Retired Millbrook Couple Keeps Busy With Family-Run Charcuterie Business

Retirement has not slowed down Avril and Steve Greer of Millbrook as their charcuterie catering business Corks & Boards have kept them busy since November of last year.

Steve (left) and Avril Greer (right) showing off their homemade charcuterie boards and a sample of their array of foods that accompany them. Photo By David Tuan Bui

The business sells boxes of charcuterie boards full of ready-to-eat specialty meats, cheeses, chocolate, nuts, jellies, seasonal fruit and crackers to customers. Their products are ideal for parties, showers, sympathies, date nights or social gatherings.

The charcuterie is available for pickup or delivery in the Peterborough County or Durham region from their home-run business.

The couple moved to Millbrook in October last year after Avril and Steve retired as a daycare and an IT worker respectively.

The idea of Corks & Boards came from Avril’s sister since there were plenty of charcuterie businesses in the Niagara area where she lives. The couple wanted to keep busy in a new era of their lives.

"There's not a lot of that (charcuterie) around,” explained Avril. “We were looking, there are cupcakes and cookies but we're not bakers. We want to eat something where we're not making food, that we wanted to prepare food."

Avril (left) with daughter Ashley McGavock (right). Both daughters aid their parents in the social media of the business. Photo Courtesy of Corks & Boards.

While the business started out small, they quickly grew from word of mouth and some social media marketing and found themselves busy in a hurry.

"We thought we'd be selling to friends and family but it quickly got busy around Christmas time and realized we need to do not just Facebook and Instagram but we need to do a website."

The charcuterie comes in several sizes such as a sampler, spicy, gather or grand gathering. Every option aside from spicy has a “plus” option that includes wine jellies. Photo Courtesy of Corks & Boards.

All of their products used for the charcuterie are sourced as local as possible. Steve has the boards delivered to the business before he forms them then coats them with food-safe mineral oil and beeswax.

"I love giving them as gifts to people and love the look on people's faces when we surprise them at the door,” said Avril.

"We like to give people as much value for what they're getting,” said Steve. I think people see that and they appreciate it.“

All orders can be done online at their official website.

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New CEO Announced For Habitat for Humanity

A big change for the Habitat for Humanity Peterborough & Kawartha Region as Susan Zambonin will become the new Chief Executive Officer beginning on Oct. 4 announced Friday.

Photo Courtesy of Habitat For Humanity.

Susan, the current chief operating officer with Habitat, has been involved with Habitat for Humanity for 18 years and has nine years combined executive leadership experience as CEO of Habitat PEI and Habitat Kingston.

“With Susan’s extensive leadership experience, construction knowledge and determination to build more affordable homes, we are confident that we can help more families across the Peterborough and Kawartha Region achieve affordable homeownership,” says Jill Bennett, board chair. “Susan has a proven commitment to Habitat’s core values, helping over 110 families into affordable homeownership through 66 builds in Canada and 4 Global Village builds."

She has won several awards including a Paul Harris Fellow from the Rotary Club of Charlottetown; and from Habitat for Humanity Canada an International Outstanding Contribution Award, Mentorship Award, and the Award of Excellence for creating a volunteer training program. Susan has also done numerous volunteer work and is an avid Rotarian.

“We are confident that Susan’s many talents, depth of philanthropic experience with Habitat for Humanity and proven strategic and collaborative leadership approach will help us to increase our affordable homebuilding efforts throughout the Region including the City and County of Peterborough, City of Kawartha Lakes, and Haliburton County,” expressed Bennett.

Susan will be taking over from Sarah Budd, who has led the organization for almost 15 years. The Board has thanked Budd for her contributions and commitment during her time as CEO.

Her leadership and vision were instrumental in managing the organization through the pandemic and moving the organization from a builder of single-family homes to a developer of multi-residential communities according to the press release.

Susan is coming on board as the organization embarks on an ambitious new strategic plan and is in the midst of the ongoing pandemic and increased need for affordable housing.

“It is an honour and a privilege for me to be Habitat’s new CEO and have a strategic leadership role in creating much-needed affordable housing in our communities,” says Zambonin. “This is an incredible opportunity to combine my passion for housing with my professional experience to continue to grow this respected organization. For over 18 years, I have been a leader in the fight for more affordable housing and I am very honoured to lead this great team in the Peterborough and Kawartha Region.”

