Lambton Shield - October 2018 by CR Creative Co. Ltd.

DEBUT PRINT EDITION

LAMBTON SHIELD

FACES OF THE FUTURE How students from Lambton College are out to change the world

MARILYN

GLADU

MP, Sarnia-Lambton 519-383-6600 Marilyn.Gladu@parl.gc.ca www.marilyngladu.com

LAMBTON SHIELD INSIDE THIS ISSUE 5

Faces of the Future

Delivering Simplicity and Consistency to Accelerated Growth

Bringing Light to the Neighbourhood

Straight Down the Line

Extending the Quality Journey

Growth Spurt

When it Comes to Remaking Yourself, Start by Recognizing Your Own Power

Building Connections to a Digital Future

Lambton Shield is owned and operated by 1886917 ONTARIO INC. and published both in print and online at WWW.LAMBTONSHIELD.COM. We are especially grateful and recognize a select number of companies who made an early commitment to seeing our debut print edition become a reality. They include the Bluewater Power Group of Companies, Lambton College, Libro Credit Union, and the Sarnia Lambton Business Development Corporation. We also very much appreciate the support of the advertisers who came on board for what we hope will be an extended and purposeful presence in the community. DESIGN AND PRODUCTION BY: CR Creative Co. Ltd. of Wyoming, Ontario. EDITORIAL CONSULTANT: L. Sheridan ON OUR COVER: Courtney Neilson, president of Enactus Lambton College, and Matt Hutchinson, faculty advisor.

PROUD MEMBER

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Lambton Shield’s J.D. Booth (right) with Matt Pasut of CR Creative Co. Ltd.

Welcome! I

t was November 2010 when we first launched the digital version of this publication, a move that was really the “rebirth” of SarniaLambton’s very first newspaper—founded in 1852 by a 30-yearold Scottish immigrant who had teamed up with a political friend in doing so. For Alexander Mackenzie, who some years later would become Canada’s second prime minister, the original Lambton Shield was short lived, even with the help of George Brown, who had earlier founded the Globe newspaper, predecessor to the Globe and Mail. Fast forward and eight years after the launch of lambtonshield.com, we’re adding a print version, a venture that we—and the numerous advertisers who see great potential in what we hope to accomplish— are very excited about. One reason is our love of storytelling, to which this debut issue will attest. And a big part of gathering those stories is the conversations and community building which is also a big part of our motivation in cultivating Lambton Shield as a part of this great community we call Sarnia-Lambton. We hope you enjoy as much as we have in producing this first step on what we expect will be a great journey. J.D. Booth Editor and Publisher jd@lambtonshield.com 519-466-2811

FACES

OF THE FUTURE Extending hope to others... and themselves Enactus takes the most basic motivations of generosity and philanthropy to another level. WWW.LAMBTONSHIELD.COM â&#x20AC;¢ 5

arents may be wondering (as many do) if the current up-andcoming generation has “lost its soul,” perhaps the result of any number of changes to society, including moral decline, or any manner of differences compared with their own experience. A piece of advice: look to Enactus as an example of how things are actually getting better. Yes, perhaps even better than they were when you were much younger than you are today. And what is Enactus?

Hutchinson is chuckling even as he tells the story that ended up in Milos handing over the faculty advisor role to him in 2016. How Enactus Lambton College first got its footing is a story worth telling, one that involves a student from Zambia, Tom Chona, who approached Milos with a real need in his community, the installation of a micro grid based on solar power. Milos agreed to take a look, beginning with what was the first of what would turn out to be about 30 trips to Zambia since Enactus was formed at Lambton College.

Originally known as SIFE—Students in Free Enterprise—the organization, which has its headquarters in Missouri, was formed nearly 40 years ago and has 1,730 campuses engaging some 72,000 students. Enactus—which stands for ENtrepeneurial ACTion US—found its way to Lambton College in 2012, the result of two faculty advisors, Jon Milos and Carly Vandenende, who is a professor and program coordinator in the business department. Rob Kardas, then dean of the School of Business, was also instrumental in the launch. Milos, initially the local chapter’s faculty advisor, remains involved in a big way, according to his successor, Matt Hutchinson, who is also an associate professor in the Business & Creative Design Department. Courtney Neilson, who is earning a degree through Nipissing University’s connection with Lambton College, serves as president of the local chapter, even as she is also working part-time at Lambton. Sounds busy? That seems to be a running theme when it comes to Enactus Lambton College. It certainly was for Hutchinson, who came to Lambton College after earning his MBA at University of Windsor and before that, a Bachelor of Commerce at McMaster University. He also earned a graduate certificate through an international coop partnership at the University of Florida in Gainesville.

“

Enactus Lambton College now has a portfolio of some eight projects, something made possible with about 30 members and a system that assigns a project to one of the student leaders.

But it was Enactus that has provided Hutchinson with the kind of energy one could only hope for a career that began nearly five years ago. That was when Hutchinson first heard about what Enactus was about and expressed an interest to Milos, who in typical fashion started giving him “menial tasks to prove my worth.”

6 • LAMBTON SHIELD FALL 2018

”

Chona went on to earn an advanced diploma in Alternative Energy Engineering from Lambton, followed by a bachelor’s degree in Adult Education and Digital Technology from the University of Ontario Institute of Technology and a Master of Business, Entrepreneurship and Technology, Engineering degree from Western University. Neilson relates how the Zambia project grew far beyond what was initially in Chona’s mind. “We quickly discovered that the villages weren’t at the point where solar power would have made much of a difference,” she said.

