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[2]By Sophie Dudley [3]
BELLEVILLE – The event room at Belleville’s Shorelines Casino [4] was filled with approximately 125 local business professionals on Tuesday night.
Belleville’s Chamber of Commerce [5] held its annual holiday mingle event for members and guests in the business community.
“It’s great to see the synergy develop between people who didn’t know each other,” said chamber chief executive officer Jill Raycroft.
The chamber regularly holds a social evening to give members the chance to meet each other, network and get to know new people in the community. The holiday mingle is an annual event that brings business members from all over the Belleville and Quinte area together in one room for an evening to network in a festive environment.
While enjoying desserts, cold cuts, cheeses and wine, business professionals mingled while making new contacts.
Bill Kerr, the membership co-ordinator and golf pro at Black Bear Ridge Golf Club, [6] attended the event with his wife and Black Bear owner Brian Magee.
“It’s a great spot for networking. For us as a golf club and destination, it’s great to get out and meet people,” he said.
Kerr said the mingle events are great for the community. “I think for Belleville it’s good because we meet a lot of people who I don’t know. It’s good to see what people can offer you and what you can offer them. We’re strong believers of supporting local as much as we can. We need the locals to survive.”
Bob Clute, the CEO of Prince Edward-Hastings Habitat for Humanity [7], agrees. “It’s important to get to know people and socialize with them and have them feel comfortable with our mission of building affordable homes. Many of them have contributed substantial funds towards our success.”
Clute has been to many of the mingle events and said they’re very well-orchestrated. “The business community in this city is very strong. When I look around the room and see so many familiar faces, regardless of the business, we’re a very diverse group. I’m very impressed. They work because these businesspeople are interacting with each other and advancing their businesses.”
Nada Neil, a hearing consultant at Hitchon’s Hearing Centre [8], said: “I feel it’s very important to get known in the community to the businesses, whether they’re small or big. It’s important for them to know that we exist. We never know who we might meet that could help us in our industry (and) we might be able to help them as well.”
The membership co-ordinator for the Belleville chamber, Rosi Ouellette, said it’s a great opportunity for new business owners. “A lot of the businesses in the area are small to medium enterprises … so they don’t get a lot of chance to get out (during the workday) and meet people,” she said. “If you were a newcomer, here’s 100 people in one room that you can meet.”
This year’s holiday mingle was hosted by Belleville’s Shorelines Casino, which is expecting its one millionth customer to walk through the door this Saturday.
“We’re really happy to be a part of this great community,” said Andy LaCroix, executive director of stakeholder relations (Ontario) for Shorelines.
Lacroix said he has attended several of the social events. “It’s a great interaction with your colleagues in the business community,” he said.