. After many years of dedication, the bi-weekly newspaper, under Tania’s lead-ership, has become the Voice of the Brazilian Community.

The editorial line places empha-sis on articles of an unbiased nature and offers a table of con-tent covering Cultural, Politics, Sports and Current News. The goal of Brasil News is to inform the Brazilian Community of both Brazilian and Canadian news.

Due to the community’s need for news and articles in their own language, Brasil News understands their im-portant role and services for the Brazilian community.

Bras i l Ne ws maintains an unbias ed p ersp ec-t i v e o n a l l a r t i c l e s , a n d t a k e s p e c i a l m e a -sures to avoid politically heated issues that con-done the pre-judgment of any person or identity.

During its 11 years in existence, Brasil News has pro-tected its integrity and established itself as an in-stitution of high regard, the evidence of their suc-cess is ref lected by the recognition of the Top C hoice Award for Top Braz i l i an Ne wsp ap er.

www.BrasilNews.ca

Psicologia Caderno 2 ImigraçãoComunidade Cidade Mundo

Brasil Canadá Política EconomiaOpinião Variedades Música

Turismo Oportunidade InglêsImobiliário Esportes Sopa no

Exílio Comportamento Crônicas Fique Ligado Celebridades

Page 54: Top Choice Magazine - Vol. 01 No. 01 - Spring 2011

High Performance Vision.™The Bochner Eye Institute is internationally-recognized as the experts in Laser Eye Surgery. Celebrating its 75th anniversary recently, Bochner is the oldest established laser eye treatment center in North America.

“We have thousands of satisfi ed patients from all over the

world — 40 countries and counting — to have laser eye surgery,” says Dr. Raymond Stein. “However, the most signifi cant acknowledgement of our expertise comes from

the fact that well over 300 eye doctors have chosen our Institute to have their eyes treated.” The father and son teams of Harold and Raymond Stein, and Albert and Jordan Cheskes trained at the world renowned Mayo Clinic. They

also hold professorships at the University of Toronto and have collaborated on an impressive 35 texts — the most academic books attributed to a private institution in North America.

“Our reputation as a center of excellence is attributable to the quality of our surgeons,” notes Dr. Harold Stein. “Patients considering a laser procedure can be rest assured that our surgeons are amongst the most skilled in and experiences

in the world,” explains Dr. Stein, “what really sets us apart is our expertise partnered with the most advanced laser technology available.” Technologies like the new Intralase

equipment. The Intralase® laser is the safest, most effective all laser LASIK technique. This technology provides improved safety, better vision, higher degrees of predictability and precision.

Now with, New diagnostic equipment, the Bochner Eye Institute is now better able to detect and correct diseases and disorders of the eye at the earliest stages.

“Innovation, safety, experience, dependability, and the longevity that comes with years of experience and thousands of happy patients are what keep the Bochner

Eye Institute at the forefront of laser technology in Canada,” concludes Dr. Albert Cheskes.

A testament to its innovative approach and legacy of success, The Bochner Eye Institute serves as the offi cial laser

center for the Toronto Blue Jays and the Toronto FC.

The Bochner Eye Institute.Providing High Performance Vision.™

Offi cial Laser Eye Centre of the Toronto Blue Jays

Dr. Harold Stein Dr. Albert Cheskes Dr. Raymond Stein

T: 416.960.2020 1.800.665.1987 | bochner.com

Ad Number: BR-7002-M-10 Colours: cmyk Date: 06/14/07 APPROVAL BY

Client: Bochner Publications: Top Choice Studio

Ad Heading: High Performance... Build #: 3 Print Mgr.

Docket Number: BRCOX7002 Creative: Art Director

Type Safety: Print Manager: G.Hutchinson Laser Output: Copywriter

Trim/News Size: 8.5" x 11" Acct. Manager: Sharon Acct. Mgmt.

Bleed: Production Artist: M.Kennedy Client

Winner Profiles Available Online

Page 55: Top Choice Magazine - Vol. 01 No. 01 - Spring 2011

High Performance Vision.™The Bochner Eye Institute is internationally-recognized as the experts in Laser Eye Surgery. Celebrating its 75th anniversary recently, Bochner is the oldest established laser eye treatment center in North America.

“We have thousands of satisfi ed patients from all over the

world — 40 countries and counting — to have laser eye surgery,” says Dr. Raymond Stein. “However, the most signifi cant acknowledgement of our expertise comes from

the fact that well over 300 eye doctors have chosen our Institute to have their eyes treated.” The father and son teams of Harold and Raymond Stein, and Albert and Jordan Cheskes trained at the world renowned Mayo Clinic. They

also hold professorships at the University of Toronto and have collaborated on an impressive 35 texts — the most academic books attributed to a private institution in North America.

“Our reputation as a center of excellence is attributable to the quality of our surgeons,” notes Dr. Harold Stein. “Patients considering a laser procedure can be rest assured that our surgeons are amongst the most skilled in and experiences

in the world,” explains Dr. Stein, “what really sets us apart is our expertise partnered with the most advanced laser technology available.” Technologies like the new Intralase

equipment. The Intralase® laser is the safest, most effective all laser LASIK technique. This technology provides improved safety, better vision, higher degrees of predictability and precision.

Now with, New diagnostic equipment, the Bochner Eye Institute is now better able to detect and correct diseases and disorders of the eye at the earliest stages.

“Innovation, safety, experience, dependability, and the longevity that comes with years of experience and thousands of happy patients are what keep the Bochner

Eye Institute at the forefront of laser technology in Canada,” concludes Dr. Albert Cheskes.

