JANUARY 2017 

IN THIS ISSUE
 
RON MUNRO (1952 to 2016)
 
Headwaters Tourism lost a true champion with the passing of our friend and colleague, Ron Munro.

Ron passed away on November 19th following a battle with cancer. Ron was a tireless champion of business 
and community. And he would be the first to tell you he really didn't know much about tourism. But he understood the importance of tourism as an economic driver that supported our rural communities, so he bought in and drank the Headwaters' Kool-aid.
 
Ron started on the Headwaters Board of Directors in 2010, at a time when the organization was going through considerable transition. But he recognized the bigger vision we had for tourism in the region, and he embraced and supported our thinking. And if you know Ron you know he loved a challenge, so this seemed like the next logical project for him to sink his teeth into.
 
Ron eventually became Chair of our Board of Directors, and devoted hundreds of hours to help move the bar forward. He also championed pushing tourism into the forefront of economic development across the region. He believed in the power of regionalism and collective impact, and Headwaters is where it is today in part because of his perseverance, his commitment, his tenacity and his insistence that we push the envelope, be willing to try and do things differently than the status quo, and ultimately be the best that he knew we could be.
 
Ron was a good man. He was smart, he was witty, he was funny - and yes, he could be a little bit difficult at times too. But he believed in community building like no one else.
 
Headwaters Tourism was recently recognized at the provincial and national level for our work in showcasing the region as "Where Ontario Gets Real". We wouldn't be where we are today without his guidance and commitment, and when we received these recent awards we raised a glass to honour him and his passion for community.
 
This spring, in tribute to Ron, we will be planting a tree in his honour at our offices on Hockley Road. He believed wholeheartedly in partnership and collaboration, so planting a tree at the offices we share with the Board of Trade, on a property owned by the Town of Mono seems so very appropriate. And he loved trees, and flowers and plants, so planting a tree in his honour feels like a fitting tribute.
 
Ron will be missed by everyone who had the honour of working with him, and we thank him for his contribution to Headwaters Tourism and the region at large.  

 
RESERVE YOUR SPACE IN THE HEADWATERS 2017 FOUR-SEASON VISITORS' GUIDE
  
The award-winning Headwaters Four-Season Visitors' Guide is the region's only out-of-market publication, inviting visitors from across southern Ontario to visit Headwaters.

Being featured in this publication will help your business capitalize on the over 876,000 visitors that come to Headwaters every year. We are very proud that the Headwaters region is being recognized and receiving awards & accolades for showcasing the best of Where Ontario Gets Real:

 

Be part of the story, and advertise your business to visitors from across southern Ontario.  This 2017 Headwaters Visitor Guide will be once again distributed across southern Ontario through the Globe & Mail, in Ontario Tourism Information Centres, and throughout the Headwaters region.

 
REGISTER NOW FOR TASTE OF MAPLE 2017
 
 
Taste of Maple 2017 will take place Friday, March 9th to Sunday, April 8th, 2017

This event happens during sap season and provides an opportunity for us to showcase our true Canadian spirit with a festival celebrating all things maple. Help us create some excitement and increase visitation to your business.  
 
Suggested ways to get involved include:
  • Prix fixe menu - Create your own menu that features local maple syrup in each of your menus courses (lunch or dinner). You set the price - it has to be a deal! Visitors will be required to make advance reservations (directly with your establishment) to take part in this promotion.
  • Featured food or drink items - Provide us with a description of what products you are featuring that at your store or restaurant that showcase local maple syrup.
  • Maple events and activities - If you are offering a maple syrup cooking class, selling maple products, running a sugar bush or even creating something unique like maple-inspired art -- provide us with the details and we will promote.
Booking deadline - February 10, 2017

Leading With the Best partners - FREE to participate 
Non-partners - $250.00 participation fee


 
EmployerOne Survey - calling all employers to take the survey 
 
The Workforce Planning Board of Waterloo Wellington Dufferin is launching the 3rd annual Employer One Survey from January 2-31, 2017.

The EmployerOne Survey* is an on-line survey of local employers focused on the demand-side of the local labour market. It is designed to collect information annually on a range of workforce issues such as labour turnover, hard-to-fill positions, recruitment difficulties, and current and future skill shortages.

Valuable information gathered in the EmployerOne survey is used by the Workforce Planning Board and over 30 community stakeholder organizations to seek local solutions to local challenges. Make sure your sector has a strong voice! 
 
Participate in the survey-->  

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Canada ranked #1 for travel in 2017 by New York Times 
(The Canadian Press via Travelweek)
 
The New York Times has ranked Canada as the #1 destination on its '52 Places to Go in 2017' list, citing this year's 150th anniversary as a top reason to pay a visit. To commemorate the milestone, all of Canada's 200-plus national parks and historic sites are offering free admission through the year, not to mention the year-long celebration taking place in Ottawa, the nation's capital.
  
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EDCO's 60th anniversary conference & showcase - February 7 - 9, 2017 
 
EDCO 2017 takes you out of the office and puts you in the driver's seat to engage with industry leaders and colleagues on critical issues facing economic developers.  This year's Conference addresses an essential theme, Ontario's Economy...Driven by Innovation.  The program features keynote presentations by distinguished experts and relevant, highly-practical and interactive workshops focussed on real-world challenges that are designed to spark new ideas, inspiration and energy.