In fact, their biggest need was food. “They couldn’t feed themselves,” says Neilson, who with her group went back to Sarnia-Lambton where they began to consult with an agronomist at South West Ag Partners, a company based in Chatham. That resulted in valuable insights into new farming techniques that lead to crop yields three to five times what they were previously.

The project’s name—One Seed—reflects how one of the most basic needs is being met. “We’re now seeing the community able to invest in infrastructure, including schools, health clinics and irrigation systems,” adds Neilson. Enactus Lambton College now has a portfolio of some eight projects, something made possible with about 30 members and a system that assigns a project to one of the student leaders. How those projects get managed is very much up to the students themselves, although guidance comes from Hutchinson and others. “Even when students leave Lambton, they have the option of staying involved as alumni,” notes Neilson, who expects that will happen when she graduates. One of the ongoing projects is “Strength in Numbers,” a financial literacy curriculum that is being taught locally and in Zambia. There is also an entrepreneurial training program that Enactus members are extending to First Nations students at Walpole Island, Aamjiwnaang, and Kettle & Stony Point. As part of that initiative, a business pitch competition was held at the end of the workshop this past year, with plans to continue the initiative on a regular basis. Hutchinson says one of the strengths of Enactus is its inherent ability to breed innovation and excellence in multiple ways as students gain experience and are inspired. “It’s really amazing to see how the students rise to the occasion,” he added. WWW.LAMBTONSHIELD.COM • 7

The organization is also sensitive to the workload of students, who manage peak times with their school activities, not unlike a “real world” experience where there are busier times than others. And speaking of “real world” benefits, Neilson says she’s been able to take her knowledge gained in the classroom to an entirely new level as a result of her involvement with Enactus. “On the academic side, l was able to take everything I thought I knew in the classroom and really learned it outside the classroom through Enactus,” she said. “Things like supply chain management, international relations, the value chain, being able to apply those concepts through our work in Enactus is something where overcoming obstacles is a big part of the learning experience.” Although Neilson, who previously attended university where she studied human resources, says she’s still not entirely sure what she will do when she graduates. But that’s okay too. “With Enactus, you graduate with a background that’s so well rounded that there’s really no limit to what a student can get involved with. They can achieve anything through this program.”

8 • LAMBTON SHIELD FALL 2018

Point your smartphone camera to this QR Code or go to www.bit.ly/enactuspodcast and listen to our full interview with Courtney Neilson and Matt Hutchinson.

Delivering simplicity and consistency to accelerated growth

Sarnia resets its economic development course, making it easier for investors to say ‘yes’.

or years, an interesting thing has happened in Sarnia and surrounding Lambton communities. Executives moving to the area frequently express concern about leaving behind the lifestyle and cultural infrastructure of a big city. But these same executives often choose to retire in Sarnia at the end of their career. They find that SarniaLambton’s cost of living, lifestyle, and new lifelong friendships to be more important and satisfying than the hustle and bustle of big cities. There’s no question that the benefits of living in Sarnia are apparent to anyone who lives here. But what is needed is growth, particularly business growth in the form of investment that will produce jobs and renew the tax base. This kind of growth would enhance an already welcoming environment for people to discover Sarnia as the place they want to be. How to get there? For starters, the city is taking steps to create an economic development services model that will focus on coordination between departments, reducing red tape and facilitating cooperation. The city’s previous structure was something of a catch-all that included facility management marketing and promotion related to business development, and providing assistance and information to potential investors.

SLEP’s ‘five-P’ strategic plan to provide benchmark direction. With the Sarnia-Lambton Economic Partnership strategic plan now in place, players like the City of Sarnia have a set of priorities with which they can align their own economic development strategies, knowing everyone is rowing in the same direction. SLEP’s five strategic priorities, also referred to as pillars, includes: PEOPLE: with a goal of prosperity fueled by population growth, the objective being to attract people and talent to support the Sarnia-Lambton area’s economic development vision. PROGRESS: with a goal of targeted investment attraction and business growth, the objective is to leverage existing industry clusters and accelerate development of emerging sectors. PERCEPTION: with a goal of positive image, the objective is to promote the Sarnia-Lambton area as an exceptional place to build a career, live, raise a family and retire. PLACE: with a goal of being an investment ready and supportive community, the objective is to maximize utilization of current infrastructure and continue to invest in new infrastructure to support growth. PARTICIPATION: with a goal of a unified and collaborative economic development program, the objective is to lead regional economic development initiatives and engage municipal partners and key stakeholders in collaborative programming that support our local and regional economic development vision.

WWW.LAMBTONSHIELD.COM • 9

Start the Ball Rolling. The idea that spending a few million dollars to create a “path forward” that would allow area fabricators to save millions more while creating jobs and propelling even more economic growth is one that local municipalities, including Sarnia and its neighbours, all part of Lambton County, have embraced. The issue has been the seeming reluctance/delay when it comes to getting provincial and federal help with the matter. We’re talking about the Oversized Load Corridor, a project that has a price tag of $12 million but which would permanently create a path by which fabricators can move large structures (up to 30 feet wide by 30 feet high by 150 feet in length) built for customers from outside the area via Sarnia Harbour or to local customers in the petro-chemical and bio-industrial clusters. The route—a 26.7 kilometre corridor—has already been identified and clear passage will improve the competitiveness of local fabricators and large industry by reducing shipping costs and opening access to new markets. With those reduced costs, more business will flow to the area based on the ability of the fabricators to price their jobs more competitively. Altogether, proponents of the Oversize Load Corridor expect the new route to help generate 2,600 jobs and $263-million in Gross Domestic Product. Such a project would involve moving existing obstructions like power lines, street lights, signal lights and other utility lines by either permanently raising or burying them. There are 11 intersections along the route where a 90-degree turn is required and each needs to be modified to relocate or remove obstructions like signage, lighting, curbing and overhead lines. Continued on page 29.