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Local Soap Company Keeps Firefighters Clean and Places First at Clean Beauty Awards

SootSoap Supply Co., a company out of Port Hope, has won first place at the 2021 Clean Beauty Awards.

K.Dee Howards poses with SootSoap products. In the wake of COVID-19 SootSoap released a line of hand sanitizer to combat germs while keeping skin healthy. Photo courtesy of SootSoap Supply Co.

SootSoap Supply Co. was started by K.Dee Howard. It is a line of personal care products like body wash and shampoo designed for firefighters.

“I developed SootSoap for my husband initially, who is a firefighter in Brampton,” said Howard. “I discovered after he came home smelling like fire even after showering numerous times that it was contaminates and toxins causing the smell,” she said.

Howard did some research and found there was no products to help combat this. She also found that cancer is the number one cause of death in firefighters, and these toxins are the cause of it.

Her products are designed to absorb and discard of both the smell and the toxins that firefighters often come into contact while on duty.

SootSoap launched their first product line in 2019 and is now Howards full time job.

Since launching Howard has found that it’s not only firefighters that come into contact with toxins and hard-to-get-rid-of odors at work.

“Lot’s of people can benefit. People that experience environmental toxins, every day things like fuel and grease, kitchen smells, we even have customers that are pig farmers,” she said. “We’re finding more and more uses for our products.”

This year SootSoaps shampoo was the first place winner in the hair wash category of the Clean Beauty Awards.

The Clean beauty Awards recognize the best performing beauty and personal care products, manufactured without the use of known harmful chemicals, from across the globe.

“In a year and a half to go from a firefighter, industrial shampoo to a shampoo recognized by clean beauty influencers, it’s pretty amazing,” Howard said. “Being clean, all natural, and biodegradable is very important to me. Our core challenge is to get rid of toxins so the last thing I want to do is add in more chemicals.”

Photo courtesy of SootSoap Supply Co.

Howard says her aim with SootSoap is to create products that will solve a problem.

“Innovation comes from our customers saying ‘I don’t have a solutions to this particular challenge’,” said Howard. “My challenge is to find solutions that don’t exist currently.”

To view SootSoap’s full line of products click here.

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Cottage Toys Holds Groundbreaking Ceremony For New Location

The Rork family has dug deep with a groundbreaking ceremony of a new Cottage Toys location in Lakefield at a media conference on Monday.

(left to right) Andrew, Donna and Ethan Rork at the groundbreaking ceremony. Donna opened the sporting goods store in 1989. Photo by David Tuan Bui.

Current and former staff, construction workers and community members attended the ceremony where the owner Donna Rork announced the details of the new building for the aquatic sporting goods store.

Four Points Construction will build the new location and is projected to be completed on May 1 next year. The store will be open all season compared to its Lakefield location — with others in Peterborough and Stoney Lake — which is seasonal.

"It's a dream that I've had for a long time and it's nice to see it come to fruition,” said Rork. “When I woke up this morning and realized this was happening, I was very emotional. I've worked at this a long time, I've pushed, pulled, dragged myself through lots of troubled times in business as everyone does and to get to this point feels really good.”

Additionally, the new location will feature air conditioning/heating, greater storefront space, better outdoor display, a storage basement, higher ceilings, more parking, a cleaner shopping experience and a more technological adaptation to the business according to Rork.

“There are all kinds of new opportunities to really customize the experience with laptops,” said Rork. “You can walk around with a customer and build an order. You can do that on a tablet, walk out the door and we deliver it to their cottage.”

The building will be located behind the Lakefield Restaurant on 37 Concession St. It is the same location where the business started in 1989.

The location is ideal for the store since it is at the heart of cottage country, near the marina and the area has a lot of traffic according to Rork.

A regular customer had spray painted the golden shovel and left it for the business for the groundbreaking ceremony. Photo by David Tuan Bui.

The former windsurfing instructor noted that with the pandemic weakening and restrictions becoming looser that people are eager to go cottaging more often while purchasing recreational goods as part of the getaway.

