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Home My WebLink AboutTimes Advocate, 1993-02-03, Page 5a Times -Advocate, February 3, 1993 1. Flexible - Variable or fixed term 2. Competitive Rates - Call us or drop in 3. No Fees or Charges - (Unless withdrawn within 90 days of deposit) 4. Security - Each contract Guaranteed to $60,000. 5. R.R.S.P. Loans at Prime - No payment re- quired for 90 days. Tax Deferral Benefit more than covers borrowing cost. 6. Deadline - March 1, 1993 - Come early to avoid the rush 7. Building the Community - Everyone is eli- gible to join the Credit Union. Retirement funds are used to boost the local economy and build our community Bill Vaughan (left) and Vite Chomicki with their Beach Ease chair, a compact piece of popular outdoor furniture they have been producing in their workshops in Lucan in their spare time. Lucan pair turning their beach chair design into a flourishing enterprise By Adrian Harte T -A Editor LUCAN - As the snow swirls around your patio and the cold frosts up the windows, outdoor furniture is probably one of the furthest 'things from your mind; but two Lu - can men are already hoping to see hundreds of people buying new beach chairs this spring and sum- mer: their chairs. Vite Chomicki and Bill Vaughan have formed a company to manu- facture their "Beach Ease" chair in their backyard workshops. They got started two years ago when Vaughan was laid off from his reg- ular job and Chomicki suggested they "build something". They de- cided on an improved version of a beach chair popular in Italy. They made a dozen chairs, and after all sold, • made. 24 more, which also went quickly. "Since then it's been taking off like gangbusters," said Vaughan. The pair have, to date, built about 2,500 of their chairs, which sell for up to $24.95 each. The chair itself is a compact, low -to -the -ground design aimed at those wanting to bring their own chairs to the beach. Rather than us- ing hinges to fold flat, the chair's seat unlocks from the back and tucks away inside it, making a flat package small enough to hide al- most anywhere. "Theyrfit.right. inside a suitcase," said Vaughan. "We've had people take them down to Florida." Sales for the chair have been fair- ly local so far. Making the chair in their spare time after work and on weekends, Chomicki and Vaughan have had plenty to sell at the Horne and County Folk Festival, at Grand Bend flea markets, and to meet or- ders from garden centres and a sporting goods store in Toronto. The pair are now using pamphlets to promote their product with larger distributors, hoping for some larger contracts. A man in Halifax is al- ready interested in becoming a dis- tributor for the Beach Ease. "It's really taken off - we didn't expect anything like this," said Vaughan. "We've made a business out of it, which we didn't expect when we started," aged Chomicki. While it mly be a business, both say the main benefit of the enter- prise is its "stress relief' from working with wood. Their wives also get involved in making the canvas 'seats for the chair backs, and even their children help out in the manufacture to earn some extra dollars. Chomicki and Vaughan aren't worried about anyone trying to mass produce chairs like theirs ei- ther. While they have seen copies spring up at craft shows, they say the basic virtue of their chairs is the quality. They use only a screwed - and -glued construction that can't be duplicated by any high-speed air stapler. They also insist that the screws on the seat be brass, not steel, so they won't rust. They take longer to build that way, "but the quality is there," said Vaughan. So while the snow is still flying in February, Chomicki and Vau- ghan have supplies enough to pro- duce about 1,000 Beach Ease chairs to be ready for the warmer weather - and that's just in their spare time. Before Christmas they were mak- ing novelty wood items for various craft shows. But it the deenand for their chairs increases, and if firm contracts do arrive for large deliveries someday, Chomicki and Vaughan can't help but wonder if the part-time busi- ness might not become a full-time enterprise. Response team helping students and staff deal with tragic loss of life in Wingham CLINTON - Last week two stu- dents from F.E. Madill Secondary School, Wingham, were killed in a car accident on their way to school. Students and staff of the school arc now dealing with an emotional re- sponse to the tragedy. The Huron County Board of Edu- cation Tragic Events Response Team (TERT) was there to help them come to terms with deaths of the young students. At Monday's meeting, psycho- educational consultant, Dr. William Croker, addressed the Huron County Board of Education Trus- tees on the placement of TBRT in the school system. He explained that the program has been in place since 1990 and has responded to five separate incidents. "We have had a lot of feed -back from students, staff and parents," said Croker. Several of the trustees lauded the program and stated that They were pleased w tilt t--wocees of TERT. Chuck Rowland cited the example of the death of faculty member George Young at Goderich Distric Stephen Township's newest b ills -r was officially opened Friday at noon. Huron Brewmas- ter, a brew -on -premises facility near Centralia, had its ribbon cut by reeve Tom Tomes. From left are Glenda Lather, Stephen administrator Larry Brown, reeve Tomes, business owners Perry Knee and Mel Lather, and Nina Knee. Interest in the U- ew business is increasing. A similar operation opens in Exeter this week. Collegiate Institute last November. He said that in Dr. Croker's ab- sence, TERT moved in and events unfolded as they should. Dr. Croker also introduced a new book, on which he collaborated, which will be introduced as a com- pulsory text book for colleges in Ontario. He explained that the book deals with depression in children and adolescence. "It's the first Canadian book on the market that deals with depres- sion in school," he said, adding that it addresses school, personnel and those who train personnel. According to Croker, depression in children and adolescence -can be caused by marital discord, peer pressure, death of a loved one, or by any of several relationships. He said that one in four adults will have clinical depression requiring hospi- talization. Therefore, it is important to help children prepare for adult- hood by talking. "We have to dispense with the former attitude that children and ad- olescence are only 'sad.' 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