10 • LAMBTON SHIELD FALL 2018

Today, the city is taking a new, broadly structured, and decidedly more investor-friendly approach to encouraging and facilitating growth. It started with a decision, passed by City Council on September 10, 2018, to work hand-in-glove with a strategic plan developed in June 2018 by the Sarnia-Lambton Economic Partnership (SLEP), the group funded by Lambton County, the second-tier level of government that has Sarnia as its largest constituent member. (See sidebar story). Aligning with SLEP’s plan, which Sarnia officials helped develop, makes a good deal of sense. Investors care little about where political boundaries begin and end. One has to look only as far as at NOVA Chemicals’ $2 billion expansion (which lies in nearby St. Clair Township) as evidence of that. But the bigger picture remains. When growth occurs, Sarnia benefits along with its neighbouring communities. And playing well with others is part of how Lambton County is structured, with a Council represented by members of each lower-tier municipality, including five from Sarnia.

The city features major physical assets such as the deep water port, regional airport, Highway 402 and an international border crossing, plus several public and private business parks. Achieving Top 21 Intelligent Community status for three years running, Sarnia is partnering to open opportunities through electronic connectivity and diversification of its industrial base. Innovation is key to the future of the region and a focal point of the newly formed SarniaLambton Innovation Bridge which supports commercialization of new technologies. It’s the new direction that officials see as being the most exciting of the changes planned. In particular, a “one-stop, start-to-finish” service will see the city’s Economic Development Officer guiding developers and investors through what could to some appear as a complicated process. With the renewed Economic Development Officer role and on-line business support services through BizPal, the goal is to provide investors with an ease of navigation on the path leading to a permit and opening the doors to a new business. The result, officials hope, will be a dramatically improved service model that aligns with previous City Council approved steps (a Development Services Review done in 2015) and one of the pillars of its Corporate Strategic Plan that was adopted by Council in 2017. Adding in the SLEP integration where the city will work collaboratively through frequent communication and regular progress meetings, and the city’s renewed economic development approach appears to be a model that provides a “reset” for a brighter future.

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Bringing

light

TO THE

Neighbourhood Years after former hospital site was abandoned, a new future begins to take shape.

enn Poore is nothing if not persistent.

The commercial real estate broker who came to Sarnia as a favour to his brother Richard, one of the people who wanted to restore the former Capitol Theatre into a showcase of live entertainment, was part of a development group that as early as 2013 was looking at the Sarnia General Hospital as an opportunity to better the city he’d come to love. Yes, they would make some money. But the return from a value creation standpoint would be substantial. Ultimately, that first “kick at the can” was spectacularly unsuccessful (see sidebar story) but Poore and his partners came back together with a new plan and a revised vision that builds on the strength of those involved, including the key understanding of a principle in real estate: seeking out the highest and best value of a property.

For Poore, the fourth of six children who was born in Leamington but at an early age moved to Sarnia, graduating from Central High School before eventually going to work at General Electric. That early stint—some 30 years ago—was a job where he called on architects and engineers who were looking to his employer as a source for the lighting projects they were undertaking. “I found myself looking at real estate more than the engineering and architecture work,” says Poore. “One thing led to another and I eventually put an offer on a building.” Then a commercial broker he’d come to know made the suggestion that set Poore on what has become his life calling, at least from a career standpoint. “He asked me to get my real estate license and come work for him,” said Poore, who did just that. WWW.LAMBTONSHIELD.COM • 13

Eventually, he and a group of agents opened their own business, still in London, and “living peaceably” as he puts it. Then Richard Poore called. His older brother (Richard is third in the family lineup) was working with a group that was interested in restoring the Capitol Theatre and could his brother help? One thing led to another, and Kenn ended up finding himself with a full-time unpaid job on the side for the next five years, building what would become the Imperial Theatre in downtown Sarnia, and getting it on its feet. He also met his now wife, Donna, and eventually moved to Sarnia permanently. Again, life went on “peaceably” in Sarnia and Poore benefited from relationships he’d developed in London and beyond. When the Sarnia General Hospital project first came on the scene it was the result of a conversation with Charlie Dally one of his current partners in a project to demolish and redevelop the site.

“

owned hotels in the area), and Marty Raaymakers (an owner with MIG Engineering), all having served as chairs of the Sarnia Lambton Chamber of Commerce over the years. GFive Inc. was born out of those conversations and Poore says it’s been a collaboration that has borne fruit. “Yes, there’s a lot of hard work, but we’ve enjoyed doing it,” he said. Going down the initial path that might have produced a different outcome than what the group is now moving forward with achieving, Poore will say there were “a few critical mistakes made” by Sarnia City Council in their abandonment of the first deal that had been made.

...with a public contribution of $5 million to a demolition project that the city estimated would cost more than $8.9 million, GFive is finally making progress.

”

“Charlie, who has run several businesses, was specializing in demolition and he was talking about how he’d like to get the contract to take the building down,” recalls Poore.

But today, with a public contribution of $5 million to a demolition project that the city estimated would cost more than $8.9 million, GFive is finally making progress.