A testament to its innovative approach and legacy of success, The Bochner Eye Institute serves as the offi cial laser

center for the Toronto Blue Jays and the Toronto FC.

The Bochner Eye Institute.Providing High Performance Vision.™

Offi cial Laser Eye Centre of the Toronto Blue Jays

Dr. Harold Stein Dr. Albert Cheskes Dr. Raymond Stein

T: 416.960.2020 1.800.665.1987 | bochner.com

Ad Number: BR-7002-M-10 Colours: cmyk Date: 06/14/07 APPROVAL BY

Client: Bochner Publications: Top Choice Studio

Ad Heading: High Performance... Build #: 3 Print Mgr.

Docket Number: BRCOX7002 Creative: Art Director

Type Safety: Print Manager: G.Hutchinson Laser Output: Copywriter

Trim/News Size: 8.5" x 11" Acct. Manager: Sharon Acct. Mgmt.

Bleed: Production Artist: M.Kennedy Client

Top Choice Magazine • Summer 2007

www.TopChoiceAwards.com53

Page 56: Top Choice Magazine - Vol. 01 No. 01 - Spring 2011

Recipient of the Top Choice Award™ for Outdoor Event of the Year

Page 57: Top Choice Magazine - Vol. 01 No. 01 - Spring 2011

Sam Santos/JC

Pim

entel Photography

Top Portuguese CoffeeTorrié - Antonio Vieira Import & Export

416 657 8677 • www.Torrie.pt

More of thirty years of ex-perience in second roast-

ing approaches, guarantee the quality of TORRIÉ, rec-ognized by the consumers

and professionals of the sector. The complexity of

its fragrance, the color and the unique flavor are guar-anteed by the composition of diverse prudent origins.

Sam Santos/JC

Pim

entel Photography

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Monica Couto with Lisa Tant, Editor In-Chief, FlareMonica Couto with Lisa Tant, Editor In-Chief, FlareMonica Couto with Lisa Tant, Editor In-Chief, Flare

TOP Magazine

As the #1 selling fashion and beauty magazine in Canada, FLARE Maga-zine is the source for Ca-

nadian style. Since its debut as Miss Chatelaine in 1964, the magazine matured along with its teenage fe-male readers. In 1969, it appeared on newstands in a large format and in 1977 publisher Donna Scott, editor Keitha McLeand, and adver-tising maganger David Hamilton began the search for a new name

to better represent the readership between the ages of 18 and 34. The magazine was officially launched with its current name in 1979. FLARE, an eye-catching title, is a name that has come to stand for the best in Canadian fashion and beauty. FLARE is the Canadian style authority, delivering relevant interpretations of global trends from fashion to entertainment in an intelligent manner that excites consumers and inspires them to

express their own personal style using sources available across Can-ada. The emphasis on merchandise available in Canada, the Shopping Planner section, and “Where to Buy” guide make staying in style exciting and accessible. Readers also rely on Flare.com, the most visited fashion website in Canada by women over 18, for timely style information from the experts. With FLARE, readers can update their beauty looks, learn more

Top Choice Magazine • Summer 2007

Winner Profiles Available Online

Page 59: Top Choice Magazine - Vol. 01 No. 01 - Spring 2011

Flarewww.Flare.com

Sam Santos/JC

Pimentel Photography

TOP Magazine

about health issues, relationships, fit-ness and keep up with the hottest news in entertainment. Celebrity news is also a component of the magazine and FLARE covers often attract the appearance of a diverse range of ce-lebrities including Linda Evangelista, Sarah MacLachlan, Sarah Jessica Park-er, Gwen Stefani and more recently Nelly Furtado, and Mandy Moore.

In 2004, FLARE celebrated its 25th anniversary and its unique Canadian perspective with a special issue featur-ing subtle design and editorial chang-es to enhance readers’ enjoyment of FLARE. As FLARE enters a new era, it continues to evolve along with cut-ting edge fashion and the needs of fashion-conscious, Canadian women.

Top Choice Magazine • Summer 2007

www.TopChoiceAwards.com57

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Left to right: Glenn Garnett, Pat Surphlis, Kin-man LeeLeft to right: Glenn Garnett, Pat Surphlis, Kin-man Lee

TOP Newspaper

Th e To r o n t o S u n w a s born November 1, 1971 from the ashes of the Toronto Telegram and

was an immediate success story on the Canadian media landscape.

While commentators Pierre Berton and Charles Templeton famously predicted the demise of the feisty tabloid in a matter of months, it grew instead into one of Cana-da’s largest multimedia empires.

With only $650,000 in financ-ing and staff of about 60 people, mostly ex-Tely employees, the Sun established itself as popu-list, cheeky tabloid with an em-phasis on crime, sports and pret-ty girls. It turned a profit in its first year and never looked back.

Over the years, the Sun also be-came famed for its fearless com-mentary and colorful columnists which included Peter Worthington,

Bob Macdonald, Paul Rimstead, Claire Hoy, Christie Blatchford, Lorrie Goldstein, Mike Strobel and Mark Bonokoski to name but a few. Editorial cartoonist Andy Donato continues to lampoon and harpoon political targets over 35 years since he came aboard the Toronto Sun as a day-one employee in 1971.

Today the Toronto Sun is the flag-ship paper of Sun Media Corpora-tion, with the Sun brand extended

Top Choice Magazine • Summer 2007

Winner Profiles Available Online

Page 63: Top Choice Magazine - Vol. 01 No. 01 - Spring 2011

Toronto Sun333 King St E416 947 2080

www.TorontoSun.com

Sam Santos/JC

Pimentel Photography

TOP Newspaper

to Edmonton, Calgary, Winnipeg and Ottawa. The urban daily group includes eight large urban dailies, 11 communi-ty dailies and over 200 weekly and bi-weekly newspapers across the country.

