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3 Business Links, Tuesday, October 19, 2010 Our New Chairman Speaks I n September at the Halton Hills Chamber of Commerce Annual General Meeting I was privileged to be elected the Chairman of the Board. I take this role very seriously and look forward to working with our very enthusiastic and engaged Board of Directors to ensure we are the authoritative voice of the business community in Halton Hills. A Quarterly Official Publication of Halton Hills Chamber of Commerce 328 Guelph Street, Halton Hills, ON L7G 4B5 Tel 905.877.7119 Fax 905.877.5117 Email info@haltonhillschamber.on.ca www.haltonhillschamber.on.ca Our mandate is twofold: to provide opportunities for our members to enhance their business; and to be an advocate of issues affecting business in Halton Hills. Kathleen October is Small Dills Business Month in Chairman Ontario, an opportunity to celebrate the enormous contribution small businesses make to the Canadian economy. Small businesses with fewer than 100 employees contribute about 30 percent to Canada's GDP and 2/3 of employees work for small business. An unofficial estimate would be that 90% of businesses in Halton Hills fall into the under 11 employee category. It is widely recognized that small business is the backbone of the Canadian economy but even more important in our town. In 2009 the Shop Local Campaign was launched to address the challenging economy and to support our local business community. This initiative was a collaborative effort of the Town of Halton Hills, Acton and Georgetown BIA, the local media, local merchants and the Chamber. Celebrate Small Business Month and come out to meet your fellow chamber members and the newly elected Board of Directors at our next `Business After Five' which will be held in the newly renovated Acton Town Hall on October 20 from 5 p.m. to 7 p.m., located on 19 Willow Street North in Acton. This event, sponsored by Purity Life Health Products and Superior Glove, will feature a business to business table top show ­ a great way to see and be seen. Emerald Isle finds a new home EDITORIAL COMMITTEE EDITOR: Cor Baarda, Knowledge Management 905.702.0926 Writers: Tracey Wellon TY Virtual Assistant 416.895.9949 Sue Walker, Halton Hills Chamber of Commerce 905.877.7119 Wendy Hue, Partners In Progress 905.877.2183 Andrea Lefebvre The Independent & Free Press 905.873.0301 Book Review: Beverley King, Halton Hills Public Libraries 905.873.2681 PRODUCTION & PRINTING The Independent & Free Press Steve Foreman, General Manager Dolores Black, Production BusinessLink is the official publication of Halton Hills Chamber of Commerce. Unsolicited material is not eligible for payment. Opinions expressed are those of the author, not necessarily those of the Chamber, its Board of Directors or its membership. It is distributed free to all Chamber members and through The Independent & Free Press. By Andrea Lefebvre, Independent & Free Press fter 23 years in business, Emerald Isle Home Furnishings is looking better than ever. The store's old structure at the corner of Guelph Street and Sinclair Avenue in Georgetown was recently torn down and replaced with a brighter new building. "While we were moving out the back door of the old building, they continued tearing it down around us!" says sales and design consultant Maureen Begg. That was May 26. By June 11, Emerald Isle was open for business in its brand new home. The new space presented a bit of challenge for the staff. "It's a big open space with lots of windows and, having lost all the separate units the old store had, we were left without walls to distinguish between the different areas in the shop," Begg says. "We had to re-work existing partition walls to create easy traffic flow while still keeping intimate furniture groupings." Emerald Isle sells home furnishings and accessories for every room of the house in styles that range from traditional to contemporary to rustic to transitional. The store offers in-home design consultations where the staff can help customers arrange and organize their existing furniture in a new home or revitalize an existing room with new paint colours, fabrics, furniture and A Maureen Begg, sales and design consultant, encourages customers to explore Emerald Isle's brand new home. accessories. The new store includes a Design Centre where staff help clients realize their home design vision. They have a wide selection of furniture and fabrics, linens and drapery panels, and Farrow & Ball paint. In addition to furnishings and design consultations, Emerald Isle also sells hot tubs and chemicals, as well as mattress sets. The store's Simmons Mattress Gallery is a quiet, relaxing area where customers can take their time choosing a mattress set that is right for them. The Sunrise Hot Tub Centre has many tubs on display, and the interlocking brick floor and the ceiling-to-floor windows give the feeling of being outdoors. Emerald Isle Home Furnishings is located at 265 Guelph Street in Georgetown. For more information, call 905-873-2753.