Front Lines

FRONTLINES You Bet Your Boots (& Suits)

Leamington Chamber’s BEA Awards Were A Blast

Group shot of the Leamington District Chamber of Commerce 2022 Business Excellence Award winners. Photo courtesy of Mark Ribble.

The Leamington District Chamber Of Commerce celebrated its 28th Business Excellence Award (BEA) ceremony on September 14, 2022 to a sold out crowd of 200 at the Leamington Portuguese Club.

“It was wonderful to see so many different businesses and organizations out again to celebrate and recognize the great achievements they have achieved over the last year,” states Wendy Parsons, General Manager of the chamber. The official list of BEA winners is as follows:

Young Entrepreneur: Kieran Buzek from Top Dog Brewing Company

Youth Excellence: Morgan Robinson

Positive Professional:

Erie Shores Rehabilitation

Warm Welcome: Migrant Worker

Community Program

Welcoming Accessibility: Thrift on Mill Small Business Excellence one to nine employees: The Leamington Arts Centre

Small Business Excellence 10 to 50 employees: Rosewood Erie Glen

Customer First: Legacy Auctions

Invest in a World Class Workforce:

Highbury Canco

Innovation: Tychon Packaging Inc.

Excellence in Food Services:

Cancunsito Mexican Cuisine

Grow South Essex:

Mastronardi Produce

Industrial/Manufacturing Excellence:

UE Enclosures

Libro Director’s Choice:

Leamington Regional Food Hub

Alf Bennie: Mike Ciacelli

View their business directory and learn about upcoming events on their website: LeamingtonChamber.com.

The theme, this year, for the awards ceremony was Boots & Suits, a spin on the hit TV show Yellowstone. Decked out in their western attire are Leamington Chamber staff, from left: Jacey Foster (summer student); Wendy Parsons (General Manager); Ursula Tiessen (Administrative Coordinator) and Lily Steinhoff (summer student). Photo courtesy of Jen Dawson.

FRONTLINES Windsor FUNd-raiser Nets Over $130k

On Saturday, September 10, 2022, over 50 local companies with more than 500 team members and volunteers attended the 10th annual Windsor Corporate Challenge at the Vollmer Culture and

Recreation Complex.

This one day event raised over $130K to support the Windsor Cancer Centre Foundation!

All net funds raised this year go towards enhancing the patient experience, as well as funding local cancer research.

Since its inception, the Windsor Corporate Challenge (WCC) has given away $250,000 in prizing and more importantly, donated over $1.3M for Windsor-based charities with a focus on children, women, and families.

“In our 10th year of hosting the Windsor Corporate Challenge the success is a testament to the support and compassion of our community,” comments Meighen Nehme, WCC founder and President, and CEO of The Job Shoppe. “After cancelling our event in 2020 and offering our participants a hybrid event in 2021, this year was better than we could have anticipated. It was impactful to hear how missed our event was by the participants and how much they look forward to supporting the cause and spending quality time with their coworkers.”

The event gives local business owners a cost-effective team-building day for their employees.

The day’s agenda consists of a variety of activities and challenges of all levels, so everyone can partake in the fun!

Team St. Clair College was the overall official winner; Team Orange (the volunteer team of high school students) had the best score of the day and the top fundraising team this year was the Vita Villains from International Nutrient Tech, followed by the Forest Glade Animal Hospital, and Tecumseh Animal Hospital.

The top individual fundraisers included: Sam Madia (Vista); Jim Scott (Windsor Cancer Centre Foundation); Rebecca Kirwin (Canadian Mental Health Association) and Amanda Zimmermann (Windsor Regional Hospital).

Additionally, the WFCU (Game of Loans) earned the Team Spirit Award and Mathew Delgreco and Lindsey Saccucci were the Most Valuable Volunteers (MVV) of the day.

A special thank you goes out to all the WCC sponsors, especially St. Clair College, St. Clair Alumni, The Job Shoppe, TD Bank Group, Baker Tilly, MCO Partners, Studio V, Hôtel-Dieu Grace Hospital Foundation, California Closets, Lester, Windsor Spitfires, Lisa and Brian Schwab, Windsor Star, Second Chance CPR, WindsoriteDOTca, and Kersey Kickboxing.

Nehme also wishes to acknowledge the Vollmer staff for their assistance; McDonald’s for providing breakfast; Domino’s Pizza, Ciociaro Club, Dairy Freez, Mr. Meats, and Le Bon Bake House for feeding the teams; Frank Brewery Co. for the refreshments, and DJ Rye for keeping the beats going all day long.

To view photos from the event, please visit: WindsorCorporateChallenge.com.