12 The South Marysburgh Mirror The Gay Lea Story local ('Morrison…' con(cid:415)nued from page 4) Trevor Crowe, coordinator in the County's Community Development office, offered encouragement to the group and indicated that several developments under- way should help sub-communi(cid:415)es such as Black River. New road signage is being developed by the County over the next year or two and it should help people find the smaller centres. Community Development is taking over tourism from the Chamber of Commerce and in March of this year it will be opera(cid:415)ng the official tourism "Visit the County" website. Free lis(cid:415)ngs on the directory, which a(cid:425)racts up to 25,000 visitors per month, will be offered to all County businesses serving tourists. The lis(cid:415)ngs of a sub-community such as Black River can be clustered together onto one page. South Marysburgh councillor Steve Ferguson also offered encouragement for the ini(cid:415)a(cid:415)ve and offered to assist with process. At the same (cid:415)me, howev- er, he noted that he was responsible for trying to pro- mote the success of businesses throughout South Marysburgh and not just Black River. The group agreed with Steve's priori(cid:415)es but stated that while our own fo- cus is in on the Black River and its immediate area, we want to increase mutually beneficial links with other businesses in South Marysburgh. The group agreed to meet again February 21. The agenda will include planning of events in which all the Black River businesses could work together in the up- coming season, including the Black River Cheese Facto- ry's Dock Launch party in June, and the poten(cid:415)al beau(cid:415)- fica(cid:415)on of the Black River bridge. In the mean(cid:415)me, work is being done to prepare a map and a directory of local businesses for pos(cid:415)ng both on the "Visit the County" website and on the wall of Black River Cheese. For more informa(cid:415)on about this ini(cid:415)a(cid:415)ve, feel free to contact me at Robert.Burkinshaw@gmail.com or Con- rad Biernacki at BlackRiverBB@gmail.com Our story began in 1958 when a group of farmers came together with a common vision - to be(cid:425)er the lives of Ontario farming families and co-opera(cid:415)ves. Today, we are proud of that heritage as the second largest dairy co- opera(cid:415)ve in Canada, owned by over 1,200 dairy farmers; since our humble beginning, we have grown to 12 pro- duc(cid:415)on facili(cid:415)es and distribu(cid:415)on centers across Ontario and Quebec. Throughout our history, our growth has come from high-quality products and dedica(cid:415)on to innova(cid:415)on. We are always looking to expand Gay Lea's well-known brands. Our most recent addi(cid:415)on, Black River Cheese, is one of the oldest cheese companies in Prince Edward County and further adds to the variety of products we offer. From Ivanhoe, Hewi(cid:425)'s, and Salerno Cheese to Gay Lea and Nordica, our loyal customers know they are buy- ing fresh, natural products that they can trust. And while making great products is important to us, we never forget we have other commitments - Gay Lea Foods is about concern for community. To date, we've raised over $450,000 in support of co-opera(cid:415)ve development around the globe. We help at home too, through contribu(cid:415)ons to organiza(cid:415)ons in rural communi- (cid:415)es across Ontario. And so, as a co-opera(cid:415)ve, we have learned the best of working together. From the moment our milk is born on the farm un(cid:415)l our products reach the tables of Ontario families, we collaborate - farmers, members, employees and customers - to make Gay Lea Foods what it is today. We are excited to be included in "The County". We have over 16 local county farmers in our co-opera(cid:415)ve, are ex- cited the store will con(cid:415)nue to grow, and enjoy hearing the history of Black River Cheese through your stories. Thank you for welcoming us to The County! The South Marysburgh Mirror February 2017 Volume 31, Number 1 Published monthly by Steve Ferguson, 3032 County Road 10, PO Box 64, Milford, ON K0K 2P0 T: 613.476.9104 E: themirror@kos.net W: www.southmarysburghmirror.com ISSN Number 1181-6333 (Print Edition) ISSN Number 2292-5708 (Online Edition)