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Max Sadlowski will be bringing his Internet Technology expertise to Frontenac and L&A counties, courtesy of a program that is being offered by the Frontenac Community Futures Development Corporation and the County of Lennox and Addington.

The program includes a series of workshops about practical ways rural business owners can make use of digital technology to cut costs, attract new customers, and maintain or hire new staff.

The first workshop that is being offered is about the use of Shopify and other online sales systems to expand to markets far from home, and the second is a more general one, Online Marketing 101, which covers everything from developing a basic web profile to setting up and updating websites, using mobile technology, etc.

Full information about the date and location of the workshops is available at the project web page on the Frontenac CFDC website. Go to Frontenaccfdc.com and look for the workshops tab

Max Sadlowski worked with small and medium businesses in Toronto before moving to Kingston 1 ½ years ago to expand his business. He established Spotlight Learning, an in-home tutoring company, in short order, and after setting up a website, social media and other tools for the business, he received enquiries from other Kingston businesses asking for advice on enhancing or establishing their own web presence. That soon led to him setting up his own consulting business, while his mother continues to run Spotlight Learning.

In the first few weeks since taking on the project in Frontenac and L&A, Sadlowski said he has learned a few things already.

One is the scale of the need and desire for more digital tools in the rural areas.

“I under-estimated the need. Online marketing and sales, even on a basic level, often sinks to the bottom of the to-do list for businesses because people are so busy dealing with customers and getting through the day. But with the new tools that are always being developed, there are easy, low-cost ways to use many tools that can be implemented quickly and cheaply,” he said.

The project will run into 2018. Given the changing nature of online tools, topics for workshops and other services will be constantly under development.

“We will talk to the businesses about their challenges and goals and since things are changing so quickly in the tech world, we will always be looking at new solutions that are coming on stream. For example, new systems for accepting payment through credit and debit cards have just come on stream and they can make it easier and cheaper for businesses to get into. These are things that we can offer now that I might not have been able to three or six months ago,” he said.

In addition to workshops, the project includes one on one consulting in some cases. Everything that is available can be found on the project home page.

To take advantage of Tech Coaching, if your business is located in Frontenac, please contact Anne Prichard, Frontenac CFDC, 613-372-1414 ext. 204 or email This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.. If your business is in Lennox and Addington, please contact Stephen Paul, Director, Community & Development Services, 613-354-4883 or email This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

Published in General Interest
Wednesday, 28 September 2016 23:27

Frontenac CFDC seeking municipal support

The Frontenac Community Futures Development Corporation (FCFDC), which is funded by Industry Canada, has been a source of grants and loans to businesses in Frontenac County for over a decade.

Now, for the first time, they are looking for some money to flow in from the local community.

Anne Prichard, the executive director of the FCFDC, has appeared before Frontenac County and South Frontenac Councils over the past week seeking financial support.

At her presentation to Frontenac County on September 21, she outlined how the agency had its operating funding cut by over $70,000 in 2012/2013, and as a result has had to cut one staff position.

At the same time, the loan portfolio of the FCFDC has increased by 41% since 2013.

“That has only accelerated in recent months” she said, “and while we are pleased with this success, it has placed stress on both our operational and investment funds.”

In 2015, in order to cover operating expenses, with the approval of its funder and its board of directors, the FCFDC diverted a small portion, $35,000 of its interest revenue to cover operating expenses.

The rest of the interest revenue is returned to the pool of funds that are available for loans.

“However, with the increasing demand for loans, in 2016 we need that money to lend out,” said Prichard.

The FCFDC is presenting two options for support to Frontenac County and also to the Township of South Frontenac.

Option one is for a grant of $35,000 to cover the shortfall in operating funding, and option 2 is for $30,000 to go directly to the Food and Beverage (FAB) region program.

The money would be used, in part, to participate in a number of trade shows that are coming up over the next six months. As an example of the impact of these shows, Prichard talked about one Frontenac County restaurant that the FCFDC works with, the Wolfe Island Grill.

“A spot opened up at a conference in Montreal, and we offered it up to Casey Fisher of the Wolfe Island Grill to bring a line of home meals he had developed. The contacts he made there changed his whole business outlook,” she said.

Prichard said that the funding model that is used for the community futures development corporations across the province makes it difficult for smaller, newer ones like Frontenac to operate and a new funding model is in the works, which should alleviate the financial issues in the future.

“In a sense, you are a victim of your own success,” said North Frontenac Councilor John Inglis at the presentation to Frontenac County on September 21. “But would not the CFDC be self-sustaining with a larger loan portfolio?”