Eventually, the conversation spread to three other friends—Mark Lumley (a farmer/entrepreneur), Alex Jongsma (who had once

While Charlie Dally wouldn’t be directly involved in the demolition (as was his early thought), Schouten Excavating is handling that work, as

14 • LAMBTON SHIELD FALL 2018

it did for the former Ford plant in St. Thomas and for the former St. Patrick’s High School, the building (in a twist of irony) that Kenn Poore went to school in when it was Central High School.

Expectations include the creation of some 45,000 square feet of office space, with residential development on Essex Street and Bright Street.

With a public process that would capture what neighbours would prefer to see in a plan to reimagine the area and an abatement of asbestos contamination in the buildings now near completion (it took longer than expected) Poore and company are making progress.

Poore says the group has had some discussions for the three newly created lots on Bright Street as part of the overall project.

“

He says the neighbours are “thrilled” to see real progress being made on what had clearly become a blighted area.

We and others see this redevelopment as helping to turn this area into a vital part of the community as it was before.

The key elements of the project include creating 11 residential lots on Essex Street, a development that will “mirror” existing homes (consistent with neighbour hopes and expectations for the overall project). Poore commends both members of the neighbourhood and city staff who have worked hard to create a final plan that works for everyone. “We’re now in the position of being able to pursue tenancies and we hope to be able to make some announcements in the near future,” said Poore.

”

“We and others see this redevelopment as helping to turn this area into a vital part of the community as it was before.” Looking back at what he and his partners have been able to accomplish with the property, Poore is confident it will be seen in a positive light.

“You had a group of entrepreneurs coming together to solve a problem that the public sector was struggling with,” he said. “I mean no disrespect to the city by saying this. The fact is that members of our group can meet and make decisions quickly. That is contributing to making this work.”

To listen to the conversation Lambton Shield Editor J.D. Booth had with Kenn Poore, point your smartphone camera to this QR code or go to http://bit.ly/SGHredev

WWW.LAMBTONSHIELD.COM • 15

STRAIGHT DOWN THE

LINE

Twisted Arm pays homage to ‘The Hip’ while setting standards for quality, six days a week.

yler Armstrong has heard it all—how running a restaurant is something that just about anyone can do, how the business is glamorous, even something that resembles a TV show like the Cheers sitcom, where “everyone knows your name.” But to hear how he and his wife Jenn set out to create the Twisted Arm, a popular restaurant/bar located on the west side of the London Road Plaza, it’s clear that there are no easy steps to creating a business that works as well as this one. The native of Sarnia, Tyler’s background includes a time living in downtown Vancouver before moving back home where he worked as a roofer. It was then that a close call—a piece of hot tar that could easily have blinded him—provided a glimpse of what direction he definitely didn’t want to follow. “It was just a sign that ‘hey, this isn’t for you,’” said Armstrong. Shortly thereafter he and a bunch of friends, including his nowlandlord, Rob Dawson, headed back to British Columbia in a van, eventually settling on Vancouver Island where he helped run a bar/ restaurant called Fog and Suds. Eventually returning (again) to Sarnia, Armstrong helped open Scroggie’s, the bar on Murphy Road that he helped manage for seven years. Things were going well, but Armstrong was looking for something that was his, although his friends were skeptical. “They thought I was a little crazy, with a mortgage and a brand-new baby in the family, but I knew I wasn’t really happy and it was time to try something new,” he says. That “something new” turned about to come in the form of Norm’s Bar & Grill, where the Armstrongs were offered a percentage position in the operation, essentially to “right the ship” on an operation that 16 • LAMBTON SHIELD FALL 2018

wasn’t running as well as it could. But it was far from an overnight success. “It took about three years before it actually started getting to the point of how we wanted it, and five years before we started getting the right staff,” said Armstrong. “Just at the end, we had everything working great, but unfortunately the building was falling apart around us.” Not only that but rumours about the potential demise of the building—again, related to the planned closure of the movie theatre that was being built on the other side of the mall—were factors. “It was quite annoying where every day you’d show up for work and hope someone wasn’t going to shut you down,” he said. For a year, Armstrong went through the rigour of trying to make a deal to take over the Montana’s location, a standalone structure that he feels could have worked if it weren’t for the rent the owners (Lambton Mall) were looking to charge. “People from Toronto for some reason think they can get Toronto prices, but it doesn’t work that way,” he says in retrospect. Then one day, Armstrong, who had left his lawyer’s office in a “very bad mood” paused at Jack Doyle's, the pub operation on the east side of London Road Plaza that had closed. When Armstrong took a look inside the space, he realized it was too big for what he needed in a new restaurant and told Dawson as much. But then they started putting together a deal—something that highlights the value of working with someone who understands the local market. What eventually ended up being a great fit involved some “trading” of space to create Twisted Arm, the name being an homage to the “Twist My Arm” song from The Tragically Hip’s Road Apples album, released in 1991.

“My wife is a massive fan of the Tragically Hip,” notes Armstrong. And the “tornado” logo? It actually started as a sketch of a martini glass. Putting the deal together and building out the space where Twisted Arm operates was no easy task, although he credits the Sarnia Lambton Business Development Corporation and Dawson, his longtime friend and now landlord, for making it all possible. “Without those couple of cornerstones, it wouldn’t have happened, it’s just that plain and simple,” notes Armstrong. The Twisted Arm is open six days a week, closing on Sunday (“Family Day” it says on the door) as a deliberate strategy to keep everyone as fresh as one can be working in the hectic environment of a bar/restaurant.

“

pace of the opening but there’s a calmness that’s apparent in his attitude toward the restaurant and his surroundings, especially given that they’re the sole owners of the business. That doesn’t mean there aren’t stressful moments that Armstrong still remembers. “I could sit here and talk to you for 10 hours about stories leading up to our opening,” he says. “Like getting our liquor license two hours before we opened.”