The Sun has evolved into a multime-dia content provider. Its website, to-rontosun.com, a member of the Ca-

noe Network of websites, covers the city 24/7 with news bulletins, video, photo-galleries, forums, blogs and other online sources of information.

Its current Publisher is Kin-Man Lee and the Editor-in-Chief is Glenn Garnett. ■

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J.C.P i m e n t e l Photography was founded

in 1975 by Jose Pimentel, who married into a family with a life-line of photography in Rabo De Peixe, Sao Miguel. When Jose im-migrated to Canada, Jose and his two brother-in-laws opened a photography studio called Custodio at College St. and Augusta Ave. in Toronto. After many successful years, the team separated to open their own studios. He chose to set up across St. Helens church, at 1661 Dundas St. near Lansdowne Ave., be-cause he knew that being near a church was an ideal location for life-changing events that would require a photographer.

J.C. Pimentel Photography was a family run business. The family consisted of Jose and Maria, his wife, and their four chil-dren. Everyone was involved with its operations… but none were more intrigued with the business than their youngest child, George.

George Pimentel was involved with his father’s business as a child and decided to pursue a career in pho-tography as his dad had done. George graduated from Ryerson with honours and as soon as he was able to fo-cus all of his energy on the studio, this is when business really took off. George took his father’s busi-ness to the next level with outstanding work in weddings, families, and child portraiture.

George’s ambition was always to be a documentary photographer. He con-stantly took on projects in the Portuguese community, showing the way life had turned out for the Portuguese immigrant in Canada. In 1993, George branched off from the community and took his first celebrity photo of Robert DeNiro. Little did he know that this would be the beginning of a whole new career for him. George is now considered Canada’s most famous celebrity photographer and covers both national and international celebrity events including the Oscars, Emmy’s, and Golden Globes. He consistently contributes to magazines such as Flare, Hello, and US Weekly. His photos are seen around the world.

When Jose retired a few years back, not long after his wife Maria passed away, George took over the family business . Daily operations are maintained by Sam.

v

1661 Dundas Street West • (416) 537-9918

Sam SantosIn the late 1980’s, Sam Santos joined the studio. He was a local from the area who started on a part-time basis. As the years passed, Sam’s desire and passion for photography grew and he began taking photos of his family and friends. During high school, Sam joined the yearbook team and immediately became recognized as a natural in the field. After graduating, Sam he went on to study at Humber College for two years, where he honed his photography skills. The day after he graduated, he began full-time at the studio, where he is now an integral part of the team.Sam Santos is the official photographer for Top Choice Awards, fea-tured in this magazine: Toronto Sun, Z103.5 and Flare to name a few.

(Left to Right) Sam Santos, José & George Pimentel

migrated to Canada, Jose and his two brother-in-laws opened a photography studio called

Recipient of the Top Choice Award™ for

Photography Studio of the Year2005,2006,2007

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Sam Santos/JC

Pim

entel Photography

Top Railings and FencingInternational Fence & Railings

75 Densley Ave, North York • 416 604 8711

Using techniques handed down through tradi-tion, International Fencing is one of the last

remaining companies to employ a Blacksmith to forge their one-of-a-kind masterpieces.

Sam Santos/JC

Pim

entel Photography

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Our dedication to customer service has earned us an envious reputation among our peers, the honor of 8 Consumers Choice awards as well as the GTA’s Top Choice Award for 2007.

The ABCO Group of Companies

The ABCO Group was found-ed in 1987, and has consis-tently grown at a rapid pace over the past 20 years. We

are a Toronto based Canadian owned and operated company. Our diversity has afforded us the opportunity to be-come a one stop shop when it comes to office relocation services, new busi-ness start ups and office furnishing.

A B C O B u s i n e s s I n t e r i o r s

A B C O B u s i n e s s I n t e r i o r s i s a purveyor of quality Ergonomic office furniture solutions. Professional, knowledgeable consultants mixed with a wide range of top suppliers have allowed us to consistently meet or exceed our customer’s expectations. Offering intelligent office solutions at an affordable price has afforded us the opportunity to grow and maintain the largest New & Used office furniture showroom in the GTA.

Top Offi

ce Furniture Retailer

Winner Profiles Online

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Everything you need!

Reception Executive DeskBoardroom Tables Accessories

Work Stations Seating Filing & Storage

ABCO Office Moving and Installations

AB CO Off ice Moving and Installations is one of Toronto’s m o s t r e c o g n i z e d o f f i c e commercial moving specialists. Serving the Greater Toronto Area for over 20 years, this d iv i s i on c an b o as t ab out servicing some of the largest and most influential clients in the city. If you have on office in the Toronto area, remember, all you need to know is ABCO.

ABCO Business InteriorsabcoOffice.com

2480 Lawrence Ave EToronto416 750 0118

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Sam Santos/JC

Pim

entel Photography

Top GTA Outdoor EventPride Week

PRIDETORONTO.COM

Now in our 27th year, Pride Week was chosen by the Top Choice Awards (TCA) as the “Top Choice” for Festival/Out-

door Event of the year. TCA is an international organiza-tion that consults with the Greater Toronto Area’s ethnic

communities to award events of excellence. Pride week also received the award for “TOP 50 Festivals in Ontario”, by Festivals and Events Ontario. It is one of the only eight

“Signature Events” recognized by the City of Toronto, and has been acknowledged as the “Best Festival” by the

Canadian Events Industry Star Awards several times.

