Clement announces FedNor funding for region
Parry Sound-Muskoka MP and Minister for FedNor Tony Clement ducked out of Ottawa early last week to announce $434,219 in funding in support of 11 local initiatives on Friday. Clement made the announcement at Grace & Speed Muskoka Boat & Heritage Centre in Gravenhurst, following a lengthy introduction and bio that Clement himself said should be amended since it was longer than the funding announcement itself. “I am proud to bring this investment of $434,219 to the Muskoka region, which will help make our community and our local economy stronger and help to keep our youth living and working here at home,” said Clement. “This is just one more example of how Canada’s new government is getting things done for the families and taxpayers of northeastern Ontario.”

Have pen, travel to summer camp for free
Every year, students from across Southern Alberta between the ages of 13 and 15 compete in an essay competition for one of 60 free spots at the Alberta Youth Entrepreneurship Camp. The camp is designed to promote entrepreneurial spirit in youth, providing them with business training in a summer camp atmosphere. "I would recommend this camp to anyone," said Kyler Baker in a press release, who attended the 2006 camp, "I learned a lot about business and had a great time!" At the beginning of the week long camp, the participants are divided into ten business teams. Throughout the week they take part in a variety of workshops that will teach them the basics of business start up, market research, advertising, and business plan development. The youth will have the opportunity to seek financial advice from actual local bankers and on the final day of camp, will gain first hand experience as they open and operate their businesses for parents and sponsors of the camp.

Revelstoke to soon be in Interior Savings family
A new type of merger partnership for Interior Savings Credit Union (ISCU) and Revelstoke Credit Union is an exploration into better business relations, according to the president of ISCU. Revelstoke will continue its operations as usual, retaining its brand and community connections, while at the same time gaining the perks of joining a larger company like Interior Savings, such as more services. The board of directors of Revelstoke will remain as a partnership board and oversee operations under the guidance of Interior Savings. According to Barry Meckler, president and CEO of Interior Savings, the merger will create more jobs and offer another locations for Interior Savings customers, while leaving the local autonomy intact.

Local entrepreneur refashions model of beauty
At 24, most young adults are typically finishing an undergraduate degree or working in an entry-level position. At 24, Ben Barry has helped increase Dove sales in the U.K. by 700 per cent through the "Real Beauty" campaign, runs his own modelling agency in Toronto, and is working on his PhD at the Judge Business School at Cambridge University on an Ogilvy Foundation research grant. And somewhere in there, he managed to write a new book on how young people can start their own businesses titled Fashioning Reality: A New Generation of Entrepreneurship. Mr. Barry outlines how to carve a niche, how to be taken seriously by clients and industry insiders and how to sell a product effectively. He interviewed a fast food entrepreneur specializing in healthy food, a fair-trade coffee chain owner, a duo of fashion designers and many others. "All of these businesses started because they saw social problems, and rather than trying to tackle it through activism or the non-profit sector, they found that business could be a way to implement social change."