HIGHLIGHTS OF RECENT PROGRESS & ACTIVITIES
Business Development
On October 22, City Councillors and KEDCO Board Directors travelled to the Bombardier Transportation’s Kingston facility to participate in a “Lunch and Learn” hosted by Ziad Rizk, Engineering Director & Site Manager.
Bombardier Transportation’s Kingston site is home to Bombardier’s worldwide Centre for Competence for Mass Transit and Advanced Rapid Transit Systems, which employs 300 full-time employees involved in the design, development and testing of transit systems.
This was the first in a new series of opportunities organized by KEDCO for Councillors and Board to learn more about Kingston’s industry leaders.
Tourism Kingston
On November 8, Rob Carnegie, Director of Tourism Marketing & Development will be attending the regional Destination Marketing Organization (DMO) Summit facilitated by The Great Waterway (RTO #9). DMOs have been asked to provide an outline of their 2012 focus, target markets and strategic objectives.
To date, Tourism Kingston’s Visitor Information Centre (VIC) greeted over 157,000 visitors to the 209 Ontario Street location this year. In addition, the VIC has reported a five per cent retail sales increase over 2010. Plans are currently underway for extended hours of operation as part of Downtown Kingston’s Holiday Night Hours.
Corporate
Next year more than 900 athletes and coaches from across Ontario will gather in Kingston to participate in the Special Olympics Ontario 2012 Provincial Spring Games from May 31 -June 3, 2012. Participants will compete in the sports of Basketball, Swimming, 5-Pin Bowling, 10-Pin Bowling, Bocce and Powerlifting.
KEDCO staff aresponsoring an athlete through the “Adopt an Athlete” initiative. The Special Olympic Ontario Games provides a chance for Canadians with an intellectual disability to learn new skills, be active and engaged in their communities. For more information on Adopting an Athlete or how to get involved with the Kingston Spring Games, please visit www.specialolympics2012games.com .
The KEDCO Board of Directors convened a Special Meeting of the Board on October 24. At the meeting, the Board passed KEDCO’s three-year municipal funding request which comes in at a 2% increase in each of the next three years. KEDCO will present its proposed budget request to City Council during the November budget presentations of external agencies.