www.oakvillebeaver.com The Oakville Beaver Weekend, Saturday January 3, 2009 - 3 Chamber hosts economic outlook Two of Canada's leading financial experts will be in Oakville on Friday, Jan. 9 to share their thoughts on the economy with the business community. RBC Senior Vice President and Chief Economist Craig Wright, and Douglas Newson, director of Statistics Canada, Central Region, will be the guest speakers at a breakfast hosted by the Oakville Chamber of Commerce at the Holiday Inn Oakville-Centre, 590 Argus Rd. Registration will open at 7:30 a.m., with keynote presentations from 8-9:30 a.m. The public is welcome and Wright and Newson will take questions from the audience. Seats are available by registering online at www.oakvillechamber.com, or by contacting Brendan Stewart, events co-ordinator, at Brendan@oakvillechamber.com, 905-8456613, ext 28. Cost is $35 for members, $45 for non-members, $245 for a table of eight. CANADIAN GOVERNMENT CERTIFIED CANADIAN DIAMONDS PUBLIC AUCTION SUNDAY, JANUARY 4TH, 2009 Extremely valuable diamond jewellery: Government Certified. Supplemented with other imported jewellery: Customs Cleared, importation duties paid. All certified: GIA, EGL, IGI, Gem Scan, etc. ROLEX - CARTIER - PIAGET - BREITLING - OMEGA Holiday Inn Bronte - Oakville 2525 Wyecroft Road (Q.E.W. & Bronte) Viewing from 1:00 p.m. - Auction at 2:00 p.m. LIESA KORTMANN / OAKVILLE BEAVER All sales are final. No refund exchange or layaway. Payments: Visa, M.C., Debit, Cash and Certified Cheques. Some reserves may apply. Sale subject to additions, deletions, errors and omissions. 15% buyers premium & applicable taxes to be added. Heritage International. 905-882-7073 NEW YEAR'S BABY: Proud parents Jennifer Hood and Leonard Parker hold Lerato Parker, who arrived 21 days early on Jan. 1 at 6:08 a.m. to claim the title of Oakville's New Year's baby. New Year's baby was early surprise for parents By David Lea OAKVILLE BEAVER STAFF They may have been expecting him a little later, but the parents of Oakville's New Year's baby are still delighted with their new son's sense of timing. Lerato Parker was born at OakvilleTrafalgar Memorial Hospital (OTMH) at 6:08 a.m. on New Year's Day, weighing in at 7 pounds and 12 ounces. Lerato showed his determination to be a New Year's baby by taking less than six hours to be born. "My water broke at 12:40 a.m. and he was born at 6:08 a.m.," said new mother Jennifer Hood, 22. "I was very calm thinking I had all this time because my water had just broken, but after 20 minutes in the hospital I was in active labour." New father Leonard Parker, 23, noted they were expecting Lerato to make his appearance around Jan. 22, but points out everything except the necessary mental preparation has been taken care of. "Fortunately most of it was taken care of by our families," said Parker, who is engaged to Hood. "They got clothes, the crib, our car seat was installed in the car today, so pretty much everything is ready to take him home and just start our lives." While the couple is currently living in Kitchener, where Parker is attending college, Hood's family and doctor are located in Oakville. This is the couple's first child. "Sorry to all the people who are finding out about this in the paper," said Hood. "I thought I had a few more weeks."