“There's been so much increase in cottage purchases, boat sales are through the roof and that's an obvious sign that people are going to continue (after) skiing, tubing, stand-up paddleboarding, kayaking and all the fun stuff that we do,” she said.

The pandemic dealt a crushing blow to the business as there were two months of zero income when COVID-19 forced the country into lockdown.

"I cancelled all my orders. I don't know what's going to happen, I'm running out of money and it was really scary," explained Rork. "I was really low on cash because you've gone a whole winter with no-to-little cash flow."

The business saw some of the best sales ever beginning in May last year when they reopened two months after the initial lockdown. Cottage Toys was so successful that it became troubling to manage the surge of orders at several points.

“It was quite overwhelming, we had such a hard time managing the volume and it's all coming in at once,” said Rork. “We’re really grateful for the growth for our business.”

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StoosNews Spotlight: Check Out The Business Beat This Week Featuring Manitoulin Transport, Gauvreau CPA, Economic Development and Leadercast

PTBOCanada is delighted to be running StoosNews columns each week here, spotlighting new businesses and startups in Peterborough and the Kawarthas. Here is this week’s edition… 

Manitoulin Transport recently announced an expansion with the opening of a new terminal here in Peterborough. Located at 1900 Technology Dr., the Peterborough terminal is a 10,000 square foot facility, with 10 dock doors and an outdoor ramp, increasing their operating capacity by more than 30% and requiring additional staff.

Added benefits include increased shipping capabilities, improved shipment handling and a safe and efficient work environment. Manitoulin currently operates 82 terminals across Canada. Manitoulintransport.com

Bob Gauvreau’s company Gauvreau CPA already offers a number of accounting, bookkeeping and business advice services. The team includes business financing, human resource and marketing experts.

You can now add law to the list. Gauvreau announced last week that, effective Sept. 1st, he will be offering professional legal services for business owners including real estate purchases and sales, incorporations, corporate restructures, estate planning and wills, purchase and sale agreements, employee and vendor contracts and more. The move also allows the firm to offer private mortgages. Details at gauvreaucpa.ca

Congratulations to the six local entrepreneurs involved in this year’s Starter Company program from Peterborough and the Kawarthas Economic Development.

Chris Carvalho: East City Knife Sharpening, Emily Nigro: Dead End Lures, Kelsey Watts: Worthy Truth Wellness Yoga, Lucas Graham: Countdown Creative, an eCommerce agency, Suzanne Schmidt: Suzanne’s Hot Stuff, hot sauces, pepper jellies, jerk marinade, and more, Tuncay Alkan & Laura Wilson: MEZE – a vegan deli and café serving traditional Turkish food and drink.

If you are looking for some free Leadership training, the Peterborough Chamber of Commerce is presenting Leadercast.

Working like a book club, you have the weekend to watch a half-hour video featuring a world-class leadership speaker and then join LeaderChat the following Tuesday afternoon on a Chamber-hosted Zoom call. Details are at peterboroughchamber.ca

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Six Local Small Businesses Awarded $30,000 in Funding

Peterborough & the Kawarthas Economic Development awarded 6 local entrepreneurs $5000 each in funding to further support sustainable business growth.

Photo courtesy of Peterborough & The Kawarthas Economic Development

This funding was provided by the Government of Ontario’s Starter Company Plus program.

11 businesses successfully completed the five-week online business training course offered by the Peterborough & the Kawarthas Business Advisory Centre.

The following 6 businesses were awarded funding based on the strength of their business plan and pitch:

• Chris Carvalho: East City Knife Sharpening – knife sharpening for all types of knives with 24-hour turnaround service

• Emily Nigro: Dead End Lures – a family-owned eco-friendly fishing lure company

• Kelsey Watts: Worthy Truth Wellness – mindful movement yoga classes offering a kind space of compassion and non-judgmental awareness

• Lucas Graham: Countdown Creative – a full-service E-Commerce agency that helps small businesses start selling online

• Suzanne Schmidt: Suzanne’s Hot Stuff – hand-crafted, small-batch gluten-free hot sauces, pepper jellies, jerk marinade, mango salsa and more

• Tuncay Alkan & Laura Wilson: MEZE – a vegan deli and café serving traditional Turkish food and drink

“This Starter Company Plus class was a group of enthusiastic entrepreneurs. From start-ups to early-stage businesses, this group is representative of the diverse and thriving small business community within the City and County of Peterborough,” said Entrepreneurship Officer Hillary Manion, who oversees the program for Peterborough & the Kawarthas Economic Development. “These entrepreneurs have all created products and services that fill a need within the community. I look forward to watching their businesses grow and succeed.”