Executive DirectorFatima Amarshi

Associate DirectorJeff Zoeller

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John Derringer is a radio commentator, columnist and philanthropist living in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. He hosts CILQ-FM (Q107)’s weekday morning

program, Derringer In The Morning, featuring the popular Tool of the Day segment. The short segment includes Derringer’s observations of recent events, culminating in one of the involved parties being labelled the “Tool of the Day”—a derogatory term equivalent to “idiot” or “moron”. Derringer’s opinions also appear in the form of a regular column in the Toronto Sun. Derringer has been named “Radio Personality of the Year” by Canada Music Week a record-setting nine times, and has been named “Favourite Toronto Radio Personality” by the Sun, Eye Weekly. It is no shock that Derringer has been selected by the ethnocultural communities of the GTA, as their “Top Choice Radio Personality of the Year.”

Derringer started as an operator at 680 CFTR Toronto in 1979, followed by on-air work at CKJD Sarnia, CFGO Ottawa and K97 Edmonton. He joined Q107 Toronto in 1984, staying until 1994. He spent the next 2 years as morning host at CHOM FM Montreal. He went on to host Jock and Roll, a 90-second segment which featured a pre-recorded interview with an athlete or a rock musician. It was syndicated to more than 20 radio stations across Canada. In 1995, he took over Bob McCown’s morning show at Toronto’s sports radio station The Fan 590. Derringer returned to CILQ-FM in 2001, replacing Howard Stern as the morning host. For a short time he supplemented his duties with an afternoon show for brother station CFMJ (Mojo Radio) alongside Scruff Connors.

Derringer has made use of his status as a radio personality to raise money for various causes. In

TOP R

adio Personality

Winner Profiles Available Online

Page 71: Top Choice Magazine - Vol. 01 No. 01 - Spring 2011

2 0 0 4 , h e l a u n c h e d a n

all-day fundraising drive to benefit the family of Louise Russo, a 45-year-old woman who was hit by a stray bullet while ordering a sandwich at a Toronto restaurant on April 21 2003. The bullet shattered her spine, rendering the mother of three paralyzed. The station raised $218,000 (CAD) for the family.

Every year Derringer, a motorcycle enthusiast, leads “The B.A.D. Ride”, a charity ride for the benefit of the Distress Centres of Toronto. Derringer spearheads the “13 Days of Christmas” fundraising campaign, which has raised over $1.3 million for The Martin Kruze Memorial Fund and the Canadian Centre For Abuse Awareness, on whose Board of Directors he sits.

I n 2 0 0 3 ,

J u s t i c e R i c h a r d

S c h n e i d e r o f the Ontar io C ourt

of Justice filed a lawsuit against Derringer seeking $3

million (CAD) in damages for libel. On the May 29, 2003 episode of Tool of the Day, Derringer criticized the Judge’s ruling in a child pornography case involving a 20 year-old man. Justice Schneider sentenced the man to 9 months house arrest, with no jail time, a sentence deemed far too lenient by Derringer. Derringer called Justice Schneider a “supposed Judge”, and a “disgrace to our justice system”. He went on to say that something had to happen to provoke sterner penalties for child pornography, namely that “a Justice like [Judge Schneider] is gonna have evidence brought into court in a case like that of Yong Jun Kim, and it’s gonna be his kid being forced to perform fellatio on a man and sent around the world on the Internet.” The Canadian Broadcast Standards Council (CBSC) ruled that D er r inger “made improper personal a t t a c k s o n t h e

j u d g e ,” a n d that “[the] Derringer

commentary also sanctioned or promoted possible personal

attacks on the children of the judge.”

In a letter to the complainant, CILQ-FM stated that “the Program, like many radio shows, can sometimes be controversial in nature and not for everyone’s taste. However, many of Q107’s core audience, which is mainly adults in the 25-54 year old age group, in particular, men, find the Program humourous [sic].” Derringer issued an on-air apology and, following the CBSC’s ruling, the station broadcasted a series of mandated announcements regarding the contentious statements.

Derringer has also been criticized for supporting the Ontario chapters of the Hells Angels in an August 31, 2005 column for The Toronto Sun. In it, he dismissed recent media reports about the Hell’s Angels as “filled with innuendo, lies, half-truths and complete fabrications.”

Catch Derringer weekday mornings on Classic Rock Q107, from 5am to 9am.

John Derringerq107.com

weekday mornings on 107.1FM from 5am to 9am.

Top Choice Magazine • Summer 2007

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Why do you get up every morning? The answer to this question is where your motivation begins.

Rich question: What is my net wor th? Poor question: What is my working income?

Nothing happens until you make it happen.

A sale only starts when the buyer says “no thanks”.The only thing standing between you and success is you.

Motivation doesn’t last long. Well, neither does bathing - that’s why we recommend it daily.

Be miserable. Or motivate yourself. Either way, it’s always your choice.

While you are asleep and dreaming of success, the successful person is awake and earning it.

You can’t build a reputation on what you’re going to do.

Success usually f inds the person too busy to look for it.

Success i s gett ing what you want , and h a p p i n e s s i s w a n t i n g w h a t y o u g e t .

What you do speaks so loud that I cannot hear what you say.

Fate knows where you are going, but it is up to you to drive there.

Too many people are thinking of security instead of opportunity. They seem more afraid of life than death.

Enthusiasm is the electricity of life. How do you get it? You act enthusiastic until you make it a habit.

