(A large crowd attended the Stittsville Business Association’s first in-person event since the pandemic began. A Meet ‘n Greet was hosted by the SBA at Brew Revolution in Stittsville on December 1, 2022. Photos: Mandy Hambly)
After two years of not hosting in-person gatherings or meetings, the Stittsville Business Association (SBA) were pleased to be able to host a Meet ‘n Greet for local business owners and friends. The event on December 1, 2022 was held at Brew Revolution in Stittsville and drew a large crowd. All who attended were pleased to be able to finally get together to catch-up and share ideas towards the growth and support of the SBA.
On hand to greet the guests were the SBA President, Andrea Greenhous and Vice-President, Jon Martin, as well as Past-President, Allan Ryan. Of the event, Ryan said, “Congratulations on a well-organized in-person event and the great hosting job by our friends at the Brew Revolution. Well done all”.
Andrea Greenhous shared, “It was a very successful event. The executive team was thrilled to reconnect with our members and meet business owners who came to learn what the SBA is all about. After last night, I have a great feeling about the future of our organization and our ability to contribute to a thriving business community.”
During the span of two years, business membership in the SBA has decreased to approximately 70 members. With over 400 businesses in the immediate Stittsville area, the SBA, a membership based association, is working hard to grow their membership again and to work on their common goal of supporting locally owned large and small businesses – whether retail in bricks and mortar buildings or home based.
Jon Martin was pleased with the turn-out, “the event was well attended and the vibe in the room was amazing. Everyone seemed to be engaged in meaningful conversations and the group actually broke out into a single discussion about how business can work together in Stittsville and what benefits could be added to improve membership. We are committed to keeping this ball rolling to build a stronger Stittsville community.”
With a mandate to deliver value to SBA members through a series of strategies, the SBA “Shop Stittsville” slogan is supported by their four pillar approach – a mixture of social media, an interactive website, networking events and community planned activities. The SBA is member of the Ottawa Board of Trade enabling their voice to share your local business needs with a greater audience.
The SBA wants to build a strong local network that will promote local businesses with their four pillar approach, make the connections between member businesses and the services offered, as well as providing advocacy on behalf of business owners at all levels of government.
Membership to join the SBA is $200 per year. Visit the SBA membership link to join today. For additional information, visit the SBA website and follow the Association on Facebook.
More than 35 per cent of jobs in Ottawa come from small businesses. In Ontario, 1.18 million or 97.9 percent are small, locally owned businesses, with 93 percent of all businesses located in Ottawa being a small business. They are the backbone of every community and without the existence of our small businesses what would communities become?
As Jon Martin conveyed to Stittsville Central, “I encourage local businesses to get active in the SBA – the more we all put into it, the more we’ll all get out of it!”