Since its launch in 2017, the Starter Company Plus program through the Business Advisory Centre has assisted over 175 local entrepreneurs and over 140 small businesses.

The Starter Company Plus program is designed to provide business training for entrepreneurs from aspiring to experienced, aged 18 and over in the City and County of Peterborough who are launching a business or expanding an existing business.

The next intake of the Starter Company Plus Program will be open from September 1st – 27th, 2021. Eligibility criteria and upcoming workshop dates can be found here.

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StoosNews Spotlight: Check Out The Business Beat This Week Featuring Love Your Sole Foot Care, Taylor Reach Group, Y Lofts and Peterborough Chamber

PTBOCanada is delighted to be running StoosNews columns each week here, spotlighting new businesses and startups in Peterborough and the Kawarthas. Here is this week’s edition… 

Jessica Harley has been a registered practical nurse for seven years and after getting additional certification in advanced and diabetic foot care, recently launched her own mobile foot care business.

Love Your Sole Foot Care will provide in-home foot care service anywhere in Peterborough County and the City of Kawartha Lakes. For a variety of advanced foot care services, you’ll find Love Your Sole Foot Care on Facebook or Instagram or call 705-768-6633.

The Taylor Reach Group specializes in call center, contact center and the customer experience. Owner Colin Taylor and his team of industry veterans offer a strategic assessment or audit, technology acquisition, interim management, a customer experience snapshot and more. If you want to up your customer call or contact game, check out thetaylorreachgroup.com.

Atria is now booking suites in their Y Lofts building at the corner of George and Murray. Atria has a long history of this type of development and they’ve done an amazing job of retaining many of the key architectural features of the former YMCA building while creating a stylish new space for their condo-style rental suites.

Amenities include a large courtyard, a gym, a party or event space, a rooftop patio, five EV charging stations, bike lockers and more. Check it out at y-lofts.com.

Congratulations to the finalists for the annual Peterborough Chamber Business Excellence Awards and the Kawartha Chamber annual Awards of Excellence.

The Chambers asked the community to rally behind our businesses this year and both received a record number of entries. The Peterborough Chambers virtual event will be held on Oct. 20. Details are at peterboroughchamber.ca The Kawartha Chamber event goes on Oct. 28 with details to follow at kawarthachamber.ca.

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Finalists Announced for 2021 Peterborough Business Excellence Awards

The Greater Peterborough Chamber of Commerce has released the finalists for the 18th annual Peterborough Business Excellence Awards on Wednesday.

President and CEO of the Greater Peterborough Chamber of Commerce Stu Harrison delivers his Business Beat with StoosNews every Monday on PTBOCanada. Screenshot.

Businesses and people in over 20 categories will be honoured and recognized throughout Peterborough county for demonstrating excellence.

Up to three nominees are chosen for each category.

The award ceremony will be done virtually for a second consecutive year due to the COVID-19 pandemic on Oct. 20.

The following are the 2021 Business Excellence Awards finalists (listed alphabetically):

SKILLED TRADES (sponsored by Charlotte Products Ltd.)

• Cardinal Plumbing & Electric

• Goodwin Creations

• Kawartha Lakes Construction

 

Tourism

• The Canadian Canoe Museum

• Escape Maze Incorporated

• Lang Pioneer Village Museum

 

Hospitality

• Black Honey desserts coffee catering

• Haven Brewing Company

• Jesse’s Tap & Grill

 

Micro Business — Fewer than 5 employees

• Accountability Financial

• CMD Technology Solutions Corp

• Jason McIntosh Auctions

 

Retail

• Avant-Garden Shop

• Watson & Lou

• Wild Rock

 

Professional Services

• Century 21 United Realty Inc.

• Gauvreau Accounting Tax Law Advisory

• Pinchin Ltd.