Success is the ability to go from failure to fai lur e without los ing your enthusiasm.70

Page 73: Top Choice Magazine - Vol. 01 No. 01 - Spring 2011

There are three types of people in this world: those who make things happen, those who watch things happen and those who wonder what happened. Which one are you?

Motivation is what gets you started. Habit is what keeps you going.

I will act now. I will act now. I will act now. Henceforth, I will repeat these words each hour, each day, everyday, until the words become as much a habit as my breathing, and the action which follows be-comes as instinctive as the blinking of my eyelids. With these words I can condition my mind to per-form every action necessary for my success…. I will act now for now is all I have. Tomorrow is the day reserved for the labour of the lazy. I am not lazy. Tomorrow is the day when the failure will succeed. I am not a failure. I will act now. Success will not wait. If I delay, success will become wed to another and lost to me forever. This is the time. This is the place. I am the person. – Og Mandino

Why do you get up every morning? The answer to this question is where your motivation begins.Nothing happens until you make it happen.

A sale only starts when the buyer says “no thanks”.The only thing standing between you and success is you.

Motivation doesn’t last long. Well, neither does bathing - that’s why we recommend it daily.

Be miserable. Or motivate yourself. Either way, it’s always your choice.

You can’t build a reputation on what you’re going to do.

Success usually f inds the person too busy to look for it.

Success i s gett ing what you want , and h a p p i n e s s i s w a n t i n g w h a t y o u g e t .

What would you attempt to do if you knew you could not fail? Eliminating failure, the only leaves success.

Fate knows where you are going, but it is up to you to drive there.

To drink more you must empty your cup. To learn more you must empty your mind.

Success is the ability to go from failure to fai lur e without los ing your enthusiasm.

Motivation is a feeling, that becomes an action, which becomes a habit that will build a motivated personality!!

Page 74: Top Choice Magazine - Vol. 01 No. 01 - Spring 2011

Hosts (left to right): Scott Fox, Ashley Greco and Dave BlezardHosts (left to right): Scott Fox, Ashley Greco and Dave Blezard

TOP Radio ProgramS c o t t F o x : : f o x @ z 1 0 3 5 . c o m

What’s going on in the city this week-end? What’s on TV tonight? Who won the game last night? That ... plus ev-erything you always wanted to know about Scott Fox, you can find out by listening to him. You can email Scott, he would be glad to hear from you.

Dave Blezard :: [email protected]

Dave started his radio career as an intern for........yes Tony Monaco!! So how old does that make Tony? Dave just likes to have a good time, whether it is at a club or just hanging out with friends. Dave graduated from the school of “Hard Knockz” with a degree in “Keepin’ It Real”. Dave loves answering emails and invites you to email him anytime!

Ashley Greco :: [email protected]

Ashley got her start on air as a traffic re-porter. Reporting the traffic for Z103.5 gave Ashley the opportunity to join the Z morning show. When Ashley’s not shop-ping, hanging out with friends or check-ing out the latest movies, you’re bound to find her catching up on all the latest Hol-lywood buzz… Ashley loves hearing from listeners, so feel free to drop her a line.

Top Choice Magazine • Summer 2007

Winner Profiles Available Online

Page 75: Top Choice Magazine - Vol. 01 No. 01 - Spring 2011

Scott Fox& The Z103.5 Morning Show

5302 Dundas St W416 213 1035

www.Z103.com

Sam Santos/JC

Pimentel Photography

& The Z103.5 Morning Show

TOP Radio Program

Catch Scott Fox, Ashley and Dave weekday

mornings from 5am-9am

Top Choice Magazine • Summer 2007

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Recipient of the Top Choice Award™ for Videographer of the Year

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Current :: 850 College Street As of August 2007 ::1759 Dufferin Street

www.BrazilFinancial.com 75

Top Financial Planning Consultant

Iwas born in Brazil and have graduated in Business Administration with specialization in International Markets in 1983. In 1986 I have attended teachers college in Brazil and

have obtained a teacher’s degree in Mathemat-ics. 1992 has brought me to Canada and in 1994 I have received equivalence of my degrees by the University of Toronto and consequently I have started my career as High School Teacher in On-tario. Ten years later still thinking of achieving more I have decided to make a career change and get back into the business and financial areas.

The year of 2005 was a year of upgrading cours-es in the Income Tax, Insurance and Invest-ment areas in order for me to specialize in the Canadian market. I soon realized the lack of knowledge my community holds in this field and my professional goal became to educate them about the options they have in finances.

In 2006 I launched Brazil Financial. At Brazil Fi-nancial I have combined five areas of expertise and made a point of honor to search for the best way to achieve the goals of each one of my clients.

My goal is to inform and clarify legal opportuni-ties for my clients to keep and/or increase their wealth, and provide them the freedom to make a decision on when and how to implement it.

If you would like to become a special cli-ent and receive personalized f inancial ad-vice, visit me at Brazil Financial 850 Col-lege Street, or book a free appointment at: 416-607-5898, 416-607-5897 and 905-924-5694

Brazil Financial specializes in:$ Income Tax and GST returns;$ Life/Mortgage Insurance, Dental/Health Insurance and Benefits for companies;$ Investments for retirement and education – RRSP, RESP and Open Accounts;$ Money Transfer to more than 200 coun-tries;$ Financial Planning

Nara SchulerBrasil Financial

was born in Brazil and have graduated in

In 2006 I launched Brazil Financial. At Brazil Financial I have combined five areas of expertise and made a point of honor to search for the best

We’re Moving!!!