I could sit here and talk to you for 10 hours about stories leading up to our opening... we’re pretty proud of what we’ve created.

But it’s easy to recall the frequent conversations that would have taken place in getting to the point where the establishment appears to be running smoothly.

Tyler recalls some of those that involved Don Anderson, the president of the SLBDC, where they’d get talking and at the end of the scheduled meeting, realize that they almost didn’t cover what was on the agenda. But things did get done and the Armstrongs pushed through, not something that can be taken lightly in a business where the failure rate is above average.

”

they hope to the community.

build

Still, Armstrong has few regrets. He still works with the SLBDC and values the relationship he’s built there. And he has plans to grow, one of the most recent additions being a stage where he can pull out poles and move a couple of tables out of the way to make room for live music. Jenn is also actively involved in a number of festivals with which lasting relationships that will benefit

“We really have a great community here,” says Tyler, clearly relishing having had the opportunity to establish his own establishment and deliver a quality dining experience to his patrons. “And we’re pretty proud of what we’ve created.”

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“You have to understand that this is not the kind of business that people want to loan money to,” he said. As far as the 2017 opening was concerned, Armstrong says it was one of the strongest he’s experienced. “You think you can be prepared as you want, which is what we thought we were,” said Armstrong. “But we were nowhere close to being prepared.” Thankfully, he had the kind of help that he values even today. That includes an uncle of his wife’s who was nearing retirement but helped with a good deal of the renovations necessary to get the Twisted Arm ready to open. Even so, Armstrong and his wife both covet their personal time, acknowledging that there were long days at work, especially in the beginning weeks and months. “It’s a lot easier now but we were switching each other off in the early days,” he says. Today, with their 14-year-old son able to help at home (they also have a 10-year-old daughter), things are somewhat easier to manage from a scheduling standpoint, but Armstrong still appreciates his time at home. “You have to shut it off because otherwise it will become your life and that shouldn’t be what it’s all about,” he says. In some ways, he and Jenn may be still recovering from the hectic

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EXTENDING THE

Quality Journey Registration to latest ISO standard has continued to evolve over the years.

very Thanksgiving, most Canadians have some sort of family tradition that involves sitting down, sharing memories and expressing gratitude for the blessings they have experienced in the last 12 months. Jim Moran picks up the phone and makes a call—to Dave Scarlett. Back in 1992, when Moran was experiencing a significant downturn in his training business, had received a call from Scarlett, a business owner he’d connected with earlier. His friend had a question: had Moran ever “heard about this ISO stuff?” Scarlett, who is now a business development manager at Davis Controls in Sarnia, had paid thousands of dollars to someone from North Bay as a first step in becoming registered to a standard established by the International Standards Organisation— commonly shortened to ISO. And would this be something Moran would be interested in pursuing? Moran admits it was “the right call at the right time” and spent the next five years or so writing manuals for companies that were faced with an “ultimatum” from many of their customers: “If you want to do business with us, get ISO certified.”

By 1998, Moran was training auditors in addition to the writing of ISO documentation that was required in order for suppliers at various levels of a supply chain (notably the tens of thousands of suppliers to automotive manufacturers whose quality performance had previously been overseen by the manufacturers themselves).

LIKE WHAT YOU'VE SEEN SO FAR? As Lambton Shield continues with its journey in our community, there's an opportunity (as this debut print edition will attest) to reach some of Sarnia-Lambton's most influential people. For more information on advertising opportunities, visit: www.lambtonshield.com/advertise

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What Moran and others had caught was a wave of change that was sweeping through not just the automotive industry but dozens of other sectors, the key reason being that having a customer adhere to a recognizable standard for performance would shift responsibility to the supplier. “Up to that time, automakers were spending tens of millions of dollars monitoring their suppliers, auditing their performance and taking whatever corrective action that would ensure the end product—those cars and trucks they were building—was as defect free as possible,” notes Moran. Anyone who remembers the quality of vehicles “back in the day” will attest that there were systemic problems with that sort of quality control methodology, which was the reason for ISO being embraced in the first place.

“

He quotes two studies—one done in 1996, another in 2016—that highlighted the common trouble spots for registrars. Those were document control, not closing out incidents of non-conformance (“problems”), and not completing audits in an effective way.

What Moran and his group of partners have created is a custom system that is being offered by subscription, with document management at its heart.

Moran, a native of Leamington, had first earned a bachelor’s degree from Western University (then the University of Western Ontario) followed by a master’s degree in curriculum design from Central Michigan University.

He then went to work for Lambton College, where he taught business subjects (everything but accounting as Moran tells it), eventually launching his own training business in 1987. What he found after hearing about ISO from Dave Scarlett was that the ISO methodology was a great model for any business to improve their procedures and not just those who were being forced to do so by their customers. “The idea that the ISO system being adopted would flag problems that would occur—the ‘non-conformance’ items—then contain those problems using predictable methodology that everyone involved could understand and rely on was really quite amazing,” said Moran. Even better was the continuous improvement that followed the registration process. With numerous updates to the ISO 9001 registration—the standard that applies to most companies, although there are others related to health and safety, environment and numerous other sectors—the parent organization (the International Standards Organisation) has largely embraced feedback and implemented changes that reflect technology and standards that have become commonplace. Today, ISO 9001 is at the 2015 level (expressed as ISO 9001:2015) and as of September 15 (at 12:01 a.m.) every previous certificate expired. That has meant a flurry of registration updates, sometimes using the skills of people like Moran, who has walked past clients and new ones through the steps required to be current. But Moran is also taking an approach with his company—Simplify ISO (www.simplifyiso.com)—that recognizes a common problem that hasn’t fundamentally changed in decades.