“Yes, and that is the advantage that the larger, more established CFDCs have. For us, we would have to almost double our portfolio to get there,” said Prichard.

After delivering a similar presentation to South Frontenac Council, Councillor Ron Sleeth asked Anne Prichard how many businesses the FCFDC serves in a year.

“I can tell that since April 1st of this year we have made 26 loans. We give out from 50-95 grants each year and do about 150 consultations with businesses each year,” Prichard said.

South Frontenac Mayor Ron Vandewal then said, “As everyone knows we are a very big part of he county as far as paying into the budget. I would like to see how this is played out there before we look at it for our own budget.”

Published in FRONTENAC COUNTY
Wednesday, 27 July 2016 21:08

Harrowsmith Car Show

Organizers of the 1st Annual Northern Classic Car Show were pleased with the turn out on July 24 at Harrowsmith Centennial Park. With over 65 vehicles registered, plus silent auction items donated from local businesses, the organizers were hoping to raise enough money to help a few kids with the cost of registering and playing hockey with the Frontenac Flyers Minor Hockey Association.

Rick Law of the Godfrey Social Club was in attendance and had motorcycles on display for the kids to get their picture taken on. Law played classic 50s and 60s music throughout the day, which added to the relaxed feel at such a great location. With most of the cars in the shaded, treed area of the park, car enthusiasts were able to get a really good look at all the vehicles and have a bite to eat at picnic tables and benches. Organizer Larry Teal felt it was a great first year and is optimistic it will grow next year.  

Published in SOUTH FRONTENAC

It started steady and built from there as people trooped to the covered porch at Gilmour's on 38 in Harrowsmith for hamburgers, hot dogs and sausages at the annual barbeque fundraiser for Clothes For Kids. The event, which was held on July 8 this year, is jointly put on by Gilmour's and Friendly Fires of Kingston.

In 2015, the barbeque raised over $4,000 and that total was likely surpassed last Friday afternoon. The $5 cost of the meal, for which all of the supplies were donated, was often supplemented by extra donations from the store's patrons, most of whom stopped to talk to the owner, Nick Gilmour.

Clothes For Kids is a Kingston-based charity that works with partners, including Northern Frontenac Community Services, to provide snowsuits and other winter gear for children who need them in the Kingston, Frontenac, Lennox and Addington and Gananoque regions.

Published in SOUTH FRONTENAC
Wednesday, 06 July 2016 20:59

Canada Day fun in Frontenac County

While the kids played games, adults took the opportunity to visit at events throughout the region on a Canada Day where the rain held off, for the most part. The oddest event this year was certainly the best legs contest for men at Harrowsmith. Top left - waiting to get into the bouncey castle at Centennial Park (Harrowsmith) - top middle - Cooking up a storm at Gerald Ball Park (Sunbury) - top right, riding the Water Slide at the Point Park in Sydenham, and bottom right, the 2017 150th anniversary committee already promoting their plans for next year at the beach in Sharbot Lake

Published in FRONTENAC COUNTY
Wednesday, 06 July 2016 20:45

Northern Classic Car Show in Harrowsmith

Vintage car lovers need to mark Sunday, July 24 on their calendars. That's the date of a new car show at Centennial Park in Harrowsmith, which will run from 8 am to 4 pm.

The show was the brainchild of Larry Teal, a vintage car enthusiast from nearby Howes Lake who maintains 10 vintage cars in gleaming condition and good working order. He has purchased vehicles locally, and gone as far as Phoenix, Arizona to pick one up. He said he is always able to source parts to keep the cars running smoothly.

For 20 years, Teal participated in the Verona Car Show, which was part of the Verona Festival and will now be running as a stand-alone event in early August. He has always thought that Harrowsmith Centennial Park could be ideal for a car show, so he approached the township last year to see if they would be amenable to him hosting his own event.

“I thought that since it is such a great park, we should use it, and when I approached the township they were all very helpful, so I went for it and haven't looked back,” he said.

The event is free to the public and the cost for entries is only $5. Teal said that he has already lined up over 100 vehicles, some of them from the early 1900s and others going all the way up to the 1970s.

“We are offering dash plaques for the first 150 cars to register, and there will be prizes in the different categories, as well as a people's choice award, all to be handed out at 3 pm,” Teal said.