Page 78: Top Choice Magazine - Vol. 01 No. 01 - Spring 2011

It all began in 1925 when our founder, Frank Steiner, set up a small textile rental plant in beautiful Vancouver, British Columbia. The early years

focused on a single location, but oppor-tunity abounded beginning with the rap-id growth of the Alberta oil boom in the 1950’s. Frank’s son, George, recognized the potential in Canada and established eight new locations throughout the decade.Today, we have 21 processing plants and 14 special sales and service cen-tres strategical ly located throughout Canada from Victoria, British Colum-bia to St . John’s , Newfoundland. We prov ide work uni for ms , res t aurant l i n e n s a n d d o o r m a t s t o m o r e t h e 80,000 commercial business customers.C an a d i an L i n e n an d Un i for m w i l l c o n t i n u e i n t o t h e n e x t c e n t u r y,

p u r s u i n g t h e h i g h e s t l e v e l o f s e r-vice per fect ion for its many va lued customers. We wil l , however, a lways r e c o g n i z e t h e i m p o r t a n c e o f o u r many capable and dedicated associ-ates who ensure that our customers re c e ive t he qu a l i t y of s e r v i c e t he y expect and the courtesy they deserve.

MEETING GROWING DE M ANDS

To d ay, more t han e ve r, bus i ne ss e s compete for customers and qualif ied employees. More are turning to us for apparel programs that create distinct company images, enhance employee benefit packages and meet government

TOP U

niform Supplier

Winner Profiles Available Online

Orazio Dorata, Sales Manager

Page 79: Top Choice Magazine - Vol. 01 No. 01 - Spring 2011

r e g u -l a t i o n s .

O v e r t h e y e a r s , w e ’ v e s e e n w h a t w o r k

apparel go es through. In re-sponse to this, we manufacture g a r m e nt s t o o u r ow n t o u g h s p e c i f i c a t i o n s . We p r o v i d e garments that work hard - day a f te r d ay, w ash a f te r w ash - without sacr i f ic ing comfor t .

E MBR ACING THE L ATEST TECHNOLOGIES

From our radio frequency gar-ment tracking chip to our state-of-the-art production facilities, we are fueled by innovat ion. Each new technology we adapt means better ser v ice for our c u s t om e r s . O u r p a s s i on f or

t e ch -n o l o g y

c o u p l e d with person-

a l i z e d s e r v i c e keeps our customers

satisfied year after year.

100% S ATISFACTION GUAR ANTEE

Join the l ist of local, regional and nat iona l companies ser-viced by Canadian Linen and Uniform Service. Enjoy custom t a i l o r e d s e r v i c e , c o m p l e t e , o n - t i m e d e l i v e r i e s , q u i c k resp onse to changing needs , c a r i n g , c o u r t e o u s s e r v i c e representatives and clear, a c c u r a t e a c c o u nt i n g . We offer custom-tai-lored, fu l l - ser v ice r e n t a l u n i f o r m p r o g r a m s f o r manufacturing, food ser vice, h o s p i t a l i t y a n d m o r e . Every pro-g r a m i s designed

to meet industry-specific requirements

and government regulations i f necessar y. It’s our respon-s i b i l i t y t o k e e p y o u r t e a m’s image strong by of fer ing the additional service support you may need, including outfitting new employees with uniforms and full uniform maintenance from then on. This means no up - f ront c api t a l i nve s t m e nt f o r y o u a n d t h a t C a n a d i a n Linen and Uniform Ser vice is responsible for a l l repairs & upgrades to the uniforms. We wi l l launder and return uni-forms to your site on a weekly basis to ensure your company achieves a sense of team pride and customer con-fidence. ■

Canadian Linen & Uniform Servicewww.CanadianUniform.com

1-888-258-2222Nation-Wide ServiceSince 1925

Top Choice Magazine • Summer 2007

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LOOKING BACK WITH PRIDE...

LOOKING FORWARDWITH VISION

Carpenters Union,Central Ontario Regional Council

222 Rowntree Dairy RdVaughan, ON L4L 9T2

905-652-4140 * 905-652-4139

Recipient of the Top Choice Award™ for

Workers’ Union of the Year

Page 81: Top Choice Magazine - Vol. 01 No. 01 - Spring 2011

1693 Dufferin Street, Toronto(416) 656-9292 79

Top Brazilian Dentist

Dr. Renato Harari Dr. Harari, was born in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. He graduated from the Dental School of Nova Fribur-go, Brazil. Migrated to Canada in 1990

and later passed the Canadian Dental Board ex-ams and started practicing Dentistry in Toronto.

His patients are primarily of Portuguese, Brazilian, Italian and Spanish cultural background. Over the years he sponsored various cultural events of non-profit organizations and also he donated his work by attending new immigrants and citizens without den-tal coverage. He believes his contribution to Canada as a successful professional is to help persons in need.

Dr. Renato Harari

Page 82: Top Choice Magazine - Vol. 01 No. 01 - Spring 2011

“We are thrilled to learn that Acad-emy of Learning has been awarded the Top Choice Award in the Greater Toronto Area”, commented Deepak

Manchanda, Franchise Operations Manager for Academy of Learning Eastern Canada.

“Our commitment to our students is our number one priority,” stated Mr. Manchan-da. With more than half a million alumni across Canada, Academy of Learning is proud of their students’ achievements in gaining career success. Graduates are work-ing in their chosen careers in various fields such as Accounting, Business, Healthcare, Office Administration, Call Centre and Cus-tomer Service, and Information Technol-ogy. Over the past year, Academy has pro-duced several new high quality programs and courses, including a Marketing coor-

dinator diploma program and Help Desk Support Analyst diploma program. Both of these new diplomas have been designed to ensure students receive career training they need to perform their job in the workplace.

