The following text may have been generated by Optical Character Recognition, with varying degrees of accuracy. Reader beware!

The Oakville Beaver Weekend, Saturday September 30, 2006 - 3 Sparling reaches out for chamber By Angela Blackburn OAKVILLE BEAVER STAFF BARRIE ERSKINE / OAKVILLE BEAVER REACHING OUT: Long-time Glen Abbey resident Stephen Sparling is the new president of the Oakville Chamber of Commerce. Sparling, a former local Town and Regional councillor, has always been a business person. As the new Oakville Chamber of Commerce president, Stephen Sparling hopes to reach out to the community. Strengthening ties -- between business and education and business and government -- tops his Things to Do list. So is positioning the chamber in the light of having something to offer large corporate Oakville as well as local small businesses -- and everything in between. Actually, none of it's new, admits Sparling, a veteran businessman and politician. It's all about building upon what Sparling says the chamber "is already doing and doing quite well." The 47-year-old Sparling was officially sworn in as the chamber's new president Thursday night at a gala that drew 350 people to Le Dome Banquet Hall and featured emcee Linda Leatherdale and keynote speaker Bill Osborne, president and CEO of Ford of Canada. Sparling is ready to reach out to the community and it's a town he knows well. His family has lived here since 1978. Sparling himself located here full time in 1985, and to Glen Abbey in 1989 where he and his wife, Michele, have raised their twins Michael and Stephanie, 14. Sparling's children have just entered Grade 9 at Abbey Park High School and it hasn't taken Sparling long to find a position on the school's parent council. That's his way. In fact, Sparling has roots in a very political family. At age seven, he watched his grandfather sworn in as the mayor of Kingston and later tagged along to countless political events while on holidays in Kingston. Sparling said his grandfather was always a leader who put community and people first. Sparling's grandfather on his father's side was a major in the Canadian Army who served in two World Wars. Sparling's father, a United Church minister, was also always concerned with social issues. Sparling himself belonged to a United Church youth group as well as the Young Conservatives early in life. Sparling's early career began in sales and he eventually wound up in advertising sales for Mclean Hunter, now Rogers Media. In 1991, the life-long Conservative -- who has been heavily involved in the Conservative Party, both federally and provincially, and particularly in fundraising (and ran as the local federal Conservative candidate in 1997) -- won the Town of Oakville/Halton Region councillor's seat in Glen Abbey. He held the post for nine years. While a Town/Regional councillor, Sparling held the post of chair of Halton's Planning & Public Works Committee, overseeing a $400 million budget and over $1 billion in assets. He was also a candidate for National President, PC Party of Canada, and for Member of Parliament for Oakville. Over the years, Sparling has lectured extensively on fundraising and effective networking and has been a key member of many campaigns, See Chamber page 5 D R I V E T H R U S E R V I C E · O P E N 7 DAY S A W E E K · N O A P P O I N T M E N T N E C E S SA R Y · WA R R A N T Y A P P R OV E D S E R V I C E We're Here for you! Professional. Fast. Convenient. · 345 Speers Rd (Speers @ Dorval) (905) 842-9299 · 490 Dundas St W (Dundas @ Neyagawa) (905) 257-8353 Visit our website at www.mrlube.com for a complete list of locations. $ OFF 5 Any oil and oil filter change package Offer applies to any oil change package and must be presented at the time of service. Not valid with any other oil change coupon or discount. Valid at participating locations. Prices may vary at Mr. Lube locations. CODE 9934 EXPIRES 10/14/06 REG. T.M. MR. LUBE CANADA INC. FRANCHISEE AUTHORIZED USER