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www.insideHALTON.com · OAKVILLE BEAVER Thursday, August 9, 2012 · 6 The Oakville Beaver The Oakville Beaver is a member of the Ontario Press Council. The council is located at 80 Gould St., Suite 206, Toronto, Ont., M5B 2M7. Phone (416) 340-1981. Advertising is accepted on the condition that, in the event of a typographical error, that portion of advertising space occupied by the erroneous item, together with a reasonable allowance for signature, will not be charged for, but the balance of the advertisement will be paid for at the applicable rate. The publisher reserves the right to categorize advertisements or decline. Editorial and advertising content of the Oakville Beaver is protected by copyright. Unauthorized use is prohibited. 467 Speers Rd., Oakville Ont. L6K 3S4 (905) 845-3824 Fax: 337-5566 Classified Advertising: 905-632-4440 Circulation: 905-631-6095 Guest Column Helping turn ideas into business ast month, I had the pleasure of meeting with this year's class of Summer Company students. Halton Region's Small Business Centre is once again co-ordinating the Summer Company program in Halton for the Ministry of Economic Development and Innovation (MEDI). The provincially-funded program helps students aged 15-29 start and grow their own businesses. Students who participate, Gary Carr receive cash awards of up to $3,000 -- an upfront award of up to $1,500 to put toward start-up costs and up to $1,500 upon successful completion of the program. This year's eight participants were selected from numerous applicants from the Halton area. Their businesses include everything from graphic design, exterior painting and swimming lessons to custom nautical apparel and more. Five of the students are from Oakville. This year's Summer Companies are: Ben Swallow, RealCurb Paint; Alida Carlin, Hometown Painting; Mitch Cook, Flyer Hustle; Malcolm Halley, MADRAD; Sarah Hay, Little Fins, (all of Oakville); Jestin Miller, Miller's Maintenance; Brendon Lisi, Surf Sandford Apparel; and Kate Cowan, K.C. Designs (all of Burlington). In addition to the cash awards, students receive business training and mentoring from volunteers from the local business community. Many thanks to Liz Kush, senior account manager of Business and Personal Markets RBC, South Halton Market; Tom Cochran, consultant, Halton Business Advisory Group; Phil Von Massow, owner, CPL Group and Nelia Taylor, certified general accountant, BDO Canada LLP, who are all serving as mentors this summer. The program aims to support students interested in entrepreneurship as a possible career goal. According to Cook, who this summer is running his own flyer delivery service, Flyer Hustle, he said, "The support I received from participating in the Summer Company program gave me the confidence I needed to push myself beyond my comfort zone and take the necessary risks to succeed. Undoubtedly the training and mentoring from the program aided in my understanding of real-world business operations, finance and strategy. Further, the experience I gained from running a summer business greatly expanded my interpersonal skills and developed my business acumen." Entrepreneurship sparks innovation, creates jobs and helps our economy grow. Summer Company sets young entrepreneurs up to succeed, through business coaching, training and ongoing mentoring. For further information on this year's Summer Companies, the Summer Company Program and the Halton Small Business Centre, visit our website at www.halton.ca/business, dial 311, or call 905-825-6000, ext. 7900, toll-free 1-866-442-5866, or TTY 905-827-9833. Also, find our Halton Summer Company page on Facebook. If you have any Regional concerns or comments you would like to share, please feel free to e-mail me at gary.carr@halton.ca. You can also find me on Twitter (@garycarrhalton) or on Facebook. To receive further updates on Regional issues, please subscribe to my quarterly e-newsletter, The Carr Report. Neil Oliver Vice-President and Group Publisher, Metroland West David harvey Regional General Manager JILL DAVIS Editor in Chief Daniel Baird Advertising Director ANGELA BLACKBURN Managing Editor Riziero Vertolli Photography Director Sandy Pare Business Manager RECOGNIZED FOR EXCELLENCE BY: Ontario Community Newspapers Association MARK DILLS Director of Production Manuel garcia Production Manager CHARLENE HALL Director of