HomeMy WebLinkAboutHuron Expositor, 2016-08-31, Page 22 Huron Expositor • Wednesday, August 31, 2016
The second Win This Space in Huron East
Shaun Gregory
Huron Expositor
Mimicking the same surface that
Hollywood stars walk on, the red
carpet covered the Seaforth Golf &
Country Club entrance to greet the
Wm This Space competition.
Akin to any celebrity, the five
finalists out of the preliminary 13
challengers, were decked out from
head -to -toe and were thrown into
the limelight to battle for the num-
ber one spot August 27.
There may not have been any
famous people at the venue, how-
ever the contest welcomed several
influential politicians including
Huron County Warden Paul Gow-
ing, the Mayor of Huron East
Bernie MacLellan and Lisa Thomp-
son the MPP for the riding of
Huron -Bruce.
Welcoming all the public free of
charge with a platter of food and
wine, it was a night of anticipation
to see who would win a total prize
package of nearly $20,000.
Included in the winner's purse and
to help steer the participants in a
successful business direction, a
$4,000 teaching initiative from the
Huron Business Development Cor-
poration will be included. This will
involve the HBDC sitting down
with the victor for one hour each
week to conduct small business
mentoring and advisory services
for a period of 52 weeks.
Also costing $4,000 will be the
service from Edifice Atelier, Vintage
Home Charm Television and
Rediscovering Canada Television.
They have agreed to provide the
winner of Win This Space with a
weekly graphic media blast on
their social media pages for three
weeks.
Furthermore, Fanshawe Col-
lege's Goderich site has offered one
course in Business Entrepreneur-
ship and Management Program.
This year's theme is an indus-
trial/manufacturing theme com-
pared to the previous challenge
which was more retail focused.
Following the same mechanics
as 2015, the sole winner will be
compensated with 12 months of
rent and is expected to open up
shop in Vanastra.
From the business aspect of it,
the five women who made it to the
finals were guided by Alison Lobb,
from Huron Small Business Enter-
prise Centre who specializes in
small business throughout Huron
County.
Upon signing up to compete in
the Win This Space initiative, it was
compulsory to take a fast-track col-
lege/university course.
"They had to take this course if
they wanted to advance to the next
level;' stated Huron East economic
development officer, Jan Hawley,
while also adding that specific
business course is what led to the
process of elimination to five
contestants.
After all the guests settled in, the
Win This Space competition began
with seven judges critiquing their
performances.
The judges are listed below:
Hawley, Lobb, Maureen Agar,
Ray Chartrand, Paul Nichol, Cathy
Elliott and Sherry McLaughlin.
The judges graded the women on
their oral presentation, financials,
marketing and liability among sev-
eral other aspects.
"It's a huge check list," stated
Hawley after the winner was
announced.
All seven judges headed down
stairs to regroup after all the Win
This Space participants said what
they had to say in a set time limit
followed by one question by the
judges.
After the judges deliberated they
made the tough decision to declare
Gerrie Huenemoerder the winner.
Gerrie plans to bring her passion of
creating jewelry to a reality.
"You know when I was a teen-
ager, I was really good at science
and really good at art," she told the
Expositor after taking pictures with
the signature Win This Space cut
out.
Huenemoerder's business will
have emphasis on the making of
gold, platinum and silver jewelry
created from scratch. She is eager
to start the business in Vanastra, an
undertaking she predicts will boost
the economy.
"In my business plan, I should
�' Huron Small Business
WIWN Enterprise Centre
The centre will continue to support small business owners
and entrepreneurs through a variety of services including:
• Free business consultations
• Assistance in business registration
• Business plan reviews
• Workshops
• Networking opportunities
• and more
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Shaun Gregory
Gerrie Huenemoerder was named the 2016 Win This Space winner. She plans
to pursue her long dream of creating jewelry.
create at least 10 jobs in the next
two years," she said.
"These are definitely not mini-
mum -wage and that's big."
According to Huenemoerder, she
predicts the salary to be somewhere
in the range of $40,000 yearly.
It's been a successful strategy to
promote local business since Haw-
ley followed a related promotion
that propelled in the south-central
Ontario township of Uxbridge in
2013.
Now, to date, Hawley has
assisted in Win This Space
launches across the province,
including the city of Sudbury,
Peterborough, Smith Falls, Ottawa,
St. Catherine's, and Grey County.
And that's not it she said.
"I can see this riding again on
another success. I can see this hap-
pening one more year, this time we
might be taking it back to Brussels
because there are some extra store
fronts there," explained Hawley.
Bios on all five contestants
Contestant: Gerrie
Huenemoerder
Business: "Avelina Jewelry"
Avelina is an ancient Germanic
name whose meanings include
strength, life, and desirability. And
Avelina Jewelry embraces all of
these, as does its designer.
Award winning jeweller G erre Huen-
emoerder is first and foremost an artist.
Her beautiful creations are formed from
silver gold, and platinum, many ofwhich
involve vitreous enamelling—an age-old
process of fusing glass to metals.
But most of all, Avelina Jewelry is
unique. Whether it be in a pendant, a
bracelet, earrings, or a necklace, Ger-
rie's distinctive style is evident. And
many of her pieces have a touch of
whimsy about them. If you're look-
ing for a one -of -a -kind enviable and
memorable present, Gerrie is able to
personalize that gift in exceptional
ways. And perhaps it will be a gift
from you for you!
Contestant: Debbie Nassar
Business: "Imagine Creative
Centre"
Debbie Nassar was born an artist.
As a young girl who loved the arts but
from a family with limited resources,
she recognized that there was a defi-
nite need to facilitate the nurturing
and development of everyone's crea-
tive side. This has stayed with Debbie
throughout her life as she explored
fine art, learned much, and
enhanced her innate gift—speaking
through paint and canvas.
Although life took her down a path
that did not allow much time for
innovative painting, Debbie found a
way to cultivate her imaginative side
by hosting an adult art club in her
home—budding artists bring their
supplies and current project and get
together with other like-minded
individuals.
The Imagine Creative Centre will be
Debbie's next step—one that will wel-
come children seven to eighteen years
of age into the world of art. And for
those who need help with the modest
fee for this introduction to imagina-
tion, sponsors will be arranged. In age
appropriate groups, kids will get to
experiment with a variety of materials
and methods, and have fun. Their ses-
sions will be held once a week for two
hours over a twelve week period. Adult
art classes will be organized as well, led
by Debbie and with experts in various
media to allow exploration of the many
ways to express one's creativity.
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