The show will also feature music from the ‘50s and ‘60s, a canteen courtesy of the Harrowsmith S & A Club, attendance prizes and special prizes as well. For information or to register a vehicle, call Larry at 613-374-2489

Published in SOUTH FRONTENAC

Letter from the Publisher

The summer season is a crucial part of the year for all the businesses that are the lifeblood of our communities. This week, I've been calling many of the business owners that we deal with on a regular basis to ask them for help.

There is a good possibility that this will be the last Frontenac News that readers will receive in their mailboxes for a while, as Canada Post and two of the bargaining units with the Canadian Union of Postal Workers are at an impasse in negotiating a contract.

As of this coming Saturday, July 2, the union will be in a legal strike position. What will result is anyone's guess. It could be a contract; the union may launch a strike; or Canada Post might lock them out.

We distribute 9214 copies of the Frontenac News through Canada Post each week, to the far corners of Frontenac County, Addington Highlands and western Lanark County. On some weeks, we distribute an extra 2920 papers to the Inverary and Perth Road regions. While this is an expensive way to distribute newspapers, in our experience it is the only way to reach all the hamlets and back roads properties in the region. For us to set up our own distribution system would be [prohibitively?] expensive and would also be difficult to monitor effectively.

So, as we face a shut down at Canada Post, we’ve been on the phone to ask for help.

Thankfully, all the businesses we approached have been understanding, and below is a list of locations that have been lined up as of early this week. We will expand our distribution further as we contact more businesses but you can count on the ones listed here to have the Frontenac News available for free every Thursday until Canada Post is back up and running.

DISTRIBUTION POINTS:

  • KINGSTON FRONTENAC PUBLIC LIBRARY branches during open hours – Sydenham, Hartington, Sharbot Lake, Parham, Arden, Mountain Grove, Plevna, and Cloyne.

  • TOWNSHIP OFFICES for Addington Highlands (Flinton Recreation Centre – basement), North Frontenac (Road 506 between Ardoch and Plevna), Central Frontenac (Sharbot Lake), and South Frontenac (Sydenham)

  • RETAIL OUTLETS -

  • Denbigh – Glaeser's General Store

  • Cloyne/Northbrook – Nowell Motors, Grand's Store, Bishop Lake Outdoor Centre, Hook's, Yourway, Northbrook Gas and Variety, Northbrook Foodland, Addison's Restaurant

  • Kaladar – Kaladar Shell

  • Plevna – North of 7

  • Ompah – Palmerston Lake Marina

  • Arden – Arden Batik?

  • Sharbot Lake – Petrocan, Ram's Esso, Mike Dean's Superstore, Pharmasave, St. Lawrence College Employment Centre, Cardinal Cafe, Maples?, Sharbot Lake Country Inn, and our own office at 1095 Garrett St., rear building.

  • Parham – Parham General Store

  • Godfrey – Godfrey General Store

  • Verona – Asselstine Hardware, Verona Hardware, Food Less Traveled, Nicole's Gifts, Verona Foodland

  • Hartington - Leonard Fuels
  • Harrowsmith – Gilmour's on 38, The Pizza Place

  • Sydenham – Sydenham One Stop, Trousdale's Foodland ?

We are also constructing some special temporary boxes, which will be located at roadside postal locations, such as the Snow Road Community Centre, the Mountain Grove Library (outside), the Arden Post Office, etc.

Also, readers can always read the articles online at frontenacnews.ca and at that site can also access a flash version of our paper that is a .pdf copy of the newsprint version that comes to your door each week under normal circumstances.

If there is a strike, this distribution system will remain in place for at least the July 7 and 14 editions. If there is a stoppage that extends beyond mid-July, we will take stock of the success of our system and may consider changes.

We thank our readers in advance for their patience, and hope that those who enjoy the Frontenac News each week will be able to continue to do so next week.

Published in FRONTENAC COUNTY
Wednesday, 29 June 2016 20:22

Gilmour's on 38 annual charity BBQ

Gilmour's on 38 in Harrowsmith is working with Friendly Fires out of Kingston to present a BBQ to benefit Clothes for Kids, which provides snowsuits for children who need them in the Kingston, Frontenac, Lennox and Addington and Gananoque regions.

The BBQ will take place on Friday, July 8, from 2 to 6 pm at Gilmour's Meat in Harrowsmith. For a $5 donation, staff from Friendly Fires will prepare a hamburger, a sausage, or hot dog on a bun to go with a drink. All of the money will be donated to Clothes For Kids, as Gilmour's is providing all the food and drinks and Friendly Fires is providing the BBQ and all the labour.

“This is something we did last year and it we are happy to start the summer BBQ season of 2016 off with an event like this to help children in Frontenac County and Kingston,” said Nick Gilmour of Gilmour's on 38.