Academy of Learning’s growth in the Greater Toronto area is greatly attributed to the in-crease of newcomers who are seeking ca-reer training. As students, they will ben-efit from the fact that Academy of Learning can customize their programs to receive the specific training they will need for employ-ment success in the Canadian workforce.

This year also marks the 20th anniversary of Academy of Learning. Staff, students, and community partners participated in celebrat-ing the success and growth of the organiza-tion and their contribution to training stu-

TOP Vocational C

ollege

Winner Profiles Available Online

Page 83: Top Choice Magazine - Vol. 01 No. 01 - Spring 2011

dents over the past 20 years.

Academy of Learning began in Can-ada 1987 as an organization special-izing in computer and business train-ing for adult learners. After the first Academy of Learning College opened in Thornhill, Ontario, it experienced growth in Eastern Canada. The company expanded out west to Brit-ish Columbia in 1990. Academy of Learning’s unique Integrated Learn-ing™ System is a competency-based method of learning that integrates all five senses. Audio and visual instruc-tions are used to explain concepts and guide students through initial skill-based applications. Students learn by doing, not just by listening.

The Academy of Learning System is more sophisticated and now offers a wider range of programs and cours-

e s . P r o -

g r am of -ferings have

expanded from computer and office

skills, to diploma and certificate programs, in areas

such as Accounting, Business, Healthcare, Office Administration, Customer Service, Information Tech-nology, Web Design, and Insurance.

The main goal was to give students the possibility of the best system and best education their money could buy. This vision was centred on en-suring the student would be happy, satisfied, and knowledgeable. Acad-emy of Learning strives to be a step ahead, developing the most in-de-mand programs available to students.

In today’s business world, where quality training is not only impor-tant, but also essential to career suc-cess, Academy of Learning continues to stand out as a training provider who is relied on by students, employ-ers, and government agencies. “As we continue to develop our approaches to learning, we always remember that the student comes first,” stated Derek Hamill, current President and CEO. “Academy of Learning will

continue to look for career paths

to answer the ever chang-ing needs of the job marketplace.”

Academy of Learning is a leader in providing Career, Business, and IT training with over 90 colleges in Canada as well as international lo-cations. Academy of Learning has taught more than 1 million courses since 1987, preparing individuals for the jobs they want, while help-ing them to improve their work-place performance. The Integrated Learning™ System allows students to begin programs immediately, getting them started in their ca-reer sooner. Academy of Learning helps students address their spe-cific learning needs, ranging from job specific skills to personal skills which are required for effective in-tegration into today’s workplace.

Academy of Learning colleges in the Greater Toronto area are registered and approved by the Ministry of Colleges and Universities under the Private Career Colleges Act, 2005.

Academy of Learning is a training and career group of over 90, pri-vately owned and operated, fran-chises across Canada. For more information about the programs offered, please visit www.aolgta.com or contact a campus near you.

Academy of Learningwww.academyoflearning.comOver 90 Colleges Nationwide

Top Choice Magazine • Summer 2007

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Leadership Award RecipientLuíz Felipe ScolariFPF.COM

Luíz Felipe Scolari is the head coach of the Protuguese National Soccer team and is credited with leading the National team to its best finish in years. (Inset Top) Gilberto Madaíl, president of the Por-tuguese Federation of Soccer, poses with Top Choice Awards President Monica Couto, Vice President David Silvestre and Scolari, who says this award belongs to the entire team and all members of the coach-ing staff and management

82

Sam Santos/JC

Pim

entel Photography

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FPF.COM

Recipient of the Top Choice Award™ for Money Transfer Agency

of the Year

Brazilian Community

Page 86: Top Choice Magazine - Vol. 01 No. 01 - Spring 2011

1613 St. Clair Ave. W, Toronto416-652-044484

Carioa’s import & Export Inc. (CIE) specializes in importing, distribut-ing and marketing competitive Bra-zilian consumer goods in the Cana-

dian Retail Market, with initial focus on the fast-growing Portuguese/Brazilian ethnic market.

CIE was founded in 2003, by Mr. Gilmar De Sou-za, with the vision of becoming the best and larg-est Brazilian Importer & distributor in Canada.

Mr. De Souza came to Canada in 1982 to give his family a new start in life, bringing with him his wife and a son, and eventually having two daughters. With two years going to George Brown College (1985,1986) he had acquired a degree as tool and die maker, one year later Mr De Souza found out that business was calling himm and he made many attempts to start his own business in many different areas, including construction. In 1987 Mr. de Souza joined Ryerson Polytechnic University, conclud-ing in 1989, he earned a diploma in International Trade. After that, Mr. De Souza joined a cutting

tool company in Concord Ontario working as sales engineer selling cutting tools to engineers and tool and die makers in the car and air plane industries.With his combination of work experience in sales and a diploma in international trade, Mr. de Sou-za used this excellent milestone to begin what we know today as Carioca’s Import & Export Inc. The broad objective of CIE is to develop Bra-zilian Brand awareness and grow sales in the Mainstream Canadian Market. With such brands as: JANDAIA (line of tropical juices), YOKI (a line of more than 400 products). Yoki’s ethnic cham-pions of sales are: Cheese bread, Cassava flour, Ready to eat pollenta, sourer and sweet starch. JOSAPAR (a line of white, wild, whole-wheat and yellow rices). More over, Josapar carries a vast line of black, white and pinto beans. PREDILEC-TA (a line of sweet paste, jelly, and caned fruit with more them 150 products, and many more.

