Those empty bottles mean full bellies for Niagara winery
Aniagara winery wants to turn empty wine bottles into meals for needy people.
From Oct. 12 to 19, Flat Rock Cellars in Jordan Station wants people to drop off their empty wine bottles, with all the money generated from the returns going toward Feed Ontario, formerly the Ontario Association of Food Banks.
Over the years, Flat Rock has donated more than $40,000 to that agency, which it said is the equivalent of 120,000 meals. For the eighth year, it is releasing Good Kharma Chardonnay with a portion of the sales revenue to be directed to Feed Ontario.
Flat Rock proprietor Ed Madronich said it’s important to back groups like that, noting “the added pressure of the pandemic makes it crucial to not only continue but to increase our support.”
That’s why, he said, Flat Rock partners with Feed Ontario during harvest and Thanksgiving. Good Kharma Chardonnay sells for $16.95 and is available at LCBO outlets as well as at the winery on Seventh Avenue.
Auditor general earns Brock’s honours
Brock University Goodman School of Business has named its 2020 distinguished leader.
The auditor general for Ontario, Bonnie Lysyk, will be honoured Oct. 19 during a virtual presentation and fireside chat with Goodman dean Andrew Gaudes, starting at 2:30 p.m.
It’s open to everyone, but pre-registration is required.
Lysyk, who also serves on the Goodman school’s advisory council, has been Ontario’s auditor general since 2013. She previously served the same role for Saskatchewan, and as chief operating officer for the province of Manitoba and chief audit executive for the Manitoba Liquor Control Commission.
Goodman’s distinguished leader series honours Canadian business leaders each year, connecting them with the community and with Brock students.
Niagara Health wins gold, silver for communications
Niagara Health communications staff received high honours recently in the Canadian Public Relations Society’s annual awards of excellence program.
It received gold awards both for Canadian health-care campaign of the year, and employee engagement and internal communications campaign of the year.
It was awarded silver for new product or service launch.
The gold honours recognized Niagara Health’s nine-month communications campaign to support its Accreditation 2019 for which it earned accreditation with exemplary standing, the highest rating.
The silver recognition was for its communications strategy to support patient and family engagement.
“The COVID-19 pandemic has really reinforced the importance of strong, strategic communications and I’ll be ever grateful to the communications team for the many ways they go above and beyond to product impactful work,” said Niagara Health communications director Caroline Bourque Wiley, in a release.
Digital service squads ready to help small businesses do better online
The City of St. Catharines’ Digital Service Squad is back on the street, after the municipality received a $72,659 grant from Feddev Ontario through the Digital Main Street program.
The digital service squads were launched locally in 2019 as part of a provincewide plan to support business improvement areas in municipalities across Niagara by helping them improve their online presence to become more resilient.
They are composed of trained specialists who meet with small business operators — at no cost — to help them build their business online, using social media and website-building training.
“The Digital Service Squad program is part of a concerted effort to provide targeted support to small businesses and help shorten the learning curve that comes with getting their business online,” said Brian York, the city’s director of economic development and government relations, in a release.
This new program will focus on various parts of St. Catharines — Facer Street, Queenston Street, Port Dalhousie and the downtown.