”

“The interesting thing is that those problems still haven’t been solved,” notes Moran. He might have said “until now.” What Moran and his group of partners have created is a custom system that is being offered by subscription, with document management at its heart. “One of the problems faced by companies who are registered is actually finding documents, which can become a huge time waster,” he notes. That realization lead to Simplify ISO to incorporate a search feature in the system.

There is also a form builder, making it even more useful, according to Moran. The system integrates with mobile devices (smartphones and tablets) as well as desktop and laptops. Moran says the offering has passed numerous independent security checks from companies that have the resources to do a “deep dive” into the platform, one of those being Teknion, a 35-year-old furniture maker with a global presence and Canadian roots. Now based in London, Ont., Moran and his family are back as close to Sarnia-Lambton as they have been in years, having first moved to Guelph, where they spent 10 years—from 1994 to 2004. Moran then moved to Kanata, an Ottawa suburb, largely to focus on the 65% of his business that was located there, including numerous federal government departments and suppliers to the government who were required to be ISO certified. With a family that was growing—Jim and his wife, Bonnie Jackson, have three adult children—London beckoned, and the Moran family has been a short drive down the road for a little more than two years. As technology continues to advance, Moran sees the system he has brought to market being an expression of how easy it has become to work with little concern over physical distance, something that those who previously had to spend much of their time travelling to clients for auditing ISO compliance have come to appreciate. “The system actually has given auditors they ability to shorten their time at a client’s facility because they’re able to review documentation more effectively,” he said. More information on Moran’s work can be found at www.lambtonshield.com. Use this QR code or go to http://bit.ly/simplifyiso for quick access to a page that features more information on ISO registration topics.

WWW.LAMBTONSHIELD.COM • 21

west of Petrolia just east of Mandaumin Road. It’s now the Funny Farm, but that wasn’t always the plan, at least not at the beginning. We asked that question and in our interview, which you can listen to by going to www. lambtonshield.com (see the QR code and short link at the end of this story), Michelle talked about how the move to the country was in good part as a way to regain control over their own food and that of their friends and family. And then things pun intended.

grew—

That was nearly four years ago, and the Funny Farm is now wrapping up its third season.

Michelle and Jeff Glass, pictured middle and right, greet Wendy Scott, a member of the Funny Farm’s Community Supported Agriculture group.

GROWTH SPURT How the Funny Farm is helping to connect area customers with a ‘back to nature’ food economy.

hen we first met Jeff and Michelle Glass, they were living in a modest Sarnia home, looking ahead to a time of retirement and enjoying life without the stresses of

shift work.

Jeff was working at a local petrochemical plant and Michelle was helping to feed seniors at an area nursing home in her job as a dietary aide. What began to change was their attitude toward their food source, sparked at least in part over a number of documentaries that began to create awareness over what was going into food and how the use of pesticides and fertilizers were negatively impacting human health.

When Jeff retired from his process operator job at Imperial, the couple purchased a property—an acre and a half in size—located 22 • LAMBTON SHIELD FALL 2018

“It went from our passion for ourselves and then we found there were others with the same passions and frustrations that we had,” said Michelle, handing over an explanation of what came next to her husband.

“For me, my biggest influence was the documentaries on Netflix,” he said. “Learning about the corporate food system, and how that industry isn’t really concerned about our wellbeing as much as they are about putting money in their pockets.” To be clear, what Jeff and Michelle are talking about isn’t so much the family farm operations that dot Lambton County and which produce the grains and livestock that are ultimately shipped around the world.

“

“We started trying to grow our own food,” notes Michelle, recalling the beginning of a journey that she and Jeff are still on. “That included raising chickens and producing eggs on a city lot.”

In June we were talking to the couple for the Spotlight podcast series.

But what really stoked the interest of Jeff... was the idea that an acre or less of land could generate more than $100,000 done properly.

”

“It’s magazine food that has led us astray,” says Jeff. “That’s not the reality of nature. Real food has bug holes and blemishes and our desire was to get more real with our food.”

From the very beginning, Jeff points to two Canadians as his inspiration for what became the Funny Farm, Curtis Stone, author of the Urban Farmer, who writes from his base in British Columbia, and Jean-Martin Fortier, who is based in Quebec and who has authored the Market Gardener. Another “expert/source of inspiration” is Eliot Coleman, a U.S.-based organic farmer who is known for “spreading the word” around the approach that the Glass family has embraced with the Funny Farm. One of those is related to weed control and it definitely does not include the use of herbicides. Ditto when it comes to taming bugs that traditional farming turns to pesticides as a solution. But what really stoked the interest of Jeff (and he’s not ashamed to acknowledge that it was the money that could be made with this type of operation) was the idea that an acre or less of land could generate more than $100,000 done properly. That’s the experience of people like Stone and Fortier, but the Funny Farm is admittedly in its infancy and Jeff and Michelle are taking a “slow and steady” approach to their enterprise. In fact, they’re working with Fraser Parry at the Business Enterprise Centre that’s part of the Sarnia-Lambton Economic Partnership as they grow the venture. As such, most of what they make is being rolled back into the operation, either to pay staff or invest in equipment, like the homemade greenhouses (plastic film covering a frame of PVC pipe) that have the effect of extending a growing season to the equivalent of being about 800 kilometres south of their physical location. At the beginning, however, the idea of creating the Funny Farm, certainly to the extent that it has grown and even beyond this season as they look to expand, wasn’t something that either Jeff or Michelle expected. “I’m not someone who likes to sit,” says Jeff. What got him started was the installation of a dozen raised garden beds, essentially fourfoot by 12-foot boxes, filled with dirt and a small hoop house, the greenhouse referred to earlier. And he and Michelle continued to soak up and absorb the lessons the community of small farmers was graciously putting out for anyone and everyone. They also discovered early into their venture the phenomenon called Community Supported Agriculture, a model that has families each contribute a set amount (the Funny Farm charges $450) for 18 weeks. Continued on page 29.