Well as we say at CIE : WE ARE YOUR

GATEWAY TO BRAZILIAN PRODUCTS.

Top Import & Export

Carioca’s Import & Export

Page 87: Top Choice Magazine - Vol. 01 No. 01 - Spring 2011

I started practicing chiropractic in the Portu-guese community in downtown Toronto in 1979. I have been at my present location at 790 College Street for approximately 27 years.

I see patients that suffer from low back pain, neck problems and headaches and treat sports injuries that involve joint problems such as the shoulder, knee and ankle. Most recently we have become involved in dispensing custom made orthotics and orthopedic shoes and we have a computerized Gait Analysis available for this. I also have a busy practice using acupuncture. Our clinic is involved with rehabilitation and rehabilitative exercise as well. We process many patients that have been injured at work through the Workers Compensation (WSIB). Addi-tionally, we treat patients that have been in-jured in Motor Vehicle Accidents.

790 College Street(416) 536-0934ChiropractorDr. Oscar Manias

CHINRadio.com

OMNI.ca

MulticomMedia.ca

Special ThanksMedia Partners

Recipient of the Top Choice Award™ for Chiropractor of the Year

Page 88: Top Choice Magazine - Vol. 01 No. 01 - Spring 2011

Elegance in every drop...

50 Caledonia Park Rd(416) 652-0416

Recipient of the Top Choice Award™ for

Wine Makers’ Supplier of the Year

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Sam Santos/JC

Pim

entel Photography

De Oliviera Hair Care Systems represents the acquisition of a proven

consumer hair care prod-uct, offering the latest technology, innovation,

envoronmentally responsible products, high profile cus-tomers and over 30 years

of business experience.

Top Hair Care ServicesDe Oliveira Hare Care Systems

788 Adelaide St W, Toronto • 416 504 8967 • www.DeOliveiraSystems.com

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Welcome to the Top!!!

What do you do now?

The Benefits of Adding the Top Choice Award™ to Your Marketing

Become a Media Favorite: Magazines and publishers all rely on experts for insightful infor-mation and commentary. Winning an award can add more value to connecting with the press.

Boost Sales: Selling your products and services in today’s competitive marketplace is tough. A business award win or nomination can act as a 3rd party endorsement and the added cred-ibility can be used as a sale closer. A study of over 600 corporate award winners revealed winners had 37% more sales growth than non-winners.

More PR Exposure: All companies can use extra PR. Awards are celebrations of achievement and hard work, a great story opportunity for the press to highlight small business.

Attract Talent: Savvy employees want to work for the best companies. Corporate awards vali-date your hiring stature among new recruits.

Business awards represent a marketing method for companies wanting break-through growth. What can you do with the award after a win, besides filling the trophy case? Check out our 10 Point Business Awards Marketing Checklist. Being a business award winner or nominee presents new opportunities to outrank competitors, drive sales, and boost staff morale. Here is a checklist to maximize your business award return.

Business Award Checklist:• Purchase article reprints for sales material. • Plan your next business award competition to dominate your field. • Seek keynote speaker opportunities to reinforce your company’s business award winning status. • Contact the press or use a PR agency to increase media exposure. • Teach your sales staff how to use the business award win as a sales credibility tool. • Hold a staff meeting to celebrate the victory. • Reach your industry association to highlight your company achievement.• Send a thank you note to all suppliers and customers for their support and patronage. • Call your hometown with news of a local success story. • Update your marketing materials with the business award logos including: business cards, website, blog, new hire packet, fax cover sheet, brochures, biography, PR releases, and all sales material.

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Established 1925

Where every serviceis special

Bathurst Chapel366 Bathurst Street

Toronto, ON M5T 2S6Tel: 416•603•1444

Annette Chapel92 Annette Street

Toronto, ON M6P 1N6Tel: 416•762•8141

Earle Elliott Chapel715 Dovercourt Road

Toronto, ON M6H 2W7Tel: 416•532•3301

Bereavement Centre86 Annette Street

Toronto, ON M6P 1N6Tel: 416•762•3478

www.CardinalFuneralHomes.com

Page 92: Top Choice Magazine - Vol. 01 No. 01 - Spring 2011

For Vitor Caldes De Almeida, active is an understatement. Vitor is a delegate for the car-penters Union Local 27 and uses his stature to actively assist the Portuguese and Brazilian community in the GTA and abroad. As the only Brazilian union representative in Ontari-on, Vitor is devoted to:

Provide the best service and quality to all members of the union Enforce and police our collective agreement Ensure the safety and protection of all workers Negotiate our collective agreement to be� er serve the needs of all workers Be involved in the community political actions and activities

Vitor is a people person and feels at home interacting directly with the community he serves, participating as an active volunteer who focuses on initiatives that allow him the opportunity to work closely with others. More recently, Vitor was a member of a volunteer team that travelled to New Orleans, Louisiana to build homes for those who endured the hurricane Katrina disas-ter, a small demonstration of his community activity.

Vitor Almeida is this year’s Top Community Activist and he hopes that his in� uence can moti-vate other to become more active in their community, for the good our country.

Top Community ActivistVitor Caldas de Almeida

222 ROWNTREE DAIRY RD, WOODBRIDGE • 905-652-4140

D.O.B: April 4, 1979Nationality: BrazilianBirthplace: Rio da JaneiroEmployer: Central Ontario Regional CouncilOccupation: Business Rep-resentative/Organizer