Wasaga Beach Chamber of Commerce Logo
Volume 1 Issue 14 | September 4th 2020
A Bi-Weekly Roundup of Chamber News & Resources
We're Here to Give A Voice To You and Your Business!

Greetings!

Well, it's officially September! We send our well-wishes to you, your employees, clients and everyone connected to your business as we transition into a new season. In this issue, scroll below for news, events and resources that can benefit you and your business.

  • Get your ticket to our Annual Business Awards & Recognition Ceremony taking place this Thursday, September 10th from 5 to 7pm on ZOOM;
  • Pick up your Personal Protective Kit(s) at our Pop-Up Shop. Sponsorship opportunities also available; and
  • Register for your FREE Digital Marketplace account and set up your business listing on Wasaga Beach's Community Information & Business Web Portal.

Keep scrolling to discover the many Wasaga Chamber & Community news items plus COVID-19 resources.

Sincerely,
Your Wasaga Beach Chamber of Commerce

How Can We Help?
The Chamber is a voice for local business. Email us at office@wasagachamber.com to let us know how we can help. NOTE: The best way to reach us is by email at office@wasagachamber.com. You can also call 705-429-2247.
Annual Business Awards & Recognition Ceremony
Get Your Ticket To This Prestigious Event Now!
The Annual Business Awards & Recognition Ceremony is only one week away! Thank you to the many businesses who have generously donated amazing door prizes and live auction items to this prestigious event.

Get your ticket now and enjoy the FUN from the comfort of your home or office! We're looking forward to celebrating the award nominees and congratulating the winners with YOU!!

Tickets are only $10 and include:

  • Entry into draw for fabulous prizes,
  • Bidding in exciting live auction, and
  • A personal protection kit that includes a personal facemask, hand sanitizer, community information guide and map. The kit also includes visually appealing Social Distancing and Support Local signage supplied by the Town of Wasaga Beach that you can display at your place of business Note: kits can be picked up at your convenience from 2115 Mosley Street. Hours of operation are Monday to Thursday, 8am to 4pm.

To purchase your ticket(s), click here: https://bit.ly/WasagaBusinessAwards2020

To see the list of nominees, click here to view on our Facebook page. Be sure to like the post, leave a comment and share it with your network of connections!
Personal Protective Kits Pop-Up Shop
Includes Social Distancing & Support Local Signage
The Chamber's Pop-Up Shop initiative provides Personal Protective Kits to residents and tourists for $10 per kit. Business owners can also pick up a kit with social distancing signage provided by the Town of Wasaga Beach.

The Pop-Up Shop location is 2115 Mosley Street in the parking lot of Wasaga Tax & Accounting. Hours of operation are Friday, Saturday and Sunday from 1 to 4pm (dependant upon volunteer availability). You are also welcome to stop by the office of Wasaga Tax & Accounting Monday through Thursday from 8am to 4pm. For more information or to inquire about sponsorship or volunteer opportunities, contact Colleen Bannerman at colleenb@wasagatax.com or email office@wasagachamber.com.
Sponsorship Opportunity: Personal Protection Kits
All Sales Proceeds Donated to The Ministerial Food Bank
The Digital Marketplace Web Portal!
Advertise Your Business With A FREE Place Listing
The Digital Marketplace is a Wasaga Beach Chamber of Commerce initiative to share local business and community information during the COVID-19 pandemic and beyond.

From the beginning of the pandemic, we've been working behind the scenes to build a web portal for the Wasaga Beach community to help us all stay up-to-date and connected. We've heard our community asking what businesses are open, how can we reach them and if a business is open how do we interact with them given our new reality.

With those questions and concerns in mind, over the last several weeks, we've asked you to fill in our online form with your business information and current status of operations. Note: As a courtesy to those who filled in our online form, we've added your listing information to our new web portal. We invite you to visit the portal and search for your business listing. From your business (place) listing page, you can click on "Claim Listing" to go through the process of taking ownership of your self-managed page.

With the launch of the Digital Marketplace web portal, we are sending out another invitation to all local businesses, organizations, associations, community resources, clubs and places to register for an account. Once your account is created, you can login to add your business place information and also add any upcoming events. Yes, you can do all of this yourself and update your business listing information as needed! Note: We will be working on tutorials to help you with the set up process, but encourage you to open your account and start to add your business information as soon as possible.

