The Annual General Meeting (AGM) of the Stittsville Business Association (SBA) welcomed in a new Board of Directors for 2022-23. At the AGM, Andrea Greenhous, interim President, opened the meeting by thanking Allan Ryan for all of his hard work over the past two years to bring the Association to where it is today.
During the meeting’s roundtable, the members introduced themselves and shared comments on operating a business during a pandemic. Most of the business owners expressed they are pleased to see the restrictions lifted. Jon Martin of Maverick’s Donuts stated, “we are terrified of running our business outside of a pandemic, but are looking forward to meeting people”. Mandy Faulkner, owner of Faulkner Family Nutrition and Stittsville Market at the Barn is, “pleased to see all of the restrictions removed and looking forward to our first market day of the year on May 8”. Cody Campanale of Campanale Homes said, “Stittsville is a growing neighbourhood on the forefront of growth on the Ottawa landscape”. Sarah Kaplan, of Royal-Lepage Team Realty, Brokerage, former owner of Rainbow Foods in the west end of Ottawa, says, “it is so nice being five minutes away from the office to work in Stittsville”.
Andrea, who was recruited by Wesley Smith of Warmstone Family Dental, has been with the SBA for two and a half years as the Vice-President (and more recently as interim President) and worked closely with Allan and Wesley during this time. She shared the sentiment, “it can be lonely being a business owner and there are always challenges to face”.
The election of the board of directors was overseen by Kato Hamilton of Warmstone Family Dental. The following SBA members now form the 2022-23 Board of Directors for the Stittsville Business Association:
- President: Andrea Greenhous, Voice 2 Vision, Strategic Internal Communications
- Vice-President: Jon Martin, Mavericks Donuts
- Past-President: Allan Ryan, BrokerLink
- Treasurer: Brandon Bowes, Kelly Huibers McNeely Chartered Accountants
- Secretary: Sarah Kaplan, Royal LePage Team Realty, Brokerage
- Administrative Assistant: Jenny Thompson, Coldwell Banker
- Directors-at-Large:
- Cody Campanale, Campanale Homes Real Estate Broker
- Adam Kittle, Adam Kittle Snow Removal and Postcard Perfect Lawn Care Specialists
- Mandy Faulkner, Faulkner Family Nutrition and Stittsville Market at the Barn
- Dan Bedard, BrokerLink Commercial Division
- Phil Sweetnam, PBC Holdings
On her first point of business, the new President congratulated the members, but said there is lots of work to do and would like to see three goals achieved by the Association in 2022. “We are all volunteers, parents, some with children, be they two-legged or four, and at times we look after our own parents, so I ask that you do your best. As my Grandmother used to say, ‘Many Hands Make Light Work’ – we’ll work towards recruiting more members to gain more volunteers,” Andrea stressed.
The SBA has a good visual presence on Stittsville Main through the 2021 banner project. The banners, hung from the lamp posts, promote individual Stittsville businesses. With the valued assistance of Olivia Bolt, a Sacred Heart student, the SBA’s profile on social media was successfully raised in 2021. Limited to one public function last year due to the pandemic, the 2021 golf tournament was also a success.
The SBA Executive are looking forward to working together to organize events, gain members and continuing to raise business profiles in Stittsville.