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www.insideHALTON.com · OAKVILLE BEAVER Friday, March 9, 2012 · 12 Shining a light on the hard work of local people Continued from page 7 "It's a great recognition for all of our employees who have worked so hard in Oakville. I think it's great to get a little bit of recognition for all the hard work people do," said Winsor Macdonell, senior vice-president, general counsel and secretary. GFC was honoured for its contributions to various organi- zations and activities -- development of the Wellspring HaltonPeel Cancer Support Centre, Habitat for Humanity and the new Oakville hospital, where last year it committed to donating $250,000 over five years to help build a new fracture clinic. "We're always looking for opportunities where we can make a difference in the local community we operate in. We listen to our employees, so a lot of our new ideas come from them," said Macdonell. Proceeds from the gala will provide funds for various RCOW youth and academic programs, such as the Oakville Youth Development Centre, Oakville Awards for Academic Excellence (OAAE), Camp Enterprise, Rotary Youth Leadership Awards (RYLA) and scholarships and bursaries for Oakville students. At least 14 graduating high school students will be awarded scholarships of $2,000 each and bursaries of $1,000 each to further their post-secondary education. Scholarships are based on academic excellence and com- munity service. Bursaries are determined by financial need. "It's our pleasure to have the opportunity to honour businesses and raise money for the future business people of Oakville because they are (our) youths of today and all of our money goes to our youth initiatives," said Mary Cardamone, RCOW president. "It's a win-win situation for our Rotary club, the chamber and the community of Oakville." 2011 OABE winners: · Entrepreneur of the Year -- The Wine Ladies (Georgia Mense-Chase and Susanne Seelig-Mense) · Community Builder of the Year -- Genworth Financial Canada (Linda Bellanger and Winsor Macdonell) · Large Company of the Year -- Fourmark Manufacturing Inc. (Adam Cruickshank) · Professional Service Provider of the Year -- MEDIchair Halton (Kristin and David Courtney) · Restaurant/Hospitality/ Tourism Provider of the Year -- Homewood Suites by Hilton Toronto/Oakville (Christina Anderson) · Small Company of the Year -- Factory Tile Depot ­ Oakville (Dan Welland) To date, OABE galas have raised more than $540,000. For more information, visit www.oabe.ca. European Engineering Combined With Traditional Workmanship 905.849.0266 COZY UP TOUP A DIMPLEX WARM TO A FIREPLACE. MODERN FIREPLACE "Building on the Brightest Ideas Around Glass" ELECTRIC BARBEQUES ALSO AVAILABLE! "MASONRY & FIREPLACE DESIGN SPECIALISTS" www.cobblestonembers.ca ACROSS FROM RONA LANSING 406 SPEERS RD., OAKVILLE 905-337-2066