 

Customer First

• Antoinette Bridal Boutique

• Griffin’s Greenhouses

• Morello’s Your Independent Grocer

 

Local Focus

• Lang Pioneer Village Museum

• Living Local

• RMS Events — LIVE! at the Barn

 

Innovation/Research and Development

• Noblegen

• OptiSolve Ltd.

• PKA SoftTouch Corp.

 

Commercial Development or Renovation

• Cambium

• Central Smith

• The Little Building Company

 

Entrepreneurial Spirit

• acorn30

• Emily Mae’s Cookies

• Social Kat Media

 

Marketing and Promotion

• acorn30

• Central Smith

• Peterborough Public Health

 

Green Initiatives

• Green Street

• Lockside Trading Company

• Trent University — Forensic Crime Scene Facility

 

Health and Wellness

• Canadian Family Health Counselling

• Euphoria Wellness Spa

• Peterborough Public Health

Not For Profit

• New Canadians Centre

• Peterborough Humane Society

• YMCA of Central East Ontario

 

Employer of the Year

• Gauvreau Accounting Tax Law Advisory

• Pinchin Ltd.

• Trent University

 

Businesswoman of the Year — Entrepreneur

• Brenda Ibey — Avant-Garden Shop

• Carlye Mongraw — Shaw Computer Systems Inc.

• Christine Teixeira — Accountability Financial

 

Businesswoman of the Year — Organization

• Julia Anderson — Canadian Partnership for Women & Children’s Health

• Joëlle Favreau — YWCA Peterborough Haliburton / Nourish Project

• Gail Moorhouse — Community Futures Peterborough

 

Peterborough County Farm Family of the Year

• The Traynor Family (Traynor Farms)

4-Under-40 Profiles in memory of Kathy Windrem

• Jessica Dalliday

• Faith Dickinson

• Joon Kim

• Lyle Saunders

 

Business Student Leadership Prizes

• Sarah Moore (Fleming College)

• Mohamad Ellabban (Trent University)

New Canadian Entrepreneur of the Year

Congratulations to this year’s recipient!

• Rosie Salcido-Schmidt (Agave Designs, Faces by 2)

Business Citizen of the Year

• Recipient to be announced at the awards ceremony on Oct. 20

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StoosNews Spotlight: Check Out The Business Beat This Week Featuring Pizza Bodega, White Bear Standing Creative, Lady Mack's Love Shack and Showplace Performance Theatre

PTBOCanada is delighted to be running StoosNews columns each week here, spotlighting new businesses and startups in Peterborough and the Kawarthas. Here is this week’s edition… 

Sean Crooks recently fired up the ovens at Pizza Bodega. Located to the side of Spanky’s bar on Hunter Street in Peterborough, Sean brings 20 years of chef experience to his new business. Sean specializes in a New York-style pizza, which is a larger pie, with a thin crust.

There are lots of creative menu options with local ingredients in either a red or white sauce. Open Tuesday through Saturday, check it out at pizzabodega.ca or on social media.

Sherry Crawford was given the name White Bear Standing during an indigenous shake tent ceremony many years ago. Her new business, White Bear Standing Creative, pays tribute to her name and her Algonquin heritage. Sherry is offering an indigenous art experience, a series of educational workshops, and a clothing and accessories line. Details are at whitebearstandingcreative.ca.

Carissa McIntyre is an erotica author, public speaker, professional life coach, workshop facilitator and sex ed teacher. Also known as Lady Mack, Carisa has just launched Lady Mack’s Love Shack, an online adult boutique selling Carissa’s novels, workshops, games and erotica toys. Carissa’s own story is very inspiring, escaping a toxic relationship and realizing her dream of becoming a novelist and an entrepreneur. Check it out at ladymackxo.com.

Showplace Performance Centre has obviously been dark due to the pandemic but they are taking advantage of the unscheduled downtime by carrying out an extensive renovation of the space. Called ACT II, the renovation includes a complete floor replacement, new aisle lighting, a new seat configuration to make the theatre safer and more accessible and the replacement of all the seats! The fancy new seats will not only have drink holders, but could also feature your name, or the name of someone that you’d like to honour. To find out how you can support ACT II, visit showplace.org

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