Front Lines

Bridging North America (the private sector partner of the Windsor-Detroit Bridge Authority), Bike Windsor Essex and Academy Truck Driving School were among the inspiring award winners honoured at Women’s Enterprise Skills Training of Windsor’s virtual International Women’s Day (IWD) Gala and Journey Towards Success Awards on March 8, 2022.

Together with many local individuals, they were recognized for creating spaces that are welcoming and inclusive for all people, demonstrating a commitment to promoting gender equality and partnering to increase the inclusion of women in the community with Women’s Enterprise Skills Training of Windsor, Inc. (WEST; WestOfWindsor.com). Over 400 people, including executives and representatives from First Nations communities and organizations, corporations, small business, government, banking, industry, labour, and non-profit groups, tuned in to watch the IWD gala, which kicked off with a networking event on Zoom followed by the official program broadcast on YouTube.

The gala opened with a beautiful rendition of the national anthem sung by Stephanie Lyanga and was co-hosted by a trio of women from WEST — Nadine Manroe-Wakerell, Vice President; Gemma Grey-Hall, Board Member, and Rose Anguiano Hurst, Executive Director.

The evening featured musical performances and Keynote Speaker, Dr. Beverley Jacobs, Senior Adviser to the President on Indigenous Affairs & Outreach at the University of Windsor.

“We were so pleased to see everyone come together at the gala to celebrate the differences individuals are making so that we can continue to live in a society where men and women with equal ability, education, and experience also have equal opportunities,” states Anguiano Hurst. “Each of us can make a difference and these awards are one way of inspiring each of us, no matter where we work, to do our part to work against the bias, discrimination and stereotypes.”

The Journey to Success Awards recognize individuals, businesses and organizations in Windsor Essex who support WEST.

Congratulations to the following 2022 Journey Towards Success Award recipients in the category listed . . . Break the Bias Award: Bridging North America New Excellence in Partnership Award John Wigle, Bike Windsor Essex VIP Award — New Business Partner

Academy Truck Driving School

Phenomenal Women Award Evon Karayan, WEST participant Innovation Award Priya Chana, WEST participant

Diversity Equity and Inclusion Award Bonnie Douglas, Canadian Coalition of Women

in Engineering, Science, Trades and Technology

Sisterhood Award: Sungee John,

Essex County Chinese Canadian Association

Perseverance Award: Dr. Tariq Ali Khan,

Advanced Urgent Dental

Youth Community Leadership Award Fatima Al Hakim, WEST participant Allyship Award: Justin Falconer,

Workforce WindsorEssex

Influencer Award: Marium Tolson-Murtty, University of Windsor Visionary Award: Susan Taylor, St. Clair College, Genesis Daphne V. Clarke Trailblazer Award Maryan Amalow, University of Windsor

Award sponsors included: St. Clair College, WFCU Credit Union, TD Bank Group,

Small Business & Entrepreneurship Centre/

Invest WindsorEssex, Odette School of Business, Hiram Walker and Sons Ltd., Erie Shores HealthCare, CPA Ontario, Windsor Regional Hospital, Champion Products, CTV/Bell Media, Windsor Star, AM 800 CKLW and Biz X magazine.

WEST expresses its gratitude for IWD sponsors’ generosity, silent auction contributors, St. Clair College (gala sponsor) and WFCU Credit Union (title sponsor) its partners, friends and donors.

FRONTLINES New Delivery Service Debuts Benefitting Restaurants And Drivers

Jack Eisenberg, Owner of JEM Software, and Calvin He, former Owner of Shin Shin Chinese Restaurant, have combined their talents to create a new food delivery service for area restaurants and patrons.

It’s a streamlined approach to food delivery that makes it more efficient for both restaurants and their customers.

The new company will operate under the name Windsor Food Delivery.

“Our new service creates an automatic connection with the driver dispatch system as well as the ability to process prepaid orders, thus reducing the possibility of fraudulent or abandoned orders,” explains He.

Eisenberg, who has spent the past four years managing online menus for restaurants across the region, including Shin Shin, approached He to see if there was any interest in partnering together in a food delivery service after He sold his restaurant.

Of course the answer was YES!

“Our goal is to reduce the costs of offering online food delivery services, especially at a time when many restaurants have been hard-hit by pandemic restrictions and many had to turn to delivery and pickup systems to remain profitable,” says Eisenberg.

He says the company’s intent is to offer drivers better working conditions and a fair compensation package, which rewards good service and takes into account the new higher minimum wage legislation and rising fuel costs.

Patrons only need to place an order on their favourite restaurant’s website, the restaurant will get a notification on their tablet and that order is then passed on to the delivery dispatch system.

When a delivery order is placed and accepted, an on-duty dispatcher is notified and will then assign the delivery to an available driver.

The driver will receive the order on their mobile device along with address details of the restaurant and customer location, including navigation instructions, details of the order and delivery instructions.

The partners are also in the process of contacting the restaurants Eisenberg had been servicing via JEM to see if they are interested in enrolling in the system.

Restaurants already using JEM’s app will only pay a delivery fee while establishments new to the app will also pay a commission.

For restaurants seeking more information on the new system, visit the website: YourRestaurantMenu.com or the website: WindsorFoodDelivery.ca.

For drivers seeking opportunities, visit the drivers’ site: IndieDrivers.net.

The new company is also considering expanding at a later date to include deliveries for pharmacies, grocery stores and other retail outlets.

Jack Eisenberg (left) and Calvin He have teamed up to provide a local online ordering and delivery system for area restaurants, under the name of Windsor Food Delivery. The partners are shown inside the location of one of their clients, East Side Shawarma, 9845 Tecumseh Road East in Windsor. Customers place an order on their favourite restaurant’s website, the restaurant (for example, East Side Shawarma) is notified on their tablet and that order is then passed on to the delivery dispatch system showing the location of on-duty drivers. Photo by Rod Denis.