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PRESS RELEASE 

For Immediate Release

Mississauga's business community gathers to attend
Mississauga Board of Trade (MBOT) Annual General Meeting

 

 

Mississauga, Ontario (December 11, 2013) - Mississauga Board of Trade was pleased to welcome over 150 of its members and guests to its Annual General Meeting, which featured a keynote address from Tim Hudak, Ontario PC Party Leader.    

 

The event began with opening remarks from MBOT President & CEO, Sheldon Leiba.

 

"As we near the end of the year, and term of office for our 2013 Board of Directors, we combine our Annual General Meeting with GMM, so that we can formally report to you, our members, on the activities and financial performance of the organization over the past year, and elect our 2014 Board of Directors," explained Leiba.   

 

Richard Kazmirchuk, Performance Marketing Advisor, Yellow Pages Group, kicked off the event with a business presentation on Digital technology.

Digital technology is changing how customers look for your business. It is also changing how you connect with them and how you compete in a crowded market.  Maximize your chances of being noticed by the right customers and being chosen first.  

 

The session allowed attendees to acquire a better grasp of the importance of having a digital presence, as well as get a concrete idea of the digital solutions that are at their disposal for developing a winning market strategy.  

 

After the presentation, Ontario PC Party Leader Tim Hudak took the stage for the keynote presentation, followed by an Question and Answer period.  

 

Hudak addressed the crowd on his vision for Ontario and his ideas for Ontario if he were to be elected as premier of Ontario. Some of the areas he touched on included: 

  • Reduce the number of government bureaucrats on payroll; Offer performance pay to drive value to tax dollars; Shrink the number of ministers on cabinet; Dock minister's pay if they miss financial targets.
  • Ensure the Ontario government is affordable; Reduce government spending; Grow the economy by creating 300,000 manufacturing jobs in Ontario; Return to reliable and affordable energy rates.
  • Lower taxes to encourage entrepreneurship and innovation; Create more jobs; Reduce the rules and regulations by one-third; Break the gridlock in the GTA by expanding the highway capacity and investing in subways.
  • Modernizing labour policies to benefit workers. It was mentioned that Ontario wages are the lowest in Canada as our province is the last to increase minimum wage.   

MBOT 2013 Chair, Karen Ras, was then welcomed to the podium to commence proceedings for the Annual General Meeting, which included the election of 2014 Chair Paul Woolford (of KPMG Enterprise) and new members of MBOT's Board of Directors.

 

"Firstly, let me begin by extending a very sincere thank you to everyone for their support during my year as Chair of the Mississauga Board of Trade: our Board of Directors, committee volunteers, members, sponsors and especially our exceptional team of Board of Trade management and staff," said Ras.   

 

"Your Mississauga Board of Trade (MBOT) entered 2013 with some very ambitious plans to: enhance our existing offering of programs, services and benefits; launch a number of new initiatives that would add value to membership; elevate our policy advocacy activities representing the interests of business in Mississauga; and raise the profile of MBOT in our community and beyond," said Ras.

 

 

"MBOT is more vibrant than ever and it is because of the active involvement and contributions of our members, that help us help grow business in our community and create an economic environment that continues to attract and retain business and jobs." 

 

 

Ras also presented the Treasurer's Report, along with the 2012-2013 audited financial statements, on behalf of Treasurer Dero Sabatini, TD Commercial Baking, who could not attend.   

 

"Our auditor's reported to us on a new accounting framework this year - Accounting Standards for Not-for-Profit Organizations (ASNPO). There were no number changes resulting from this change, just some additional disclosure," said Ras, who explained that the transition to ASNPO requires the two previous years to also be reported on.   

 

Highlights from the financial report include:

  • Accounts receivable were lower in 2013 vs. 2012 due to no longer having an amount receivable from Service Ontario which related to the Motor Vehicle Office operations (MVO) that MBOT exited in Dec. 2012.
  • Ended the year in a surplus position of $34,110.  
  • Education and events - continued to have strong performance.  Gross revenues and expenses declined, however net revenue over expenses increased from $101,625 to $118,766.
  • Publications and online advertisement revenue and expenses were lower due to one less print publication and more digital vs. print media done during the year.   
"For the current fiscal year that we are in, our Board has developed a surplus budget and after 3 months, we are on track.  Long-term financial sustainability is a strong focus of our organization, and MBOT is in a stable financial position, with a goal to develop reserves moving forward."

The election of directors was the AGM's next item on the agenda. Pursuant to the By-laws of Mississauga Board of Trade, the immediate Past-Chair chairs the Nominating Committee.

The Nominating Committee developed a slate of nominees for election and appointment as Board of Directors for the Mississauga Board of Trade.  The Nominating Committee's slate was reported electronically to members on November 29. View report
 
The 2014 Chair, Paul Woolford, KPMG Enterprise, was introduced.

 "It's an honour and a privilege to have the opportunity to serve this prestigious organization as its 2014 Chair, and I look forward to it with great optimism and enthusiasm," said Woolford.

"MBOT is truly an outstanding team of organizations and professionals committed to enhancing the economy and quality of life in our city, and this support is needed more now than ever, to ensure that Mississauga remains a great place to do business, work and live."    

 

Woolford then introduced the 2014 Board of Directors:

 

Chair
Paul Woolford
KPMG Enterprise

Vice Chair - Business Development
Dero Sabatini
TD Commercial Banking

Vice Chair - Policy
Peter Nogalo
ARI Canada

Immediate Past Chair
Karen Ras
Enersource Corporation

Treasurer
Jeffrey Percival
Pallett Valo LLP

Executives
Casey DiBattista
ABB Inc.

Andrew Stelmacovich
University of Toronto Mississauga (UTM)

DIRECTORS

Lesley Lawrence
Business Development Bank of Canada (BDC)

Susan Amring
City of Mississauga, Economic Development Office

Chris Watters
GlaxoSmithKline (GSK)

Lorrie McKee
Greater Toronto Airports Authority

Greg Zilberbrant
Holcim (Canada) Inc.

Surinder (Sam) Sharma
Power Saving Systems Inc.

Deborah Campbell
Quality & Compliance Services Inc.

Vivi White
RBC Royal Bank

Jeff Zabudsky
Sheridan College

Michael Szymanski
UniFirst Canada Ltd.

Paul Gaspar
UPS Canada

Husam Jandal
WSI Academy

Sheldon Leiba
President & CEO, MBOT

(Ex-officio) 

 

 

A feature spread will appear in the February 2014 issue of MBOT magazine.   

 

MBOT would like to extend its sincerest thanks to event sponsors International Centre and Century Audio Visual for ensuring the event ran smoothly.

 

As the voice of business since 1976, Mississauga Board of Trade is a private-sector, not-for-profit business organization representing approximately 1,500 businesses, employing 65,000 people in Mississauga.  MBOT is well positioned to meet the needs of business by using its considerable influence at all levels of government.  As the forum for business, MBOT works together to influence public policy and promote a better understanding of the marketplace among policy makers, media and the general public. 

 

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Media Contact:

Sheldon Leiba

President & CEO
Mississauga Board of Trade

905-273-6151 ext. 27

[email protected]
www.mbot.com