Curtis Stone, the Urban Farmer www.theurbanfarmer.co Jean-Martin Fortier, the Market Gardener www.themarketgardener.com Eliot Coleman’s website www.fourseasonfarm.com

Use your phone to scan this QR code or go to http://bit.ly/funnyfarmpodcast for full interview with Jeff and Michelle Glass.

WWW.LAMBTONSHIELD.COM • 23

When it comes to remaking yourself, start by recognizing your own power. By Helen Lomax, Vice President of Enthusiasm, Pathways & Transitions

o you wake up excited each day and look forward to the people you will meet and the things you will do? Do you know how many lives you touch each and every day? Do you realize that others may be looking at you as a great role model and wish they could be more like you?

So often I hear someone say “I’m only one person, what can I do?” Well the answer to that is a lot. Any progress that is made, any change that occurs starts with an idea that someone has had. It gets talked about with others and change starts to happen. You are magnificent in your own right but may not acknowledge that. Think about the many accomplishments in your life and all the things you have planned for the future. You might not be the next Oprah or Richard Branson, but then they probably did not envision their future as it has played out either. Grab or create the opportunities you want to see in your life. Figure out what direction you want to go and then think about the

24 • LAMBTON SHIELD FALL 2018

knowledge needed, the people who can help, the timing required, and what you will achieve in the end. Don’t speak despairingly about yourself but look for the positive and reframe negative thoughts and how you can turn them around. Don’t make it totally “all about you.” Reach out to others and share your expertise when the opportunity arises. Network to meet new people and to check in with others that you don’t often see. Make yourself visible in a friendly, helpful way. Check out your circle of friends and acquaintances and look for the negative nay-sayers that continually pull people down. Do you really need them in your life? Create a plan to move forward and build some sizzle in your life. Laugh, have fun, continuously learn new things, don’t always take yourself so seriously, and tell yourself every day that you are a power house and great things will happen in your life. Point your smartphone camera at the QR code or go to http://bit.ly/helenlomaxpodcast and listen to our full pocast conversation with Helen Lomax, Vice President of Enthusiasm, Pathways & Transitions.

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BUILDING CONNECTIONS TO A

DIGITAL FUTURE

Bluewater Regional Networks, a dream less than five years ago, is making increasingly strong inroads.

t was mid-2014 when members of the senior management team at Bluewater Power first began scoping out the creation of a homegrown internet service business, part of what has become the “group of companies” strategic direction that not only adds value for the municipally owned enterprise but positioned Sarnia-Lambton for future growth.

by one municipality, not the six here in SarniaLambton—that was seen to be largely minor.

Part of that was a visit to Stratford, Ontario, a community that had become one of the first in the nation to leverage its local electric utility into a powerhouse of digital connectivity.

But what caught the attention of members of the Bluewater Power team was the individual that arguably had orchestrated the creation of Rhyzome Networks, the Festival Hydro subsidiary the visitors from Sarnia-Lambton were hoping to emulate.

While Bluewater Power may have differed from Festival Hydro in its ownership structure—the Stratford utility was and still is wholly owned

Paul West is the son of a lawyer who had originally attended Wilfrid Laurier University in Waterloo with that path in mind.

26 • LAMBTON SHIELD FALL 2018

Paul West

“

Bluewater Regional Networks has not only had its sights on improving connectivity in the Sarnia-Lambton community, but is making substantial progress as it adds customers and continues to seek out opportunities to grow the business and beyond.

It was after West’s first year at university that a cousin in Toronto offered him a summer job in a burgeoning tech company that sold computers. West ended up doing deliveries for the firm, not a particularly glamourous job but one that paid the bills before he would return to school in the fall.

The cousin asked if he could open a sort of “satellite” store in Waterloo, which West was happy to oblige, taking out space in the back of an Inuit art gallery. He also took out a print ad in one of the university publications in which he offered dot matrix printers (younger readers should Google that for comic interest), periodically checking the answering machine he had installed. “At the end of the first month, I had a whole bunch of business,” recalls West. “After the second month, we were the supplier of record for the business school, and by the end of November we had a staff of three people.” West admits he didn’t really know what had happened but what he did realize was that he didn’t know enough about business in general so he “parked the arts study” and shifted to the business school. What happened next was fairly predictable: the part-time gig turned

into a full-time job and West never finished school.

”

He also started to get even busier at his new field, to the point where he was recruited to run a subsidiary of ICI, which offered him a minority stake in a business that would be headquartered in Stratford and which would target farmers interested in using the power of computers to better manage their business. Stratford became home and remains so to this day, not far from Waterloo, where he and his wife first met. He also became busy even after leaving the firm that had recruited him, relocating his business activity but always keeping Stratford his base. “I’d go wherever I needed to,” he said, listing off the various points where his developing skills were in demand. Gigs with Motorola, and a subsidiary of Bell Canada are on that list, with projects that included providing network installation services at places like Sunnybrook Hospital in Toronto.

