Welcome

The Bradford Board of Trade is committed to enriching the lives of its members and the business community at large, both professionally and personally through community building, education and networking.

 

President’s Message - February 5th, 2009

 

The Bradford Board of Trade is very proud of the way our volunteers and sponsors have worked together this first year. Not only have we established an impressive list of activities, but have successfully managed many of the organizational hurtles that are necessary for a new organization to navigate.

 

Many of you, who have started or managed your own business, can well imagine the challenges of pulling together a disparate group of people, each with their own way of doing things. Each volunteer deserves a pat on the back, not only for the ridiculously long hours invested by each of them, but also for the way they have come together in the spirit of cooperation and teamwork.

 

We are well on our way to being an Accredited Board of Trade. Accreditation is a formal acknowledgement that member chambers/boards of trade have been successfully evaluated by the Chamber Accreditation Council of Canada (CACC) against rigorous national standards of policy, service and performance This designation is awarded to fewer than 70 Chambers and Boards of Trade Canada-wide. This is a feat that requires many hours of planning and development. Business plans, workflows, by-laws, job descriptions and the like have been in our vocabularies a great deal these past few months.

 

Our group has put on many great events since our first Gala this past May, which featured Bobby Hull. This event was followed up with a Golf Tournament at the Highland Golf Club, Business After Hours and Business Over Breakfast events at sponsoring businesses, seminars featuring topics such as How to Survive in a Bog Box World, Managing your Business Finances and Mystery Shopping. During all of this, we gainfully published two issues of a brand new magazine, the BBT Voice!

 

We have many events planned for this coming year. We have an Awards Gala in May, Golf in July, a Business Expo in the fall and monthly Business networking events and Lunch and Learns, so we can all find new potential customers and figure out how to survive this potential downturn in the economy. Some of our events will be regional, so you can meet potential contacts from surrounding communities, as well.

 

Many of you have requested a sponsorship package that would allow planning on an annual basis. While we understand annual sponsorship is not for everyone, we hope it will appeal to those of you who prefer a yearly sponsorship package. Of course, sponsorship per event is always available and we appreciate your generosity that has allowed us to come this far.

 

We cannot do what we do without the wonderful support of the business community. Please consider becoming involved- whether as a member, an attendee at a function, an advertiser or sponsor of any size. We always need committee members and being involved on a committee level is a great way to get to know people (and potential clients!) well.

 

Please check our website; or call/email any executive member for more details. We thank you in advance for your continued support as we move towards our second year. Regards,

 

Martha Marton
President

 

Business of the Month - Evans & Evans

 

 

Bob Evans is a familiar face around town.  As an attorney he has helped many of us transfer real estate, prepare a will, or solve a legal dilemma. In between running a busy law practice he has served our community in so many ways, more than we have room to mention.

 

Bob’s family is one of the oldest in the area,  His  family first moved to the area around 1818. Bob is not the first in his family to be actively involved in the community.  Thomas Driffil, Bob’s great, great grandfather, served as the first Reeve of Bradford in 1857 while operating a merchant store or farm equipment and harnesses. 

 

The law firm Evans and Evans was founded in 1894 by T.W.W. Evans, grandfather of Bob Evans.  The familiar building the firm now occupies at 21 Holland Street West was built on a vacant lot between two buildings in 1906. 

 

Bob’s father, C.T.S. :Charlie” Evans, took over the firm with his brother Brock Evans once T.W.W, retired.  C.T.S  Evans  served as Reeve from 1942 until 1949.  He also served as the Warden of Simcoe County in 1949 as well as chair of the school board, Master of the Masonic Lodge, Secretary of the United Church, President & charter member of the Lions Club.

 

Bob himself has been a trustee on the Simcoe County District School Board, chairing the Employees Services Committee for four years.  He is an active member of his church serving as a member of the Congregational Council and as a Sunday School Teacher.  He is a member and Past Master of his Lodge, a member and Past President of the Rotary Club and was honored as a Paul Harris fellow in 1984.

 

He is past president of the Bradford Unit of the Canadian Cancer Society, Director of the York County Hospital Foundation, also serving on the Giving Committee.  He has been a member of the Big Cedar Golf Club and Bradford and District Curling Club, serving as secretary for many years.  He was a Charter member of the York North Racquet Club and is a Director of the Summer Exchange Experience- Canada.

 

Active in his career, Bob was appointed to Queens Counsel and has served as Deputy Judge and part-time Assistant Crown Attorney for Simcoe County.  He has also served on the civil and criminal aid panels.  As an active member of the Canadian Bar Association, the Simcoe Country Law Association, York Region Law Association and York County Law Association, Bob served as Director of York North as well as President in 1976 to 1978.

 

He has been a member of the Council of the Canadian Bar Association-Ontario and of the National Council of the Canadian Bar Association including four years on CBOA Institute Committee.  Bob has also been an instructor for the Bar Administration Course in Estate Planning.

 

In between all of this activity, Bob and his wife Janet, raised four children, and now enjoy a large family which includes 10 grandchildren.  All of them continue the  family tradition of being involved in their communities.

 

Bob, who remembers Bradford when there was more room to play between the downtown houses and you could pick pussy willows on Hurd St, says he wouldn’t have it any other way.  “Bradford is a wonderful place to live and raise a family, and while there are a few more people, there are also many more opportunities.”   -Well said, Bob.