GBGH Board of Directors seeking applicants
Dec. 2, 2024 – Guided by our purpose statement of We Make Excellent Care Personal, Georgian Bay General Hospital (GBGH) is committed to providing excellent care to the residents of the broader North Simcoe region.
GBGH is seeking applicants to fill vacant Board of Director roles. The Board is skills-based, volunteer board.
The GBGH Board of Directors welcomes applications from individuals with varying experiences and expertise areas but has identified that the following three areas are areas of particular interest: – Government Relations/Public Policy – Information Technology/Cyber Security – Capital Redevelopment & Large Scale Capital project
Board of Directors has a strong desire to have our Board closely reflect the diverse populations served by the hospital. We invite applications from all genders, all races and ethnicities, people of all abilities, Indigenous peoples, LGBTQ2S+ persons and bilingual or multilingual individuals. For more information, visit www.gbgh.on.ca/board-of-directors
SEGBAY Chamber of Commerce Golf Tournament
Nov. 12, 2024 – On Thursday, August 15, 2024, the community came together at Oak Bay Golf Club for the SEGBAY Chamber of Commerce Golf Tournament, in partnership with Pure Country 106 and BOUNCE 104.1. Through registration, sponsorship, live & online auctions and raffle, the event raised $31,000 in total for its charity partners: the GBGH Foundation and the Georgian Bay Cancer Support Centre.
This year, the $26,606 raised for the GBGH Foundation will support Kickstart Your Heart, which is raising funds to grow the surgical services program at Georgian Bay General Hospital (GBGH).
From left: Robyn Kaczanowski, communications officer, GBGH Foundation; Rachelle Miller, RN, GBGH; Lisa Buck, SEGBAY Chamber of Commerce; Catherine Browne, Baxter Ward Lions Club; Arthur Christakos, president, SEGBAY Chamber of Commerce; Robyn Blanchet, community giving officer, GBGH Foundation; Fred Wareing, tournament chair; Lisa Nolan, Bell Media; Michelle Blake, manager of surgical services, GBGH; and Dr. Bonnie Shum, chief of surgical services, GBGH.
Event raised $3,500 for Georgian Bay General Hospital
Anne-Marie Walker, event volunteer; Erin Kominek, manager, diagnostic imaging, laboratory and cardiorespiratory, GBGH; and Adele Newton, director, GBGH Foundation board accept donation. On November 10, 2024, a group of 55 women came together at Rawley Resort in Port Severn for an Afternoon Tea to raise funds for Mammography equipment. The event raised $3,500 for the hospital through silent auction, raffle and tea leaf readings from Just Believe Boutique & Team Room.
LOCAL AUTHOR RELEASES FIFTH BOOK IN POPULAR HILDEGARD PROPHECIES SERIES
By David Dupluis, Nov. 25, 2024
Award-winning author David Dupuis will release his fifth book, “The Besieged,” in his popular contemporary historical-fiction series, “The Hildegard Prophecies,” on Saturday, December 21, 2024, at the Penetanguishene Arena Sports Hall of Fame between 2-5 p.m.
A dream fifty years in the making, the original one-book story about a boy destined to be the last pope at the end of time, at Armageddon, has metamorphosized into a nine-book series. “I had handwritten 2,000 pages in the late 1970s,” Dupuis said. “A friend’s sister typed it in the mid-1990s and I put it away, pulling it out occasionally to tinker with it, but life got in the way.”
Dupuis would publish biographies of hockey stars Terry Sawchuk, Pierre Pilote and Red Kelly with mainstream publishers Stoddart Publishing and ECW Press. His Sawchuk story would be made into a 2019 movie and his Kelly tome would win the 2016 Ontario Speakers Book Award.
Dupuis’ two grown children urged him to get back at his novel. So, he did, researching historical figures who had visions of the endtimes and found Saint Hildegard of Bingen, a medieval nun. Inspired by similar books such as The Thorn Birds, The Celestine Prophecy and The DaVinci Code, Dupuis self-published Book 1, “Of Mercy and Of Death” in 2018.
“Self-publishing is hard,” Dupuis says. “It must have a good story, good book design, formatting, editing, etc. Lack of editing is a big knock against indie authors. It had to be professional on par with mainstream books and it is.
“A few story scenes occur in Penetanguishene and Tiny Township. They’re very important. I’ve made this ‘churchy’ story of popes, cardinals and bishops more character driven, appealing to a wider audience. Non-religious readers love it which I find amazing.”
Dupuis’ series has even garnered early interest from a couple of television producers. Locally, Dupuis’ books are sold in Midland at Georgian Bay Books and McCarthy’s Shell, online at all Amazon sites. Penetang Home Hardware will host a January signing. Date and time are yet to be determined.
‘Sad day’: Iconic downtown Midland store closing, ending nearly 125-year legacy
By: Derek Howard, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter, Midlandtoday.ca
Nov 22, 2024
Jeffery’s Hardware, one of Midland’s oldest businesses, is shutting its doors at the end of the month.
Owner Shari Miller inherited the business at 526 Dominion Avenue when her father Ron Jeffery passed away in 2022. “The business started in 1901 with my great-great-grandfather, so I’m the sixth generation,” Miller explains. “From 1901 to 1958, we were on King Street; in 1959 we moved here.”
The Jeffrey Block was the historic name given to the original location of the hardware store, started by Fredric William Jeffery and sons at the corner of King Street and Dominion Avenue. The current location at the corner of Dominion Avenue and First Street was built in 1959 under the ownership of Miller’s grandfather, William Jeffery, who had taken over the business from his brother Edward. When William retired, he handed the reins to his son Ron Jeffery. “Dad was a big steamship guy,” Miller says, pointing out the numerous hung photographs of steamships in the main office. An additional pegboard near the cash register was ornamented with further photos of steamships, nautical measurement devices and calendars of Jeffery’s Hardware throughout the past century. “Over the years it’s been me, my dad and my daughter,” said Miller, who had been involved with running the hardware store for roughly 35 years. “We’ve had off-and-on staff over the years. Lately, it’s just been me with my daughter helping out when she’s home.”
Miller gave her reason for closing the doors on November 30th as being worn out from retail. While not knowing what would be ahead for her, she was confident it would be a fresh change of pace. To one curious customer, Miller admitted she was “winging it.”
Several customers continued to enter during the interview, purchasing from the store’s remaining items listed at 50 per cent off. Miller’s pet dog Reba barked in attention with whatever caught her keen eye. Some customers had been bringing Miller small thank-you gifts and presents since the out-of-business announcement, which she was shy to accept. Miller couldn’t remember any interesting tales or customers when asked, stating that her father would have been the one for those stories.
However, she did say that in the past few years, caring for a goat from her farm had been something she had done in the store with the goat resting behind the main counter. Antiquated hardware such as lumber saws, augers, scale rules and more adorned the upper walls above the merchandise. “My dad collected them, he enjoyed that. I’m not sure what I’m doing with them yet,” Miller says. The loss of Jeffery’s Hardware will mean loyal customers will need to find another place for their supplies. “They’re going to have to go somewhere, but I’m not sure where. A lot of (my customers) don’t like big box stores,” she says. “They ask me the same question: ‘Where am I going to go?’ I don’t know. “I’m going to miss them… and the long chats with a lot of my customers. It’s a sad day after so many years, but none of the kids after me want it,” Miller shares.