WWW.LAMBTONSHIELD.COM • 27

Today, that’s in Sarnia-Lambton, where West makes the 90-minute drive from Stratford—a “pretty drive” he says. There’s good reason for keeping Stratford his base, not least of which is his wife’s career as a school teacher, who worked with the wife of Don Mathieson, then and now the mayor of Stratford. That connection lead to a discussion on the potential for the community to benefit from a robust digital infrastructure project. “He would hear what I was doing at Sunnybrook and elsewhere and made the point that most of the work was on projects that were about the size of Stratford,” said West. Eventually, a job was posted, and West became the successful candidate, leading to the role that became of interest to the visitors from Bluewater Power. Since its formal launch in the summer of 2015, Bluewater Regional Networks has not only had its sights on improving connectivity in the Sarnia-Lambton community, but is making substantial progress as it adds customers and continues to seek out opportunities to grow the business and beyond. West sees his strength in the business world—and part of what has kept him excited over the years—as a “collector of dots.” “I don’t know when or where those dots will need to be connected, but I talk the language and I’ve been able to make connections with people through relationships. It’s served me wonderfully over the years, being able to see any business situation and apply some knowledge that I’ve gained elsewhere,” he says.

28 • LAMBTON SHIELD FALL 2018

“I also like working in a team environment.” It’s here that the concept of competition in the high-speed internet business is worth touching on. With two providers in place before BRN was established, the reaction of Bell and Cogeco could easily have been to back away from the market. In fact, they’ve done the opposite, doubling down on expansion efforts, which has the effect of improving service options for customers and reducing costs, all part of the magic of competition. And in doing so, all three of the providers are committed to “playing well with others,” a particularly strong point when you understand how the market works. “There’s a strong wholesale market operating,” notes West. “We provide services to carriers where they are not built out and they do the same when we need to reach customers. It’s made possible by protocols and standards that are part of an industry that has matured and where everyone can interconnect securely without impacting traffic.”

Point your smartphone camera at the QR code or go to http://bit.ly/BRNpodcast for a full podcast conversation with Paul West of Bluewater Regional Networks.

Continuation of Start the Ball Rolling from page 10. Large modular steel fabrication has become an international standard in building for many industries, and oil projects like the Hibernia and Hebron Oil developments will have similar large needs. Other industries such as natural gas, petrochemical plants, water and waste-water treatment and food processing with locations in Canada, the USA and Internationally also have the potential to be served by the local SarniaLambton fabricators.

Included in the cost of the project are improvements to the Sarnia Harbour that would allow for the large fabrications to be loaded for transhipment. Included among harbour improvements would be adding a specialized dock, “Roll on Roll off” (RoRo) wharf improvements and an expanded load staging area.

Continuation of Growth Spurt from page 22. Members (the term Jeff likes to use) each get a box of vegetables and eggs every week (Thursday is pick up day), with the understanding that the vagaries of weather will determine what is available and that crop failure caused by things like an early spring will balance out in the end. They hope. The first year’s CSA operation had just seven customers. Last year that number more than doubled, to 15. And this season, they hoped for 30 but had to cut things off (reluctantly, Jeff says) at 34. Next year, they know they’ll have to expand and that’s where planning that’s done during the winter months becomes so important. Michelle will likely do the lion’s share of that work, doing her best to anticipate what to grow and in what order while acknowledging that nature rules over what they might hope to accomplish. One example this year was when a really warm/late spring had the effect of ruining a crop of broccoli. “We do our best to plan it out,” says Michelle. “And then we work around, putting out fires and sometimes the things that are at the bottom of the list don’t get done. But it works itself out.” Jeff says that for CSA customers/members, it’s like having their own personal farmers market. There’s also a healthy dose of humour in the Funny Farm operation as well as the joy that comes from seeing the wonder in the eyes of kids who come with their parents and, for some, seeing a part of nature that they might not otherwise be familiar. Part of that is related to the chickens Michelle raises for eggs. She’s deliberately sought out some “exotic” breeds that produce a variety of colours.

Very recently, funds earmarked by Sarnia and Lambton County have been formally “released” from a requirement that provincial and/or federal commitments be forthcoming, although continued efforts are underway to secure senior government funding. That is expected to start the ball rolling to begin phasing the project and consulting with citizens and stakeholders to get started in a way that makes sense to everyone involved.

“People will come in and the first thing they want to do is open the egg carton to see what colours we have,” she says. Another part of the operation is providing a limited amount of pasture-raised poultry, which the Funny Farm takes to Brennan Poultry in Alvinston, a family business that’s been around for 75 years. The Glass family is also constantly looking for more efficient ways of running the Funny Farm, an essential element when labour costs are among the highest costs. “We’re not a non-profit operation,” says Jeff, a slight chuckle in his voice. “Every bit of equipment you can use to minimize labour helps you become that much more efficient and helps to sustain the farm.” The operation counts several restaurants among its customers, and DeGroot’s Tea House is a regular. That number is almost certainly to grow over time, especially as word of mouth spreads. Even then, Jeff is looking to help those who hear about what he and Michelle are doing and value sustainable farming as a movement if not a business where the dollar comes first. And then there’s the personal part of a family that once worked quite separately (Jeff worked shifts at Imperial; Michelle is a dietary aide working at Meadowview Villa in Petrolia). “It was the reason I went back to work,” says Michelle. “We needed a break from working together all day long and not being able to tell each other how our day was going—because we were living it.” But that is part of life. And for the Funny Farm, it’s one where a growing list of customers and growing demand for what they have to offer to a local market is keeping smiles on more than a few faces.