Clothes For Kids is a Kingston-based charity that works with partners, including Northern Frontenac Community Services, to provide snowsuits and other winter gear for children who are in need throughout the region.

Published in SOUTH FRONTENAC
Wednesday, 22 June 2016 23:54

Frontenac CFDC makes announcement at AGM

The FAB (Food and Beverage) region was one of the focal points of the Frontenac Community Futures Development Corporation’s Annual General Meeting on June 14.

One of the presenters at the event was Back Forty Cheese of Mississippi Station in North Frontenac. Jeff Fenwick of Back Forty, outlined the role that the marketing of the FAB region and the incentives and support provided by the FCFDC played in the decision he made with his wife Jenna to move each of their businesses to Frontenac County from Lanark County.

Anne Prichard, executive director of the Frontenac CFDC, also talked about some of the new initiatives being undertaken by the Wolfe Island Grill and Seed to Sausage.

The Food and Beverage Region was set up by Hastings, Lennox and Addington and Prince Edward Counties and the Frontenac CFDC, but even before that, Anne Prichard was working hard to promote craft brewing as a business opportunity in Frontenac County. The FCFDC was involved with the founding of MacKinnon Brothers Brewery, which is located in nearby Bath, but until now there has not been a craft brewer in Frontenac County.

That is all changing, however, because Rene Ziegelmaier - a Brazilian of German descent – is poised to open the Wolfe Island Craft Brewery. Working in conjunction with Casey Fisher from the Wolfe Island Grill, Ziegelmaier is going to be renovating the former Kraft building on Wolfe Island, which has been used to house a ship-building operation, and turning it into a brewing and bottling plant.

Zielgemaier said he is interested in brewing some of the traditional German beer styles such as lagers and Pilsners, but also some of the modern imperial stout and pale ale styles. These are taking off as Ontario beer drinkers expand their horizons because of all the new breweries that are being established.

He is also looking at setting up a tap room somewhere in downtown Kingston as part of the roll-out of his business, which will all be happening in 2017.

“Rene is passionate about making beer and that was a key element in all this,” said Anne Prichard.

The FCFDC also announced that their loan portfolio has reached its highest levels since they were established some ten years ago.

Published in SOUTH FRONTENAC
Wednesday, 08 June 2016 19:51

New Leaf Link year end performance

New Leaf Link (NeLL) celebrated the end of its eighth year of programming with the performance of a play about the environment that was based on Dickens' “A Christmas Carol” last Wednesday (June 1) at the Harrowsmith Free Methodist Church.

The play featured the 13 young adults who attended NeLL programming this winter, as well as volunteers. The group moved their twice-weekly program to the Free Methodist Church earlier this spring from their former home at St. Paul's Anglican in Sydenham.

“We had a great home at St. Paul's,” said NeLL founder, Karin Steiner, of the move to Harrowsmith, “but for accessibility and capacity reasons this is a more suitable space for our programs.”

NeLL has been well supported by individuals, businesses and groups from across South Frontenac over the years, and this year they received a grant from the township to help with the move to Harrowsmith.

“We have been supported by the community and some local foundations over the years, and this year we are very excited about our arts programming. We have Gary Rasberry doing music; Annie Milne doing puppets; and Christine Harvey doing drama. We have received a grant from the Community Foundation of Kingston and Area for our arts program, and we have been invited to make use of the Tett Centre in Kingston to do some work there. It's amazing what we have been able to do over the last year or so in the arts.”

New Leaf Link was established as a means to fill a gap for young adults who had graduated from School to Community classes and were living in South Frontenac, where there was no programming available at the time for residents of South Frontenac. Since then NeLL has developed three streams of day programming: skills and literacy; health and recreation; and arts and adapted technologies. Fees for the day programs are kept to a reasonable $30 per session and since there are no salaried staff, all grant money is used to augment programs.

“Every grant helps us to build our capacity to grow,” said Steiner, adding that NeLL is seeking support from the Ontario Arts Council to help set up a third day of programming. She would also like to see NeLL run a two-week camp in the summer.

“We really have become a community, and it is a long summer for many of our youth. They miss each other,” she said.

While NeLL was established partially out of frustration with the way the funding system for developmentally disabled young adults was set up, it has become something more, an asset to South Frontenac.

“We generally all care for each other. We are happy to come together, be together and learn together. We talk together about our issues; we share news. We know what we are all about and where we want to take this,” said Steiner.

Published in SOUTH FRONTENAC
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