KEDCO: Weekly Update – Week Ending June 18, 2010
HIGHLIGHTS OF RECENT PROGRESS & ACTIVITIES
Business Development
KEDCO welcomes Kristina Sutton to the position of Project Manager – Labour Market Development. Kristina transitioned from her role as Youth Business Counsellor to oversee the Labour Market portfolio beginning June 14. Kristina has been with KEDCO since 2007, when she came on board to The Entrepreneurship Centre’s Summer Company program. Kristina has forged relationships with academic partners at Queen’s University and St. Lawrence College; participated in HR Professional Association of Ontario Kingston branch meetings; and, made connections with the local employment networks.
The Entrepreneurship Centre at KEDCO’s Summer Company participants will be operating a retail store at 122 Princess Street (beside the former Fabricland location) during the summer months as part of the training component of the program. The Summer Company Store will be open from June 17 through August 24 from 10am to 6pm, Thursday through Monday (closed Tuesday & Wednesday). The store will feature promotional material highlighting the new businesses started by the 22 participating young entrepreneurs, and also offer retail products for sale created by the youth such as jewellery, loose leaf tea, longboards (long skate boards), photography prints and bookmarks. Summer Company participants also signed up to participate in Downtown Kingston’s Summer Sidewalk Sale on July 1-4; Picnic Day Sidewalk Sale on July 30 -August 2 which includes the Princess Street Promenade event.
Tourism Kingston
Rob Carnegie, Director of Tourism Marketing & Attraction and John Paul Shearer, Director of Business Development attended the annual Economic Summit coordinated by the Capital Corridor on June 14 in Alexandria Bay, NY. Some of the topics associated with this year’s summit included: the role of universities in a knowledge based economy; tourism trends and forecasts; retaining and attracting young professionals and working collaboratively on economic development. The Capital Corridor is an integrated bi-national transportation network linking innovative regions between Ottawa, and Washington, DC. It was created to facilitate regional, national, and global economic growth and integration. The Capital Corridor initiative is jointly funded by the Thousand Islands Bridge Authority and the Federal Bridge Corporation.
As part of the Tourism Kingston/KAP Summer Campaign, Jacqueline Sytsma, Marketing Assistant & Partnership Services Coordinator will be at the LCBO Nepean Crossroads on Friday, June 18 from 4-8pm for an Open Consumer Sampling Event. These events allow local chefs to prepare menu samples for consumers to showcase their restaurant and the unique culinary experiences available in Kingston. Featured will be King Street Sizzle and Chefs Rob Melo & Steve Silva.
