By Cindy Campbell BIA

I have had the privilege of writing this column for The Echo for almost two years now. I say privilege because not everyone has a platform to say the most wonderful things about our vibrant downtown area and the village of Haliburton. Sometimes the news you read is not positive and sometimes it is downright depressing. That is why it is so important to me to have and embrace this opportunity to share with you what downtown Haliburton is all about and what this amazing organization does in the village of Haliburton.

Let me explain what downtown Haliburton is. Downtown Haliburton is a municipally bylaw created organization. It is geographic in area and all businesses within this area belong to the organization. The organization is funded by the member businesses who pay a levy on their taxes. Any not-for-profit or government offices in the geographic area are exempt from the levy. Each year the member businesses host an annual general meeting and select a volunteer board of management to oversee the budget and direction of the organization.

Breaking that down some more our Downtown Haliburton is geographically bordered as follows: Maple Avenue from Park Street to Mountain Street Dysart Avenue from Mountain Street to Highland Street Cedar Avenue from Mountain Street to Highland Street York Street from Maple Avenue to Cedar Avenue and Highland Street from Riverside Drive to the intersection just before the high school. At present we are 124 member businesses strong.

The board of management is a dedicated group of volunteer business people. The chairperson is Luke Schell Haliburton Framing and Photo. The vice-chairperson in David Zilstra The Echo. The treasurer is Nelly Ashworth BMO. The secretary is Brad Park Foodland. The remaining board members are Brandon Nimigon Century 21; Renzo Rosati The Moose; Sharon Rowden Touch of Class; Clay Glecoff Glecoff’s Family Store; and Councillor Nancy Wood-Roberts appointed by the Municipality of Dysart et al. I think you can agree that this board represents a variety of businesses and their interests.

The mandate of downtown Haliburton is to beautify market and promote the area to increase business traffic and sustain business growth. This mandate is accomplished in a variety of ways to ensure that all budget monies are maximized. Also volunteer time is a valuable commodity so we partner with several community groups to achieve our goals. Huge thanks to the following: Jim Frost and The Lions Club who organize the Santa Claus Parade; Andrea Mueller and The Municipality of Dysart et al who organize Colourfest; and The Echo who organize Midnight Madness.

Downtown Haliburton is one of the proud sponsors of The Rotary Club’s Music in the Park and The Toronto Powerboat Races held on Head Lake. We solely organize Women’s Shopping Night in December and the Buy in and Win promotion that runs throughout December to thank everyone for shopping local.

I hope you now have a better understanding of what downtown Haliburton is all about.

See you at Colourfest this Saturday in Head Lake Park and remember to Shop local!