RRFDC Annual General Meeting

Women in Mining - May 6th

FREE Customer Service Workshop

Hire a Student

This summer consider hiring a student.  You can tap into a source of motivated, talented and energetic young people who are ready and willing to work, while at the same time; provide your business with extra help to get the job done.


The Provincial Government is investing in student employment in Northern Ontario through the Summer Jobs Service program delivered by the Ministry of Northern Development and Mines.  The Summer Jobs Service can help you by providing a $2.00 subsidy per hour incentive to hire young people.


You can receive funding of up to a maximum of 560 hours per position, for example, 35 hours per week for 16 weeks at $2.00 per hour.  Subsidized placements must not begin before April 1, 2012 and must not extend past September 30, 2012.  There is no minimum number of weeks.  Students must be between the ages of 15 and 30 upon commencement of employment.


We invite you to participate in the Summer Jobs Service initiative.  Application forms can be found on our website: http://ontario.ca/northernsummerjobs


You can fill out the application online and submit it by e-mail.  You also have the option to print your completed application and submit it to your local Ministry of Northern Development and Mines office by fax, mail, or drop off.   Please submit your application before April 30, 2012.


If you would like a paper version of the application form, please contact the Northern Development Office nearest to you and one will be faxed or mailed.  If you require further information, please do not hesitate to call.  

Respect Campaign Launched

By Heather Latter, Staff writer
(Fort Frances Times Ltd.)
http://www.fftimes.com/node/249366

Several members of local businesses and organizations were on hand at Boston Pizza here last Thursday morning as the Celebrating Diversity Committee launched its “Respect” campaign to the public.

The presentation, entitled “Six Steps to a More Respectful Community,” aimed to help initiate conversations about diversity amongst the participants.

“It’s all about raising people’s awareness of the issues around diversity and the importance of respecting difference,” explained committee chair Trudy McCormick.

“Creating a respectful community is everyone’s responsibility,” she stressed.

McCormick continued by offering the six steps developed so that people can be more respectful members of the community in which we live and work. She added respect matters because respect has a real impact.

“Respect makes people feel valued, and will bring customers and clients back again and again,” she reasoned.

“First impressions can make all the difference.”

McCormick said respect also enables open communication.

“Dealing with—and resolving—respect issues makes for a safer, healthier work environment,” she explained.

“And if you do it respectfully, it will make difficult discussion easier,” she added, noting how simply changing a word can change the impact.

For example, McCormick might say, “Boy, have I had a crazy day.” But the word “crazy” can be offensive to some people, so perhaps if she said, “Boy, have I had a chaotic day,” it might be more appropriate.

Respect also can have a legal impact since discrimination and bullying are explicitly included in Bill 168—The Workplace Violence and Harassment Law.

“Respect can help avoid potential lawsuits,” McCormick said.

Small group discussions also were held with participants last Thursday talking about times they felt respect and times they felt disrespected.

“And hopefully by having conversations about it, then when people are in a situation the next time, they’ll have some ideas of how to handle it better,” explained McCormick said, though acknowledging the definition of diversity is very broad as it includes gender, socio-economic status, sexual orientation, religion, people with disabilities, people with mental illness, race, age, etc.

The idea and basis for the “Respect” campaign came from a very successful project which Confederation College had started back in 2006.

“It started with the realization that something was needed to inform people, and educate people, about respect and everything that goes with it,” said Anne Renaud, manager of the local Confederation College campus, who also was on hand for Thursday’s public launch.

“A lot of people have done a lot work to get it to where it is and it’s nice to see it come to fruition,” she added.

“To see it expand beyond the doors of the college is just amazing.

“I really hope different businesses and organizations are going to take the opportunity to have the ‘Respect’ training and presentation done for their staff because I think it’s something everyone can use,” Renaud stressed.

“I thought the session could be useful to anyone with respect to both their personal and professional lives,” said Ashlee Grimard of the Gizhewaadiziwin Health Access Centre here, who also took in the “Respect” training.

“The six steps to respect outlined were very user-friendly and could be easily integrated into any organizations’ culture,” she noted.

“Overall, it was a great and a job well-done by the diversity committee.”

The one-hour presentation, offered up by volunteers, now is available at no cost to businesses and organizations across the district.  Those who take the workshop will be provided with visible identifiers, such as lanyards and door signs, so anyone going into these organizations immediately will know they can expect to be treated with respect.

