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Continued from page 2 at their own expense to keep their facades fresh, neat, graffiti free and in keeping with heritage guidelines. Walking tours are quite common, horse and buggy rides, live reindeer at Christmas, and nine key events the BIA pays for are all part of what the merchants do to attract visitors and enhance their experience. Any small town has and will always have busi- ness closures, for whatever reasons, retirement, owner operator issues of fatigue of running a small business on their own, or issues with rents are just some of the reasons. Where our town differs, and where we are fortu- nate is that we have our wonderful lake, the casino, the winery and our new craft brewery to attract tourists and bus tours alike. People want to be part of this and that’s why we have always had such a low vacancy rate. Yes Cuddly Bunny closed, but Modella quickly moved in. Yes Cabin General Store closed, but Refresh opened immediately. That is how viable our town is, and that is why we are so proud to be a part of this town that we devote the time and energy to help keep beautiful and a place people love to bring their friends and families. Sincerely Teri Venner, Co-Chair Port Perry BIA 4 FOCUS - JANUARY 2015 Port Perry i is not “just another town” Dear Editor I felt compelled to write a response to Fred Cook’s Letter to the Editor: “Port Perry - you have a problem” in last month’s Focus on Scugog. Not only have I lived in Port Perry for my entire life but I have spent the past 22 years as part of an excep- tional business community here, owning a commercial property and a retail business - Dana’s Goldsmithing. I would like to address Fred’s statement that othe stores in Port Perry are not doing Ihave seen a significant increase in traffic in my store this year from local residents and those visiting from out of town. We consistently enter new customers into our data base. I personally spend thousands of dollars marketing my business outside of Scugog Township in regional and national magazines, radio and through social me- dia. As a Director of the Business Improvement Associa- tion (BIA) I encourage you to attend one of our monthly meetings as we always welcome input. You would then learn of the thousands of dollars the BIA spends annu- ally advertising outside of Port Perry, the success of our unique and popular events, beautification to the down- town as well as the efforts in making this a heritage district. Port Perry is not “just another town” and continues to be a “day tripper haven” due to hard working busi- ness owners, proud property owners, a great commu- nity and organizations like The BIA and The Scugog Chamber of Commerce. Dana Smith Dana's Goldsmithing Inc. 186 Queen St. Port Perry MORE LETTERS ON PAGE 37 up to 50% OFF floor models we pay y the tax on custom orders 207 Queen St., Port Perry 905.985.3011 www.lukesforhome.com