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3 | The IFP -H alton H ills | T hursday,January 7,2021 theifp.ca Funding provided by the Government of OntarioYOUR ALLY IN EDUCATION BOOK YOUR VISIT: YourFrenchSchool.ca Choose the Conseil scolaire catholique MonAvenir as your everyday ally, empowering children to reach new heights. VIRTUAL OPEN HOUSE École élémentaire catholique DU SACRÉ-CŒUR Georgetown, January 28 at 6 p.m. Following a year of un- precedented changes, 2021 may be a time for optimism and striving for a return to normal life. "There's nothing I love more than to hear the soc- cer fields and baseball dia- monds busy in the sum- mer," said Halton Hills Mayor Rick Bonnette. "It would be nice if we can get back to celebrating Canada Day in the Glen, fall fairs, beer festivals, and other events that make our town so great." While the vaccine roll- out is underway, Town of Halton Hills projects will also be arriving this com- ing year including an af- fordable housing project at 17 Guelph St. in George- town and the development at the McGibbon Hotel. Bonnette said design plans for projects like Phase 2 of the Gellert Cen- tre and Trafalgar Sports Park would also be re- leased in 2021. "The Town will contin- ue to work on important files such as climate change, equity, diversity, inclusion, and anti-rac- ism," Bonnette said. For local business, 2021 will continue to be a chal- lenge. For the Halton Hills Chamber of Commerce, 2020 presented some unique hardships. "Prior to this year, most people viewed the Cham- ber as a networking oppor- tunity," Melanie Frazer, general manager of the Halton Hills Chamber of Commerce, said. "Without having events we were re- ally forced to focus on pil- lars our members needed." From advocacy at the municipal and provincial level, to education, the Chamber pivoted to main- tain relevance for its mem- bership. "Education was a really big thing in 2020, and we're going to continue that for next year," Frazer said. "People in a small- or medi- um-sized business don't have time to figure out what to do next." Through virtual semi- nars and online events, the Chamber provided imme- diate benefits to businesses looking to navigate the global pandemic. "Businesses that have not taken the time to look at what their customers want from there are going to struggle in this upcom- ing year," Frazer said. While Frazer said some businesses struggled through 2020, many had surprisingly good years. "Some of them are hav- ing the best year because people are shopping local- ly," she said. However, a more locally focused customer will still need to be with e-com- merce models. "People are no longer walking down Main Street and finding that cute, little store," Frazer said. "They're looking for it on- line." The Chamber will launch a new website in 2021 with an enhanced di- rectory to help drive e-com- merce. With more support from the Chamber on the way, Frazer said the Town of Halton Hills has also been a benefit to business own- ers. "Halton Hills is in a real- ly funky stage of growth," Frazer said. "We're still small but we're growing and growing quickly." With more than 1,400 businesses in Halton Hills, Frazer said the Town has done a great job retaining businesses and under- standing what makes Hal- ton Hills attractive. For 2021, Frazer said supporting local business- es was important. "Amazon will still be here when this is over," Frazer said. "But the little niche businesses make all the difference in Halton Hills. They're the ones who support our teams and do- nate to the hospital." THE STORY BEHIND THE STORY: With an extremely challenging 2020 finally over, we wanted to hear from community leaders about what lies ahead in 2021. NEWS WHAT'S IN STORE FOR 2021? MAYOR AND CHAMBER GM CAUSTIOUSLY OPTIMISTIC FOR YEAR AHEAD BRYAN MYERS bmyers@metroland.com Chamber of Commerce GM Melanie Frazer and Mayor Rick Bonnette recently led a virtual meeting to discuss the past year and plans for helping businesses recover in 2021. Chamber of Commerce photo