For more information about having the “Respect” workshop presented at your business or organization, call McCormick at 274-5327.

www.celebratingdiversity.ca

Innovative, informative and inspirational are only some of the adjectives used to describe Barbara Stegemann, CEO and founder of The 7 Virtues Beauty Inc.   She will be the keynote speaker at a brunch in Kenora (8:00 a.m. Best Western Lakeside Inn) and dinner in Fort Frances (5:30 p.m. Le Place Rendez Vous) on Thursday, March 8th, presented by the Northwest Business Centre to coincide with International Women’s Day.
From a humble beginning in rural Canada to entrepreneurial success internationally; Barb will share her business model that allowed her to transform her vision into reality without, in her words, losing herself in the process.
“I believe that we, as women, can achieve success in the business world and still have a rewarding personal and family life. Naturally we need to work hard, but more than that we need to work with conscience, without compromising our values and give something back, but we don’t need to do it alone”, says Barb. When we work together we share ideas, resources and energy, and ultimately we inspire each other to more than we may have thought possible.”
Barb’s entrepreneurial vision comes from the heart. She created The 7 Virtues Beauty Inc., a company that sources organic oils from Afghanistan, Haiti, and other countries experiencing turmoil, to encourage change and reverse issues of war and poverty. She is the first woman from Atlantic Canada to get a venture capital deal in the history of the Dragons’ Den, (February 2011) when she made the Dragons cry with her compelling pitch and message of the importance of doing trade with nations that are experiencing war or strife.

One cold call later her fragrances were in The Bay stores across the country, and they will be on hand and available to purchase on March 8th. Barb will also have copies of her book, The 7 Virtues of a Philospher Queen; a Woman’s Guide to Living and Leading in an Illogical World, available for purchase, or as a gift with purchase to those who purchase her fragrance.
A nominee for Chatelaine's Women of the Year 2011 entrepreneur award, Barbara recently received the "Women Innovators" Award from the US State Department. She also has the distinction of being the first woman to be made an Honourary Colonel in the Royal Canadian Air Force for 14 Wing Greenwood. And her days in the Dragons’ Den are not yet over; Barb will be featured on their “Where are they now?” show on Wednesday, February 29th at 8 p.m. EST
Primary funding for this initiative to mark International Women’s Day and celebrate the accomplishments of women entrepreneurs is provided by the Province of Ontario, Ministry of Economic Development & Innovation. The Northwest Business Centre is proud to also welcome the RBC Royal Bank as our commercial sponsor for Barbara’s visit to both communities.
Ticket price and locations are: 

Kenora Thursday, March 8, 2012 

8:00—11:00 a.m. Best Western Lakeside Inn 

$20 Includes HST/Brunch; 

Tickets available at: RBC Royal Bank and HoJoe Coffee & Books Inc. in Kenora 

Fort Frances Thursday, March 8, 2012 

5:30—9:30 p.m. Le Place Rendez Vous 

$30 Includes HST/Dinner 

Tickets available at: RBC Royal Bank and Northwoods Gallery & Gifts in Fort Frances

For more information contact: 

Diane Schwartz-Williams 

Northwest Business Centre 

Ph. 807-467-4643 

diane@nwbiz.ca

Barb Stegemann 

The 7 Virtues Beauty Inc. 

Ph: 902-446-0400 

info@the7virtues.com

Twitter@the7virtues

www.the7virtues.com

Dragons Den Clip 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q7K9TUgGLRg&feature=player_embedded 

CBC National news clip on Stegemann being made first female Honorary Colonel for 14 Wing Greenwood http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0Dy3qRs9zOw&feature=player_embedded 

History TV show on the naming of Noble Rose of Afgahanistan 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R2hfZpkuIp4&feature=player_embedded

WBN (International Falls, Minnesota)

From the Women's Business Network:

Please join us for our 2011-2012 season kickoff on Thursday, September 8^th at Noon at the Coffee Landing Café.  This year we will be meeting the 2^nd Thursday of every month so please mark your calendars.  The first meeting is strictly for networking to catch up after our fabulous summer and to say our farewells to Dixie who will be leaving the KEDA office on September 14^th for a position at the North Koochiching Area Sanitary District.

We are collecting $10 for lunch, which includes $1 tip and $2 for a scholarship fund that we will be starting for a local young woman who is interested in going to college to study in the field of business.  We are hoping that by the end of our season we will have at least $250 for that scholarship fund.  Any additional donations will be gladly accepted. Please RSVP to Jenny Dougherty the Small Business Development Center/KEDA at 218-283-8585 or send Jenny an e-mail at jenny@businessupnorth.com