Early bird pricing in effect until January 20th, 2017

Full details-->   

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Canada Summer Jobs now accepting applications 
 
Looking for help this summer?  Why not hire a student?  Financial assistance for wages is available.
 Canada Summer Jobs is a Government of Canada initiative. It provides funding for not-for-profit organizations, public sector employers and small businesses with 50 or fewer full-time employees to create summer jobs for students between the ages of 15 and 30.

The application form as well as the applicant guide is currently available at www.canada.ca/canada-summer-jobs. You can submit your application online, by mail or in person at any Service Canada Centre.

Apply before January 20th, 2017

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OTMPC now accepting TIPP applications 
 
The Tourism Industry Partners Program (TIPP) encourages innovative and results-based initiatives that facilitate increased visitation and expenditures from out-of-province visitors.  The 2017-2018 edition commenced on October 14th, 2016, accepting applications for spring/summer marketing initiatives.
Deadlines are as follows:
* For campaigns starting after April 1, 2017 the deadline to submit applications is January 13, 2017. * For initiatives starting September 1, 2017 & ending March 31, 2018, the deadline is June 2, 2017.

Full details-->>

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OTMPC appoints new President & CEO  
 
Following a robust competitive process and approval by the Board of Directors, Lisa LaVecchia has been named to the position of President and Chief Executive Officer at the Ontario Tourism Marketing Partnership Corporation (OTMPC). Lisa joined the OTMPC in May 2013 as the Vice President and Chief Marketing Officer. In this role she led provincial and international strategic planning and marketing efforts to position and sell Ontario as a preferred global tourism destination with a goal to drive visitation and visitor expenditures while generating economic impact.

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Ontario Sports & Recreation Fund now open 
 
The Ontario Sport and Recreation Communities Fund (OSRCF)is a grant program that supports a vision of getting and keeping Ontarians active in community sport, recreation and physical activity.
The fund:
  • increases opportunities for physical activity in sport and recreation by developing new programs or increasing access to existing programs to encourage individuals to become more active and keep those who are, engaged throughout their lives
  • To embed physical literacy as a foundation for lifelong physical activity among individuals enabling them to make healthier activity choices
  • strengthens the community sport and recreation sector by providing training in areas such as coaching, youth development, and volunteer development to provide enhanced service and quality programming.
Submission deadline:  February 1st, 2017

Program details-->>
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All-in-one travel pricing effective January 1st, 2017 
 
Ontario has introduced new rules that will ensure any advertising that includes the price of travel is inclusive of all taxes and fees as of January 1, 2017. All-in pricing reduces confusion and prevents surprises for consumers who purchase travel services in the province, such as all-inclusive vacations. The change will also ensure businesses follow the same advertising rules to encourage fair competition and level the playing field.

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OTMPC unveils re-designed image bank  
 
OTMPC recently unveiled a redesigned and refreshed imageontario.com. Enhancements improve behind-the-scenes functionality resulting in a more streamlined and efficient experience for users accessing Image Ontario digital assets.  Imageontario.com now features, in addition to thousands of appealing visuals, access to online video and multimedia, an enhanced search function to access information in both English and French, and a streamlined, single registration process to access both tourismpartners.com and imageontario.com.

Find out more-->>

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Help shape Ontario rural support programs  
 
As part of an Ontario Review and Integration of Regional & Rural Business Support Programs, OMAFRA and MEDG are looking to obtain feedback and perspectives from stakeholders regarding three of Ontario's regional and rural economic development funds, namely the Eastern Ontario Development Fund (EODF), the Southwestern Ontario Development Fund (SWODF), and the business stream of the Rural Economic Development Fund (RED).

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OTMPC 2017-2018 partnership opportunities now available 
 
OTMPC has announced their first batch of 2017-18 Partnership Opportunities.  Please continue to visit TourismPartners.com for all the latest opportunities as well as information on the 'Where Am I?' brand,  their Marketing Strategy and Annual Report.

 

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Rural Ontario Institute - youth engagement showcase 
 
The Rural Ontario Institute (ROI) is seeking nominations for young leaders that are taking charge and tackling important local issues in your community.
Through this initiative ROI is looking to:
  1. Profile compelling stories of youth engagement
  2. Highlight the impact youth can have in their local communities
  3. Demonstrate how communities of all shapes and sizes, are successfully engaging and supporting youth in addressing local challenges.
Nominations will be accepted until February 28th, 2017.

 
Thank you to all our Leading with the Best partners who work in partnership with us to help promote Headwaters as Ontario's premier rural tourism destination Where Ontario Gets Real.
 
If you are actively engaged in the tourism industry in Headwaters and are looking to expand your marketing reach, we encourage you to consider our  Leading with the Best program. Businesses that take part in our program are promoted as leading tourism experiences to consumers and become part of our targeted and featured promotions in Headwaters through our digital and social media platforms. 
 
Call or email our Leading With the Best Program Manager to get more information on how Headwaters Tourism can market your business to tourists.

Stephany St.Louis | 905.587.0178 
 
 
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If you have press releases and photos about newsworthy events and happenings, please send them directly to our attention at media@headwaters.ca