Currently all event and business listings are free and you do not need to be a member of the Chamber to participate. Our goal is to build the Digital Marketplace as the go-to portal for Wasaga Beach business and community information. We need your help to do this! You can help us reach this goal by registering for an account and listing your business information as soon as possible.

Our plan is to market the new portal through both traditional and online marketing channels to spread the word about local business here in Wasaga Beach.
Community Resources
Financial Resources
Video Series
Community Information Guide
Getting to Know Your Local Resources Video Series
Digital Transformation Recovery Activation Program 2020
In Partnership With The Ontario Chamber of Commerce
This program offers businesses the know-how, blueprint and partners to address the conditions that COVID-19 has created by implementing digital solutions to their front, middle and back-offices. The program brings $40K in training and mentorship at no cost to you!

Ontario Tourism Summit & Awards of Excellence
Tickets Now Available | October 27th & 28th
From your own living room you’ll get the cutting edge content you want from industry leaders and experts. You’ll hear about best practices, world leading industry thinkers, new international protocols, the move to hyper-local tourism and how collaboration across our industry is stimulating the green shoots of recovery.
Canada United Small Business Relief Fund
Applications Open August 31st
The Canada United Small Business Relief Fund is managed by the Ontario Chamber of Commerce on behalf of the national Chamber network in support of other chambers and partners to help small Canadian businesses with their recovery efforts as a result of COVID-19. If awarded, a relief grant can be used for any of the following activities:

  • Purchasing Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) such as masks, face shields, and latex gloves.
  • Renovating physical space to adhere to local, Provincial or Federal reopening guidelines.
  • Developing or improving e-commerce capabilities for your business.

A limited number of grants of up to $5,000 will be awarded. We intend to support local businesses of all kinds from across the country (from retailers to barbershops to farmers).

Learn more about the program and eligibility criteria at https://occ.ca/canada-united-small-business-relief-fund/.
Workplace Safety & Prevention Services
Post Pandemic Business Playbook
A starter guide to restarting a Post Pandemic business. This tool can help you set priorities, get plans in place and protect your people.
Chamber Governing Bodies Resources & Links
International Chamber of Commerce - https://iccwbo.org

International Chamber of Commerce Launches SOS (Save Our SMEs) Website - https://www.sos.iccwbo.org

Canadian Chamber of Commerce - http://www.chamber.ca

Canada Business Resilience Network - https://www.canadianbusinessresiliencenetwork.ca
Ontario Chamber of Commerce - https://occ.ca

Ontario Chamber of Commerce: COVID-19 Tools & Resources For Your Business -

COVID-19 Business Webinars To Support You - https://occ.ca/webinars/
Town of Wasaga Beach
Wasaga Beach & COVID-19
Information Page
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Economic Development staff continue to be available by phone and e-mail to provide support and assistance to the public, business community and investors. Please call 705-429-3844, ext. 2274 or email at edo@wasagabeach.com.
COVID-19 Resources

Facebook Live Video Briefings With Dr. Charles Gardner Medical Officer of Health and Chief Executive Officer, Simcoe Muskoka District Health Unit -- https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLzFV9L-5L2aoZ9-oRO7ACn8x6xHBmNHXX
Federal COVID-19 Information Line (1-833-784-4397) / Public Health Ontario (1-866-797-0000) -- https://ca.thrive.health/covid19/en
From Our Partners | Employee Benefits
2019 - 2020 Board of Directors
Colleen Bannerman, Chamber President - Wasaga Tax & Accounting
Tyler Rollins, Chamber Vice President - Key Mortgage Partners
Leslie Listro, Chamber Secretary/Treasurer - Caithkin Treatment Foster Homes
Selena Blais - Chamber Director - Georgian Life Media
Joel Simpson - Chamber Director - Georgian Family Chiropractic
Jason Ruttan - Chamber Director - RE/MAX of Wasaga Beach Inc., Brokerage
Christina De Palma - Chamber Director - De Palma & Associate Legal Services
Marlene Parkins - Chamber Director - Wasaga Beach Farmers Market
Jennie Elmslie - Chamber Director - Free Spirit Tours
Alex Colthart - Chamber Director - Forty-Four Inc.
Ava Alward - Chamber Director - Realtor, RE/MAX of Wasaga Beach Inc.