Distribution KIM MOSSMAN Circulation Manager Website www.oakvillebeaver.com The OakvilleBeaver is a division of L Gary Carr, Regional Chair Canadian Community Newspapers Association Suburban Newspapers of America THE OAKVILLE BEAVER IS PROUD OFFICIAL MEDIA SPONSOR FOR: United Way of Oakville ATHENA Award NIKKI WESLEY / OAKVILLE BEAVER / @halton_photog GOOD CHOICE: Connor Martin and Jack Martin (right) prepare for burgers during Softchoice Corporation, Oakville's fundraising barbecue for the Halton Trauma Centre. The event raised $770, which will be matched by Softchoice Cares as part of its Power2thePeople (P2P) fundraising campaign promoting local charities across North America. The barbecue was part of a five-month campaign by the Oakville team to help fund a new Halton Trauma Centre website designed specifically to provide tools and resources for children and youths affected by abuse and neglect. For more information about the campaign, go to the Softchoice Cares Facebook page. Finding the flaws in the trendy holiday-at-home `staycation' O n the first morning of our `staycation,' I inked an Olympic editorial for my sports-humour website, swept out the garage, cut five acres of grass, cleaned out both pond and pool, weeded a large garden and nearly suffered sunstroke, all while contemplating how this day was at all different from any other day of the year. The difference, I reminded myself, was that I was on a `staycation.' In case you're not hip, happening and in the know: a `staycation' is an annoyingly popular term coined for a holiday-at-home vacation. Back in the day, this was known as "you're so poor, you ain't going nowhere." But nowadays, loads of trendy types are vacationing in their backyards and saving themselves fistfuls of cash and untold travel miseries (there's little chance, for instance, of getting traveller's diarrhea at home). After working up a monster sweat on the first morning of my stay-at-home vacation, I went into the house to see what was on the agenda for the afternoon. According to my wife, we were going to lounge by the pool. Now that, I thought, sounds like a relaxing, vacationy thing to do. Getting into the spirit of things, I got myself out of work mode and into my swim trunks. Then I naively asked my wife if she needed any assistance carrying things down to the pool. For the next hour, while my wife searched her wardrobe for the ideal swimsuit for the occasion, I carted her lounge-by-the-pool necessities out to the pool. Let's see: iPad, iPhone, iDock, iPod, Andy Juniper computer, an eclectic range of magazines, a variety of books (in case the one she was currently reading didn't hold her attention), an impressive assortment of food from all essential food groups (and even some nonessential), a bevy of beverages, an array of sunscreens with ranging potencies, two hats (one full-brimmed that fully covered, another that allowed a reckless beam or two of sunlight to caress her face), etc. I probably should have just rented a truck and hauled it down in one trip. Fully prepared (for any eventuality), we eventually found ourselves at pool-side, soaking in the sun, resting and relaxing -- diving, as it were, into the refreshing waters of our `staycation.' Only, it was at that precise point in time that the assault occurred. An all-out assault on the old olfactory nerves. "What," my wife gasped, "is that smell?" I inhaled. Gagged. And attempted to identify the offending odor. "It's... manure," I said. "Manure," my wife repeated, in full agreement. "Manure and... death." Yes. We were inhaling the aroma of manure and death. There are 365 days in a year -- 365 days in which the guy who farms the property next to us could fertilize his fields with manure and death. But he picked the very day when we were `staycationing' out in our backyard. Imagine the odds. I know we sure did. You know, the problem with a `staycation,' is that the term is oxymoronic. You can't possibly stay at home -- and vacation. Having retreated from the pool and on into the house, having poured two very generous glasses of white wine, my wife, innocently enough, asked: "So, what do you want to do tomorrow?" "I'm going back to work," I replied, defeated. Although, I wasn't sure if I'd even be able to tell the difference. Andy Juniper can be contacted at ajjuniper@gmail.com, found on Facebook at www.facebook.com, or followed at www.twitter. com/thesportjesters.